"Madara Obito's back"
White Zetsu passed the information to 'Madara' ahead of time. With their limited emotional awareness, they couldn't sense the difference between the current Madara Uchiha and the Madara of the past.
"For some reason, I can't get in touch with the White Zetsu following Obito. But there are other eyes along the way. He should arrive soon~"
"..."
The 'Madara' whose consciousness was Adult Obito remained silent. He already knew that the other White Zetsu had either been killed by Minato Namikaze or locked away by another version of himself inside the Kamui space.
"Where's Black Zetsu?"
"Black Zetsu has other business. He's not here right now~"
Adult Obito didn't dwell on it. Back when Black Zetsu followed him as Madara's will, he had always been elusive anyway.
When Young Obito appeared at the cave entrance, 'Madara' was already seated on a chair formed from wooden stakes, waiting.
What followed unfolded entirely within 'Madara's' mind.
After all, everything had once been his own lived experience…
Because it was a dream, everything could be molded at will.
Even bringing the dead back to life was possible.
A world where, after victory, only peace and love remained.
"I'm back, 'Madara'."
Yes. That was it…
Just like I was back then.
Sever the chain of cause and effect. Create a world where Rin could live happily, where heroes no longer had to repent before the Memorial Stone.
That world.
Yes! That's it!!
Become the savior of this world!!
For reasons he himself couldn't fully explain, even after realizing there were flaws in the Eye of the Moon Plan, 'Madara's' consciousness continued to surge wildly.
Just like back then, when Madara had saved him and spoken of Infinite Tsukuyomi. At the time, he'd thought it was nothing more than a dream, absurd nonsense only a mad old man who'd spent too long underground could believe.
But after witnessing hell with his own eyes, he had devoted more than a decade of his life to realizing the Eye of the Moon Plan without hesitation.
However…
Those thoughts came to an abrupt halt when Young Kakashi stepped up behind Young Obito.
They froze.
"Why did he follow you back here?"
Adult Obito's anger bled through, making 'Madara's' voice sound especially harsh.
Young Kakashi looked straight at the aged Madara Uchiha before him.
"It wasn't just me."
"What?"
When the girl from his dream stepped out of the shadows, placing herself beside Young Obito as well—
"!!!"
This time, 'Madara' completely lost his composure.
"What happened…?"
"Why?! Why were you able to save her, save all of them?!!"
"Who are you, really?!!!"
Using Madara Uchiha's body, Adult Obito's soul pressed the questions impatiently. The strain was too much for Madara's frail body, and it broke into a series of ragged, breathless coughs.
White Zetsu's voice, bordering on mockery, chimed in.
"Madara you're already very old. You really can't get this worked up anymore, or you'll die, you know"
Adult Obito forced himself to redirect the question.
"Why didn't he come back alone?!"
This wasn't right…
He should have returned by himself.
He should have been completely disillusioned with this world, hating its endless cycle of cause and effect, denying its very existence. Just like his past self, he should have sought a way to sever that causality, to pursue the method Madara spoke of—
Infinite Tsukuyomi.
The Eye of the Moon Plan.
White Zetsu replied, "I can't understand it either. Minato Namikaze was clearly supposed to be on another battlefield, so why did he suddenly rush over to provide support? And there were so many strange people with him. One of them even looked a lot like that masked guy and that dumb Kakashi. With them around, those Kiri assassins were taken out almost without effort."
At that moment, the Yellow Flash who had been hidden in the shadows stepped forward.
Minato Namikaze emerged.
Right behind him came Adult Kakashi, his eyes heavy with sorrow, followed by Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura, their faces filled with anger and hatred.
Even Captain Yamato appeared, leading his Missing-nin squad.
"So even you betrayed me?" the masked man, Obito Uchiha, asked coldly as he fixed his gaze on Kisame Hoshigaki.
Kisame turned around, revealing the Wood Release seal on his body.
"This is a Wood Release seal personally placed by the God of Shinobi from another world, Hashirama Senju. For now, I'm just living under someone else's roof."
Young Obito stared intently at Itachi. Whenever Itachi faced 'Madara,' he always kept his Sharingan active, remaining on guard. But now, his eyes were the plain black pupils from before awakening the Sharingan, making it obvious that, like Kisame, most of his power had been sealed away.
Minato Namikaze patted Young Obito on the shoulder, signaling him to look toward White Zetsu.
Young Obito immediately understood and absorbed that White Zetsu into the alternate space of his dōjutsu.
The aged 'Madara Uchiha' stared at Young Obito.
"So it was you. You used Kamui to imprison White Zetsu and cut off the link between their consciousnesses."
"Compared to you, they're far less trustworthy," Minato Namikaze said calmly.
"..."
After lowering his gaze and remaining silent for a few seconds, the soul of Adult Obito finally spoke.
"You should already know what I've done in the past."
Minato Namikaze said, "From the perspective of this world's Fourth Hokage, from the perspective of Kushina's husband, and from the perspective of Naruto's father, you truly do not deserve forgiveness."
"But…" His tone shifted. "From the perspective of Obito Uchiha's sensei, I want to know what really happened back then. Why did you become like this… Obito!"
That shout of "Obito!" struck straight into his soul.
The soul within the aged body fell into a long silence.
Up to this point, Rin and Young Kakashi had not said a single word.
If the soul inside this frail, elderly man truly belonged to Obito, then the one who most wanted to say something to him should have been Kakashi from another world.
Yet Adult Kakashi could only stare blankly at the aged figure seated at the far end, unable to find any words that might save Obito's soul.
"Why did I become like this…"
After letting out a few strange laughs, 'Madara's' body broke into another fit of coughing, as if he were about to lose his breath.
What followed was the sound of lungs ravaged by age, like a bellows that could no longer draw air properly, making a strained, rasping noise.
"Fine. If you insist on asking…"
He locked his gaze onto Kakashi Hatake from the same world as himself.
"It's because you abandoned Rin."
Adult Kakashi's eyes widened.
"So… in the parallel world we're in, it really was you who killed those Kiri ninja, wasn't it? Obito."
"..."
Adult Obito recalled that scene from the past, momentarily unable to respond.
Adult Kakashi pressed on.
"Then why didn't you go back to Konoha?! To take revenge on me! Or kill me on the spot?!"
"What would killing you accomplish? I never cared whether you lived or died."
"!!"
From his low voice, Adult Kakashi heard an overwhelming despair.
Adult Obito continued, "Rin chose to die by your hand. She willingly sacrificed herself to protect Konoha."
"Then why did you still—"
Before Adult Kakashi could finish, Adult Obito, using Madara's body, interrupted him.
"You're not the one at fault, Kakashi."
"The one at fault is this world."
Naruto, who had remained silent until now, spoke with clear displeasure.
"So you gave up on your dream?"
"Hokage?" Adult Obito let out a mocking laugh. "What good would becoming Hokage do? Look at your father. What did becoming Hokage change for him? Did he protect your mom? Did he protect you? And most importantly, did he protect his own student?!"
Each accusation added fuel to Young Obito's anger.
And to Naruto Uzumaki's anger.
And also…
To Rin Nohara's grief and fury.
Young Obito lashed out directly.
"Failing to save the Rin from your world is your own fault! Why are you blaming Minato-sensei?!! I seriously wonder if something's wrong with your head!!"
"Exactly!" Naruto shouted angrily. "You never even became Hokage! You abandoned your dream of becoming Hokage! What right do you have to criticize my dad?!!"
"Hmph," Adult Obito sneered. "You people who've never experienced it don't understand anything…"
He instinctively avoided meeting Rin Nohara's gaze, instead staring fixedly at the Young Obito standing between Rin and Young Kakashi.
"If you haven't lived through everything I did, then you're nothing more than a pitiful fool blinded by Konoha's superficial peace."
"Pitiful?"
Rin Nohara suddenly spoke up.
Her voice made both Obito instinctively turn toward her.
Rin…
"Rin?!"
Both Obito, along with everyone else, looked at Rin Nohara as she prepared to speak.
"You think Obito is a pitiful nobody, but I think…"
"That Obito Uchiha who cried easily, loved showing off, and would even be late to the Chūnin Exams just to help someone in trouble. Hot-blooded and kind to a fault, so much so that he even earned the nickname 'D-rank Mission Killer'…"
As Rin spoke, her expression was extraordinarily gentle.
It was that same quiet, unassuming kindness, the kind that always helped others behind the scenes, that stirred even the soul of Adult Obito Uchiha.
"That Obito is nothing like the pitiful person you described!"
Her tone suddenly sharpened as Rin's bright brown eyes locked firmly onto 'Madara'.
"The Obito Uchiha who once stood in front of the Hokage Rock, pointing at the Uchiha clan crest on the back of his clothes and telling me he would stake the honor of the entire Uchiha clan on becoming Hokage one day. The Obito who said he would save the world in the coolest way possible and asked me to watch him do it. That Obito was never a pitiful nobody!!"
"Rin?!!"
Young Obito froze on the spot.
"!!!!"
At the same time, Adult Obito, controlling Madara's body, also froze. He stared in shock at the girl he hadn't seen in more than ten years.
He had imagined Rin's revival countless times.
He had even imagined her being unable to accept his way of saving the world at first…
But after witnessing the beauty of the Infinite Tsukuyomi, he believed that one day, Rin would come to understand him.
Yet now that Rin truly stood before him, using her acceptance of his once-weak, clumsy past self to deny the person he had become, Adult Obito Uchiha finally broke.
"Why…" His voice carried the pain of being abandoned by everyone at last, as though turning around had shattered even the final illusion of Team Seven. "Why? Even that useless version of me who failed to save you and Kakashi back then would still be accepted by you!!"
And me, who desperately tried to change this trash-like world for the sake of our promise…
It's as if I've been silently rejected by you…
Adult Obito's thoughts fell into chaos. He no longer knew whether he was speaking to this Rin, or to the Rin who had already died in his own world.
This was never what Rin wanted. She looked at the white-haired, deeply wrinkled Madara Uchiha with sorrowful eyes, as though she could see through that body to the "Masked Man" who had committed so many unforgivable acts.
In truth, she didn't know how to face this Obito either. Not long ago, she had hated the Masked Man just as fiercely as the others from Team Minato.
But after learning the truth—that the Masked Man was actually Obito Uchiha from Naruto's world, someone who had never truly died—the three members of Team Minato all felt as if a barbed thorn had lodged itself deep in their hearts.
It hurt, yet there was nothing they could do.
Hearing him deny the Obito Uchiha who once existed in their world, Rin couldn't help but feel anger rise within her. That anger spilled over, along with all the fury she felt toward the deeds the Masked Man had committed.
Still, no matter what, she couldn't ignore the fact that this man had once loved the village deeply. Seeing him reduced to this state was likely tied to the promise he had once made with her.
At this moment, Adult Obito's soul felt just as aged as the body he inhabited.
A sentence clogged his chest, begging to be shouted aloud—
Wasn't it you who said you wanted to see me save this hopeless world…?
A long silence followed.
Remembering the purpose of their visit, Adult Kakashi finally spoke.
"Obito, where are you right now? If you're still with Akatsuki, you need to be careful of Black Zetsu."
"Don't meddle, trash. I never trusted Madara Uchiha or Black Zetsu in the first place," Adult Obito replied with disdain.
Adult Kakashi took the insult without protest, wearing the same expression of quiet resignation as always. That sight inexplicably stirred another wave of anger in Adult Obito.
Thinking back to Minato-sensei examining Obito's heart earlier, as well as what Naruto had mentioned during the Fourth Shinobi World War, Young Kakashi voiced his own speculation and asked the other Obito,
"Do you also have a cursed seal placed on you by them?"
The question startled Rin and the Young Obito from their world, their expressions changing instantly.
But the one most visibly shocked was the 'Madara' sitting there.
"What do you mean by 'you too'?"
His gaze instinctively shifted toward his counterpart from another world. He recalled that White Zetsu and Black Zetsu had indeed tampered with the heart of that other version of himself.
But Young Obito stared straight at him and said firmly,
"There's no seal on my heart. We're talking about Rin. If you know how to remove that cursed seal, then tell us right now!!"
He might not trust the Masked Man in anything else.
But when it came to Rin, he believed him.
For no other reason.
Simply because they were both Obito Uchiha.