"What did you say?!"
In the dim, shadowed space stood a white-haired old man, yet within that aged body resided a soul not even thirty years old.
That soul belonged to the man who had once been known as the "Masked Man" in the parallel world of Kakashi, Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, and the others.
By now, everyone present understood that the Madara Uchiha before them was, in truth, Obito Uchiha from another world.
They told him about the special cursed seal embedded in Rin Nohara's heart and asked him how it could be removed.
The Masked Man's first reaction was to follow their question and seriously consider how such a cursed seal might be undone.
Because his own heart bore the very same thing.
How could someone who had never truly intended to obey Madara and Black Zetsu's will not have thought about removing the cursed seal from his own heart?
This was something he had contemplated long ago.
Sooner or later, he would meet Kakashi on the battlefield.
And with that guy's intellect, there was no way he would remain completely unaware of his true identity.
When that moment came, he would borrow that guy's hand…
Scenes he had rehearsed countless times in his mind seemed to unfold ahead of time within Obito's thoughts.
The two of them laying everything bare, forming opposing hand seals, fighting within the Kamui dimension.
The dull, heavy sounds of taijutsu colliding.
The sharp clang of kunai striking black chains.
They were evenly matched, familiar with every single movement the other made, just like the days of Team Minato.
Four hands pressed together, both of them straining with all their strength.
"I'll borrow your hand, Kakashi."
"Huh?"
That idiot wouldn't catch the deeper meaning in his words. He would simply think Obito meant borrowing his hand to form seals, never realizing the double meaning behind it.
Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique.
Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall.
Wood Release spikes growing from his hand, or even switching to chakra black rods taken from Pain's Rinnegan. Either way…
When he drove the attack toward that useless Kakashi, Kakashi would be holding a kunai infused with Lightning Release: Chidori.
And at that very moment, the true meaning of "borrowing his hand" would be revealed.
If Chidori pierced through his chest, destroying even his heart, then the cursed seal controlled by Madara Uchiha and Black Zetsu would naturally cease to exist.
…
Yes, this is how it should have been...
Then why did the image of Kakashi's hand piercing his own chest turn into the scene of Kakashi killing Rin all those years ago?!
Wasn't this supposed to be his revenge against Kakashi?!
Why was this pain being inflicted on him instead?!
"It looks like you truly didn't know about the cursed seal on Rin's heart, Obito," Minato Namikaze said calmly. From Obito's reaction alone, it was obvious he had been completely unaware.
Sasuke stared at the man who looked like Madara on the outside but was, at his core, the masked man. "That sealing technique wasn't from Kirigakure," he said coldly. "So you should understand this, right? You've been hating the wrong people."
Because of Naruto, because of Itachi, because of Kakashi, Sasuke had long since separated the Obito Uchiha of their world from the idiot Obito Uchiha standing beside him. They were two completely different people.
Toward the Obito Uchiha of their world, Sasuke felt unreserved hatred. And if given the chance, he would retaliate without restraint. Even if it was only through words, he would still make the other suffer.
"!!!"
Chaos engulfed Adult Obito's mind.
In his wide-open eyes, Madara's single remaining pupil reflected shock so deep it bordered on disbelief.
"K-Kakashi… Kakashi!!!"
In Kakashi's childhood nightmares, Rin's furious, hateful gaze had once called out his name like a curse.
Those distorted visions, that unbearable pain, all changed shape at this moment—
And surged into Adult Obito's consciousness.
"O-Obito… Obito Uchiha!!!"
He couldn't breathe.
Obito Uchiha desperately needed air.
It felt as though vengeful spirits were strangling his throat, or as if his body had sunk into a thick, abyssal sludge. No matter how hard he gasped, oxygen refused to enter his lungs.
Thud—
The God Tree behind him sensed the abnormality and poured a massive surge of energy into him.
"Obito!"
In the end, just as no Obito Uchiha could ever let go of Rin and Kakashi, no Kakashi and no Rin Nohara could ever abandon Obito.
Seeing the aged "Madara" writhing in such agony, they couldn't help but feel worried.
The God Tree's energy only sustained Madara's body. What truly crushed him, what robbed him of breath, was Obito's soul.
Rin's death wasn't caused by this ninja world.
It was Madara Uchiha. It was Black Zetsu. They were the ones who wanted her dead.
They forced her to die just to exploit Obito Uchiha.
Madara Uchiha's life force flickered like a dying candle, gradually extinguished within Obito's anguished, wailing soul.
No matter how much energy the God Tree poured into him, it was already too late.
Minato Namikaze noticed their bodies beginning to glow with a milky white light. This was the sign of leaving this world.
Across from them, above Madara Uchiha's drooping head, a young soul slowly took shape, about the same age as Kakashi Hatake.
"Obito?!"
He looked almost exactly like Obito Uchiha—or rather, he was what the young Obito would look like once grown.
This was the first time Adult Kakashi had ever seen Obito like this.
The deep, horrifying folds on the right side of his face, and the inhuman gray-white tissue on his right arm, made Kakashi understand with painful clarity—these were the prices Obito had paid back then to save him.
"So you really… really are still alive," Kakashi said hoarsely. "Obito."
Having learned the truth, Obito Uchiha looked utterly exhausted, as if he had sealed off his soul and shut himself away to protect it from any further harm.
"Obito!" Rin called out anxiously.
He didn't respond.
Minato Namikaze looked at Madara Uchiha's corpse. Recalling the forbidden technique developed by the Second Hokage-sama, Edo Tensei, he threw several explosive tags at the final moment, blowing the body apart completely.
When Adult Obito finally regained awareness, he had already returned to his own body, sitting alone in the empty Kamui space. His numb eyes stared blankly into the distance.
He knew very clearly that the cursed seal within him had been placed by Black Zetsu and Madara.
But why did Rin—someone who should never have come into contact with Black Zetsu or Madara—also have a cursed seal on her heart?!
How could the Kirigakure people have possibly done this?!
All the scattered pieces of information pointed to a single conclusion—
Rin's death back then was not what it seemed.
And the greatest suspect was no longer Kirigakure, whose guilt had once seemed unquestionable, but Madara, who had been manipulating him all along.
Rin's death. Kakashi's years of kneeling before the Memorial Stone, shouldering all the blame alone.
If all of it happened simply because Obito Uchiha deserved to be used like a tool…
Then what had everything he'd done over all these years been for?
...
Just like him.
The teams led by Minato, Kakashi, and Yamato returned from their time-travel journey and fell into a long silence.
After more than ten minutes, Naruto suddenly slammed his fist onto the table.
"That bastard! I really should've hit him with a Naruto Uzumaki Two Thousand Combo just now!" That was the move he'd used against Gaara before, explosively releasing chakra to create thousands of shadow clones that attacked all at once.
Minato knew Naruto was angry about the other Obito slandering him, the Hokage, and their shared dreams. He reached out and rubbed Naruto's head to calm him down.
Rin said quietly, "That Obito… really didn't know there was also a cursed seal on my heart."
Young Kakashi leaned back with one leg crossed. "Then that settles it. That idiot was used as a human shield by someone else and blamed everything on the world instead. Typical of you, isn't it?" he added sharply, directing the remark at the Obito Uchiha beside him.
For once, young Obito didn't argue back. He was so furious at the version of himself from this world that his lungs felt ready to burst.
Sasuke glanced at Kakashi, who was still wearing the same sorrowful expression, then nudged him lightly with his foot.
"It's already been proven you were dragged into this by Obito Uchiha. Why are you still making that face?"
Naruto elbowed Sasuke. "I get that you're trying to cheer Kakashi-sensei up, but could you not be so awkward about it, dattebayo?"
Sasuke ignored him, crossing his arms over his chest and sitting with one leg propped up, exactly like Kakashi used to as a kid.
Naruto muttered to himself. If future Sasuke ever time-traveled into their world, would he also turn into a gloomy middle-aged guy like Kakashi?
Honestly, Naruto couldn't even imagine how much shock that would give him and Sakura.
Minato spoke again. "The matters concerning Obito on that side are finished. For now, there likely won't be any more time-travel-related missions. The urgent issues are these: first, finding a way to remove the cursed seal from Rin's heart. Second, finding a way to remove the cursed seal from this world's Obito's heart."
Sakura frowned slightly. "I don't really understand… even after everything he's done, you still want to help him?"
Minato explained calmly. "That cursed seal is a major hidden danger. I suspect that whoever placed the seals on Obito and Rin ultimately has the same objective for both of them."
"The same objective?" Rin asked.
"This is only my speculation," Minato said. "The Fourth Shinobi World War mentioned by Naruto and the Sage of the Six Paths in the other world… if nothing changes, it may very well be initiated by Obito."
Under the others' shocked gazes, Minato brought up the concept of the Ninja Alliance that the Sage of the Six Paths had mentioned.
"I suspect Black Zetsu, or Madara Uchiha, is using the cursed seal to interfere with Obito's judgment, forcing him to declare war on the entire world."
"Declare war on the entire world?!" Everyone stared at Minato in disbelief.
Minato reiterated that this was only a hypothesis.
Sasuke frowned, unconvinced. "On what basis? Just because he controls a rogue ninja organization?" As he spoke, he cast a meaningful glance toward Itachi Uchiha.
Naruto suddenly blurted out, "Could it be like what happened to Rin in this world?! A suicide mission?!!"
No one knew where Naruto had picked up the term "suicide mission," but the moment he said it, everyone from Team Kakashi and Team Minato froze.
Naruto scratched his head and continued, "I don't know much about sealing techniques, but the one that left the biggest impression on me was the Reaper Death Seal. If the cursed seal is placed on the heart, doesn't that mean if this world's Obito can't complete the task, he'll just die? No matter how you look at it, that seems really malicious, doesn't it?"
Minato nodded. "That's correct. There's a high chance of that. No matter what they want Obito to do, it's very likely they intend to achieve their final goal through sacrificing his life."
After a brief pause, he continued as everyone focused on him. "As for that 'final goal,' it must be some large-scale disaster that stands in opposition to the entire world."
Naruto furrowed his brow. "Speaking of which, that Infinite Tsukuyomi… does it really just trap everyone in a genjutsu? And what about that 'rabbit lady' my other self mentioned, and that weird old man talking about his mom? He's already that old. Wouldn't his mom be—"
An image of an impossibly ancient old woman popped into his head. Naruto hurriedly shook it away.
At that moment, a toad from Mount Myōboku hopped over to them.
"Jiraiya told me to pass along a message. He wants to see Minato and Naruto."
Minato asked immediately, "Did Jiraiya-sensei say what it was about?"
"It's related to Orochimaru. He has something that belongs to you and wants to negotiate a deal."
Naruto yelped. "Ah! My scroll!!"
He grabbed his head and rubbed it frantically. "I don't even know how many unfinished missions are piled up in there! They haven't expired, right, dattebayo?!"
Minato hesitated. "Uh…" He wasn't entirely sure either, but logically speaking, they probably hadn't. After all, that SSS-rank mission still hadn't been completed.
When it came to Obito and Naruto's SSS-rank mission, everyone instinctively avoided the topic, silently pushing it further and further into the future.
Just thinking about that mission made them wonder.
The masked man… what exactly should be done about him?
Should he be killed?
Or should he be saved?
"No matter what," Minato said, "let's go see Jiraiya-sensei first."