"Naruto's mission scroll contains two new assignments. One is an SS-rank mission related to Sasuke, and the other is an A-rank mission connected to the Third Hokage and Konoha," Minato Namikaze said.
The others were all somewhat surprised.
Sakura's attention immediately went to the fact that the mission was connected to Sasuke.
The rest were more focused on the evaluation itself. An SS-rank mission was no small matter.
Itachi looked at the young Obito and asked, "There aren't any SS-rank missions on your scrolls yet, right?"
"Yeah. Aside from 'that one,' the highest we've had so far is S-rank," Obito Uchiha replied.
And 'that one' naturally referred to the SSS-rank mission.
Ever since learning that his counterpart in this world was the Masked Man, Obito had subconsciously avoided the topic. As for Naruto and Sasuke, neither of them could yet overcome the resentment in their hearts to seriously think about something like 'saving the Masked Man.'
Itachi said nothing more and waited for Minato Namikaze to explain what kind of SS-rank mission could possibly be connected to Sasuke.
Minato said, "The SS-rank mission is to stop Orochimaru from placing a cursed seal on Sasuke Uchiha."
"A cursed seal?" Sasuke asked, puzzled.
Naruto pieced together everything he had just heard and seen and explained to Sasuke, "Basically, it's a way to gain power without putting in the work. A shortcut. But the biggest problem is how dangerous it is. Only people who are 'chosen' can succeed. Since Orochimaru can't learn it himself, he wants either your brother or you to be his test subject. If you really gain that power, he'll then use a ninjutsu called Living Corpse Reincarnation to take over your body."
Between the lines, his distrust of power gained without effort was obvious.
As he spoke, his eyes stayed locked on Sasuke, as if warning him that if he ever dared to seek out Orochimaru for power, he would get a serious beating.
Sasuke did want power, but not to the point of relying on the kind of "shortcut" Naruto was talking about. If he did that, then he would have already lost before even fighting.
More importantly, he had heard that Orochimaru wasn't just interested in him as a vessel. He had the same intentions toward Itachi. From the way it sounded, Orochimaru even considered Itachi the ideal choice, while treating him as nothing more than a backup. That alone made Sasuke not want to hear Orochimaru's name ever again.
"What exactly is Living Corpse Reincarnation?"
The young Obito sounded a little curious. The name itself gave off an unsettling feeling, almost like resurrection.
Naruto didn't actually know either. He had only heard his dad and the Pervy Sage mention it before.
"It's a forbidden technique that steals another person's body and uses it as a vessel," Itachi said. "I suspect the principle is somewhat similar to the relationship between tailed beasts and their Jinchūriki. The difference is that the host of a tailed beast remains alive. With Living Corpse Reincarnation, the person whose body is taken has their consciousness completely destroyed, leaving only a physical shell for Orochimaru to control."
After hearing that explanation, everyone felt a chill run down their spine, even though none of them had ever seen the technique themselves.
"Ah! Now that you mention it, I just remembered," Naruto said as he looked at Sasuke and Sakura. "The last time we saw that guy, he was a woman, right?!"
"You mean Orochimaru?" Sakura replied. "But that woman's face looked like a corpse. Just thinking about it is creepy."
Sasuke recalled that disgusting woman, damp and clammy in both presence and aura, and a wave of instinctive revulsion rose in his stomach.
Naruto deliberately twisted his face into a terrifying expression to scare them. "But the Orochimaru I saw today… was… a… man!"
"Don't scare people on purpose! Idiot Naruto!" Sakura shouted, clearly startled.
Naruto's prank worked, and he grinned, easing the tension in the room.
Minato looked at Sasuke and reminded him, "Orochimaru is extremely skilled at manipulating people. When he brought up this SS-rank mission, he spoke with absolute confidence. No matter what, I hope you can hold fast to your own convictions and not be swayed."
Sasuke remained silent.
Minato continued, "Besides that, Naruto still has another mission. As for that mission… no matter how you look at it, if you or anyone else chooses to follow Orochimaru, it would be no different from betraying Konoha."
Deserting ninja…
Sasuke instinctively glanced at Itachi.
Kakashi asked, "What does the other mission refer to?"
"It's an A-rank mission…"
Itachi Uchiha noticed that Minato Namikaze looked weighed down by something.
"Is there an issue with the mission ranking?"
Minato nodded slightly. "Partly because of the A-rank mission itself, and partly because I can't quite understand this. If that mission is only rated A-rank, then why is the one involving Sasuke rated SS-rank?"
Young Kakashi put on a deliberately mature air. "I was actually thinking about that too. The Masked Man… this world's Obito will influence future changes in the world and is tied to the outbreak of the Fourth Shinobi World War. A mission so closely linked to the fate of the entire world being rated SSS-rank makes sense. But with that as a reference, Sasuke's mission being SS-rank means we have to raise our level of caution."
Young Obito fell silent, as did young Kakashi.
Itachi Uchiha shared the same thoughts. He even began to wonder if Minato-sama was right. Had the path he laid out for Sasuke been wrong from the start? If no one stopped him, would Sasuke eventually reach an end similar to Obito Uchiha's?
That realization forced Itachi to reflect inwardly. Where, exactly, had things gone wrong?
Sakura and Rin exchanged a glance, clearly seeing the unease in each other's eyes.
"So what exactly is this A-rank mission, Minato-sensei?" young Kakashi asked.
Minato Namikaze was silent for a moment before speaking. "The A-rank mission is to stop Orochimaru from killing the Third Hokage."
"What?!"
Sasuke, young Obito, young Kakashi, Rin, Sakura, and even adult Kakashi all looked utterly shocked.
Itachi's expression barely changed. What he cared about more was something else.
"Orochimaru wants to put forward a new Hokage?"
"A new Hokage?" Everyone else immediately turned to Minato Namikaze, instinctively wanting to ask who Orochimaru intended to nominate.
Naruto, who had already heard this once, clenched his fist in anger. "That bastard actually said it wouldn't matter if Danzō Shimura became Hokage! Just thinking about it makes me mad. Anyway, I'll stop him for sure!"
The moment Sasuke heard the name Danzō Shimura, he almost activated his Sharingan on reflex.
Itachi kept his usual poker face, but Minato Namikaze, who knew the truth, could tell that the hatred hidden in Itachi's eyes was no less than Sasuke's.
After all, if Danzō Shimura hadn't colluded with the Masked Man and stopped the Uchiha clan from fighting during the Nine-Tails incident, there might have been a slim chance for the Fourth Hokage to survive. The Uchiha clan wouldn't have been pushed to the outskirts of the village either.
And taking a step back, if Danzō Shimura had trusted Shisui and Itachi even a little more, if he hadn't coveted Shisui's Mangekyō Sharingan, then perhaps the Uchiha clan and Konoha might have found a way out together.
"So what do we do next?" young Kakashi asked calmly. "There's less than two weeks until the Chūnin Exams. Naruto and Sasuke will be competing, and there will be a large audience. If Orochimaru really plans to act, there's a strong chance he'll use the genin and the spectators as hostages to divert the jōnin and ANBU, then strike at the Third Hokage."
Minato Namikaze nodded. "This year's Chūnin Exams include candidates from other villages. The daimyōs have also been invited to watch under the pretext of evaluating each village's strength. Protecting them will tie up even more manpower."
"On top of that…" Itachi spoke again. "Orochimaru was once a member of Akatsuki. If he seeks help from 'Madara,' it'll be even more troublesome." To distinguish him from young Obito, Itachi continued referring to the Masked Man as Madara.
After he said that, both adult Kakashi and Minato Namikaze grew visibly more serious.
If Orochimaru were to combine forces with Akatsuki, the situation would indeed become extremely dangerous.
Young Obito suddenly felt incredibly awkward being there. He forced himself to say, "Looking at it from another angle… what if, after what happened last time, he's ready to abandon the darkness and help us instead?"
He already knew that Rin's death had been a conspiracy orchestrated by Black Zetsu and Madara. If this world's version of himself still intended to help Black Zetsu carry out things like the Moon's Eye Plan or Infinite Tsukuyomi, then he really would have nothing left to say.
Sasuke, who had personally lived through the night of the Nine-Tails incident, harbored deep hatred toward the Masked Man, this world's Obito Uchiha.
He shot back at young Obito, "So what? Just because he turns over a new leaf, he deserves to be forgiven?"
That single sentence instantly pushed the atmosphere into an awkward silence. The question everyone had been subconsciously avoiding was dragged into the open by Sasuke.
And yet, Sasuke wasn't wrong. This was something they would have to face sooner or later.
"Don't forget, your SSS-rank mission is to kill him," Sasuke continued. "If completing that mission is the only way for you to go back, then what? Are you planning not to return?"
Naruto froze.
This was another question he had been desperately trying to avoid.
The Minato Namikaze standing beside him wasn't the Minato Namikaze of their world.
Sooner or later…
He would return to an empty home alone.
When he pushed the door open, all that greeted him was pitch-black darkness. Unwashed instant noodle cups sat out in the open, clothes left untouched.
"Alright, alright," Rin and Sakura said quickly, doing their best to ease the tension. "It's still going to be a long time before we can go back. There's no rush. We can think about all that later."
"Yeah," Sakura agreed. "Shouldn't we be focusing on Naruto's two missions and our Chūnin Exams right now?"
When the topic of returning came up, the first thing Minato Namikaze noticed was Naruto's expression. The shock and helpless confusion in Naruto's eyes made Minato's chest ache.
Because of that, he was deeply conflicted himself. He missed Kushina from his own world more than anything, yet he truly couldn't bring himself to abandon the Naruto of this world.
Hearing the two girls steer the conversation away, Minato immediately went along with it, lightly thumping his chest as he spoke. "That's right! Starting today, we'll officially begin emergency training in preparation for the upcoming missions and this Chūnin Exam!"
"Emergency training?"
Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura were successfully distracted. All three of them looked at Minato, waiting for him to explain the plan.
Minato Namikaze had already thought everything through.
"Obito and Kakashi will help Sasuke train his Sharingan. I've also tested his chakra nature. Lightning and fire are his strongest affinities," Minato said, turning to adult Kakashi. "So Kakashi, as his instructor, I hope you'll teach him the Lightning Release: Chidori that you developed. That shouldn't be a problem, right? With the Sharingan, he should be even more suited to this technique than you were as a kid."
Adult Kakashi nodded. He had already been considering it himself. It was just that too many chaotic events and heavy blows had happened lately.
"As for Sakura," Minato continued, "Naruto's A-rank mission gives us a good reason. Jiraiya-sama and I will be going to see Tsunade-sama again soon. I doubt she would ever allow Orochimaru-sama to kill his sensei. The real problem will be convincing her, so we'll have to adapt as we go."
Kill his sensei?
This was the first time Sasuke and Sakura had heard that phrasing. Before this, Minato and Naruto had only ever said "stop Orochimaru from killing the Third Hokage."
Obito spoke up. "Your generation probably doesn't hear much about the Sannin anymore, but back in our time, the names of the Sannin and Konoha's Hatake White Fang were Konoha's greatest symbols during the Second Shinobi World War."
When he mentioned his idol, the White Fang, there was still a trace of admiration in Obito's eyes.
Hearing the surname Hatake, Sakura and Sasuke instinctively thought of their own teacher, Kakashi. Neither of them asked anything, choosing instead to wait for Minato to continue explaining the next steps.
"What about me?! What am I supposed to do?!" Naruto finally burst out, unable to hold back any longer. "Who am I training under?!"