On the other side.
When Uchiha Obito regained consciousness, he found himself lying on the back of a white-haired figure.
"Kakashi...? What the hell!"
"Where's Yuto Souta!"
His last memory surfaced.
Uchiha Obito's heart instantly filled with panic as he struggled to get off Hatake Kakashi's back!
"Don't move!"
The response came in Hatake Kakashi's terrifyingly deep voice.
"Yuto Souta-san... Yuto Souta-san stayed behind."
Yes.
He stayed behind.
The plan had worked too well, luring out over a hundred Iwa ninjas like fish taking the bait.
It could be said that their cleverness had backfired.
That guy had paid the price, using his only chance to send a useless burden like him and the tail-end Kakashi away.
The two fell into silence.
After a while, Uchiha Obito seemed to give up and settled back down.
"Kakashi, I admit you're smarter than me."
"So you tell me... what do we do now?"
Uchiha Obito's voice was chillingly cold.
And it wasn't just his voice... the chakra in his body was also gradually turning icy!
The Uchiha, a clan that walked the ninja world with love.
But the reason they were feared by the world, and even their fellow villagers couldn't help but call them an evil clan, a cursed clan, had its roots.
When they lost something they cherished.
The love of an Uchiha didn't vanish—it only grew more intense, spiraling into madness!
At that moment, a single tomoe hung in Uchiha Obito's pupil.
The power within his bloodline had already begun to emerge...
"I'll get you safely to the Konoha frontlines."
"Then... I'll bring reinforcements and go back to bring Yuto Souta-san back."
Or perhaps collect Yuto Souta-san's body and take revenge.
Hatake Kakashi didn't say that last part aloud, though the latter seemed more likely.
After all, they were up against over a hundred Iwa ninjas!
What difference would two more or two less make?
"Then you can put me down now."
Uchiha Obito said in a low voice.
But Hatake Kakashi didn't slow down at all, completely ignoring Uchiha Obito's words.
"Once you're in a safe place, my mission from Yuto Souta-san will be complete."
"After that, you can do whatever you want."
And at that point, I'll go with you.
But until then...
Sorry.
I can't go against Yuto Souta-san's final wish.
"I said, you can put me down now, Kakashi."
Uchiha Obito maintained that same somber tone.
The scarlet in his eyes bore a tomoe, yet his gaze stretched across countless distances, landing on two rapidly approaching specks of light in the far-off horizon.
"The reinforcements are already here."
Even from such a distance, he could still make out who was coming.
It might not match the supreme vision of the Byakugan, but the Sharingan's enhancement to eyesight was more than enough.
The newcomers were fast, and they were familiar faces...
Hatake Kakashi froze for a moment.
He, too, noticed the approaching figures, though clearly, Uchiha Obito had spotted them first.
Whoosh!
A kunai sliced through the air, landing right in front of Hatake Kakashi.
Carved into the kunai were four ninja characters.
The Sword of Ninja Love.
It was none other than Namikaze Minato, who had tracked their true whereabouts and rushed to their aid!
"Kakashi, you guys... you've been too reckless!"
The voice carried a mix of reproach and a hint of guilt, but it wasn't Namikaze Minato who spoke...
After Namikaze Minato used the Flying Thunder God technique, another towering figure followed close behind, matching his speed.
It was Hatake Sakumo.
Compared to the current Uchiha clan leader's cautious approach, Hatake Sakumo's reaction upon learning the three had set out toward Iwa was far more "normal"...
Grab a blade and go!
The three of them had taken a full day and a half to travel that distance, but Hatake Sakumo and Namikaze Minato covered it in just two hours!
"Why are you wearing Iwa uniforms? Where's that kid Yuto Souta? How could he be so reckless too... huh?"
"Obito, your eyes... the Sharingan?!"
"Where's that kid Yuto Souta?!"
The two powerhouses quickly realized the gravity of the situation.
They had always known the conditions for awakening the Sharingan...
Namikaze Minato's expression shifted repeatedly, and even Hatake Sakumo beside him furrowed his brow tightly.
Were they still too late?!
"Yuto Souta didn't come back with us."
"We were discovered by the Iwa ninjas. There were too many of them—we couldn't hold them off."
"Yuto Souta forced the two of us to leave and stayed behind himself."
It was Uchiha Obito who spoke.
He slid off Hatake Kakashi's back, then tossed aside the Iwa headband he'd been wearing and looked down at his hands.
Then... without another word, he turned around!
"Obito!"
Hatake Kakashi frowned, stepping forward to stop Uchiha Obito.
But what met him... was a sudden kunai from Uchiha Obito!
Uchiha Obito turned his head, his scarlet Sharingan gleaming with icy coldness. His gaze swept over the stunned Hatake Kakashi, and he let out a cold snort.
"Kakashi, before you open your mouth, think carefully about how you survived."
"I know in your eyes, my strength is probably trash. But in my eyes, you, who abandoned a comrade... you're worse than trash!"
"Who gave you the right to decide for me?!"
"Now, if you dare try to stop me again... I'll cut you down!"
Whoosh!
Thud!
Those merciless words were finally cut off by a swift Flying Thunder God chop from Namikaze Minato.
Namikaze Minato placed a hand on Uchiha Obito's neck, and after a moment, his frown eased slightly.
"It's just chakra disruption from being too mentally strained. He should be fine after some sleep."
He had seen Uchiha Obito's state just moments ago.
Even unconscious, the chakra in Uchiha Obito's body was more chaotic than if he'd been caught in a genjutsu!
This kid had lost his mind.
Hatake Kakashi opened his mouth, looking helplessly toward his father.
And at that moment.
The familiar figure of his father, radiating an aura that was utterly different from the man in his memories, seemed like a stranger!
Hatake Kakashi suddenly recalled what Yuto Souta had told him not long ago.
So... the father Yuto Souta-san had told him to emulate was like this?
"Don't worry, Kakashi..."
"If something's happened to that kid Yuto Souta... I'll make the entire Iwa pay a heavy enough price!"
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