Obito and Orochimaru walked through the transformed streets.
Towering modern buildings lined both sides of the road, their glass surfaces reflecting the blue sky above. Huge screens hung across the city, showing news, entertainment, advertisements, and moving images so vivid they almost seemed alive.
Cars passed smoothly along the wide roads.
People came and went happily, their faces relaxed in a way that would have been almost impossible to imagine in the old shinobi world.
Orochimaru's golden eyes slowly swept across the scene.
"No matter how many times I witness it… it remains fascinating."
His voice carried a strange admiration.
"To reshape an entire era like this… not only through power, but through civilization itself. Truly, my lord, your methods are far more interesting than simple conquest."
Obito glanced around lazily.
"Conquest gets boring after the first few times."
Orochimaru chuckled softly.
"How very like you."
As they continued walking, the strangest part was that none of the people around them seemed to notice their presence.
They passed through the crowd like shadows drifting across the surface of the world.
Before long... they arrived at their destination.
The destination was a modern hidden base built beneath a massive steel-gray structure.
The moment Obito and Orochimaru approached, the sealed doors opened automatically with a soft mechanical sound.
They stepped inside.
Behind them, the doors closed again without a single gap left behind.
The interior was filled with advanced equipment, glowing panels, and silent machines operating in perfect order. It looked less like a shinobi facility and more like something from another world entirely.
Orochimaru led Obito toward the elevator.
The two stepped inside.
Orochimaru raised one pale hand and pressed the lowest button.
The elevator began descending.
Ding.
After a while, the doors opened.
Orochimaru stepped out first and led Obito through a long, heavily secured corridor.
"My lord," Orochimaru said softly, "as you instructed, this entire space has been completely isolated from outside interference."
His golden eyes narrowed with faint excitement.
"With your assistance, we transformed this place into a sealed zone where even space-time techniques cannot enter or leave."
He slowly lifted one hand and clenched his fist.
"And the moment anyone steps inside… the chakra within their body is instantly extracted and suppressed."
Orochimaru's smile deepened slightly.
"Even I am no exception."
He flexed his fingers slowly, as though savoring the strange feeling.
"To be reduced to an ordinary human body… how novel."
Obito glanced at him and chuckled.
"Sounds inconvenient~ Pedomaru."
Orochimaru looked toward him and knew Obito was making fun of him, so he cracked a small joke too.
"Only for those who are affected."
Obito's faint smile widened.
Naturally...
He was the only exception.
Eventually...
The two finally stopped in front of an enormous cylindrical structure.
Transparent glass covered its surface, while strange blue liquid slowly flowed inside.
The entire thing resembled some kind of advanced recovery chamber from the Dragon Ball world.
Countless cables and monitoring devices extended from the surrounding machines, connecting directly to the massive container.
And floating silently within the liquid…
Was a human body.
Obito's gaze slowly settled on it.
Black hair drifted weightlessly within the fluid.
A small mole rested beneath the corner of one eye.
The face itself looked calm and almost peaceful, as though merely sleeping but none of those details were what truly mattered.
Obito's eyes slowly narrowed because on the body's hand—a dark Kāma mark was clearly visible.
The black pattern spread across the skin like living ink, carrying an ominous and strangely familiar aura.
Obito simply stood there quietly, staring at the body inside the container without saying anything.
No one could tell what he was thinking.
Orochimaru also silently stepped aside, giving Obito some time alone.
Obito slowly raised one hand, his palm rested gently against the cold glass surface of the container.
After a moment of silence, he suddenly chuckled quietly.
"…Some things really do come full circle."
His crescent-shaped eyes reflected faintly through the glass.
"Honestly… I still can't tell whether it would be the beginning of everything…"
"…or the thing waiting at the very end of it."
Nevertheless...
Even fate eventually starts repeating itself.
Obito slowly removed his hand from the glass.
Without saying anything else, he turned around and began walking away.
Orochimaru watched quietly from the side.
But just as Obito reached the exit—he suddenly stopped.
"…Orochimaru."
Orochimaru immediately straightened.
"Yes, my lord?"
"If there ever comes a future where this place stops functioning…"
"…then above all else, remain calm."
Orochimaru's golden eyes narrowed instantly.
Before he could ask anything—Obito casually tossed something backward without even looking.
Orochimaru instinctively caught it.
"…?"
His pupils flickered faintly.
Resting within his palm… was a tiny black coffin no larger than a fist.
At the same time, Obito's indifferent voice echoed once more.
"And when the time comes… use it. As for the method…"
A faint chuckle escaped him.
"Well... I made it crude and simple for someone like you."
"…Just crush it."
With that, Obito continued walking forward.
The automatic doors opened silently, then closed behind him once more.
Leaving Orochimaru standing alone inside the underground lab.
Orochimaru lowered his gaze toward the small black coffin resting in his hand, his expression filled with confusion and contemplation.
He could not fully understand what exactly Obito had entrusted to him.
Something that could only be used "when the time comes"…
What exactly had Obito Uchiha prepared for the future?
And why did those words sound less like precaution… and more like certainty?
...
Just as Obito stepped out onto one of the upper floors of the underground facility—
Two figures suddenly rushed toward him at terrifying speed.
"CAPTAIN—!!"
Before Obito could even react properly—both of his shoulders were instantly seized from either side.
"…?"
White Zetsu clung to his left shoulder.
Tobi grabbed the right.
Then both of them leaned their faces in absurdly close at the exact same time.
So close that Obito could practically feel their breathing.
"…"
Obito genuinely looked uncomfortable because the entire situation felt deeply cursed.
His eyes slowly shifted left.
Then right.
"…What exactly are the two of you doing?"
Despite the bizarre scene, his tone remained surprisingly patient.
White Zetsu immediately spoke in a deadly serious voice.
"Captain…"
Tobi continued from the other side.
"You still have that super dooper ability, right?"
"…"
Obito stared at them for several seconds not understanding what they were getting at.
Then eventually nodded once.
"…I do."
The moment he admitted it—White Zetsu and Tobi immediately turned toward each other dramatically.
"…"
"…Hmph."
"Hmph."
Then both of them crossed their arms at the same time before turning back toward Obito again.
They whispered something directly into his ears.
"…"
Obito's expression froze as several complicated emotions flashed across his face.
Surprise. A frown. Complete stunned disbelief and finally… confusion.
"…Seriously."
His voice carried a rare kind of speechless exhaustion.
"…What exactly happened in your heads to make you go to such lengths?"
White Zetsu immediately pointed at Tobi.
"He started it."
Tobi pointed back instantly.
"HE escalated it!"
"…"
Obito let out a faint sigh after thinking it over, he just treated this as their childish games.
"…Fine."
The moment those words left his mouth—
Both White Zetsu and Tobi instantly lit up with excitement.
"REALLY?!"
"Captain truly understands us!"
Obito rolled his eyes at their completely expected reactions before finally raising both hands.
One hand landed on White Zetsu's head.
The other landed on Tobi's.
Instantly... a strange invisible fluctuation spread briefly through the corridor.
Neither White Zetsu nor Tobi moved.
After a while, Obito slowly removed his hands.
"…There."
White Zetsu and Tobi immediately froze.
Then both of them slowly widened their eyes.
"…"
"…"
And then at the exact same time... they turned toward each other in complete shock.
"I CAN FEEL IT—!!"
"YEAH—!!"
Their voices echoed loudly through the corridor.
"It's finally time to settle this for real!"
"The final step remains!"
"WE'LL PROVE IT ONCE AND FOR ALL—!!"
Obito was in no mood to keep playing along with their little game.
Perhaps he should just treat it as part of their usual nonsense.
After all…
They might not have much carefree time left ahead of them.
That thought quietly passed through Obito's mind.
"THIS TIME THERE WILL BE NO ESCAPE!"
"THE TRUTH SHALL FINALLY BE REVEALED!"
He only heard that much before the automatic doors closed behind him completely.
...
Meanwhile…
Orochimaru went to a small storage compartment beside the recovery chamber.
He opened it, placed the coffin inside, and watched as the compartment closed automatically.
Once the seal was complete, Orochimaru turned and left the room as well.
The doors shut behind him.
As he walked back toward his laboratory, Orochimaru rested one hand beneath his chin.
"My lord truly asks some difficult questions."
Obito had apparently come to ask whether it was possible to study completely different realities.
At first, Orochimaru had assumed he meant other dimensions, similar to the ones reached through space-time ninjutsu.
But Obito had quickly corrected him.
He was not talking about another dimension within the same world.
He meant an entirely separate reality.
Orochimaru had been unable to give him a proper answer, and Obito had left looking somewhat disappointed.
"Other realities…"
Orochimaru muttered to himself.
"Does such a thing truly exist?"
By the time he returned to his laboratory, his thoughts were already focused entirely on the subject.
He remembered nothing about the body inside the recovery chamber.
Nor did he remember the small black coffin he had placed beside it.
BANG!
The laboratory doors suddenly flew open.
Orochimaru's eyelid twitched faintly.
"…?"
Two figures burst dramatically into the room.
"OROCHIMARU—!!"
White Zetsu pointed at him dramatically.
Tobi pointed at him too.
Then both of them shouted at the exact same time in perfect unison.
"WE NEED YOUR HELP!"
"…"
Orochimaru slowly stared at the two idiots standing in his doorway.
For some reason…
A very bad feeling suddenly appeared in his heart.
---
After finishing what he needed to do and stepping back outside, Obito realized he had nowhere in particular to be.
Warm evening air brushed lightly against his face as he wandered the streets without any destination in mind.
Above him, giant screens displayed advertisements, weather reports, music programs, and colorful animated mascots trying to sell limited-time ramen discounts.
One massive screen suddenly switched programs.
A news anchor smiled brightly.
"—And don't forget! Tonight's summer festival fireworks begin at eight sharp!"
People passing by immediately became excited.
"Oh right, the fireworks are tonight!"
"Hurry up or the good spots will disappear again!"
"Last year was terrible, I couldn't see anything except someone's giant head!"
Obito glanced up at the screen silently.
"…Fireworks, huh."
Then he simply continued walking.
The crowds naturally flowed around him.
Children ran across the sidewalks laughing while carrying shopping bags almost bigger than themselves.
A couple argued over which restaurant to eat at.
A group of "students" walked past while loudly debating game rankings.
Years ago, a scene like this would have sounded almost ridiculous in the shinobi world.
And yet now… It existed.
Obito eventually stopped in front of a small ramen stand by the roadside.
The elderly owner glanced up as he approached.
"What can I get you?"
Obito looked over the menu for a moment.
"Whatever you recommend."
The old man gave him a brief look before turning toward the stove.
"One bowl of miso ramen, then."
A few minutes later, Obito sat at the counter with a steaming bowl in front of him.
He took a small bite.
"…"
"…Not bad."
The owner snorted proudly from behind the counter.
"Of course it's not bad."
"I've been making ramen longer than you've probably been alive."
Obito gave a faint chuckle at the old man's dry humor and didn't take offense.
Instead, he simply continued eating quietly while listening to the sounds of the city around him.
That alone felt oddly peaceful somehow.
Perhaps he was simply feeling a strange sense of nostalgia.
Eventually, he left the ramen stand and continued wandering through the streets again.
At some point, he somehow ended up inside a crowded arcade.
Teenagers crowded around the fighting games, while music and electronic sounds echoed throughout the building.
Obito stood near the entrance and looked around.
"…Still as noisy as I remember."
There were far too many annoying brats screaming nonstop around him and yet…
Five minutes later…
"…"
"…Why is this thing harder than it actually looks?"
A nearby child stared blankly as Obito lost for the seventh time in a row to a claw machine.
Obito narrowed his eyes at the glass box.
Inside it sat a small white cat plushie wearing sunglasses.
Mocking him.
…I know what you are.
"…"
In the end, Obito finally succeeded after brute forcing the controls through pure stubbornness.
The nearby children gasped.
"No way…"
"He actually did it…"
Obito calmly picked up the tiny cat plushie.
'Who should I give it to?'
That was honestly one hell of an important question.
Later…
After wandering for a while, Obito stopped beside the river that ran through the city and sat alone on a bench.
By then, night had already fallen.
A gentle breeze moved across the river as the sounds of the festival grew louder in the distance. Crowds gathered along both banks, laughing and talking while they waited for the fireworks to begin.
Some wore ordinary clothes, while others had chosen traditional yukata for the occasion.
Obito leaned back against the bench and looked toward the city skyline.
A moment later, the first firework shot into the night sky.
BOOM.
Brilliant colors spread across the sky, drawing cheers from the crowd.
More fireworks followed one after another, filling the darkness with flashes of blue, gold, and red.
Their reflections shimmered across Obito's crescent-shaped eyes.
"…Beautiful."
The word escaped quietly... almost absentmindedly.
For a brief moment, the plans he carried and the burdens waiting in the future all seemed far away.
A faint melancholy still lingered quietly at the edge of everything.
Like someone standing at the end of a long road…
Watching the world continue forward without knowing whether they themselves truly belonged within it anymore.
A faint smile appeared on his face
"…At least my time in this world turned out better than expected."
"Obito-sama…"
A girl appeared beside him and softly called out to him with respect.
"Ohh? Is that you, Airi? It's been a while."
Obito turned toward her and spoke with clear interest in his voice, his eyes briefly sweeping over the masterpiece he had created long ago.
"Obito-sama… it's an honor that you still remember me. It makes me incredibly happy."
Airi lowered her head even further, her face filled with unmistakable excitement.
To think that Obito-sama still remembered someone as insignificant as her…
That alone made her feel overwhelmed with happiness.
"I was asked by the ladies to have you come back. They…"
Airi quickly shook away the thoughts forming in her mind and hurriedly tried to relay the message she came to deliver.
But halfway through—
She suddenly didn't know how to continue.
A trace of nervousness immediately appeared on her face.
"They what?"
Obito asked calmly as he crossed his legs.
Though inwardly, he already let out a quiet sigh.
…Could it be that?
"They seem to have found out about what you intend to do…"
Airi spoke carefully, her nervousness becoming more obvious with every word.
"And ever since then, everyone has been restless. If it weren't for Konan-sama, the others probably would've come here themselves."
"It was Konan-sama who told me to inform you and bring you back immediately."
"…I see."
Obito slowly stood up.
One of his hands slipped casually into his pocket while the other gently rested on the head of the girl still bowing and kneeling respectfully before him.
"Take this… I got it by chance. Consider it a gift."
Obito took out the tiny cat plushie he had won earlier and placed it into her hands.
Then he simply walked past her... and disappeared from the spot entirely.
Swoosh.
"..."
Airi remained frozen in place long after Obito disappeared.
The soft night wind brushed past her hair.
The distant fireworks continued exploding across the sky but her mind had already gone completely blank.
"…"
Slowly…
Very slowly…
Airi lowered her trembling gaze toward the object resting in her hands.
The tiny white cat plushie stared back at her through its ridiculous little sunglasses.
"…"
Her entire face instantly turned red.
"…EHHHHHHHHHH—?!"
A muffled scream nearly escaped Airi's throat before she hurriedly covered her mouth.
Her shoulders trembled as she stared down at the plushie in her hands.
"O-Obito-sama gave this to me…"
He had remembered her.
More than that, he had personally chosen to give her a gift.
Airi hugged the plushie tightly against her chest, nearly crushing it in the process.
"T-This is bad…"
Her face grew even redder when another thought occurred to her.
"Obito-sama touched it too…"
For a moment, her legs nearly gave out beneath her.
Then her expression suddenly became serious.
"I have to keep it somewhere safe."
A glass case immediately came to mind, but she dismissed the idea just as quickly.
No, that would not be enough.
Perhaps a room with controlled temperature and no direct sunlight–
Airi suddenly froze.
"…What if someone tries to steal it?"
A faintly dangerous look entered her eyes.
"I'll kill them."
Several seconds passed.
Airi blinked cutely, as though the overly emotional girl from earlier wasn't even her.
"…That was a little extreme of me."
Even so, she could not stop the foolishly happy smile spreading across her face.
"He remembered me… and gave me a gift."
With the fireworks blooming overhead, Airi felt as though she might float into the sky with them.
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