"Let's see your mission scroll."
Hashirama Senju spoke, gazing at Itachi Uchiha and Sasuke Uchiha before him. Their presence reminded him of Madara and Izuna, who had stood opposite him and Tobirama during the Warring States Period. He truly hoped these two brothers would never reach the point of mutual hatred and slaughter.
Itachi Uchiha remained silent for another second.
The observant Minato Namikaze noticed a slight twitch in the corner of the expressionless youth's eye. Was there something he couldn't bring himself to say?
It seemed that Itachi Uchiha was reluctant to unfold the mission scroll in his hand for everyone to see.
"Could you tell us what level this mission is?"
Minato asked the Uchiha youth tactfully.
As one of the few who knew the truth of the past, Minato Namikaze from Kannabi Bridge hoped to resolve the brothers' conflict gradually. Too direct an impact might not be beneficial for turning their relationship around.
The Adult Obito was also among those present who knew the truth about Itachi Uchiha's clan extermination. He understood he had caused the Nine-Tails incident, leading to the death of Minato-sensei—who had sought to resolve the conflict between the Uchiha Clan and Konoha—and accelerated the Uchiha coup.
Ultimately, it was he who had brought misery upon Shisui and Itachi Uchiha.
He offered, "If there's anything I can do to help..."
Before he could finish, Itachi Uchiha cut him off.
"No. We won't need.'"
"It's just a C-rank mission."
C-rank missions typically involve transporting someone or a group to a specific location, without requiring resolution of any lingering regrets. Whether they could return, and when, depended entirely on fate.
However, like Young Obito Uchiha helping six thousand grandmothers cross the street, C-rank missions are generally straightforward—at worst, slightly tedious.
After much internal struggle, Itachi Uchiha didn't unfold his mission scroll like Kabuto Yakushi. Instead, he verbally described the new assignment.
"C-rank mission."
He paused.
"Use Amaterasu to make a perfect fried egg for my adorable little brother."
Adorable little brother...
Sasuke exploded like a bomb, his head turning as red as the tomatoes he loved.
"Don't add weird descriptive words up front!! Neither 'stupid' nor 'adorable' is acceptable!!!"
Itachi Uchiha shot him a glance, forcing himself to calm down.
"It's what the mission scroll says. I'm just reading it verbatim."
"Can't you just cut out all that useless description?!"
"There's no need to twist the scroll's meaning over a description. If it's a crucial step, a ninja arbitrarily omitting details could throw the entire mission off course from the start, leading to a world of difference from the client's expectations."
This retort left Sasuke Uchiha speechless and helpless. He sat on the yakiniku restaurant chair, grumbling in silent frustration.
Naruto Uzumaki and the young Obito Uchiha found it hilarious, relentlessly teasing Sasuke with the joke. Sakura and Rin, worried they might provoke Sasuke further, awkwardly urged them to cut it out.
Adult Obito Uchiha turned to the Second Hokage and asked, "You really weren't the one who posted that mission scroll?"
The Second Hokage froze. "Do you think I'm that bored?"
"No, it's just... I can't think of anyone else who harbors such deep-seated malice toward us Uchiha."
"..." The Second Hokage chose his words carefully.
Minato Namikaze stepped in to smooth things over. "Come on, come on. At the end of the day, it's just a C-rank mission that can be solved by making an omelet. We're actually pretty lucky, aren't we?"
Itachi Uchiha pondered, "The question is, what exactly is the definition of 'perfect'?"
Captain Yamato suggested, "On the way back, when we pass by the convenience store, let's buy a few extra cartons of eggs."
Itachi nodded calmly, unconcerned that a few dozen eggs couldn't solve an omelet problem.
However...
After dinner, when they returned to the Missing-nin guesthouse carrying five or six boxes—over thirty raw eggs in total—...
Both Obito were already too exhausted to move and had retired early.
Through their relentless efforts, the mission scroll's 600,000,000,000 had finally been whittled down to 599,999,999,952...
When Adult Kakashi tried to console the pair, he muttered under his breath that if they weren't already sprawled out and immobile, he'd have pinned them down, ripped off their masks, and forced them to eat twenty big Anko cakes each!
Itachi always preferred completing missions as swiftly as possible.
Returning to the Missing-nin inn, he waited until everyone else had fallen asleep before heading alone to the kitchen. He donned an apron with a slightly comical style, opened a convenience store plastic bag, and pulled out a carton of eggs.
"Amaterasu..."
Powerful black flames instantly engulfed the entire egg along with the frying pan.
"......"
He managed to save the pan at the last moment, but the egg was beyond rescue.
Cracking the second egg, "Amaterasu."
"Sharingan." Third egg, "Amaterasu."
"Not perfect. Next."
"This one's a bit off too."
"Too excited. Messed up cracking the egg."
As the sun rose, he reached for the egg carton and discovered the last egg had been used up.
Haku and Yamato, who had risen early, were preparing breakfast for the others when they saw the kitchen in utter disarray and Itachi Uchiha covered in blood. Haku kept his composure, but Yamato let out a shriek!
"Aaaahh----!!"
The bloodcurdling scream—like a pig being slaughtered—alerted not only the A-rank and S-rank renegade ninjas staying at the inn, but also Kakashi's Team, Minato's Team from the neighboring Hatake residence, and the entire Hatake family in the small detached house at the back. Even the First and Second Hokage were roused!
Hashirama Senju, still in his pajamas and sporting a head of messy, long hair, leaped out of bed.
No one sensed any killing intent—so why this sudden pig-like scream?!
Naruto, clutching his homemade Kakashi doll, nearly tumbled off the bed in shock. Fortunately, Fourth Hokage Minato swiftly grabbed his collar.
The Second and Fourth Hokage each used the Flying Thunder God Technique to transport their entourages to the Missing-nin lodge.
Seeing Itachi Uchiha covered in blood, even the adult Hashirama froze for a moment—let alone the ghost-fearing Naruto Uzumaki.
The others were pulled through walls by Young Obito and Adult Obito. Their expressions upon seeing Itachi were equally hard to describe.
Fortunately, both Obito Uchiha were also from the Uchiha Clan. Seeing his bloodied face, they instantly understood what had happened.
"Wipe your face first, Itachi."
"Pretty scary."
Tobirama Senju remarked coldly, "Need some Water Release?"
"No need." Kisame produced a towel from somewhere, dampened it with water, and handed it to Itachi Uchiha. Evidence that comradeship within Akatsuki remained intact.
Naruto was still in his little pajamas, sporting that comical sleep cap, clutching the Kakashi-sensei doll that the young Kakashi had teased him about countless times without him ever replacing it.
"Sasuke's brother, you weren't just making fried eggs all night, were you?"
Seeing the dozens of fried eggs on the plate, everyone present felt a pang of stomachache. Who knew if fried eggs cooked with Amaterasu tasted good, or if their stomachs could even handle it...
Itachi: "....."
Adult Obito examined an omelet from all angles. "This omelet is already perfect, right? The mission isn't finished yet? Why make so many?"
Younger Obito sighed. "I ate too many Anko cakes yesterday. I still haven't digested them. Stupid Kakashi, you're accompanying me for special training later."
"You still have 5,999 grandmas to help! Learn Shadow Clones first, you idiot!"
"Never thought helping people could be this exhausting." Young Obito's shoulders slumped.
Minato Namikaze took the mission scroll handed by Itachi Uchiha. The C-rank mission was indeed still marked as incomplete.
"Guess it's no wonder it's C-rank—even frying an egg for your little brother is this hard."
Itachi Uchiha: "Harder than expected."
"See?" said the Adult Obito. "Didn't I tell you? Could the person who issued this mission scroll actually have a grudge against us Uchiha?"
Tobirama Senju: "Think about your own personality issues! Don't pin unfounded accusations on this old man! Besides, doesn't that young man from the Hatake clan have a stronger motive? I hear he's been buying Anko cakes for a fake grave for over a decade!"
"....." Adult Obito looked mortified.
Adult Kakashi shot him a death glare. "Second Hokage-sama, please don't steer this conversation in strange directions."
Sasuke, the Uchiha youth, was displeased by the mention of his clan, but he merely seethed inwardly without confronting the Second Hokage. After all, considering the temperaments of Madara Uchiha, Indra, and Obito Uchiha, what right did he have to complain?
In short, what followed was the story of three Uchiha—plus one Madara Uchiha—striving relentlessly to fulfill their respective mission scrolls....
The two Obito Uchiha, big and small, mastered Shadow Clones. Day after day, they guarded major intersections with diligence surpassing even Konoha's patrol officers. Their large, dark eyes—unlit by Sharingan—scanned the surroundings, always ready to act...
Act to help those in need.
It's not just about helping old ladies cross the street—due to their very nature, these two simply can't stand seeing anyone in trouble within their sight.
Each of them seems more diligent than when carrying out missions.
Especially the Adult Obito, the former mastermind behind Akatsuki. His daily volunteer work felt more grounded than executing the Moon's Eye Plan. Every time he got a sugar ball, he'd brag about it to his childhood self—truly reverting to his idiotic nature... Spit! I mean, reverting to his true self...
And their three meals a day? Every single one was red bean cake.
At the Renegade Ninja Inn and the Hatake family home, one could witness them daily, wearing expressions that seemed to scream, "One more Anko cake and I die right here."
But it was only a few hundred less out of six trillion...
"Kakashi-senpai," Yamato observed their pitiful state and addressed Kakashi, "I calculated it. Even if they ate six trillion grains of rice, based on a normal person's appetite..."
Young Obito and Adult Obito glanced over, intrigued by the topic this Yamato—who called Kakashi 'senpai'—was discussing.
"If it were just rice grains, we could finish sooner."
Yamato's expression was hard to read. "It would be sooner, yes. Only about seventy thousand years."
Young Obito: "Right? Just seventy thousand... Seventy thousand what?"
"Over seventy thousand years."
"..........."
Both nearly petrified in the wind.
This cosmic malevolence—who on earth was the mastermind behind the mission scroll?!