I initially thought that bringing Adult Kakashi to talk with this future Sasuke—whose time period is uncertain—would be the safest approach.
After all, if a twelve- or thirteen-year-old Naruto or Sasuke suddenly appeared in front of this future Sasuke, the shock could be overwhelming.
Adult Kakashi and future Kakashi shouldn't be too different, so having him explain to this young Sasuke that he had traveled back to a parallel world from the past would be the best way to help him calm down and process the situation.
But who could have imagined...
It seems it ended up hurting him even more.
"What if I summon future Orochimaru?" Adult Obito suggested.
With Kamui's Dimension and his Sharingan's ability to use Intangibility, he could easily summon that Orochimaru, the one who was even more beautiful than a woman.
"No need. It shouldn't come to that," replied Adult Kakashi. "It's probably just the injuries and the exhaustion from that tough battle that left him so weak. Let him sleep a little longer."
"Mhm."
This time, Sasuke—still in his adolescent phase—slept until late into the night.
The moonlight streamed through the hospital room's glass window, casting its glow on the blanket covering him.
Naruto Uzumaki… was dead…
That clumsy idiot, who always got in the way, was finally dead.
He recalled the full moon shining over the earth, the Eye of the Moon Plan achieved, and the Infinite Tsukuyomi turning the entire world into nothingness.
At that moment, Sasuke Uchiha—who had experienced the Fourth Shinobi World War—suddenly seemed to understand why Madara Uchiha and Obito Uchiha had been so obsessed with this plan.
Little did he know, the very Obito Uchiha he was thinking of was watching him from within Kamui's Dimension.
To be more precise, it was young Obito and young Kakashi, both keeping an eye on him from Kamui's Dimension while playing cards.
Not wanting Rin—being a girl—to stay up late, the young Obito and young Kakashi took turns watching over Sasuke in Kamui's Dimension, ensuring they wouldn't disturb him.
"Should we call my adult self or Minato-sensei over?" Young Kakashi paused his card game to ask young Obito's opinion.
"Just go find the other me. I marked him with my Dōjutsu; it'll be quicker to summon him."
Young Obito was a man of action. Without another word, he pulled his adult self from this world into Kamui's Dimension.
Adult Obito guessed that this Sasuke must have already killed Itachi Uchiha, meaning he likely knew something about the members of Akatsuki.
He reached into Kamui's Dimension, pulled out an Akatsuki uniform, put on the orange-yellow mask, and appeared before the one-armed Sasuke from the Fourth Shinobi World War.
When Sasuke saw him, his first thought was that he was dreaming.
Could it be that the Infinite Tsukuyomi had already been realized during Obito Uchiha's phase? Had all his memories since then been nothing but the Infinite Tsukuyomi?!
If it truly was the Infinite Tsukuyomi, then that would mean Naruto Uzumaki was still alive—maybe trapped in an illusion where he too had emerged victorious?!
"I don't know what you're thinking, but I'm pretty sure you're overthinking it…"
Adult Obito Uchiha made a gesture of surrender. As a member of the Uchiha Clan, he knew all too well how their minds could often go off in complicated, sometimes twisted directions.
"How are you still alive?"
Fourth Shinobi World War Sasuke stared at the masked figure before him.
Obito felt a bit awkward. "Do you know who I am?"
"Obito Uchiha."
Well, that made things even more awkward. He had been planning to impersonate Madara Uchiha and shift all the blame onto him.
"From the way you're talking, you must have experienced the events after the Fourth Shinobi World War, right?" Adult Obito Uchiha removed his mask and pulled off the Akatsuki cloak, revealing a form-fitting black ninja outfit underneath.
Fourth Shinobi War Sasuke frowned slightly, watching Adult Obito, who had pulled a wooden chair from Kamui's Dimension and was sitting in it like it was his own world.
The chair was backward, and Adult Obito sat with his arms crossed over the backrest, giving him the look of a cop interrogating a suspect in a crime drama.
Recently, young Obito had been helping elderly people run errands and cross streets, but adult Obito had even taken to maintaining public order. It almost felt like the Uchiha Police Force was back in business.
"Speak up. Or should I pour you a cup of tea first?"
"…"
The mention of tea made everything feel even more real.
After resting overnight, Sasuke's chakra had recovered a lot. He glared with his Mangekyō Sharingan, ready to unleash Amaterasu without a second thought.
"Wait! Don't move—your wounds will reopen! Rin needs to treat you!" Young Obito and Young Kakashi saw the situation wasn't right and quickly jumped out of Kamui's Dimension. "Do you even know what time it is?!"
Seeing the young figure in a ninja tracksuit, silver-gray cropped hair, and the ever-present mask, Sasuke's eyes widened in shock.
"Kakashi?!"
The idol-obsessed teenager Kakashi struck a cool pose. "You should call me Kakashi-sensei."
"You've shrunk?"
Fourth Shinobi War Sasuke completely ignored Young Kakashi's request.
Adult Obito: "He's not the Kakashi you know. Explaining this is complicated." He pointed to the two standing next to him. "This one is me from the Kannabi Bridge era, and this one is Kakashi from the Kannabi Bridge era. And I'm not the Obito Uchiha you know—the one who's supposed to die in the Fourth Shinobi World War."
After saying that, he muttered to himself, "Tsk. According to Orochimaru from the future, in other worlds, I was supposed to die saving Naruto and Kakashi during the Fourth Shinobi World War, right?"
Naruto…
That name made Sasuke's body visibly flinch.
"Is this the Infinite Tsukuyomi? Is Naruto still alive?"
Infinite Tsukuyomi? Is Naruto still alive?
Why did it feel like Obito and Sasuke were speaking past each other, like a duck meowing at a chicken?
Seeing how inefficient the conversation was, young Kakashi just cut to the chase. "You'd better give me a rough summary of everything that happened yesterday in your memory."
"In return, I'll tell you what happened on our side the day before."
They heard that in his world, Madara Uchiha completed the Infinite Tsukuyomi, trapping all humanity within a cocoon formed from the God Tree. He was then possessed by Black Zetsu, becoming a vessel for the soul of Kaguya Ōtsutsuki.
Adult Obito's expression darkened. He already knew the Infinite Tsukuyomi was a deception, and that Rin's death was entirely Madara Uchiha's doing. Obito couldn't help but harbor hatred toward Madara Uchiha. Yet hearing about the fates awaiting both himself and Madara Uchiha was truly lamentable.
Young Obito and Young Kakashi's impression of Madara Uchiha stemmed mostly from their time traveling back to Konoha's founding era, encountering the young Uchiha clan head. He wasn't very expressive, loved children, yet possessed a face that rarely smiled for anyone except Hashirama Senju.
Learning that Sasuke's arm injury came from fighting Naruto, the expressions of Young Obito, Adult Obito, and Young Kakashi froze for a moment. They felt this needed to be relayed to the Naruto and Sasuke they knew.
"I'm done. Your turn."
"You're so easygoing—are you really Sasuke?" Young Obito couldn't resist a snide remark.
The Sasuke before him felt off, too compliant, as if indifferent to everything, unconcerned about anything.
He didn't know that, up until this moment, Sasuke Uchiha believed he had killed Naruto Uzumaki.
Young Kakashi nudged him, signaling Young Obito beside him to keep his mouth shut.
"It's currently the 60th year of Konoha. We come from the 45th year, during the Third Shinobi World War mission. Due to reasons we can't fully explain yet, we've traveled in time and can't return for now."
Young Kakashi's comprehension and summarization skills were truly worthy of being the top student among the top students at the Ninja Academy.
He summarized in a few sentences: "You appear to be from three or four years in the future, after the Fourth Shinobi World War has already concluded. But here, you're just participating in the Chūnin Exams. Obito and Itachi are still alive, and everyone is safe and sound."
Upon hearing this, Fourth Shinobi War Sasuke's eyes widened suddenly!
Yet he quickly regained his composure, pointing at Adult Obito with a furrowed brow. "60th year of Konoha?! Then why is he here instead of with Akatsuki?!"
In his memory, the events of Konoha's sixtieth year were numerous: the Chūnin Exams, the joint attack on Konoha by the Sound and Suna Ninja, the Third Hokage's assassination by Orochimaru, and his own defection as a renegade ninja that same year.
A memory surfaced: standing with Naruto Uzumaki at Valley of the End. They'd stood atop the stone statues of Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha respectively. Naruto had unleashed the Nine-Tails' power, and he'd asked him what he truly was. His answer: "A friend."
"Ugh—"
Recalling Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke's left arm throbbed intensely. He instinctively clutched his shoulder with his free hand to ease the pain.
The young Kakashi glanced at the adult Obito and explained plainly: "This world possesses something utterly baffling. We call it the mission scroll. Through them, we've learned many things you'll only discover much later."
"Mission scrolls?"
Adult Obito nodded. "They issue all sorts of bizarre missions. The mission reward could be transporting us here collectively, or it might be intelligence, ninjutsu, chakra, or even Sharingan—anything could be distributed as a mission reward. Including your appearance here—that was Itachi's mission reward."
Once he grasped the situation, Fourth Shinobi World War Sasuke focused on what the young Kakashi had just said: Itachi was still alive. Currently, both he and Naruto were merely genin participating in their first Chūnin Exams.
Fourth Shinobi War Sasuke desperately tried to sit up.
"Take me to see him."
"Lie back down. You're still an injured patient." The Adult Obito reached out to push him back (gently), but unexpectedly, Sasuke activated the power of the Rinnegan at that moment.
Amenotejikara!
The figure lying on the hospital bed instantly transformed into the healthy Adult Obito, free of any ailments except for indigestion from eating too many red bean cakes.
However, Sasuke Uchiha remained in a state of severe chakra depletion. Having just used the Rinnegan, he slumped against the wall.
Young Obito supported him. "This state of yours confirms beyond doubt that you are Sasuke Uchiha. I wanted to let you sleep through the night and bring Itachi and the others to see you tomorrow, but I suppose you wouldn't listen anyway."
The Fourth Shinobi War Sasuke looked at him. The Obito Uchiha before him, who was younger than himself, was absolutely right.
Young Obito sighed. "Don't resist. I'll send you there with Kamui."
Sasuke nodded. Instantly, his body was twisted and pulled away by a vortex in the void, landing on an empty Konoha street. Moments later, when he emerged from Kamui's dimension, they were already inside the Hatake Clan residence.
"Sasuke!!"
Naruto stared at the slightly gloomy, larger version of Sasuke before him. His eyes flashed with anger mixed with worry. He wanted to ask who had injured his arm, but dared not reopen that wound.
The younger Sasuke beside him, however, was far less tactful. He blurted out, "Who did you lose to?" The question made Sakura and Naruto beside him flinch.
"I didn't lose," the older Sasuke replied in a muffled voice.
"Naruto Uzumaki did this to my arm. I killed him."