"I've always been watching you."
That single sentence left both the Adult Obito and the Rebellious Obito completely stunned.
A storm of tangled thoughts crashed into them all at once, piling up in a chaotic mess.
"We promised. I'd keep watching you, Obito—until you saved the world in your own cool way!"
"Don't try to hide how much you're hurting. I saw all of it!"
"Keep going, Obito!!"
Those were the promises he'd made with Rin back when they were kids.
Back during the Fourth Shinobi World War—inside Naruto's consciousness—Naruto had once said to Obito Uchiha as an enemy, "The person Rin wanted to protect was Obito Uchiha, not you. The you right now doesn't even deserve to be seen by her!"
So that meant…
Rin really had been there all along, watching them from within their consciousnesses?
Just like the Fourth Shinobi World War Obito, the Rebellious Obito and the Adult Obito—after committing countless sins—couldn't bring themselves to meet Rin's eyes.
They… had killed Minato-sensei…
And they'd thrown the entire Ninja World into chaos.
They didn't deserve to be the Obito Uchiha who'd once stood beneath Hokage Rock, swearing in the name of the Uchiha Clan that he would become Hokage, protect the village, protect his comrades, and bring peace to this shinobi world.
"Aren't you going to say anything? I've been waiting for you for a long time."
"Yeah… sorry I kept you waiting this long…"
Rin looked exactly the same as ever, while he himself had returned to the body and voice of his younger days.
He was terrified she'd condemn him, just like Black Zetsu had said—terrified that he truly had no right to face anyone anymore.
But Rin's voice was still as warm and bright as he remembered.
"Looks like you took the long way around again."
Young Obito didn't answer. He could understand, at least a little, what that version of himself was feeling.
As for the other two Obitos, they looked even more like scarecrows than Kakashi—standing rigid inside Obito Uchiha's consciousness, heads bowed so low they were almost to their chests. Like kids who knew they'd done wrong, but had no idea how to make it right.
"A lot happened."
"Rin…"
"About that promise we made…"
Adult Obito and Rebellious Obito clenched their fists at their sides, forcing their emotions down with everything they had.
They wanted Rin to yell at them, to blame them—hell, even to hate the version of themselves that had caused her death.
But then…
"It's okay. You tried your hardest, Obito~"
"!!!!"
"I've always been watching you."
That gentle voice hit them like a blade. Rebellious Obito and Adult Obito's eyes flew wide, their pupils shrinking, and then the tears burst out—worse than any time before, uglier and more complete, as if they'd been waiting years to spill.
As if crying like this could finally release all the pain they'd carried for so long, ever since the moment they watched Rin die…
Young Obito could feel it, too. He watched his other self from a different parallel world trembling and sobbing nearby, and his chest tightened. He was grateful to fate for this mercy at all, and heartbroken for the other three versions of himself. He'd always been a crybaby, so he wiped at his own eyes as well—though he still wasn't crying as violently as the other three Obitos.
Rin stayed quietly beside them.
She waited while one Obito—eighteen or nineteen—and the other two—around thirty—finally cried themselves out.
Young Obito was already thinking about how he could split his consciousness in two—one side to worry about those other-world idiot versions of himself, and the other to find out what happened next on Naruto's side.
In the end, the Obito Rin could see finally cried himself dry.
When Rin reached for him and started to pull him along, he hurriedly asked her to wait just a little longer.
He needed to go help Kakashi.
"Hehe… Obito and Kakashi really do get along great, huh!"
"Uh…"
Fourth Shinobi War Obito: N-no way! Me and that guy are like oil and water. We'll never mix!
Adult Obito: W-who?! Who would get along with that idiot Kakashi who's always reading those dirty magazines?! Rin, you've got it all wrong!!
Rebellious Obito: Th-that big piece of trash! He should be grateful I didn't drag him straight to the junkyard!!
Young Obito: …
How embarrassing. I'm even stuttering now.
Still… I'll protect the Kakashi in my world. I won't let him end up like that again, miserable and acting like he's got a sacrifice addiction.
I'll let him stay proud and sharp-tongued for as long as he wants.
But… how am I supposed to help Kakashi?
"Chakra can connect the realms of yin and yang. I'll be right back. Rin, you have to wait for me!"
Connect the realms of yin and yang, huh. Like he could squeeze chakra out of ashes and use it to possess Kakashi's body. Sure.
Before traveling to Naruto's world, Young Obito had never once imagined he could be this ridiculously powerful. He never would've believed he could reach this level.
Standing across from him was the Kakashi Young Obito knew best… yet to Rebellious Obito and Adult Obito, this "Kakashi" already felt oddly unfamiliar.
Young Obito figured Kakashi had to be numb by now, probably wondering how many more times he'd have to say goodbye.
"Obito?!"
Just listen to that shock.
The scarecrow practically jumped out of his skin.
"Yo, Kakashi."
"Y-you… you haven't…"
"Let me be clear. I'm not worried about you. I just had a few things I forgot to say before I head to that world."
Adult Obito and Rebellious Obito couldn't even keep crying anymore.
He'd always felt like he didn't quite fit in with the Uchiha, but why was it that whenever he talked to Kakashi, that same awkward stubbornness came out?
Kakashi looked just as confused, with no idea what Obito was trying to say.
Even the three Obitos—Young, Adult, and Rebellious—were a little thrown off.
Only the Obito who'd lived through the Fourth Shinobi World War spoke:
"When I told Naruto he had to become Hokage, I meant the Seventh Hokage. The Sixth should be you, Kakashi."
"Back then, to celebrate you becoming a jōnin, I gave you a Sharingan. But this time isn't like before. This really is goodbye… so I'm giving you your 'congrats on becoming Hokage' gift in advance."
The three Obitos from the other parallel worlds understood at once. So that meant he was…
"You haven't forgotten, have you, Kakashi?"
"That name that echoed across the entire Ninja World."
"Kakashi of the Sharingan."
The timing was terrible, but Young Obito suddenly remembered something from earlier—when Team Minato first arrived in Naruto's world and heard there was someone named Kakashi, famous throughout the Ninja World for the Sharingan…
And what he'd guessed back then.
"Kakashi Uchiha."
A tear slipped down. The grief from earlier was put on hold for now as he felt "himself" existing as a spirit within Kakashi's body, fighting side by side with him.
All the Obitos felt like they'd been recharged, that old hot-blooded fire from their youth roaring back.
And the Uchiha's consciousnesses were still inside Naruto Uzumaki. They could sense it clearly—he really did what he said he would, speaking his mind and following through. Even if they could never forgive what Obito Uchiha had done… they were willing to cut off that hatred here, with Naruto.
And all along Naruto's journey—from Haku and Zabuza, to Neji Hyūga, then Gaara—even the tailed beasts who once despised humanity had stopped being his enemies and were now willing to lend him their strength.
Now even Obito Uchiha, a world-class villain…
"We're going in! Everyone!!"
Nine shadow clones appeared, each holding a Wind Release: Rasenshuriken.
By "everyone," he meant the tailed beasts—the very names that used to make every major ninja village blanch.
He was weaving the chakra traits of the Nine Tailed Beasts into the Wind Release: Rasenshuriken!!
One-Tails, Shukaku: Magnet Release.
Two-Tails, Matatabi: Fire Release.
Three-Tails, Isohatsu: Water Release.
Four-Tails, Son Gokū: Lava Release.
Five-Tails, Kokuō: Boil Release.
Six-Tails, Saiken: Acid.
Seven-Tails, Chōmei: Wind Release.
Eight-Tails, Gyūki: Lightning Release.
Nine-Tails, Kurama: Chakra Itself…
"Senjutsu: Super Tailed Beast Rasenshuriken!!"
He'd tasted this once before—mixing the Four-Tails' power into a Wind Release: Rasenshuriken. Back then, a single strike had cut down the sky-piercing Divine Tree.
Now there were nine of them, each fused with tailed beast chakra. The sheer, extraordinary power had every Uchiha on fire, blood boiling with excitement.
...
They were a clan full of love—and painfully sensitive, too. Once Naruto Uzumaki's will swept through them and turned them into a pack of hot-blooded youths, they were like huskies that had been let off the leash, practically itching to charge onto the battlefield and fight alongside everyone else.
For some reason, young Itachi Uchiha watched those enormous spiraling spheres Naruto kept throwing and thought of the village dango shop's signature item.
If the Uchiha and Konoha ever reconciled, and they stopped clinging to the power of the police force… maybe he could make "opening a dango shop that actually tastes amazing" his second life goal?
Naruto-kun's "Tailed Beast Dango Family Bucket" would be perfect inspiration for a set menu!!
If Fugaku Uchiha ever learned what his eldest son was thinking, he might keel over on the spot.
Explosions erupted one after another, and Kaguya was blasted apart like a fireworks display in full bloom.
Because those attacks carried tailed beast chakra, the damage destabilized the chakra inside Kaguya's body. The tailed beasts within her—absorbed by her, or rather, absorbed earlier by Madara Uchiha—seized the opening and started forcing their way out, one after another!
Shisui: Another rabbit-like head just popped out!! And the Rinnegan is on that rabbit head!!
Fugaku: Attack the rabbit! That has to be Kaguya's weak point!!
The idea wasn't wrong—but anything that rabbit touched got sucked into its body. Even Naruto's shadow clones weren't spared!
Uchiha: She's still got a trump card?! Just how hard is Kaguya to deal with?!
That pink-haired girl is in trouble!!
Hey! Go help that girl Sakura!!
The Uchiha clan members were shouting warnings inside Naruto's mind. Naruto couldn't hear them, but after more than ten years of living with them in his head, they were long used to this kind of one-sided "talking to themselves."
A pale-blue Susanoo swept in and covered Sakura Haruno.
Child Sasuke froze.
He remembered it perfectly: his own Susanoo was purple, his brother's was red, and Madara's was deep blue.
So whose was this light-blue Susanoo?
When Naruto Uzumaki looked up…
Child Sasuke was stunned.
Kakashi…Uchiha?