[Mission Level: C-Rank] [Mission Content: Help an elderly woman cross the street.] [Mission Status: Completed.]
The Missing-nin Inn was unexpectedly lively.
Kannabi Bridge Minato, Itachi Uchiha, Captain Yamato, along with Young Kakashi, Young Obito, and Rin were all present. Out of caution, the First Hokage, the Second Hokage, and quite a large group of others had come as well.
Not to mention the people who already lived here: Kisame Hoshigaki, Haku, Zabuza, Kabuto Yakushi, and the rest.
Only Team Kakashi was absent, as they were all currently undergoing intense training elsewhere.
This time, because they were close enough, everyone clearly saw it.
A black spatial cross-section suddenly opened up, and right after that, a Konoha ANBU came tumbling out of it, cursing nonstop…
Yes.
Actually cursing.
Very loudly.
Just a "perfectly ordinary" Konoha ANBU, at least on the surface.
The man had a solid build without looking overly muscular. His height and frame were almost identical to Adult Kakashi's.
He wore the standard Konoha ANBU uniform, with a black high-collared bodysuit underneath and tight shinobi boots wrapping closely around his calves.
On his face was an ANBU mask Captain Yamato recognized immediately. Beneath it, short white hair peeked out, even purer in color than Kakashi's.
"Kakashi… senpai…?"
Minato Namikaze shook his head.
"No. His mask color is the opposite of the one Kakashi used during his ANBU days."
More importantly, Minato had clearly sensed that the one arriving this time was supposed to be an extremely powerful Ōtsutsuki.
Or had Konoha already grown so strong that it could recruit members of the Ōtsutsuki Clan into ANBU?
If that were true, he would absolutely have to ask which Hokage had been so outstanding…
Still, seeing the ANBU uniform eased everyone's guard slightly. Even so, they remained cautious. After all, the last time something like this happened, the moment Fourth Shinobi War Sasuke appeared in another parallel world, he had instantly maxed out hostility. That memory was still unsettling.
"Who are you?!"
Young Kakashi drew his kunai, already preparing himself in case this was one of Danzo's Root operatives.
"..."
Faced with the sharp questioning from the scarless white-haired boy, the suddenly appearing ANBU stared at him in silence.
Young Obito tightened his grip on his kunai as well. Worried the man might attack Kakashi without warning, he quietly shifted his footing, putting half his body in front of Young Kakashi.
"Take off the mask! Stop hiding your face!" he shouted.
If a Hyūga clan member had been present, they might have noticed the corner of the ANBU's mouth twitch slightly beneath the mask.
Even without that, the experienced adult shinobi present all noticed one thing: the white-haired ANBU's gloved hand slowly clenched into a fist.
Is he about to attack?
At the very least, the residents of the Missing-nin Inn, along with the children from Team Minato and Team Kakashi, were already on full alert.
Only Minato Namikaze felt something deeply off.
He couldn't understand why he could sense the chakra signature of his own Flying Thunder God mark coming from this ANBU.
Had he known this person before? Did Konoha even have someone like this?
And yet, there was an inexplicable familiarity that made Kannabi Bridge Minato want nothing more than to rip off that mask and see the face underneath.
Come to think of it…
Looking around at the room full of people.
At the Konoha ANBU who had just rolled out of the black spatial rift.
—Obito Uchiha Ōtsutsuki, from the Q&A Parallel World, whose Rinnegan ability allowed dimensional traversal, was also more than a little confused.
In his world, the sudden appearance of the terrifying Q&A phenomenon had not only exposed the future in advance, but had also given him—the would-be final boss of the Fourth Shinobi World War—a reward called "Bloodline Regression."
That reward directly granted him Ōtsutsuki blood, awakened his Rinnegan, and allowed him to inherit the power of Kamui. As long as he had enough chakra, he could freely open dimensional tunnels.
(See The Collapsing Chūnin Exams.)
Looking at the cute—yet very punchable—young boy who was clearly his younger self, Ōtsutsuki Obito then glanced at the Kakashi without a scar, the girl Rin, and an especially young Minato-sensei.
Something about this was very wrong.
Maybe…
This world was even more complicated than the Q&A Parallel World he came from.
Naruto was about the same age as the Naruto Uzumaki from his own world, yet at the same time, the young version of Team Minato still existed.
Itachi's age hadn't changed either. He still looked eighteen or nineteen. Kisame too…
Could it be that in this world, he, that idiot Kakashi, and Rin had never grown up at all?
Like time itself had been frozen by some bizarre ninjutsu?
As it turned out, even after becoming Ōtsutsuki Obito, his thinking skills were still firmly stuck at "2."
His train of thought remained just as uniquely outrageous as ever.
"Hey, I'm talking to you! Are you mute or what?!"
Young Kakashi's mouth was sharp. Painfully sharp.
Ōtsutsuki Obito really wanted to dash over and grab that clean, pale face, then yank it hard in both directions, just to see if Kakashi could still run his mouth so viciously afterward.
"Eh~? Tobi isn't mute at all~ Tobi is just a totally ordinary, hardworking, dutiful Konoha ANBU, y'know~~"
The pinched voice.
The exaggeratedly coy posture.
A grown man forcefully roleplaying as a high school girl.
It was honestly so ridiculous it made people want to laugh themselves sick.
If they hadn't known who this voice belonged to, they would have seriously wondered what kind of lunatic this was. What sort of Hokage would be bold enough to recruit someone like this? Was Konoha really that short on manpower?!
Unfortunately…
Reality was cruel.
The instant that voice rang out, everyone inside the Missing-nin Inn fell completely silent.
They all recognized it.
That voice was unmistakably Adult Obito's.
Young Obito: "..."
Why did someone as outstanding as me grow up into such a disastrous adult?
This makes no sense…
Young Kakashi: "..."
Idiot.
Itachi Uchiha: "..."
Why did I ever believe this person was the legendary ninja Madara Uchiha?
Careless. I really misjudged him.
Kisame Hoshigaki, Haku, Zabuza Momochi: "..."
Oh.
So it's our Fourth-and-a-half Mizukage-sama.
…That's complicated.
Minato Namikaze: "..."
No wonder he has my Flying Thunder God mark.
Looks like the Obito from this other world is still sick, and not just a little.
He's going to need extra attention.
Rin Nohara: "..."
The Obito from the other world should be getting along with the Kakashi from the other world too, right?
After all, it's Obito and Kakashi. That should be fine… right?
If Rin's inner thoughts could be heard, Ōtsutsuki Obito would probably be crying his grievances on the spot.
That version of Kakashi who once tried to kill him with six hundred billion explosive tags and an oversized Rasengan-like monstrosity was not human. He was a demon.
And he had a chronic self-sacrificing complex. Always throwing random junk into the Kamui space, treating both of their Kamui dimensions like a garbage dump. A clumsy, stupid, human-shaped trash compactor.
Seeing everyone fall into stunned silence, Ōtsutsuki Obito continued his performance as "Tobi" with enthusiasm.
"You really don't believe me? Tobi is just an ordinary ANBU who secretly has a crush on the Sixth Hokage-sama and gets mercilessly exploited by him, waaaah waaaah waaaah~"
(Pfft! As if I'd ever like that walking pile of trash! If it weren't for Rin and Minato-sensei, who would squeeze into that tiny jōnin apartment with him?!)
(And another thing! Why are people from other worlds always obsessed with locking me and that idiot Kakashi together?! What kind of name is 'Obikaka'? And what the hell is 'Kakaobi'? Isn't Obi-Rin way better?!)
Ōtsutsuki Obito suddenly remembered how, in another world, he had secretly liked an Obi-Rin fanwork. The guilt. The flushed face. The heart pounding so fast it nearly exploded.
That shy, awkward behavior…
To everyone else watching—
It really did look like this suddenly deranged Obito was hopelessly in love with the legendary Sixth Hokage.
Unbelievable.
Absolutely unbelievable.
Impressive. Truly impressive.
We'll take our leave now.
The people around him instinctively wanted to distance themselves as far as possible from this genius-level weirdo.
But fate had impeccable timing…
Dragged into this world by the mission scroll, Ōtsutsuki Obito still had no idea that this world actually did have an adult Obito Uchiha.
Nor did he know—
That Adult Obito, who had just finished helping an elderly woman and bought several portions of red bean cakes, was now returning together with the future Sixth Hokage, Kakashi Hatake.
And both he and Adult Kakashi had just heard that entire "confession of love."
…