"I know."
"If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, that would be one thing."
"But now that I have…"
"How can I simply stand by and do nothing?"
"Garuda."
"You aren't from this era."
"The people of this age should resolve their own problems."
"The world will continue turning no matter who exists within it."
"We're not nearly as important as we imagine."
With those words…
Isamu led Garuda away.
Helping Konoha…
Perhaps that would happen someday.
But not now.
The current Konoha…
Shrouded in darkness…
Wasn't worthy of his sympathy.
Meanwhile…
The battle between teacher and student—
Obito and Minato—
had already concluded.
The entire fight had lasted barely two minutes.
Minato ultimately emerged with a slight advantage.
Obito escaped…
But at the cost of one of his Hashirama arms.
The moment Obito retreated…
Isamu quietly followed him using Kamui.
Fifty kilometers outside Konoha…
Obito finally stopped.
Frowning slightly, he glanced behind him.
"You can come out."
"I know someone's been following me."
Hearing those words…
Isamu no longer concealed himself.
He stepped out together with Garuda.
"Heh…"
"Not bad."
"Not bad at all."
"I released only the faintest trace of my presence…"
"…and you noticed immediately."
"You've got talent."
Obito clutched his injured chest.
When he saw the long-haired man before him…
He froze for a moment.
The hairstyle…
Resembled Madara's almost perfectly.
"Who are you?"
"Does that matter?"
"Losing to Minato…"
"And ending up seriously injured…"
"That couldn't have felt very pleasant."
"After all…"
"Someone capable of becoming Hokage was never going to be easy to deal with."
Isamu spoke calmly as he looked at Obito's wounds.
"Hmph."
"So what if he's Hokage?"
"He only won because of luck."
"My objective was accomplished."
"In the end…"
"I'm the winner."
"Whether it was luck or not…"
"You know the answer better than I do."
"Yes."
"You succeeded in releasing the Nine-Tails."
"But Minato didn't lose."
"And neither did you truly win."
Obito remained silent.
Deep down…
He knew it was true.
With his current strength…
He simply couldn't overcome Minato Namikaze, whose Flying Thunder God Technique made him nearly untouchable.
Even so…
His objective had been achieved.
That alone was enough.
Seeing Obito's silence…
Isamu sighed.
"What a shame."
"If you'd been born into my clan…"
"Perhaps everything would've been different."
"What a pity…"
"What a waste."
Obito narrowed his eyes.
"So…"
"You know who I really am."
"It seems you've seen straight through me."
"I'd really like to know…"
"Who exactly are you?"
"No one in the shinobi world knows my identity."
"Where did you learn it?"
"You ask too many questions."
"And I have no obligation to answer them."
"My identity isn't a secret."
"If you're curious…"
"Ask the Zetsu hiding nearby."
"Isn't that right…"
"Zetsu?"
As he spoke…
Isamu looked toward a large tree.
He had sensed Zetsu's presence long ago.
Realizing he'd been exposed…
Zetsu awkwardly emerged.
"Haha…"
"Well…"
"The weather's pretty nice tonight…"
"It is."
"A dark, windy night…"
"Perfect for murder."
Isamu's eyes narrowed.
"Uh…"
"Well…"
Before Zetsu could continue…
Isamu interrupted him.
"What you're doing has nothing to do with me."
"I only came to meet the one responsible for tonight's Nine-Tails incident."
"I've seen enough."
"Garuda."
"Let's go."
With that…
He took Garuda's hand and walked away.
Leaving behind…
A bewildered Obito…
And a rather helpless Zetsu.
"He's still exactly the same."
"I can never figure out what he's thinking."
Zetsu sighed as he watched Isamu disappear into the distance.
"Zetsu."
"Who exactly was that?"
"Him?"
"He's…"
While Obito questioned Zetsu…
Garuda was equally curious.
"Isamu…"
"That Obito…"
"He's actually an Uchiha?"
"What exactly happened?"
"Sigh…"
"Obito…"
"Is actually a rather tragic person."
Then…
Without hiding anything…
Isamu recounted Obito's entire story.
From childhood…
To Rin's death…
To Madara's manipulation…
Everything.
"That's how it happened."
"The death of the person he loved…"
"Left an emptiness in his heart."
"And to fill that void…"
"He chose this path."
"So that's the truth…"
Garuda sighed softly.
"I never imagined…"
"The one attacking Konoha…"
"Was once one of its greatest heroes."
"To throw away everything…"
"For the sake of the person he loved…"
"Obito truly is pitiful."
"The Uchiha…"
"Are a clan that loves deeply."
"When that love is lost…"
"It changes them completely."
"If love disappears…"
"Hatred takes its place."
"As for whether someone can escape that hatred…"
"That depends entirely on themselves."
Isamu sighed quietly.
"Then…"
"Isamu…"
"Have you ever experienced something like that?"
Garuda looked at him curiously.
"As an Uchiha…"
"That's a trial every one of us must eventually face."
"I simply…"
"Managed to overcome mine much sooner."
It was obvious…
He didn't wish to continue that topic.
Seeing this…
Garuda wisely remained silent.
After walking for a while…
She asked another question.
"Where are we going now?"
"As you said earlier…"
"Some things…"
"Really can't be ignored."
"Since I'm already in Konoha…"
"There's one small matter…"
"I still need to take care of."
With that…
Isamu led Garuda swiftly toward the outskirts of the village—
Toward the battlefield where the Nine-Tails was rampaging.
Before long…
The two arrived nearby.
From a distance…
They saw Minato Namikaze and Uzumaki Kushina.
The Nine-Tails…
Was firmly restrained by Kushina's Adamantine Sealing Chains.
At that very moment…
Hiruzen Sarutobi also arrived.
Minato immediately began forming hand seals.
"Reaper Death Seal!"
The Shinigami appeared.
"So…"
"Minato has chosen the Uzumaki Clan's ultimate sealing technique."
"He's placing all his hopes…"
"…on his own son."
Watching Minato's hand seals…
Isamu murmured quietly.
Looking at the husband and wife below…
Garuda couldn't help saying,
"Isamu…"
"Please help them."
"They're suffering so much…"
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