On the screen, facing the somewhat unhinged Sasuke, Kakashi's voice remained calm. "I don't want to kill you."
Sasuke's smile faded, replaced by contempt. "You talk like you could kill me at any moment!"
"Stop acting like you're still my Sensei. I'm itching to kill you... Kakashi."
By the time Sasuke finished speaking, Kakashi had already pulled up his eyepatch, revealing the three-tomoe Sharingan belonging to Obito.
The appearance of this Sharingan only further provoked Sasuke's frenzied emotions.
"The Sharingan is proof of being an Uchiha. A lowlife ninja who isn't an Uchiha... has no right showing off that eye!"
Kakashi was shocked, never expecting Sasuke to be so thoroughly corrupted.
Sasuke suddenly charged at Kakashi, casually tossing a handful of shuriken—but the target was Sakura, who was standing a distance behind Kakashi.
The shuriken sliced through the air with sharp, piercing sounds, leaving trails of cold light.
For a moment, even Kakashi was taken aback by Sasuke's combat experience. The ability to instantly identify a weak point in the midst of battle was not something that could be achieved through training alone.
"Earth Style: Mud Wall!"
With the familiar Earth Release hand sign, coupled with the timeless dog head motif, Kakashi blocked all of Sasuke's shuriken.
Stone fragments flew everywhere, several deep scratches appearing on the dog-head wall.
[To be honest, starting from the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Hokage lineage has had a fine tradition of killing one's teacher to prove oneself—as seen with Hiruzen and Orochimaru, Minato and Obito, Jiraiya and Nagato, as well as Kakashi and Sasuke.]
[Among these, Orochimaru and Nagato succeeded in killing their teachers. Obito can only be counted as half a success—he failed to kill Minato and nearly got killed himself. Still, since he accomplished his goal of unleashing the Nine-Tails and thus indirectly caused Minato's death, it could be considered a partial success.]
---
This revelation exploded like a bomb in the hearts of those involved across the various Shinobi World timelines.
[Konoha, Year 60. A valley outside Konoha]
The campfire had already gone out, leaving only a few wisps of smoke drifting faintly in the afternoon light.
Hearing the Sky Screen's words, Jiraiya was stunned for a moment, then helplessly scratched his hair, making his white mane somewhat messy.
"So I die at Nagato's hands in the future?"
No wonder when Nagato, controlling Tendo Pain, came to Konoha, he wasn't there. He must have already been dead by then.
Wait—
'Obito?'
Only then did Jiraiya sense something wrong, and quickly realized something else.
The person on the screen who had caused the Nine-Tails' rampage—the mysterious black-robed masked figure—was actually Uchiha Obito?!
Minato's Uchiha student?
The Konoha hero who had sacrificed himself at Kannabi Bridge?
But why would he do that?
Jiraiya was deeply puzzled. He turned to look at Kakashi, intending to get some answers.
He opened his mouth, about to say something, but when he saw Kakashi's state, he swallowed his words.
Kakashi had his eyes tightly shut, looking completely closed off.
Clearly, the Sky Screen's revelation had shattered the last glimmer of hope in his heart.
Sigh~
Jiraiya lamented inwardly, knowing that he wouldn't get any answers for now. So he turned his gaze back to the screen and said nothing.
Meanwhile, Naruto on the side was so angry that his face turned red. "Obito, huh…!"
That guy killed his parents… he was going to find him and get revenge.
Sakura's attention, however, was on a different aspect.
The Sky Screen said that the first three succeeded in killing their teachers—which meant Sasuke had not succeeded.
She quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
Sasuke said nothing, just staring at his future self on the screen, feeling somewhat irritable.
How cool was the White-Robed Sasuke from before!
And now this version of him—blinded by hatred and power—was that really him?
---
[Hokage Office]
Tsunade narrowed her eyes and tapped her fingers lightly on the desk, already forming a guess about the cause of Jiraiya's death.
She had been planning to send Jiraiya to gather intelligence on the Akatsuki.
If that was what fate had originally intended, then perhaps she had been the one to cause Jiraiya's death?
If so, then Jiraiya absolutely can not go.
And more information about the Akatsuki would likely be revealed by the Sky Screen anyway.
"Old man, look at how you taught your other students."
Tsunade's voice carried a hint of mockery. "You were killed by Orochimaru. Jiraiya and Minato were killed by their students… At least I trained mine well. Shizune and Sakura are practically saints among these disciples."
Hiruzen could only smoke his pipe, a wry smile on his face.
At least Orochimaru's plan had been stopped. It wasn't that he feared death—it was that he needed to stay alive to deal with the Akatsuki.
---
[Akatsuki Hideout]
Deidara shouted, jumping up from his seat. "So Tobi's real name is Obito!"
"Oh my, that's really impressive. A student who managed to kill his Sensei. He always acts like an idiot, but he's actually that ruthless?"
"And he wears a mask not because he's ugly, but because he's afraid of being recognized?"
A few low laughs echoed through the hideout.
The more Deidara thought about it, the angrier he became. He was usually quite good to Tobi, even treating him to dango and doing missions with him. Who knew that he was actually being deceived.
That guy kept acting stupid and cute in front of him, and he actually thought Tobi was quite naive.
Itachi's emotions remained unmoved. What did it matter if he knew "Madara's" real name?
Whether that man was Uchiha Obito or Uchiha Madara made no difference to him. What he needed to do wouldn't change, and who he needed to protect wouldn't change.
---
[Land of Rain, Amegakure]
Konan looked worriedly at Nagato, who was sitting in his wheelchair in front of her.
Nagato was looking out the window at the unending rain. "If Jiraiya-sensei becomes an enemy standing in our way in the future, I will not hesitate to kill him."
"That is the fate of a shinobi."
His voice held no hesitation, no sorrow—as if he was stating the simplest of facts.
Konan's lips parted. "And what about Mada… Uchiha Obito?"
"It doesn't matter. Whether he is Madara, Mr. Simp, or Obito—as long as he doesn't interfere with our plan, he remains a member of the Akatsuki."
---
Meanwhile, on a hidden cliff somewhere in the Shinobi World.
Obito sat alone on the high ledge, watching the screen, trembling with rage.
"AHHHHHHH…"
"Damn this screen! You are exposing my identity just like that?"
Just thinking about how he had been pretending to be a mysterious figure—and an idiot—in front of Nagato, Itachi, and the other Akatsuki members made his face burn.
How was he supposed to face them now?
*****
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