The Sky Screen quickly returned to calm, but when the screen's light fully emerged and the content became clear, the entire Shinobi World seemed to lose its voice. Those who had just been lamenting Konan's fall now stood with their mouths open, unable to make a sound.
A person appeared on the screen.
A figure the vast majority of people had never seen before stood above the skies. From his facial features, one could vaguely recognize the appearance of Uchiha Obito.
But he was completely different from the image of Obito in the Kamui dimension, battered, mask broken, half his face scarred, when he had fought Kakashi.
Now he wore a white robe adorned with magatama patterns, the magatama arranged neatly like stars in the sky. He held a black staff, its shaft dark as ink, the top curved into a ring. And behind him floated several black Truth-Seeking Orbs, orbiting him like satellites.
His dark green hair had turned white, fluttering in the wind. Two horns grew from his forehead, and his expression was indifferent, devoid of any emotion. His entire being exuded a suffocating pressure, like a god standing in the clouds looking down upon ants.
Although people before the Fourth Great Ninja War era had never seen such a form, it was as if they needed no explanation; they instantly realized that this was Obito, who had reached the Six Paths-Level in the future!
No one needed to tell them. But the same thought rose in everyone's mind: if the Sage of Six Paths still existed in this world, this is what he would look like.
[Uchiha Obito, the mastermind behind the Akatsuki. After Sasori's death, he inherited the title of "Jewel" under the name Tobi and officially appeared within the Akatsuki.]
[Next, we will use three minutes to review the life of Uchiha Obito.]
When the Sky Screen's voice sounded, people across every Timeline of the Shinobi World instantly wore expressions of "just as expected."
They had long guessed this would happen. From the day Obito's mask shattered and his identity was revealed, they knew everything about this man would eventually be dug up.
They just hadn't expected it to happen like this; his entire life reviewed in three minutes.
---
[Amegakure, The Tall Tower]
Nagato and Konan ignored the drizzle wetting their faces, both tilting their heads up. Rainwater ran down the bridges of their noses, into their collars, but they didn't seem to notice.
Nagato stared at the white-haired, white-robed figure on the screen, his pupils contracting slightly. Konan's lips moved, as if she were saying something, but the rain was too loud, and nothing could be heard. They were just afraid of missing any piece of information.
Everything about Obito and Madara, the Eye of the Moon Plan, and the truth about the Rinnegan—perhaps it was all hidden within these three minutes.
---
[Land of Waves, Tazuna's House]
Kakashi immediately straightened up. The worn copy of 'Icha Icha Paradise' in his hand dropped to the floor with a thud. He didn't pick it up, nor did he even glance down.
His eyes were fixed on the screen, the reflection of the white-haired man in his pupils. His fingers trembled slightly at his sides, his breathing quickening.
Kakashi desperately wanted to know why Obito had become what he was today. If it was because of Rin's death, then how could the deaths of Minato-sensei and Kushina-senpai be explained?
Obito must have been controlled by Madara with the Mangekyō Sharingan! Otherwise, why would he be obsessed with a fake Eye of the Moon Plan?
Not far from Kakashi, Naruto could no longer spare the effort to comfort Sasuke. Instead, he clenched his fists and once again focused all his attention to the screen.
Minato, Kushina, young Rin, and Kakashi—countless timelines intersected, but they all locked their gazes tightly onto the screen.
Only Obito himself, who had quietly returned to a cave somewhere in the Shinobi World with Kisame, merely lifted his eyelids. After casually glancing at the screen with indifference, he closed them again. Even the sight of his future Six Paths form couldn't draw his gaze.
Kisame sat at the cave entrance, Samehada resting across his knees, his eyes also drawn to the screen.
While Obito leaned against the stone wall, eyes closed, head tilted back, his thoughts drifting somewhere unknown.
---
At that moment, a slightly sorrowful melody began to play.
[Age 5: Enrolled in the Ninja Academy.]
The screen lit up.
The sun was bright. People came and went on the streets of Konoha, and the shop signs swayed gently in the wind. A boy wearing goggles ran frantically forward, "Oh no, oh no, oh no, I absolutely cannot be late today!"
In front of him, the Ninja Academy had a banner hanging that read "Entrance Ceremony." The new students' enrollment ceremony seemed to be underway.
But just as he was still some distance from the academy, the banner had already fallen halfway. Young Kakashi, Rin, Guy, and the other new students walked out chatting and laughing, while Obito stood alone across from them, looking at a loss.
And from the perspective behind him, the young Obito, wearing clothes marked with the Uchiha clan crest, seemed separated from everyone else in Konoha by a rift in time itself. Behind him was an empty street, no parents, no companions, no one at all.
An invisible boundary seem to separate him from them.
"It's okay, I picked this up for you. As long as you submit these documents, you can enroll."
But just then, a girl's voice broke through the boundary of time and space. She handed a sealed envelope to young Obito with one hand, tilting her head and smiling at him, marking his eventual successful entry into the Ninja Academy.
[Age 8: Mastered Shuriken Throwing and basic Fire Release.]
The scene shifted.
Young Obito, having learned that Kakashi had graduated from the Ninja Academy early, threw Shuriken alone on the training ground like a madman, practicing Fire Release alone in the forest until he collapsed from exhaustion.
From falling leaves to white snow, the screen silently revealed his efforts.
[Age 9: Passed the graduation exam, became a Genin of Konoha.]
Young Obito gave it his all, using the Shadow Clone Jutsu to successfully create an identical copy of himself. The scene then shifted, and he was holding his Konoha forehead protector, jumping with joy.
In the empty, spacious hall, Rin solemnly held up Obito's graduation certificate with both hands, an encouraging smile on her face as she clearly and earnestly read out the graduation address.
[Age 9: Joined Team Minato.]
The scene shifted again.
A panting young Obito burst through the door of the photo studio. "I'm late!"
What greeted him was Rin's smile, and young Kakashi's thumbs-down gesture.
"Too late!"
Just as Obito and Kakashi were about to start arguing, Minato, who had just become their Jōnin instructor, quickly pulled them apart. "Alright, alright, stop fighting."
The scene froze on Minato forcing Obito and Kakashi's heads together, capturing their first and only group photo.
In the photo, young Obito and Kakashi both looked defiant. Minato had one hand on each of their heads, smiling. While Rin was making peace signs, smiling the brightest of all.
---
[Konoha Year 60, Land of Waves]
Kakashi looked at the enlarged photo on the screen and tilted his head back as far as he could, unwilling to let his students see his expression.
Elsewhere in the Shinobi World, Obito's eyes had opened at some point, staring blankly at the group photo with Minato.
Minato-sensei, Rin's smile, and Kakashi's punchable face. He thought he had long forgotten it all, but the moment the screen showed them, those memories surged back like a tide, crashing through the walls he had spent over a decade building.
[Age 10: First Chūnin Exam. Failed.]
On the screen—
Young Obito stood alone by a lake, forming hand seals, and forcefully spitting out a fireball!
By this point, his Great Fireball Jutsu was already decent.
But when the scene shifted to the Chūnin Exam matches, his performance was less than impressive.
During the team battle in the Forest of Death, young Guy's team encountered Obito's team. Distracted, young Obito was kicked in the face by Guy, with the candy in his mouth flying out as he collapsed on the spot.
In the subsequent formal 1v1 elimination round, young Obito faced Guy again. And this time, distracted by hearing Rin cheer for him, he was kicked flying by Guy once more, sent sprawling to the ground.
---
[Konoha Year 60, Team Guy's Location]
Guy scratched the back of his head, looking somewhat puzzled. How did he not remember kicking Obito flying twice before, and during the Chūnin Exams, no less?
Meanwhile, watching this, Obito, who had been brooding just moments ago, couldn't control his expression. He gritted his teeth: "That deadlast, both times he caught me off guard and ambushed me! In a fair fight, he'd never be my match!"
Hearing this, Kisame glanced back at him in surprise. He hadn't expected Obito to still be holding a grudge over something from his childhood.
[Age 11: Second Chūnin Exam. Became a Chūnin.]
[Though there's a gap compared to Kakashi's 5-year-old Genin, 6-year-old Chūnin, and 12-year-old Jōnin feat. Compared to Naruto, Sasuke, and the others who only graduated from the Ninja Academy at 12, Obito was not weak. In fact, he was far stronger.]
The screen split in two: on one side, young Obito joyfully tossed his Chūnin appointment letter and flak jacket into the air; on the other, Rin and the others had prepared a secret party to celebrate Kakashi's promotion to Jōnin. Which ended with the bouquet of flowers hidden behind Obito's back dropping to the ground with a plop, the petals scattering everywhere.
[Age 13: Participated in the Third Great Ninja War. Awakened his Sharingan during a mission, and it awakened directly as a Two-Tomoe Sharingan.]
[Unfortunately, Obito soon "died" in battle, giving his left eye to Kakashi as a gift before his death.]
The scenes shifted rapidly with the narration.
During a mission in the Third Great Ninja War—
Kakashi was appointed team leader, leading Obito and Rin on a mission. But an accident occurred along the way; Rin was captured by Iwagakure shinobis.
"The mission takes priority." Young Kakashi's tone was cold. "Rin is a medical-nin, so she won't be in immediate danger. We must destroy the Kannabi Bridge as planned. After all, those who break the rules are trash."
"What did you say?!" Young Obito grabbed Kakashi by the collar, his eyes bloodshot with shock and fury beneath his goggles.
"I believe that the White Fang was a true hero..."
"Sure in the Shinobi World, those who break the rules are regarded as trash… but those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash!"
"I'm gonna be trash anyway, so I choose to break the rules. And if the Shinobi code is something that cold-blooded, then I'll destroy this system myself!"
With that, young Obito turned around resolutely and charged alone into the darkness to rescue Rin. And Kakashi, shaken by the impact and memories of the past, ultimately gritted his teeth and followed behind.
And it was during this battle that young Obito, witnessing Kakashi nearly die protecting him, instantly awakened his Two-Tomoe Sharingan.
But the joy of their victory was fleeting. Due to inexperience, they failed to finish off the downed enemy, and a surviving Iwa shinobi launched a final Earth Release Jutsu.
The massive rock ceiling came crashing down on them.
"Watch out!"
At that critical moment, young Obito used all his strength to push Kakashi out of the falling rocks' range.
RUMBLE!!!
And amid the bone-chilling sound of cracking and Obito's agonized scream, the rock crushed his right side, blood instantly soaking the rubble.
"Obito!!" Kakashi's eyes nearly split with rage. He tried to move the boulder but couldn't. He could only watch as Obito lay trapped beneath it, his life rapidly fading.
The dying Obito looked at the devastated Kakashi, and on his blood-stained face appeared a faint, relieved smile: "Oh yeah… I had forgotten… I was the only one who… didn't give you a gift… for becoming a Jōnin, Kakashi. I was… wondering what to give you… and I just had a thought. Don't worry… it's not some useless, extra baggage… I'm giving you… my Sharingan."
"Kakashi… take care of… Rin."
The screen split in two again: on the left appeared young Kakashi's pale, anguished face, and on the right appeared young Obito's face gradually losing color beneath the boulder.
As the two halves merged into one, Kakashi's left eye had become Obito's Sharingan.
Whether it was his tears or young Obito's, nobody could tell as they slid down Kakashi's face.
'Yeah… I will definitely protect her!'
Kakashi drew out the White Fang short blade and charged without hesitation toward the Iwa shinobi resting outside the cave. In that instant, he fully understood Sakumo's choice to abandon the mission for his comrades all those years ago.
BOOM!
Dust and debris flew everywhere!
Kakashi's assault was lightning-fast. The White Fang blade shattered in the fierce clash, as if severing the shadow of his father's death in his heart, only to immediately be replaced by a deeper darkness called 'Obito's death.'
"CHIDORI!"
A piercing crackle of thunder replaced the blade's cold gleam. Kakashi's hate-filled strike, combined with the Sharingan's insight, precisely pierced through every enemy's heart.
But in the distance, the sound of more Iwa shinobis approaching echoed.
Meanwhile, beneath the boulder, young Obito used his last bit of strength to push away Rin's hand as she tried to pull him out: "Go… hurry… live on… for both of us."
Rin immediately burst into tears. She and Kakashi then turned and fled amid their aching hearts, leaving Obito alone to face the coming death and darkness.
'I really… I really wanted to spend more time with everyone. And in the end, I never got to confess to Rin.'
Obito's final whisper dissipated through the cracks in the rubble as his consciousness sank into boundless darkness.
On the other side, Kakashi and Rin's escape route was also blocked by Iwa shinobis. Seeing this, Kakashi shielded Rin behind him, and the Chidori's screech rang out again.
"Rin! I'll hold them off! Get out now!"
"I promised Obito I'd look after you… I'll protect you with my life!"
"Obito cared about you. He loved you… That's why he gave his life to protect you."
At that moment of life-or-death, Rin suddenly summoned her courage: "Then, Kakashi! You should know my feelings for you…"
Hearing those words, Kakashi's body stiffened slightly. "Don't say it. I… I tried to abandon you… I'm nothing but trash."
With that he got ready to stake his life on a final charge.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Just then, the Yellow Flash descended on the battlefield. Minato's figure flickered through the enemy ranks, and wherever his kunai's cold gleam passed, Iwa shinobis fell like wheat stalks.
*****
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