Chapter 74: Long Time No See, Kakashi Hatake!
"That day, Obito's body was crushed to pieces by rocks. Before he died, he begged... Rin... to take out his Sharingan... In the end, Rin and I could only watch as he was buried."
Kakashi Hatake lowered his head, hiding his vision in the darkness, "I clearly remember that day. Under the circumstances at the time, Obito... couldn't possibly have survived."
While everyone around was feeling down, Kitahara shook its head. Uchiha Obito was much more resilient than anyone imagined.
Obito had successfully survived multiple near-death crises. Kitahara had a deep appreciation for this, as two point-blank Tailed Beast Bombs would have killed anyone else seven or eight times over.
Honestly, compared to Nagato, perhaps Uchiha Obito was more like the other Child of Prophecy mentioned by the Great Toad Sage.
His life was less like a manga and more like a myth! Even Minato Namikaze would never have imagined that the impulsive youth in his squad would one day brazenly declare war on the entire ninja world!
If it weren't for Minato's son being so promising and pulling off a series of flashy maneuvers, his disciple would have almost won.
After that guy broke free from the shackles of his bonds, he grew wildly and wantonly like a weed... Both his strategy and strength improved at a super-high level, and he even found a path to survival in a deathtrap others had laid for him.
His story fully interpreted a truth: if a woman doesn't provoke her man, you'll never know how ruthless he can be.
"That is to say, Senior Kakashi never saw Uchiha Obito's dead body, correct?" Uchiha Shisui stopped Itachi, who wanted to ask a question, and asked in his stead.
He had completely recovered his former demeanor of an older brother, gazing at the white-haired man immersed in memories and speaking eloquently, "It might be a bit rude to say, but if Itachi's speculation is correct, and there really is a rogue Uchiha clan ninja in the outside world..."
"Absolutely impossible."
Kakashi Hatake, with his head still down, said firmly, "You've never understood your own clan members, have you? After all, that guy was different from you two geniuses. He was a famous Uchiha dead-last in the village, with very poor talent, who only awakened his Sharingan shortly before his death..."
"Obito was often late, often laughed foolishly, and was often dejected."
"Obito possessed a kindness unlike an Uchiha. From childhood, he helped many elderly people in the village with mobility issues. Even if people looked down on him, he never cared."
"Obito hated people who didn't cherish their comrades the most."
"Obito's dream was to become Hokage. He loved this village more than anyone else."
The white-haired ninja chattered on. He had never realized he understood his old friend so well, nor had he ever noticed that his own life was gradually approaching that of the former Obito.
But Uchiha Itachi and Shisui listened with dark expressions. If you want to praise your friend, just praise him; we'll listen. The problem is, isn't it bad to mix in so much personal bias?
Did the Uchiha clan provoke you?
"The one Obito liked most was..." Kakashi Hatake's voice suddenly stopped, and he struggled to utter a name: "Rin."
"At that time, if Obito had really survived, he would definitely have chosen to return to Konoha, because here was everything he loved."
The gentle Teacher Minato Namikaze, the hot-tempered but most fond of Obito, Mistress Kushina Uzumaki, and... that girl with the face paint whom he was always watching.
But, everything Obito had once loved was gone, leaving only a sinner barely clinging to life... Thinking of this, Kakashi's eyes suddenly widened!
Clink...
There seemed to be the sound of something falling. Along with this sound came a flash of malice. The perception of sage art chakra instantly pinpointed the location.
"Caw..."
Kitahara's eyes suddenly lit up. It gazed at a patch of darkness not far away. Kakashi's story was a bit sad... but if the protagonist of the story was also present, the plot would become even more exciting.
"What's wrong?"
Uchiha Itachi followed Kitahara's gaze. In the darkness of the night, there was a faint white shape, "That's..."
Everyone present was instantly startled by the sound, warily watching the two figures walking out from the darkness, "Who's there!"
The streetlight gradually illuminated their appearance: a mysterious man with disheveled hair and a strange person with a black and white face.
Kakashi Hatake's attention was clearly misplaced. He ignored the Sharingan in the masked man's eye and focused his gaze on the strange person, "He is... Zetsu!"
"That rogue ninja!"
Might Guy's body instantly tensed, and he stood in front of Itachi, "Itachi, I'll protect you! It's time for Konoha's Sublime Blue Beast to repay his debt!"
Zetsu was dumbfounded, "..."
Why is Konoha so insistent on defining it as a rogue ninja! Their village's rogue ninja is clearly right beside me... These brain-dead Konoha ninjas just turn a blind eye.
Kakashi calmed his emotions and stood firm, a small ninja sword appearing in his hand as he said gravely, "Infiltrating Konoha tonight, do you have some special purpose?"
"Kakashi Hatake..." The mysterious masked man's voice sounded somewhat deep, "Just happened to be passing by, heard some strange remarks, and didn't expect to be discovered... Besides, with your intelligence, you should have figured it out by now, right?"
He had originally gone to the Memorial Stone to visit Rin. On the way, he heard that Uchiha Itachi was participating in the Chunin Exams today and couldn't resist using a transformation jutsu to mix into the crowd, wanting to see this number one Uchiha genius. The result truly gave him a huge surprise.
Whether it was the Mangekyo Sharingan at less than seven years old or that arrogant crow, especially that crow—it was one thing that it had almost killed him twice, but it also knew a few too many secrets!
Uchiha Obito and Zetsu absolutely didn't want to appear in front of Kitahara, but when he heard Kakashi's words, he revealed a trace of malice, which was immediately sensed by the crow...
Since the crow and Uchiha Itachi had sought confirmation from Kakashi, and during the night of the Nine-Tails' attack, Obito and the crow had a not-so-friendly encounter... that black bird must have heard Minato Namikaze mention his name.
Since things had come to this, let's just throw caution to the wind!
Besides, Obito dared to come to Konoha this time because he had a trump card. If that crow dared to release a Tailed Beast Bomb in the Kamui dimension again, it would definitely be taught a lesson!
Definitely! He swore!
"Since I'll be discovered soon enough, there's no need to hide anymore. I think there must be someone who doesn't want to see me..."
Uchiha Obito hadn't yet experienced a darker baptism. A strong sense of revenge welled up. As he spoke, he reached up and slowly took off the mask on his face.
As Obito removed the mask, his voice changed from a deep, disguised one to a hoarse one, "It's been a long time..."
"Kakashi Hatake!"
The full face of the mysterious masked man was finally revealed. Almost everyone sucked in a cold breath. Kakashi Hatake's eyes widened.
The ferocious half of his face was pieced together with the intact other half. The expression on his face showed no trace of adolescent immaturity, filled instead with malicious mockery and fierce cruelty, and even the lingering, unwiped tears of blood.
He was clearly just saying the name of his old, dear friend, yet everyone present could clearly feel a bone-deep... hatred!
(End of this chapter)