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"Hey, freeloader, what's wrong with Lin? Why did she..."
Following Hakushi all the way to the hospital rooftop, Obito couldn't wait to ask, his face filled with anxiety.
"As you saw, Lin has lost her memory now."
Unlike Obito's anxiety, Hakushi responded calmly.
"Memory loss?"
Having seen Lin not recognize him earlier, Obito had his suspicions, but hearing it confirmed by Hakushi was still hard to accept.
"That's right. It's probably because of guilt, feeling too ashamed to face you, so she chose to close herself off."
Hakushi sighed.
"Guilt?"
Obito looked bewildered.
"She selfishly wanted to die by your kunai, leaving you to bear the pain of killing a friend alone. That's where her guilt and self-blame come from. Compared to the momentary pain she would have felt, the pain you're enduring would accompany you for a lifetime. That's what she thought back then. She couldn't forgive herself for such selfish behavior."
Hakushi said.
Obito's breathing became rapid, as if his heart ached, he clutched his chest and whispered, "I never meant to blame Lin... It's because of my eyes that Lin was targeted."
Hakushi walked up to Obito, looking directly into his regret-filled eyes.
"Precisely because of that, you were too lenient with her, so when Lin decided to die, she felt guilty and chose to seal off her heart, unable to face her selfish self."
"..."
Obito fell silent.
"... Is there no way to restore it?"
Obito still felt reluctant.
"That is Lin's own choice. If you think it's a good thing for Lin to regain that part of her memory."
Hakushi's words left Obito speechless.
Indeed, restoring that part of the memory might not be a good thing for Lin.
He wanted to bear all the pain by himself, not wanting Lin to suffer more—this was Obito's current thought.
For him, Lin being alive was his greatest inner salvation.
"Let's not talk about Lin... What are your plans after this?"
Hakushi asked about Obito's future plans.
"My plans?" Obito was startled for a moment before replying thoughtfully, "I want to take Lin back to Konoha. After all, I'm a ninja of Konoha, and Kakashi is waiting for me. I've now awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan, which should also be important to the village."
"Is that really what you think?"
"Of course."
"Then are you trying to get Lin killed?"
Hakushi's questioning caught Obito slightly off guard.
How could taking Lin back to Konoha lead to her being harmed?
This seemed overly alarmist.
"What do you mean?"
"Lin tried to commit suicide because someone had implanted the Seven-tails inside her and put a curse on her to prevent self-harm. Someone wanted to control her, using the Seven-tails inside her to attack Konoha. Lin wanted to stop all this, so she decided to die by your kunai."
Hakushi succinctly explained the situation, helping Obito understand why Lin would choose to die by his kunai under those circumstances.
Under those circumstances, it was the only choice Lin could make.
"What does that have to do with Lin and me returning to Konoha?"
Obito asked in confusion.
"The Seven-tails was assigned to the Hidden Waterfall Village by the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama, during the first Five Kage Summit, which is recognized internationally. If Lin returns to Konoha, to prevent diplomatic conflicts with the Hidden Waterfall Village and avoid verbal attacks from other ninja villages, what do you think will happen to Lin?"
Hakushi reminded Obito word by word.
"What will happen?"
Obito swallowed nervously.
"Lin will be taken over by the Hidden Waterfall Village, and the Seven-tails will be extracted. And the outcome for a Jinchuriki having their Tailed Beast extracted is death."
"It can't be that serious, right?"
Obito's heart tightened.
He had heard a bit about Tailed Beasts, knowing they were powerful biological weapons, but he wasn't clear on the other details.
Whether a Jinchuriki would die if their Tailed Beast was extracted was unknown to Obito.
However, he didn't dare to risk Lin's life on something uncertain; that much was certain.
"You can take Lin back and try. I can guarantee, Lin's death will definitely happen. At that time, even if I have the ability to save someone on their last breath, I certainly don't have the power to resurrect the dead."
Obito said nothing, he didn't dare to gamble.
If he lost the gamble and Konoha, for its own safety, handed Lin over to the Hidden Waterfall Village to have the Seven-tails extracted and she died, Obito felt he would never forgive himself for the rest of his life.
It's because of the pain of past losses that he now understands the value of what was lost and found again.
When Lin died, it felt like the entire world had collapsed, and the world no longer had a place for him, leaving life joyless.
At that time, Obito understood one thing, that was to him, dreams of becoming Hokage, protecting the village, were not as important as even a single finger of Lin.
"What should I do now?"
Obito's mind was in chaos.
"Stay here in peace, you were set up, causing Lin to be captured, ultimately because you were too weak. If you want to protect Lin well, you must make good use of the new Sharingan awakened because of her."
"Can mastering this Mangekyo Sharingan really protect Lin?"
A spark lit in Obito's eyes.
"Of course, after all, it's the supreme Pupil Technique of the Uchiha Race, fundamentally different from the ordinary Tomoe Sharingan. I will personally teach you how to use this power."