Though his body was aged, his skin deeply wrinkled, and even his fingertips looked like withered branches, the chakra within him was still abundant thanks to the nourishment of the God Tree.
After Obito Uchiha, inhabiting the body of the elderly Madara Uchiha, cast a Sharingan genjutsu on everyone present, the Iwa ninja fell to the ground one after another.
At the same time, Kakashi, Rin, and Obito were also drawn into the illusion.
Dragging his frail body forward step by step, he activated the Wood Release cells within Madara's body. As expected, a wooden spike formed in his palm. Madara's body had once fused with Hashirama Senju's cells, granting him the ability to use Wood Release as well.
Thud.
The sharp spike pierced straight through an Iwa ninja's heart.
The man, trapped in the genjutsu, didn't even have time to scream before his life ended.
Without the slightest hesitation, he moved on to the next. One. Two. Three.
He harvested the remaining Iwa ninja without emotion. Though he wasn't wielding Madara's scythe, the sight of him was no different from the Grim Reaper himself.
Until the last Iwa ninja fell.
He walked past Young Kakashi…
Past Obito Uchiha, who had lost consciousness as Hashirama's cells eroded his body, Wood Release bursting violently from the right side of his form…
And finally stopped in front of Rin Nohara.
He slowly crouched down.
The sight of Rin lying unconscious stirred memories of a hellish scene buried deep within him.
But this Rin was alive.
She was only caught in his genjutsu, trapped in a dream.
Rin…
She was still alive.
His aged hand slowly reached toward the girl's smooth cheek.
The trembling motion seemed filled with fear, as if even the slightest touch would cause everything to shatter into bubbles and fade into illusion.
Or perhaps he feared that his hand would once again—
Fail to touch her skin.
Leaving him alone to exist in despair, trapped in hell.
His hand shook uncontrollably.
When his fingers were only an inch from her cheek, the aged hand snapped back as if burned.
This was Rin Nohara, the one Obito Uchiha loved more than anyone.
And now he was—
Madara Uchiha.
At the moment he was about to touch Rin, he saw his own withered fingers, then looked at Rin's youthful face, only thirteen years old, her skin soft and unblemished.
And beside her lay Obito Uchiha, unconscious, his fate unknown.
Once again, this man put on his "mask."
He was Madara Uchiha. He was not Obito Uchiha.
And the Rin before him was not his Rin, but the Rin belonging to that Obito over there.
Only by fulfilling his promise to Rin, by saving this world in a grand and heroic way, by leading everyone out of this false reality and into the beautiful, blissful Infinite Tsukuyomi, could he remove the mask and reunite with his Rin.
As for that foolish Kakashi?
He could come along too.
And Minato-sensei's family— they would live happily together with their child in a brand-new world.
Fugaku Uchiha would no longer need to suffer over the conflict between the Uchiha clan and the village. Itachi Uchiha, Shisui Uchiha, and Itachi's younger brother would all be together.
Kisame Hoshigaki and the others, along with the cruel Kirigakure ninja, would find happiness in that new world as well.
The promise made to Nagato would be fulfilled. Yahiko, and all the former members of Akatsuki, would no longer need to struggle endlessly, nor fear the schemes of other villages or the betrayal of Hanzō of the Salamander.
Because in that new world—
"Peace" would be easily within reach.
…
With that thought in mind, he cast one final glance at Rin, then at Kakashi nearby, before turning away.
"Madara Uchiha" dragged the dying Obito Uchiha away…
…
Half a day later, Minato Namikaze sensed the Flying Thunder God seal on Young Kakashi and arrived at their side using the Flying Thunder God Technique.
What greeted him was a ground littered with the corpses of Iwa ninja, along with the unconscious Rin Nohara and Young Kakashi.
Obito Uchiha, however, was nowhere to be found.
Adult Kakashi felt as if he'd been struck by a bolt from the blue.
A bone-chilling cold surged through his body, rushing straight to his scalp.
Back then…
In their parallel world, had Obito also been taken away like this?
So if, back then…
If he and Rin had just held on a little longer, would they have found out what truly happened afterward? Would Obito perhaps never have become that vicious "Masked Man"?
Minato's expression was grim beyond words. Even knowing the future, there still seemed to be an invisible, irresistible force that had torn Obito away.
Naruto paced anxiously, insisting on searching the surrounding area again.
Sasuke went with him.
Sakura summoned slugs and used Medical Ninjutsu to treat Rin and Young Kakashi-sensei.
Kisame remained indifferent, as if the matter had nothing to do with him.
If anyone was the calmest at that moment, it was Itachi Uchiha, whose relationship with the "Masked Man" could be described as poor, even hostile.
After scouting the area, he returned to Minato's side.
"All the Iwa ninja were killed instantly with a single stab to the heart using a sharp weapon. There are no signs of struggle. They were most likely immobilized by genjutsu before being finished off."
Minato rubbed his face hard. He needed to calm himself as quickly as possible.
"Obito also has my Flying Thunder God mark on him, but I can't sense his presence right now. Either he's too far away, or someone is deliberately concealing him."
Itachi said, "Is it possible… that he did it himself?"
The implication was clear. Perhaps Obito Uchiha had been hiding his true strength all along.
Itachi had even wondered whether Obito might be the reincarnation of Madara Uchiha. Otherwise, how could the "Masked Man" know so much about Madara?
Because of this issue, Adult Kakashi had gradually grown distant from Itachi. Even though they had once been seniors and juniors in ANBU, neither of them wanted to believe that the "Masked Man" was someone important to them.
Minato said, "Although Obito has awakened the three-tomoe Sharingan and even the Mangekyō Sharingan, genjutsu is not his specialty." He looked at Itachi. "You trained him, even if only briefly. You know his talent in that area."
"That's true. Unless he trained for several more years, Obito Uchiha wouldn't be capable of using genjutsu alone to defeat multiple Iwa jōnin," Itachi replied bluntly. "That's why I suspect Obito Uchiha may be Madara Uchiha's reincarnation."
Hearing that, Adult Kakashi's pupils sharply contracted, then expanded with suppressed anger.
"Why don't you say it's you, or Sa—"
He stopped himself halfway.
"…Sorry. I need to calm down."
Seeing Kakashi like that, Minato could only sigh helplessly.
At that moment, Young Kakashi and Rin, who had been unconscious, finally woke up.
The very first thing they did was look around frantically, searching for Obito.
When they realized that Minato-sensei, Adult Kakashi, Zabuza Momochi, Haku, Kisame Hoshigaki, and Itachi Uchiha were all there—and that Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha had already returned from searching—yet Obito was still nowhere to be seen…
Their expressions instantly filled with terror.
Minato handed them some water, helping them calm down as quickly as possible.
"Rin, what happened to all of you after crossing into this parallel world?"
Rin Nohara recounted everything in detail, from the moment they crossed over into this parallel world up until the moment she lost consciousness.
When Minato heard that the S-rank mission reward was Hashirama's cells, and that Obito had mistakenly used them because of a careless remark, it wasn't just him—everyone's mood sank to rock bottom.
Naruto was so furious he didn't even know what to say.
"That idiot! Didn't I already tell him what happened when I accidentally used my first S-rank mission reward?!!"
Sasuke was no better. Anger flared as he snapped,
"That's because you two are exactly the same kind of idiots!!"
He couldn't help imagining it—if this had happened to Naruto, he probably wouldn't have been able to hold his temper at all.
When everyone was at a complete loss, Young Kakashi suddenly spoke up.
"Before I passed out, I attacked myself with Lightning Release."
"???"
Attacking himself with Lightning Release… which meant—
"Before that person took Obito away, I still had a bit of consciousness left. He just didn't notice."
"!!!!"
That single sentence ignited a spark of hope, instantly lighting up everyone from Team Minato and Team Kakashi.
Sasuke blurted out,
"Why didn't you say that earlier?!"
"Yeah! Who exactly took Obito?!!" Naruto demanded anxiously.
Young Kakashi's face was hidden behind his mask, but a conflicted look showed clearly in his eyes.
"Judging by appearance…"
He continued,
"That person was most likely Madara Uchiha."
If Obito Uchiha had been present, he would have immediately choked out a protest, demanding to know whether Kakashi remembered that in their parallel world, Madara had already died at the hands of the First Hokage—and even if he were still alive, he would have been nearly a hundred years old.
At the time, Young Kakashi's consciousness hadn't been fully clear. Through the haze, he had seen an extremely aged Madara walk over, glance at him, then at Rin—yet never once look at Obito.
"The main reason I can't be sure it was Madara is this," Young Kakashi said. "He crouched down in front of Rin. It looked like he wanted to touch her… but in the end, he didn't dare."
This…
Everyone's gaze turned toward the brown-haired girl.
Zabuza, unable to keep his mouth shut, added,
"Kid, are you sure you didn't just dream that?"
Young Kakashi looked at him solemnly.
"Absolutely not."
Haku stepped in to smooth things over.
"I think we should consider whether that legendary ninja, Madara Uchiha, has any connection to Rin. Otherwise, it wouldn't make sense for him to care so much about Obito's teammate."
"There shouldn't be any connection," Minato said decisively. "We once went to Konoha's founding era and met Madara Uchiha as one of the village's founders. At that time, he definitely didn't pay any special attention to Rin."
"Mm." Rin nodded vigorously.
Naruto dropped down onto the ground in frustration, poking his cheek with a finger.
"If only we could drag Uncle Madara and Uncle Hashirama over and ask them directly!"
Minato shook his head, indicating that he didn't know the Edo Tensei technique. As for the version of the Flying Thunder God that crossed parallel worlds, even he and the Second Hokage had only partially figured it out. Actual time-space travel was still impossible.
Haku said,
"The only thing we can be thankful for is that we haven't crossed back yet."
His words reminded Minato of their past experiences. Every time, they only returned to Naruto's era after resolving a key issue—or erasing a major regret from history.
"That's right!" Minato said, patting Adult Kakashi on the shoulder. "If there's any regret tied to the Kannabi Bridge, it's that Obito didn't return to Konoha with us. That means the history of this world will definitely be corrected. And we will find Obito."
Rin and Adult Kakashi nodded firmly.
They…would absolutely not allow Obito to become the Masked Man!!
And at that very moment…
The Masked Man had already dragged Obito Uchiha's shattered body back into that narrow boundary between hell and the human world…