"Face reality."
The version of himself that had once been pure, untainted by darkness.
"This world is full of things that never go the way you want…"
You've simply never experienced betrayal. You've never faced a reality as hellish as that. You don't understand the agony of being trapped in a living nightmare.
"The longer I live, the more I realize that what fills reality is nothing but misery, pain, and loneliness!"
That's right.
It was only after leaving Konoha, leaving Madara, and wandering the ninja world that I truly understood this. As long as you remain trapped within the system of the shinobi world—
What awaits everyone is only despair!!
Within this shinobi system, everyone will eventually become trash. Including Kakashi. Including himself.
Wearing the aged shell of Madara Uchiha was the soul of the Masked Man from Naruto's parallel world, the adult Obito Uchiha. Young Obito's words had unintentionally denied everything he had experienced, and in his fury, he was now laying bare what he believed to be the truth of this world.
Perhaps he didn't even realize it himself. The things he was saying now were almost identical to the words Madara had once spoken to him.
He never considered that the problem was not the world, but his own state of mind toward it.
Yet the young Obito, who had obtained Hashirama's cells and been implanted with White Zetsu components, finally sensed that something was wrong after learning that the "Masked Man" was his other self from another world.
If this were truly the ancestor they had met during Konoha's founding era, the one he, Minato-sensei, Naruto, and the others had known, he would never say such things.
Or was it that no matter how much they tried to change things, that world would still end up reaching the same conclusion?
"What are you even talking about? I seriously can't follow your train of thought anymore." Would an old man really think like this?
Borrowing Madara's identity, Adult Obito lectured his parallel-world self.
"Listen carefully. Where there is light, there will always be darkness. As long as the concept of winners exists, there will inevitably be losers. The self-centered will to protect peace gives birth to war. To protect love, hatred must be born."
"…"
"This is causality. It cannot be severed."
"Ancestor, why do you sound like you're going backward the longer you live? Didn't Naruto and I help you integrate into the village before?"
This time, Adult Obito was briefly stunned, but he quickly recovered.
"Isn't it precisely because of your sacrifice that the others were saved? That's causality you can't separate."
"I didn't get injured because I couldn't beat those Iwa ninja! Kakashi and I have already reconciled. Our teamwork is perfect!"
Thinking that his ancestor was criticizing his combat ability, Young Obito hurried to explain.
"If I hadn't accidentally used the S-rank mission reward and fused with Hashirama's cells, none of this would've happened!"
"…"
Young Obito clutched his head and groaned in frustration.
"Ahhh! I'm such an idiot! Things finally got better between me and Kakashi, and I even indirectly confessed to Rin. And then I almost got myself killed over a mission reward. I'm definitely the first person to screw up like that!!!"
Confessed.
To.
Rin.
The moment he caught that phrase, Adult Obito froze completely.
Everyone has curiosity. He already knew that the Obito in front of him had gone through experiences far beyond his imagination. But having never lived through them himself, there was one thing he simply couldn't picture.
If he confessed to Rin…
How would she respond?
"Anyway, I need to leave this place as soon as possible!"
Young Obito twisted his body, trying to get out of bed.
"There's still so much I haven't done! I have to protect Rin and Kakashi. Stop Rin's death. Stop Minato-sensei's family from being killed. Prevent the Nine-Tails incident. Prevent the Uchiha clan's annihilation. Stop my other self. Stop the Fourth Shinobi World War!"
Stop me? Stop the Fourth Shinobi World War?
Young Obito heard a cold, chilling laugh from "Madara."
"Just you? What do you think you can do?" Adult Obito said. "Besides, you can't leave this place either. Neither can I right now. There's no entrance and no exit here. Only when you become strong enough to sever the chains of cause and effect can you leave."
Only then did Obito finally avert his gaze from his ancestor.
And for the first time, he truly took in the dark, gloomy cavern around him.
A strange flower on the verge of blooming. Around it hung white, human-shaped shells like discarded snake skins. Half of Hashirama-sama's humanoid form looked as though it were struggling to escape from the roots beneath the flower.
The ancestor…
Had he finally gone completely insane?!
"Don't move. The Hashirama cells in your body haven't fully stabilized yet," Adult Obito said calmly. "Several of your internal organs and bones were destroyed by Wood Release. Black Zetsu used parts of White Zetsu's body to patch them up. One wrong move and they could fall apart and kill you."
Despite how casually it was said, Young Obito immediately froze.
Wait…
Black Zetsu?!
A chain of events caused two forgotten pieces of information to suddenly resurface in Young Obito's mind.
One of the rewards from Naruto's B-rank-plus mission:
[The Uchiha Stone Tablet was tampered with by Black Zetsu.]
And the words the Fifth Kazekage had spoken before leaving:
"Be careful of Black Zetsu. Be careful of Madara Uchiha. Hold fast to your own dreams."
Be careful of Black Zetsu…
Be careful of Madara Uchiha?!
Because he had seen Madara Uchiha during Konoha's founding era, as one of the village's co-founders, Young Obito had always thought of him as someone who spoke harshly but meant well, bad at expressing himself, and a little pessimistic when viewing the world.
And because he already knew that Black Zetsu had altered the Uchiha Stone Tablet, something even Madara himself hadn't known, and that the tablet recorded an incorrect method for treating the Mangekyō Sharingan, Obito had subconsciously dismissed the warning about Madara and focused solely on being wary of Black Zetsu.
But the moment he truly recalled the Fifth Kazekage's words…
"Be careful of Black Zetsu. Be careful of Madara Uchiha."
They felt like a signal had been triggered.
Like thinking you're standing in a five-star hotel one second, only to realize the next that it's the most infamous haunted house in the world.
A chill shot straight from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.
Be careful of Madara Uchiha… be careful of Madara Uchiha… be careful of Madara Uchiha…
The words echoed like a curse, intertwining with what "Madara" had said earlier.
"This is the gap between the underworld and reality… The world is full of things that never go as planned… What fills reality is only misery, pain, and loneliness…"
Those words now sounded like ghostly whispers. When Young Obito looked at the aged ancestor again, his face was filled with fear.
"You're not right! No—you're not the ancestor I know! Who are you, really?!"
Adult Obito let out a cold laugh.
"I am…"
"You."
The instant those words were spoken, it was as if some mechanism had been activated.
Both of their bodies were enveloped in a milky white glow, slowly beginning to fade from this parallel world.
Unlike Adult Obito.
Young Obito's entire body was swallowed by the white light, gradually turning transparent as he slowly disappeared.
The soul of Adult Obito, which had been residing inside Madara's body, peeled away first, separating from that shell.
Then, just like Young Obito, it too gradually faded within the white light…
Their eyes met.
One wore a mocking, amused smile.
The other burned with shock and rage.
"Why?! Why did you become the Masked Man?! Why did you kill Minato-sensei?!"
Staring at that face, half-distorted as if twisted by a vortex, Young Obito instantly recognized him.
The Masked Man.
Obito Uchiha from Naruto's world.
Rage exploded from his chest as he shouted, demanding an answer.
"Why?"
Bathed in the soft white glow, Adult Obito closed his eyes and repeated the word.
"Why?"
In his mind surged every injustice, every betrayal, every sin he had witnessed.
"This meaningless world doesn't deserve to exist. I will create a brand-new world. A world where everyone can be happy. Where the dead can return to life. Where heroes no longer have to stand alone before the Memorial Stone and repent…"
The white light scattered into countless points of starlight.
Just before they vanished completely, Young Obito heard the voice of his other self.
"What's so wrong with a world like that…?"
…
Unconsciously, he revealed a kind of vulnerability that made people feel an overwhelming, inexplicable pity for him.
Pity for what he had endured to become like this.
And pity for how, over the next ten-plus years, he had sunk deeper and deeper into his own world, unable to pull himself out.
"Obito!!!"
Rin's voice rang out beside him, thick with worry, snapping him out of the lingering shock from meeting his other self.
"Rin?!"
Coming back to himself, Young Obito looked at Rin, whose concern had already tipped into fear. Even Kakashi, usually so cool and prickly, couldn't hide the anxiety in his eyes.
Almost by instinct, Obito lifted his still-movable left arm and pulled them both into an embrace.
He didn't know exactly what his other self had gone through, yet some fragment of that pain and those emotions had seeped into him all the same. Even that small part was enough to make Young Obito feel like a drowning fish, gasping for air.
Standing there with Kakashi and Rin felt like finally reaching oxygen, easing his pain and giving his heart a sense of salvation.
"…Thank you, Rin. Kakashi."
Thank you for still being here in my world, for not leaving me alone in the darkness…
They were at the Hatake family home.
Minato-sensei, Rin, Kakashi, Adult Kakashi, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura were all there.
So were Itachi and his shark-faced partner, Zabuza and Haku, and even Yamato, the Konoha jōnin who was building a house next door.
"Does that mean… we're back?" Young Obito asked, still a little dazed.
Rin was the first to hug him, asking where he had gone.
At first, Young Obito panicked, unsure how to respond. Then, seeing how worried everyone was, a wave of emotion welled up inside him, followed by a strange, quiet sadness for his other self.
"Sorry. I'm back."
It was as if all the darkness from that underground abyss had been swept away by a single burst of sunlight.
As long as Obito Uchiha was with his comrades, he could be reborn again and again.
"I can sense extremely strong Wood Release energy in your body," Yamato said. "It's even stronger than mine. The fact that you're alive is nothing short of a miracle."
He exchanged a glance with Adult Kakashi. Both of them still remembered the experimental base once used by Danzō and Orochimaru, and the countless corpses of Konoha ninja left behind there.
The horrific condition of those bodies was still vivid in their minds.
"Most people implanted with Hashirama's cells had their own cells devoured by Wood Release," Yamato continued. "Trees grew out of their organs, and when the Wood Release fully erupted, they died."
Not long ago, Obito himself had failed to maintain the balance between his body and Hashirama's cells, causing wooden spikes to burst out of him. Now, however, it looked as though those spikes had already been removed.
Once they had calmed down a little, Rin and Sakura noticed that the right half of Obito's body was still bandaged. They summoned Katsuyu and carefully began treating his wounds.
Rin immediately sensed that Obito's condition was unusual. In addition to his own chakra and the Wood Release chakra, there seemed to be another substance helping to balance the two.
"It should be fine now," Obito said gently, trying to reassure her. "I will just rest for a few days and get used to those White Zetsu components, Rin."
Everyone froze at those words, especially those who knew exactly what White Zetsu components meant.
"You got White Zetsu components?!" Young Kakashi exclaimed. Because he had used Lightning Release on himself, he had barely caught a glimpse of the one who took Obito away, an aged Madara Uchiha.
"Was it Madara Uchiha who repaired your body?" he asked.
Sasuke stared in disbelief. "He's really not dead?!"
Thinking of that, Young Obito lowered his gaze.
"…Sorry. About that, I'd like some time to calm down before talking about it."
There was no rush. Minato patted his shoulder, telling him to rest properly.
…
When Young Obito and Minato Namikaze returned to Naruto's era, Adult Obito's consciousness also returned to his own body.
He found himself in a forest within the Land of Fire. Crisp birdsong rang in his ears, the air filled with the scent of grass and damp earth. Sunlight filtered through the gaps between leaves, making his vision swim.
That was when the Masked Man realized he had finally escaped that dark tunnel, escaped Madara Uchiha's body…
After standing there in silence for several dozen seconds, he prepared to continue toward Konoha.
Then he noticed something new on his person.
Two scrolls.
One large, one small.
…
Publicly Available Information:
S-rank missions or higher may allow a randomly selected person to obtain a weakened version of a mission scroll.