This place lay near the borders of the Land of Fire, close to neighboring countries, where Konoha patrols could appear at any time.
To avoid unnecessary trouble, the Masked Man, the young Obito Uchiha, activated his Mangekyō Sharingan and slipped into the Kamui dimension.
This space was a reflection of his inner world.
Pitch-black and icy cold, it was filled with square platforms rising and falling at different heights.
Beneath them stretched a bottomless abyss.
Staring straight down was enough to trigger an instinctive fear of the void.
He pushed the orange spiral mask up onto his head, revealing a face twisted with warped, creased skin. Sitting cross-legged on one of the square platforms, Obito opened the larger of the two scrolls first.
The words inside took him by surprise…
[Mission Rank: SSS]
[Mission Objective: Prevent the Fourth Shinobi World War.]
– – – –
[Mission Rank: B]
[Mission Objective: Rescue Obito Uchiha]
[Mission Progress: Completed.]
Two missions were listed on the scroll, one of them already marked as complete.
Obito recalled how his other self had mentioned something about an SSS-rank mission.
So who had foreseen the Fourth Shinobi World War? And who had known in advance that he would cross into another world, save another version of himself while using Madara Uchiha's identity, and complete such a bizarre mission?!
That sense of being watched, of being manipulated from the shadows, made Obito's mood turn irritable.
He was supposed to be the one pulling the strings.
How could he possibly be controlled by someone else?!
With a scowl, he snapped open the smaller scroll.
Compared to the mission scroll, the mini scroll contained only a single line of neat, delicate writing—
[Obito Uchiha**]
This was… a code?!
"Six, four, three, two, four, six, five, six…"
Obito muttered the sequence of numbers, yet no familiar cipher came to mind.
Still, because it was preceded by his own name, he knew this was something he had to decipher.
His instincts told him the code was connected to Konoha.
He carefully recalled what his counterpart from the other parallel world had said.
Missions. Mission rewards. Hashirama's cells.
Then his gaze returned to the mission scroll, to the words [Mission Progress: Completed]. A bold guess formed in his mind: completing the task on this scroll likely granted an unimaginably generous mission reward.
That only reinforced the idea that the eight-digit code carried extraordinary significance.
If he couldn't crack it right away, that was fine. He had plenty of methods at his disposal.
Once he reached Konoha, he could simply capture an intelligence operative to analyze it for him, then silence them afterward.
With a cold chuckle, he pulled the orange mask back down over his face.
The Masked Man left the Kamui space and returned to what he called the dull, tedious real world.
A crimson Mangekyō Sharingan, faintly patterned with calculation, fixed its gaze on the outside world. He shot through the forest amid birdsong, his path toward Konoha unimpeded by tree trunks or anything else in his way.
…
On the other side, since Yamato had built another house beside the Hatake residence using Wood Release, Sasuke moved in as well for convenience.
Sakura, who had long wanted to try living independently, insisted on staying there together with Rin.
Rin was more than happy to agree. Otherwise, being the only girl among two large houses full of men felt a little awkward.
Besides, seeing Kakashi, Obito, Sasuke, and Naruto spending their days training together, pushing and motivating one another, their improvement was obvious even to the naked eye. Living with Sakura would help her work harder to improve herself too.
In that parallel world, facing more than a dozen Iwa ninja while Obito was unable to fight had filled her with anxiety and helplessness. She never wanted to experience that again.
When she poured out her worries to Sakura, she learned that Sakura felt the same anxiety, watching Naruto and Sasuke grow stronger at such a rapid pace.
And so, while Obito was still undergoing Wood Release energy regulation under Yamato's guidance, the two girls formally went to seek out Minato Namikaze.
"You want to train under Tsunade-sama?" Minato wasn't particularly surprised.
Both of them had caught the attention of the Slug Sage of Shikkotsu Forest and had formed summoning contracts there, just like Tsunade-sama, one of the Sannin and the famed Slug Princess.
They were also girls who could never abandon their companions and who possessed strong, unyielding wills. More importantly, both were medical ninja. Becoming Tsunade's disciples was almost the most natural outcome.
For Minato and Kakashi, whether it was Team Minato or Team Kakashi, they were teachers and superiors. Their role went no further than instructing students and leading them on missions.
A master, however, was different from a teacher.
A master passed on their reason for living and their ninja way. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say they were raising a successor.
For decades, Tsunade had never formally accepted a disciple.
Even Shizune, who stayed by her side and inherited her teachings, was only considered an attendant.
"So we hope Minato-sama… Minato-sensei… can introduce us to Tsunade-sama!!"
A pair of emerald-green eyes and a pair of brown eyes, both filled with resolve no less fierce than any boy's, made Minato understand how serious they were.
"All right. To be honest, I'd already considered letting you train under Tsunade-sama. Since you're both so determined, and Tsunade-sama happens to be in the village…" Minato gently ruffled their heads. "I'll find a way to ask her to take you on."
Sakura and Rin were overjoyed. After leaving, they immediately agreed to visit Konoha's shopping district.
Rin wanted to buy Obito some anko dumplings as a get-well gift for someone "just recovered from a serious illness."
After thinking it over, Sakura decided to buy something for Sasuke-kun and Naruto as well, to encourage them for their hard training lately.
It was the gap between the second and third rounds of the Chūnin Exams.
Letting the candidates fully recognize their shortcomings and giving them two weeks to train intensely was part of Konoha's plan.
Today was only the second day of that period, but Team Minato and Team Kakashi had effectively spent two extra days in a parallel world. Seeing Ino helping out at her family's shop on the commercial street felt like it had been several days since they last met.
"Sakura, Sakura." Ino quietly called Sakura over. "Who's the girl with you?"
She was very curious about Rin Nohara, who looked about their age. Rin wore a Konoha forehead protector, yet Ino couldn't recall ever seeing such a cute girl in the village.
Sakura had already prepared her explanation.
"This is Rin. Because of some very special circumstances, she came here from another parallel world."
"Another parallel world?!" Ino's first reaction was to think Sakura was joking.
But the next person who walked into the flower shop dropped the unlit cigarette from his mouth in shock the moment he saw "Rin."
Asuma had originally planned to buy a bouquet of flowers Kurenai liked, then take advantage of the rare day off to go on a date.
Instead, the instant he stepped into the Yamanaka family's flower shop, he froze and practically plastered himself against the wall.
"Rin?!!!!"
He shouted the brown-haired girl's name in disbelief.
Ino tilted her head toward her chain-smoking teacher.
"Oh, Asuma-sensei. You know Rin?"
That made things awkward, as if she were the only one who didn't know her.
Asuma didn't answer Ino right away. He first glanced down at the floor.
Only after confirming there was a shadow did he ask bluntly, still in shock, "You're alive?!!"
No, wait—if Rin were alive, how could she still look thirteen after all these years?!
Sakura covered her face. They'd barely left the house and had already run into someone who knew Rin.
But then again, Rin and Kakashi-sensei were from the same generation. Naturally, Asuma-sensei, who was also a jōnin instructor for that class, would have been their contemporary as well.
During the earlier mass crossover, those people had been sent far away, nearly to the outskirts of the village. They hadn't heard Naruto shouting things like, "Obito Uchiha is still alive! You have to break his mask!"
And the few who did hear had no idea who Obito Uchiha even was.
That led to the current situation.
Asuma Sarutobi, Kurenai Yūhi, and others who had attended the Ninja Academy alongside Obito Uchiha, Rin Nohara, and Kakashi Hatake didn't know that Obito was still alive, nor that he was the Masked Man.
They also had no idea that Rin Nohara, Obito Uchiha, Kakashi Hatake, and even Minato Namikaze from another era had arrived in their world.
Ino didn't understand what was going on at all, but what kind of greeting was it to ask someone, "You're still alive?!" the moment you met them?
"Hey, hey! Asuma-sensei! That's not a very polite way to treat a customer in my family's shop, is it?"
"Ah—no, it's just…" Asuma stared at Rin Nohara, completely dumbfounded.
Rin, on the other hand, was perfectly calm. She recognized the bearded man in front of her almost instantly. He was Asuma Sarutobi, the man who had practically been "paired off" with Kurenai Yuhi since childhood, and also the son of the Third Hokage-sama.
Smiling, she asked him casually, "You're here to buy flowers for Kurenai, right? Are you two married yet?"
They had all been in the same Ninja Academy class back then. Even though the Third Shinobi World War was ongoing in this parallel world, leaving the village short-handed and flooded with missions so they rarely met, Rin had always stayed in contact with Kurenai and Anko.
In the future, Kurenai and Asuma ending up together was practically set in stone, so Rin didn't hesitate at all.
"Well…" Being asked about it softened the rough-looking man. He scratched the back of his head, his face reddening as he let out an embarrassed, foolish grin. "Not yet. Maybe in another couple of years, once the boys under me can really stand on their own."
Ino frowned. "Asuma-sensei, I'm a girl too! Even if Shikamaru and Choji are boys, you shouldn't lump us all together and call us 'boys' like that."
Asuma laughed awkwardly and waved his hand, then turned his attention back to Rin.
Rin told him about coming from a parallel world.
"Kakashi probably already knows, right?" Asuma's eyes darkened. He wanted to tell Rin that ever since Obito, she, and the Fourth Hokage-sama had died one after another, Kakashi had been living under immense emotional pressure.
But somehow, coming from him, it felt inappropriate.
Too sentimental. It didn't suit him.
Because of Rin, what should have been a quick flower purchase dragged on for over ten minutes. Eventually, Kurenai Yuhi, tired of waiting, came looking for him herself.
Outside the flower shop, Kurenai called out, "Ino, has Asuma been here?"
Before Ino could answer, Kurenai stepped inside. This time, it was Rin whose eyes flew wide open.
"Oh my gosh, Kurenai!" Rin's eyes shone with admiration and envy.
Since she was heading out on a date, Kurenai had clearly put extra effort into her appearance today. Her lipstick perfectly matched her complexion, her crimson eyes, and her long, dark, softly curled hair.
She wore white high-heeled sandals and a newly bought pale yellow dress. On her wrist and around her neck were gifts from her boyfriend: a pearl bracelet and an oval pendant necklace containing a photo of the two of them.
"Kurenai, you're just as pretty as you were when we were kids!" Rin said brightly. "I really wonder what I'll look like when I grow up!"
The last part slipped out before she could stop herself. Any girl might say something like that, especially Rin, who had come here from before the Kannabi Bridge mission and didn't yet carry the emotional weight of knowing that the Rin of this world had already died.
But even before she finished speaking, Rin regretted it.
Sure enough, aside from Kurenai, who was still frozen in shock, the atmosphere inside the flower shop instantly turned awkward and stiff.
What they didn't know was…
In the surrounding darkness, a masked man was watching them the entire time.
The distortion and madness in his heart were already on the verge of reaching their breaking point.