Earlier, when Kakashi talked about Rin's cause of death, it happened to be the moment when Obito ran off, unable to bear the truth that the "Masked Man" was himself.
Because of that, the only person here who didn't know how Rin died was Young Obito Uchiha, who now stood there completely lost, his mind blank.
"What are you talking about?" he said hoarsely. "I don't understand any of it."
As the words left his mouth, his expression shifted from shock and emptiness into a twisted, extreme fury.
Suppressing the rage that felt like it was about to burst his chest open, he shouted, "Did you teach Chidori to someone else?! It has to be someone stealing your jutsu, right? That's it, isn't it?! Kakashi!!"
Inside Kamui's Dimension, Adult Obito Uchiha curled his lips into an extremely sarcastic smile.
"Calm down…" Sasuke tried to speak up for Kakashi.
But he never expected Obito to snap so violently. Obito roared, "Shut up! I'm asking Kakashi!"
It was out—
That Obito Uchiha who had fallen into darkness.
That Obito Uchiha who once played the role of Yagura Karatachi under the control of the "Masked Man," yet managed to avoid being discovered by Zabuza and Kisame, had surfaced once more.
Only Obito himself knew that this state felt like something eroding his brain, like a demon controlling his impulses. That was why he rarely showed this side of himself in front of others.
The usually warm, slightly clumsy Obito suddenly looking like a madman left Sasuke stunned, unable to react.
Naruto grew upset and was about to say something, but Adult Kakashi stopped him.
"It was me," Adult Kakashi said quietly. "When I used Chidori against the enemy, Rin chose this method to end her life for certain reasons."
"Obito," Minato Namikaze added, "Kakashi already told us about this a few days ago. You were in the forest at the time, trying to calm yourself after learning the true identity of the Masked Man, so you didn't hear it. I don't think Kakashi ever intended to hide this from you."
The words "because you learned the true identity of the Masked Man" instantly plunged Obito's raging heart into icy silence.
After a long while, not daring to look at Rin, not daring to look at Minato-sensei or Naruto, he finally forced out a bitter smile that looked more like he was about to cry.
"What the hell… our miserable fate…"
Young Obito lowered his head.
"Kakashi killed Rin."
"And I personally killed Minato-sensei's family, becoming the number one villain of this world."
Rin and Young Kakashi lowered their eyes as well.
Yeah.
Why was their Team 7's fate so cruel?
Sakura, standing beside Rin, couldn't help but feel her own heart sink as well.
Sasuke said nothing, quietly watching the members of Minato's team.
"…" An indescribable emotion brewed in Naruto's chest. After a long silence, it finally burst out.
"Miserable fate? That's talking about our world's Kakashi-sensei and Obito Uchiha, right?"
Everyone turned to look at him.
"Naruto…"
Naruto Uzumaki glared at the dejected Obito and demanded, "But is that you?! In Kakashi-sensei's world, Obito Uchiha was declared dead during the Kannabi Bridge mission and even gave Kakashi his Sharingan! That regret—the one that made Kakashi kneel in front of the Memorial Stone for over ten years—does that exist in you?!!"
True to his ninja way of saying what he meant and doing what he believed, he was determined to shake Young Obito awake.
"Yeah, the last mission was dangerous too! But Dad and Kakashi-sensei both told us already! A ninja's missions are always surrounded by danger! If you want to become Hokage, you have to build experience step by step—there are no shortcuts!!"
Those were the exact words Minato Namikaze and Adult Kakashi had told them when they revealed how many D-, C-, B-, A-, and S-rank missions they had completed.
"Isn't it because of Kakashi-sensei's regrets that you came to our world in the first place?!" Naruto's voice grew louder. "Isn't that why this scroll keeps sending you back to the past again and again, helping you erase those painful regrets?!!"
Yes—helping you, not helping us.
Compared to Naruto and the others, Obito and his group were the lucky ones.
Naruto and the others traveled to different parallel worlds, not back into the past. Even though they reached the day of the Nine-Tails' attack twice, saved more Konoha ninja, and changed the tragedy of the Fourth Hokage's family…
Naruto's parents in this world still wouldn't come back.
And the fate of Sasuke's clan…
Wouldn't change either.
Sasuke would never one day return to the Uchiha district and see an old woman sweeping the ground greet him warmly, or an old man reading the newspaper at the gate reminding him to be careful on the road.
He would never come home to find his father reading the paper, his mother almost done with dinner, his older brother having returned earlier but called away by Shisui.
Before leaving, Itachi tapping his forehead.
"Forgive me, Sasuke. Next time."
Adult Obito Uchiha: "..."
"Naruto…" Adult Kakashi and Minato Namikaze looked at the blond boy standing before them.
He never spoke in grand philosophies. His words were simple, straightforward, without any fancy rhetoric.
Yet he had a strange power—through empathy, he moved people's hearts, shifted their thinking, broadened their view, and pulled them back to the present.
Naruto's words snapped the three pessimists awake.
That's right! Even if there was pain, disappointment, even despair, that was the future of this parallel world! Even if he felt sorry toward his other self and toward Kakashi, he was still alive—alive, right here beside Kakashi and Rin!!
"I'll master Wood Release as fast as I can!"
Young Obito slammed the table and stood up.
"I'll change the future of our parallel world!"
"I want to become stronger, to protect Rin, Kakashi, and Minato-sensei and Kushina!"
"And your dream of becoming Hokage too, idiot!" Naruto Uzumaki said. Seeing that he had finally gotten through to them, he held out his fist toward Obito.
Obito Uchiha bumped his fist against Naruto's. "I was just stuck in my own head, forgot already? Even the ancestor stamped his approval! I—Obito Uchiha-sama—am a highly gifted Konoha-style ninja!"
"Yeah, yeah, drop the ego," Young Kakashi Hatake said flatly, cutting in with his usual sharp tongue. "At this rate, you'll learn Wood Release sometime in the next monkey year."
Obito snapped, "Don't jinx me! Three days—no! Two days! I'll master Wood Release within two days and show you!!"
"Alright, even bragging has its limits, Obito." Young Kakashi shot him a sideways glance, clearly unconvinced he could pull it off in such a short time.
Obito immediately suggested making a bet.
That line suddenly reminded Naruto of something…
"Hey… uh, Young Kakashi-sensei…"
"Hm?" Being suddenly called out by Minato-sensei's son, who would also be his future student, Young Kakashi looked over.
Everyone else's attention turned to Naruto Uzumaki as well.
Including Adult Obito Uchiha inside Kamui's Dimension.
"Do you remember saying that if Obito really was the Masked Man, you'd read the entire Icha Icha Paradise to him ten times?" Naruto wore the unmistakable expression of someone about to pull a prank.
The scariest thing was how the air suddenly went silent.
After he said it—
Everyone's faces froze.
"..."
That kind of stunned, speechless silence.
Including Adult Kakashi Hatake, and Obito Uchiha inside Kamui's Dimension.
Adult Kakashi and his younger self had only read a few pages back then. Just recalling that public-execution-level embarrassment was enough to make him want to die on the spot.
He couldn't even begin to imagine his younger self standing in front of Obito and seriously reading Icha Icha Paradise out loud. The thought alone was horrifying.
As for Adult Obito Uchiha inside Kamui's Dimension…
Since this place wasn't far from Konoha, curiosity got the better of him. He directly warped to a bookstore, grabbed a copy of Icha Icha Paradise while no one was around, and brought it back to read in his spare time.
Rin looked at the handsome Young Kakashi with an expression that mixed sympathy for him with barely restrained laughter.
Young Kakashi's pitch-black eyes locked firmly onto Obito Uchiha beside him.
Because of Naruto's words, the atmosphere suddenly veered into an awkward, painfully impolite direction.
Obito's earlier darkness felt like a brief illusion. Now he desperately wanted to hug his head and avoid Young Kakashi's gaze, terrified that Kakashi might find an excuse to silence him for good.
"You're the one who said it, not me! Don't bully people like this, stupid Kakashi!!"
Well, look at him now. He was so scared he'd started accusing Kakashi of bullying him.
Inside Kamui's Dimension, Adult Obito Uchiha, who had just gotten his hands on Icha Icha Paradise, seriously wanted to incinerate his younger self on the spot with Fire Release: Blast Wave Wild Dance, just to spare himself this public humiliation.
Still fixated on the face beneath Kakashi-sensei's mask, Naruto Uzumaki snickered and tried to make Young Kakashi-sensei follow through on his words.
In the end, it was Adult Kakashi who couldn't take it anymore. He also had no intention of being dragged into this second-hand social death, so he stopped Naruto before the prank went any further.
Thanks to that intervention, the atmosphere instantly shifted from heavy and bitter to upbeat, motivational, and still lightly comedic.
"Perfect timing. Captain Yamato happens to be here," Rin said as she cheered Obito on. "Have him teach you Wood Release. Do your best to master it in two days!"
"Let me see you protect me and Kakashi in a really cool way!"
Yamato was called Captain Yamato because the Third Hokage had assigned him to supervise missing-nin. As a result, his subordinates weren't Naruto, Sakura, and Sai from some parallel world, but four missing-nin led by Itachi Uchiha.
'Do your best, Obito! Let me see you save the world in style!'
Memories from twenty years ago resurfaced. Rin's words back then, her voice, felt like they were still echoing right beside him.
In the vast, empty Kamui's Dimension, a single hoarse, weathered sigh rang out.
"Rin…"