Playing Madara Uchiha was easy. You could even say it was his old line of work.
The real problem was talking to Hashirama Senju, the First Hokage. That was difficult on a whole different level. What, was he supposed to die for this mission? Go to the Pure Land just to chat with Hashirama?
Or was it possible that, aside from the former Madara Uchiha, Hashirama Senju was actually still alive?
Adult Obito Uchiha summoned White Zetsu and ordered them to search for any trace of Hashirama Senju. The White Zetsu that received the command all looked as if they had just paid an intelligence tax, their expressions complicated and speechless.
If the reward for the B-rank mission had been information, then he wanted to see what kind of reward this A-rank mission would give.
"Tobi, are you an idiot?"
White Zetsu opened with a direct attack on Adult Obito's intelligence. "The First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, has been dead for decades. Or what, are you trying to dig up his corpse? No, no, no. His cells were too special, so before he died, he demanded that his body be destroyed."
"Completely destroyed?"
"Tobi is such a dumbass. Isn't there a huge Hashirama Senju in the tunnels Madara-sama dug?" White Zetsu said. "That thing was cultivated using Hashirama Senju's flesh."
White Zetsu spread its arms wide, gesturing exaggeratedly, as if saying, that big of a Hashirama and you don't remember it? Or was that still not enough for you?
Another White Zetsu chimed in, "But Konoha should still have other people who obtained Hashirama's cells."
"Alright, alright. I get it."
After confirming that Hashirama Senju was indeed dead and that this mission was basically unsolvable, Adult Obito waved the White Zetsu away. As the mastermind behind Akatsuki, he went back to his side job as a "Space-Time Keeper", closely monitoring every move made by Minato's team from another parallel world.
Watching his other self, who couldn't even fully enter Kamui's Dimension yet, while Rin worked so hard to cheer him on…
It was a bit…mentally crushing.
Over there, Adult Kakashi was training even harder than he was. He even flatly refused Young Kakashi's request to train Lightning Release: Shiden together, immediately earning a few sharp, sarcastic remarks from Young Kakashi.
With two Kakashis existing in front of him at the same time, and having long labeled the Kakashi of his own world as "trash from a fake world," Adult Obito accidentally merged the two images together in his mind…
And actually imagined an Adult Kakashi who was both tsundere and sharp-tongued?
If none of those things had happened.
If he had never gone through hell.
Obito thought that maybe he would have stayed in Konoha, and his dream would still be to become Hokage.
After Minato-sensei stepped down, with his strength, would he have had a chance to become the Fifth Hokage?
Then Kakashi would become his personal ANBU, carrying himself with even more presence than the Hokage himself, directly calling out the Hokage-sama, who also happened to be the ANBU commander, whenever he felt dissatisfied.
Then the two of them would argue in the Hokage Tower, in the Hokage's office, and at that point Rin would…
She would…
His mind went blank. The place where Rin should have been suddenly turned into a hazy silhouette, impossible to see clearly.
Because Rin was already gone. He couldn't imagine what she would look like grown up, what kind of personality she'd have, what kind of future she'd plan for herself. Would she marry Kakashi, the one she loved? Would she accept his confession instead? Or would she meet someone more suitable in the years to come? Maybe she would remain alone and beautiful, like Tsunade.
Realizing what he had just been fantasizing about, Adult Obito Uchiha suddenly took two sharp steps back inside Kamui's Dimension.
"What am I even thinking at this point?! These regret-filled fantasies are just…"
"…just ridiculous."
…just too beautiful.
The words he spoke were the complete opposite of what he felt in his heart.
"....."
Kamui's Dimension was dark, oppressive, and completely silent. There was barely even any sense of air moving.
Just beyond the thin barrier of time and space…
The Hatake clan's old residence backed up against a forest, facing a vast stretch of lush, green fields.
Grass brushed past their ankles. In the shade beneath the sunlit trees, Team 7 from two different eras was taking a break after finishing their special training.
Naruto and Young Obito talked about their dreams of becoming Hokage. Sasuke and Young Kakashi refused to back down from each other no matter what. Sakura and Rin chatted about girlish topics, with Sakura especially curious about stories from Kakashi-sensei's generation when they were young.
They even brought up how Obito had been severely late for the Chunin Exams, nearly getting all three of them disqualified. Rin spoke of it with gentle tolerance, while Young Kakashi immediately fired back with sharp sarcasm at Obito, and the two started arguing again…
Watching all of this from Kamui's Dimension, everything felt distant, separated by an invisible wall.
Minato Namikaze, who had been smiling as he watched Obito and Kakashi argue once more, suddenly froze without any warning.
Then he called out for Obito to take out his mission scroll.
"You should have a new mission coming in, Obito."
Because of what had happened last time, the three members of Team Minato, who had been joking just moments ago, instantly lost their smiles.
Young Obito Uchiha even unrolled the scroll with extreme care.
[Mission Rank: A-Rank]
[Mission Objective: Learn Wood Release]
"Another A-rank mission?!" Obito sucked in a sharp breath. "They actually want me to learn Wood Release?!"
An A-rank mission meant that once it was completed, they would cross over into another parallel world.
Hidden inside Kamui's Dimension, Adult Obito Uchiha hadn't noticed the earlier missions listed on the scroll at all. By sheer coincidence, he missed the very first line at the top—the SSS-rank mission to kill the Masked Man.
Instead, he watched the grave expressions on everyone's faces and thought to himself that this mission would be nearly impossible for most people. But for someone who possessed Hashirama's cells and White Zetsu components, it wasn't entirely out of reach.
He looked at his other self from a different world and thought that, especially for himself, there wouldn't even be a need to "learn" it. Just the fighting intent in his heart alone was enough to trigger the use of Wood Release.
Unlike ordinary ninjutsu, many powerful elemental techniques could take on unique forms shaped by the user's inner emotions and state of mind. You could even say they differed from person to person.
For example, Kakashi's Earth Release included the Earth Style: Dog Head Wall. And then there were his Wood Release techniques like Wood Release: Revolt of Hell and Wood Release: Great Spear Tree.
Setting that aside, Adult Obito noticed that everyone present, including Minato-sensei, wore solemn expressions. If it wasn't the difficulty of the mission itself, then what was it…?
Sakura looked worriedly at Rin and the younger Kakashi-sensei.
"An A-rank mission… that means the mission reward will probably be crossing into another parallel world again, right?"
Minato Namikaze nodded.
"…Unless something unexpected happens, we'll still be returning to our own parallel world. Next time, it probably won't be the Kannabi Bridge mission. It may be a mission meant for slightly older versions of you, and the risks could very well be greater than last time."
"!!!!"
Crossing over?!
Inside Kamui's Dimension, Adult Obito Uchiha was startled. He suddenly realized that the last time he appeared elsewhere as Madara Uchiha had been the reward from this very A-rank mission scroll.
He then looked again at the mission scroll that had inexplicably appeared inside his own space.
It was almost identical to the one his other self was holding.
[Mission Rank: A-Rank]
[Mission Objective: Impersonate Madara Uchiha and converse with Hashirama Senju]
So this mission's reward was also crossing over?
Crossing over to where?! Another parallel world?!
"Minato-sensei, what do you think?" Young Obito Uchiha looked at Minato Namikaze, clearly hesitating and unsure.
Minato Namikaze analyzed calmly, "Nine times out of ten, another major crisis will be waiting for you to resolve. If you can complete this mission earlier, we'll gain more intelligence about what happened in the past. On the other hand, delaying it will give you more time to prepare for the trouble you'll face after this crossing."
The first person to notice something off about Adult Kakashi standing at the back wasn't anyone from Team Minato, nor the three students of Team Kakashi.
It was Adult Obito Uchiha, hidden within Kamui's Dimension.
He stared at the silver-haired man whose pupils suddenly shrank, exhaustion clearly showing on his face. Even though he always called him trash from a fake world, Obito understood almost instantly, on a subconscious level.
Kakashi had already guessed where the next crossing would take place.
Sure enough, almost at the same moment Adult Obito realized this, the silver-haired man before his eyes—the Kakashi who had worn a mask even while sleeping for decades—spoke up.
"Minato-sensei…"
"I think I can guess where Obito and the others will cross over to next."
"Huh?" Young Obito looked at him, noticing the pain on his face, and his heart suddenly skipped for no clear reason.
Adult Kakashi said quietly, "It's… the timeline where Rin died to Lightning Release: Chidori…"
"..."