"You're late again, Obito."
"Sorry, we're coming!"
The Ten-Tails Jinchūriki Obito watched as Rin dragged "Obito Uchiha" past him, running straight by. She did not spare him even a single glance.
As one of Naruto Uzumaki's three parallel-world versions of Obito Uchiha, his heart felt as though it had been struck head-on.
He had chosen that path.
And in the end, he had lost even the right to be seen by Rin.
Among the three of them, only Young Obito could be called fortunate. Yet it was precisely this fortune that sometimes made him uneasy. When he looked at Adult Obito, he couldn't help but fear that everything before him was nothing more than a dream born from Adult Obito's remorse.
A dream that granted him a chance to start over.
Living as Naruto, experiencing a life where Naruto chose the right path, then turning back to look at that failed man—himself in another world.
The sorrow in his heart was impossible to put into words.
"Naruto, Sasuke, this man was once my classmate, my comrade, my hero. So even though I know I'm asking too much, please let me see him off one last time."
From a third-person perspective, Obito watched Kakashi Hatake straddling his body.
There was no resentment in them.
Instead, the fact that Minato Namikaze had actually stepped in to save him made all three Obito Uchiha within Naruto's spiritual world widen their eyes in shock.
"You were even younger back then than Naruto and the others are now. Do you remember when the four of us carried out missions together, and Rin, as a Medical-nin, desperately protected you?" Minato Namikaze said softly. "I'm sorry. As your teacher, I failed to protect Rin."
Rebellious Obito and Adult Obito pressed their lips together, their chests aching so badly they couldn't forgive themselves.
It was clearly their fault…
It was because he had been chosen by Madara Uchiha that the tragedy of Rin and Kakashi Hatake ever happened.
And it was he who caused the death of Minato Namikaze's family, who brought disaster upon the entire ninja world.
"Obito, in truth, I'm just like you," Kakashi Hatake said. "And I don't entirely believe the path you chose was wrong."
Kakashi Hatake's words left Obito Uchiha, pinned beneath him, frozen in place. At the same time, they stunned the three Obito Uchiha within Naruto Uzumaki's consciousness, as well as the other members of the Uchiha clan.
They had never cared to understand the man called Kakashi Hatake.
In their eyes, Kakashi Hatake was nothing more than a thief who had stolen their clan's precious Kekkei Genkai.
It wasn't until these past few years, after living as Naruto Uzumaki and becoming Kakashi's students, that their impression finally began to change.
This man, Kakashi Hatake, always gave off a certain feeling…
How should it be put?
It was as if there were layers of quiet misery hidden beneath that lazy, listless demeanor, a kind of sadness that occasionally made him hard to watch, and strangely heartbreaking.
"Obito…"
In Kakashi's half-lidded eyes, just as the Uchiha clan had sensed, there was a bleak, despairing sorrow.
"Honestly, I was once just like you. I believed this world was nothing but a pitch-black hell. After my father died, I thought I had lost you. Then I lost Rin soon after, and finally, even Minato-sensei left."
"For a long time, it felt like I was the only one left in this world. No matter how dangerous the mission was, not even the Shinigami would take me. I even thought… that because I failed to protect Rin, none of you wanted to see me in the Pure Land…"
Adult Obito stared blankly ahead.
He had never imagined that Kakashi's feelings could be so humble, so painfully self-denying.
If he hadn't heard this conversation today while existing as Naruto Uzumaki, then the Kakashi of his own world—the mission scroll world—would probably never have said these words out loud.
"Maybe…"
He heard Fourth Shinobi World War Kakashi speak, his face bearing a striking resemblance to Kakashi in his youth.
"Without that eye of yours, and without what you entrusted to me back then, I might have ended up walking a completely different path, Obito."
From now on, I'll become your eyes. I'll use the Sharingan to help you see this world clearly.
No matter what others say, in my heart, you are an outstanding jōnin.
…
Even Adult Obito and Rebellious Obito could clearly recall those words they had spoken before their "deaths."
"You said the Sharingan was your will, and you wanted me to accept it," Kakashi Hatake said quietly. "But I didn't use it to protect Rin… Still, I'll use it to protect my companions from here on out. I remind myself of that every single day…"
"You mean Naruto?"
Standing off to the side, Naruto Uzumaki froze. He heard Obito Uchiha questioning Kakashi-sensei.
"What exactly is different between me and Naruto Uzumaki?! Why are you so certain his path won't fail?!"
Lying on the ground, with the outcome already decided, Obito Uchiha couldn't understand.
Yet the other Obito Uchihas who had existed within Naruto Uzumaki's consciousness for sixteen years across parallel worlds, along with Sasuke Uchiha and the rest of the Uchiha clan, all arrived at nearly the same answer as Kakashi.
"Naruto might fail too."
"But unlike you, who fought alone, if Naruto fails, I won't stand by and do nothing. Konoha won't stand by and do nothing. The entire ninja world won't ignore it."
"Because Naruto understands the pain in people's hearts. He represents courage and hope."
"Courage… and hope…"
If, back then, he had possessed the courage to return to the village and face the flaws in the ninja world's system head-on—
Would he have stopped relying on such empty, illusory dreams to chase fantasies that had no future?
No one could give Obito Uchiha an answer, just as no one could truly grasp the chill of sorrow spreading through their hearts at that moment.
The Uchihas within Naruto's consciousness fell into a long silence.
Minato Namikaze urged his son and Sasuke to hurry and assist in the battle against Madara Uchiha.
The Rasenshuriken meant to sever the God Tree was so massive it defied imagination.
"Buzz—buzz—buzz—"
A violent humming echoed out, like hope being born from the depths of pitch-black hell.
Obito Uchiha wanted to atone for his sins by using the Gedo Art of Rinne Rebirth to revive everyone here. But Black Zetsu struck first, hijacking the technique to resurrect Madara Uchiha instead.
Sasuke was killed by Madara.
Naruto gradually lost all ability to move as Madara tore out the Nine-Tails' heart.
They could feel everything. The agony of the tailed beast being ripped away. The crushing exhaustion as Naruto's eyes slowly closed. The moment his heart abruptly stopped.
But the Uchihas existing within Naruto's consciousness did not die, nor did they lose their ability to think.
Shisui Uchiha and Itachi Uchiha widened their eyes, their minds racing as they processed every fragment of information, desperately searching for anyone who could save Naruto, anyone who could keep the flame of hope alive.
Yet they both knew.
Miracles would not come again and again.
Hope and faith shattered in that instant.
Unaware of what happened afterward, the Child Sasuke screamed himself hoarse inside Naruto's consciousness.
Outside the illusion, seven-year-old Sasuke briefly opened his eyes, revealing two tomoe. His entire body convulsed violently, trembling as veins bulged across his small forehead.
The sight left the young Naruto, Team Minato, and Team Kakashi extremely tense.
This illusion had actually caused many Uchihas who had yet to awaken their eyes to show signs of doing so. Those who already had their Sharingan saw their tomoe increase, and even several Mangekyō Sharingan appeared anew.
"Naruto! I absolutely—absolutely will save you!!"
Gaara's voice was firm yet filled with bitterness as he carried Naruto Uzumaki rapidly through the sand. Scenes of Naruto saving him again and again flashed through his mind like a revolving lantern, along with that smile that shone like the sun in hell.
The heart…
It stopped beating…
"As a Medical-nin, and as your comrade, how could I ever let you die!!"
On the battlefield, the pink-haired girl who had once been ruled by nothing but romance sliced open Naruto Uzumaki's chest. She reached in, grasped his heart, and manually forced it to beat, keeping his life going with her own hands.
—I heard Sasuke-kun likes girls with long hair.
—Ah! It's Sasuke-kun!! Sasuke-kun, look over here!!
—Uzu! Maki! Naru! To!! Give Sasuke-kun's first kiss back!!
—Idiot Naruto! Stop causing trouble for everyone!!
—Things I like… or rather, the person I like is Sa… Sasuke…
—The person I hate the most is Naruto! He always ruins my chances to be alone with Sasuke-kun! Hmph!!
—My dream for the future is, of course, to be with Sasuke…
—Naruto, this is my request for my entire life.
—Please bring Sasuke back to me. I'm begging you.
—That promise… let's just forget it. I already… like… like…
"…"
She sucked in a sharp breath, bent down, and pressed her lips against the blond boy lying calmly before her.
Sakura…
At this moment, all the Uchihas, through Naruto Uzumaki, sensed the warmth of another person's lips for the second time.
No matter what, at least this time…
It was a girl.
…