Kakashi's Complete Breakdown

"Shisui Uchiha" continued recounting the truth he had witnessed with his own eyes to everyone present,

"...At first, I spotted the Mysterious Masked Man outside Root's human experimentation base—the same Mysterious Masked Man who had once controlled the Nine-Tails to harm Konohagakure and caused the death of the Fourth Hokage.

That space-time ability, and the single Mangekyō Sharingan exposed beneath his mask—the clan had detailed records of it after the Nine-Tails' Rampage. I could never mistake it.

Because of his elusive space-time Dojutsu, I did not dare act rashly and alert him. I concealed myself with genjutsu and did everything I could to track him, though I lost his trail many times along the way.

During the pursuit, I also discovered that he had used Wood Style. Although he never noticed me, tracking him was still extremely difficult.

Then, by chance, he removed his mask once, allowing me to see his true face.

Only half a face remained. One half belonged to Obito Uchiha, the hero everyone believed had died on the battlefield. The other half was a monster, like a white plant that had grown a human face.

The two were embedded together, grown into one, creating the Mysterious Masked Man—a war monster devoid of emotion, brainwashed and controlled by someone else!"

Kakashi stood there with his mouth open, unable to believe what he had heard. His defenses had completely crumbled.

Obito Uchiha, one of the most important people in his life, whom he had believed to be dead,

had personally killed Minato Namikaze, another of the most important people in his life—his teacher?

What kind of human tragedy was this? What kind of tragic life had he lived?

If there truly was a god who controlled everything, how could he bear to write such a cruel story with his own hand? What was his life supposed to be?

"Shisui Uchiha" continued, and the tragedy went on.

"...Last night, I tracked the Mysterious Masked Man all the way back to Konohagakure, to the outskirts of the Uchiha Clan compound, and then—

I saw with my own eyes as he and Anbu ninja attacked together without warning, slaughtering the utterly unprepared Uchiha Clan. They worked in perfect coordination, methodical and organized.

Just like seven years ago, when he controlled the Nine-Tails to attack Konohagakure and drove the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, to his death!

Only then did I finally understand who the true culprit hiding behind everything was!"

At that, "Shisui Uchiha" stared at all the ninja and civilians present and asked a question that struck at their very souls:

"Other than a certain high-ranking figure in Konohagakure who had relentlessly conducted human experimentation for decades and sacrificed an unknown number of innocents, who else had the ability to create war weapons capable of using Wood Style Ninjutsu?

The first time Obito Uchiha, the Mysterious Masked Man, appeared, the Fourth Hokage—who had always harbored suspicions, investigated them, and discovered something—died, while the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, returned to the position of Hokage.

The second time Obito Uchiha appeared, Clan Head Fugaku, who had always suspected the Third Hokage and investigated him in secret, died along with the entire Uchiha Clan.

I even saw with my own eyes as he worked with Anbu ninja to massacre the Uchiha!

...And White Fang, whose prestige and reputation had once brought him close to the position of Hokage—why did he suddenly commit suicide? Was what we knew truly the truth?

Did Lord Orochimaru, who had fought and bled for Konohagakure for decades, repeatedly turned the tide on the battlefield, and saved Konohagakure, truly defect? Or was he framed?

Why had Lady Tsunade, the First Hokage's granddaughter, wandered outside the village for so many years, unwilling even to return to Konohagakure for a glance? I investigated the deaths of her younger brother Nawaki and her lover Dan Katō. Were those tragedies accidents, or were they man-made?

And what about Lord Jiraiya? Why had he also continued traveling the Shinobi World, refusing to return to Konohagakure? What was Lord Jiraiya really thinking?

Every ninja who had once come close to becoming Hokage either left Konohagakure in despair, or died in an accident!

Were they all coincidences?

Then why was Hiruzen Sarutobi the beneficiary of every single coincidence?"

Inside and outside the bustling square, the entire city of Konohagakure, once filled with noise, had fallen so silent that only breathing remained.

Shikaku Nara, who was responsible for speaking with "Shisui Uchiha," felt his heart pounding as if it were about to leap from his chest. For the first time, he regretted his decision a little.

This was a huge problem!

There was far too much information in those words. Even with his intellect, he could barely process it—not because he could not sort out the chain of events, but because he found it difficult to judge how much of it was true.

He even kept wavering over which side he should take. After all, Hiruzen Sarutobi's suspicions were indeed far too great. There were simply too many coincidences.

And with Shikaku Nara's authority in Konohagakure, he knew many things that ordinary ninja did not. After comparing them one by one with what "Shisui Uchiha" had said,

uh, Hiruzen Sarutobi looked even more suspicious. There was no way to clear his name now. One could even say that he definitely had a problem—it was only a matter of whether that problem was major or minor!

The ninja present could almost no longer bring themselves to look directly at the Third Hokage!

After calming himself slightly, Shikaku Nara cautiously tested the boy's mood. "Is the Wood Style human experimentation you mentioned real? Are there really test subjects capable of using Wood Style? Are you certain those human experimentation bases are connected to Lord Third Hokage?"

Before "Shisui Uchiha" could answer, another young man's voice rang out. It was Kakashi Hatake.

"It's true! I know!"

No one knew what emotional upheaval Kakashi had experienced in that short time, but his voice had become incomparably hoarse. The instant that raspy voice sounded,

he had already appeared beside another masked ninja, holding a Ninja Sword to the man's neck as he ordered, "Tenzo, use Wood Style Ninjutsu!"

"Kakashi, what are you doing? Have you gone mad?"

"Put down the sword, now! How can you ambush a comrade?"

"Wait... what is going on? Wood Style Ninjutsu?"

Amid the other ninja's shocked and confused discussion, someone finally grasped the crucial point. Could this masked ninja also be a successful subject of Wood Style human experimentation?

Was what "Shisui Uchiha" said true?

Kakashi ignored the surrounding clamor. The heart that had only begun to thaw over the past few years froze once more, and his eyes returned to the lifeless, despairing state they had held years ago.

Attacking a comrade? Rogue Ninja? Death? So what? None of it mattered anymore!

He no longer cared about anything. In that brief instant, he had fallen into hell!

Or perhaps he had always been in hell. His eyes had merely been blinded before, unable to see it.

Now, he only wanted the truth!

Holding Tenzo, the Wood Style ninja, at swordpoint with one hand, he looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi, the man he had once trusted. A bone-deep chill rising from his soul filled his eyes.

He said, "I should have realized it. If Shimura Danzō, who was completely under your control, possessed methods to create Wood Style ninja, then you should have possessed the corresponding technology as well—and your level of technology should have far surpassed Danzō's...

Third Hokage, can you tell me the truth? What exactly happened to Obito? Why was only half his face left, fused together with a monster?

How did he gain control of Wood Style Ninjutsu? What did he go through? What did you do to him that made him awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan?

What kind of hell had Obito been living in? Can you let him come see me?"

I don't know!

Hiruzen Sarutobi was bewildered. From beginning to end, he had been completely confused. To him, everything "Shisui Uchiha" had recounted was the story of a stranger.

I truly, truly don't know anything at all! What will it take for you to believe me?