"No, I look too ugly now, Rin. It's better if you don't look."
Obito felt too inferior to let Rin see his face again.
So, instinctively, Obito prepared to put the Spiral Pattern Mask back on.
However, at that moment, Rin reached out with her fair little hand and grabbed Obito, stopping him from putting the mask back on.
"Don't, Obito. I want you to be Obito, not Madara Uchiha!"
Seeing Obito's instinctive movement, Rin became anxious, even somewhat panicked.
Because whether for Obito or Rin, once Obito put on that mask that denied his past, he became Madara Uchiha.
This was what Rin desperately wanted to prevent.
It was also what Obito was struggling with inside after seeing Rin.
Honestly, even Obito himself could not tell whether, after spending so many years calling himself Madara Uchiha, he was still the Obito he had once been.
Most likely, he was not.
Thinking of this, Obito's mood suddenly darkened.
Was he still worthy of staying by Rin's side and protecting her?
Obito did not know.
If Rin despised him and wanted him to leave, what would he do?
He did not know that either!
"Am I... not Madara Uchiha?"
Unable to stop himself, Obito muttered.
"Yes, you are Obito Uchiha of Konoha. You are a hero of the village, not Madara Uchiha!"
Rin spoke with absolute certainty.
Of course, Rin was probably the only one who still saw Obito that way.
As far as Konoha was concerned, Obito had first launched the Nine-Tails Attack, then later taken part in the Night of the Coup. Was he really still Konoha's hero?
Clearly, because Obito had done too much for Rin, she was now viewing him through rose-colored glasses.
If Obito wanted to return to Konoha now, after learning of everything he had