Obito: I'll Dox Him!!!

Kushina froze when she looked at the framed photo Shinichi Hyuga was pointing at.

She turned to look at Shinichi's earnest face, then turned back to confirm the frame he had indicated. After a brief hesitation, Kushina Uzumaki slowly rose to her feet, walked to the display cabinet, took down the photo frame, and asked Shinichi:

"Shinichi, is this the photo you meant?"

"The person you said you saw..."

As Kushina spoke, Shinichi stood up and walked over to her. Pretending to study the photograph in her hands carefully, he pointed at the young Obito Uchiha in the picture and confirmed:

"Mm, I should be right."

"The intact half of that Masked Man's face looked extremely similar to this boy's, just a little more mature."

"And I noticed that one of the Masked Man's eyes seemed to be a Three Tomoe Sharingan."

"That guy should be from the Uchiha Clan!"

At that, Shinichi Hyuga's expression suddenly relaxed, and he said carelessly:

"Since he's from the Uchiha Clan, there shouldn't be any problem, right?"

"I heard from my father that the Uchiha Clan are all arrogant, conceited people. It wouldn't be strange for someone like that to have so much Chakra."

"If he's an Uchiha clansman, then he's one of Konoha's people. I was being too sensitive."

Shinichi looked completely relaxed as he said this, but Kushina Uzumaki, who heard him, was already reeling inside.

He looked like Minato's student, Obito Uchiha?!

A member of the Uchiha Clan?!

Half his face had been disfigured?

The information Shinichi had revealed about that Masked Man was far too coincidental!

But...

Obito Uchiha should have died during that mission. Why... why did every detail Shinichi mentioned match up?

What if... what if Obito Uchiha had not died in that battle, but had survived?!

Then... everything Shinichi had said seemed to fit!

Kushina held the frame, unable to calm herself for a long while. As if to confirm the information once again, she asked:

"Shinichi... you said the person you saw looked a lot like the child in this photo?"

Kushina's tone sounded calm, but Shinichi could still hear a faint tremor in her voice.

"Mm, my Byakugan couldn't possibly be wrong. He looked a lot like the person in the photo."

"But for some reason, half of the Masked Man's face was disfigured."

"Teacher Kushina, do you know that Uchiha clansman?"

Shinichi asked with an innocent expression, but both his words and his tone were deliberately guiding Kushina.

"They... probably aren't the same person..."

Even now, Kushina could not fully believe Shinichi's words. It was not that she did not trust him, but that she could not imagine Obito Uchiha, who had been dead for years, still being alive.

Though her subconscious told her that the person Shinichi had seen was probably Obito Uchiha, her rational mind made Kushina want to find stronger proof before accepting Shinichi's claim.

With that in mind, Kushina gently stroked the photo and began telling Shinichi the story of Minato's three students.

"This child was named Obito Uchiha."

"But he died during a mission many years ago."

"That was Konoha..."

A nostalgic look appeared in Kushina's eyes. Although it was growing late outside, Kushina, having begun the story, showed no intention of stopping. Instead, she carefully recounted Obito's story to Shinichi.

The Battle of Kannabi Bridge was the turning point in Konoha's war against Iwagakure during the Third Shinobi World War, and it was also the lifelong pain of Kushina's husband, Minato Namikaze.

Although Minato completed the task assigned by the higher-ups during that battle and destroyed Kannabi Bridge, Team Minato suffered its first casualty.

As an Elite Jonin of Konoha, Minato Namikaze had long since witnessed life and death, but losing a student was something he experienced for the first time. Naturally, it left a deep scar on him.

During the battle, the kind-hearted and enthusiastic Obito Uchiha was struck by falling rocks while saving Kakashi. As he lay dying, he gave his newly awakened Sharingan to Kakashi as a gift.

This allowed Kakashi, who had lost an eye on the battlefield, to see again. At the same time, it was also the "first" time that a non-Uchiha had possessed a Sharingan in Konoha.

The matter caused quite a stir in Konoha at the time. As a Kekkei Genkai clan, the Uchiha naturally could not tolerate their bloodline limit being passed outside the clan. Yet the dissatisfaction within the Uchiha Clan was suppressed by Fugaku, who was clan head at the time.

The legacy left behind by the hero Obito, as well as Minato Namikaze's influence, played decisive roles in that.

Without question, Kushina believed that a child Shinichi's age could never have known what happened back then. Moreover, some of the details were known only to Kakashi, who had been involved, and to the few people such as Minato and Kushina who had learned the truth afterward.

Outsiders did not even know that the Uchiha Clan had never recovered Obito's body. The grave of Obito Uchiha in Konoha Cemetery was merely a cenotaph beneath his tombstone.

As Kushina explained Obito Uchiha's story in detail, Shinichi's expression became increasingly certain.

"Teacher Kushina, then there's no mistake!"

"That person must have been Obito Uchiha!"

"Didn't you say half his body was crushed by rocks while he was saving Kakashi? Doesn't that match that guy's two-toned face?"

"His appearance, the fact that he only had one Sharingan—it all fits perfectly!"

"Though we don't know how that boy named Obito Uchiha survived, neither you, Big Brother Minato, nor the Uchiha ever saw his body, right?"

"You need to see the person alive and the body dead. Without a body..."

"Though I don't know why he hid the fact that he was alive, if it really is him, Konoha has to be wary of him!"

"He was clearly alive, yet he pretended to be dead. Something must have changed in that guy's mind for some reason."

"He's probably hostile to Konoha!"

Shinichi maliciously speculated about Obito Uchiha. Of course, it was precisely because he understood Obito Uchiha that he used this method to dox him and alert Kushina.

After hearing Shinichi's analysis, Kushina lowered her head in thought.

At this moment, she was somewhat at a loss. Kushina desperately wanted to see Minato, to tell him all the information and intelligence she had learned, and have him help her analyze it.

As for Shinichi's words, they had also left their mark on Kushina's heart.

Reason told Kushina that Shinichi Hyuga's analysis was likely correct.

Yet emotionally, she rejected all of Shinichi's speculation and deductions. Kushina believed that even if Obito really was alive, he would not harm Konoha. He must have... had some unspeakable difficulty.

How could that innocent, carefree boy...

"Could Obito Uchiha have been saved by someone, and could that 'benefactor' who saved his life be using it to threaten him? Keeping him from appearing openly before others?"

"There should be plenty of jutsu that can control someone's life!"

Shinichi's words jolted Kushina awake once more. At that moment, she suddenly thought of the death of Team Minato's other member, Rin Nohara.

Rin Nohara had chosen death precisely because Kirigakure had sealed the Three-Tails inside her and placed a Cursed Seal on her!

Both were unable to control their own fates. Could Obito Uchiha also...

In that instant, Kushina thought of many things. Seeing her deep in thought, Shinichi said nothing more and allowed her to process the information on her own.

"Obito Uchiha..."

"Heh!"

The corner of Shinichi's lips curled up, revealing a smile that said everything was under control.

So you're the mastermind behind the scenes?

Now then, could you still keep hiding in the shadows, using Madara Uchiha's name to stir up trouble!