Goodbye, Chiba.
Goodbye, Yukina.
Farewell, junior.
As the final wisp of distortion enveloped his body, the sensation of Space-Time transfer and the pull of his other-dimensional world suddenly intensified. Yet at some point, the Masked Man's savage grin had frozen. His eyes involuntarily darted toward the girl wearing a terrified expression as she struggled to stand, the unconscious boy lying on the ground without any response, and the boy who had already ceased breathing, every cell in his body dead, with no possibility of survival left.
And an involuntary thought flashed through his mind.
At that moment, memories from when he had still been Uchiha Obito suddenly surged into his mind.
This trio of geniuses had once been among his closest friends. During the Kannabi Bridge mission, they had shared hardship and life-and-death trials.
As the Masked Man looked at their miserable state, a trace of reluctance flickered in his heart.
But that trace of reluctance swiftly vanished when he recalled the Kannabi Bridge mission. The cold, surging chill filled his mind the instant the girl he had loved so deeply appeared in his thoughts.
And in that instant, his gaze turned icy.
Then, in the final moment before his transfer, he shifted his eyes toward the handsome blond man whose forehead was beaded with cold sweat. Though he still maintained a composed expression, only despair remained in his eyes. The deepest sneer once more emerged at the Masked Man's lips.
Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze, Teacher Minato, you were always like this. You possessed the fastest speed in the ninja world, yet you were always one step too late.
So was I.
So was Rin.
And now, so was Teacher Kushina! As that despairing gaze came into view, the Masked Man—no, Uchiha Obito—was seized by a strange and complicated thought.