Kakashi and Obito

Kakashi felt like fate had played a cruel joke on him.

A cruel, absurd joke that he couldn't accept.

The images in that mirror, which could display everything from his previous life, had stopped circulating, but those images were etched into Kakashi's mind like a brand.

With Obito's own account, piece by piece, a truth he had never imagined came to light— Obito did not die that day.

After the Kannabi Bridge, he was rescued. He was dug out of the ruins by an old man who called himself Uchiha Madara, and survived in that dark place where the sun never shone.

Then, he saw Lynn's death.

The moment I saw Rin crash into Kakashi's Reiki.

From that moment on, the boy who was always late, always smiling, and always talking about his friends died.

Instead, another person took his place, a masked man who lived in anonymity and walked the shadows under the name "Uchiha Madara."

A man who orchestrated the Nine-Tails Rebellion, personally murdered his teacher and his wife, plunging Konoha into hell; a man who lingered in darkness for over a decade, his hands stained with blood.

Kakashi's gaze fell on the number floating above Obito's head, radiating a scarlet light.

[9.3]

Those are the marks of the most heinous criminals, the final judgment this Pure Land bestows upon every soul. Behind those numbers lie countless bloody sins, lost lives, and destroyed families.

The Fourth Hokage, Kushina Uzumaki, and countless Konoha Ninja and civilians who died that night under the Kurama ' claws.

There were many more, many more, whose names Kakashi didn't know, whom he had never met, yet who truly existed.

The culprit behind all of this was his hero, the one he swore to inherit his legacy— Uchiha Obito.

Kakashi felt he should be angry. He should question him. He should rush up and grab Obito by the Obito, shouting at him why he did this, why he killed his teacher and his wife, why he destroyed Konoha, why he caused so many deaths.

But he found himself unable to move.

Images flashed through his mind, the first being the face of young Obito: "Those who don't follow the rules are trash, but those who don't cherish their comrades are even worse than trash!"

Those were words Kakashi remembered his whole life; they were the beliefs that guided his life.

The second scene is that nightmarish night. Sharingan patterns appeared in the giant Kurama' eyes as it roared madly over Konoha Village.

The Tailed Beast Ball devoured houses, and people scattered and fled, their cries and shouts deafening. Countless Konoha Ninja fell in pools of blood. The teacher sealed the Kurama with his life, leaving only the newborn baby behind.

That was a scene Kakashi would never forget; it was the second night he lost everything.

The boy in the first scene entrusts his eyes to him, saying, "Watch over this world for me." The murderer in the second scene uses that eye to destroy the world that the teacher protected with his life.

How can these two images possibly coexist?

They clashed and tore at his mind repeatedly, turning his thoughts into a chaotic mess. The memories, the guilt, and the obsessions of those years all transformed into sharp knives, cutting back and forth in his heart.

Finally, only a blank space remained.

When Kakashi was finally able to speak, he heard his voice was incredibly dry.

"No... that's not right..."

"I don't believe it... How could you...?"

"Don't be silly, Kakashi," Obito interrupted him.

"Back then, because of Rin's death, the whole world was a hell to me, it meant nothing. The Obito you knew, that identity—"

"I have already abandoned it."

Obito looked at Kakashi and saw Kakashi's entire body tremble violently. The trembling started from his shoulders, spread to his arms, and finally even his fingertips were shaking slightly.

Obito was ready.

I was prepared for Kakashi's rage, for being questioned and scolded, and even for Kakashi to rush at me and attack.

He deserves all of that.

But Kakashi didn't.

He kept his head down, but when he spoke, his voice was so weak it seemed it might break at any moment, yet there was no trace of anger in it.

Not a single trace.

"But... if it really was you that day..."

"Didn't the teacher... recognize you?"

"... Um."

Obito's voice was low and somber. "No. My teacher, and Kushina, they didn't recognize me even when they died."

Minato was unaware of this until his death.

He didn't know that the masked person who controlled the Kurama was his former student, so the teacher died with the honor of "protecting the village".

He did not die in despair, betrayed by his disciples.

Obito didn't know whether he should feel fortunate or sad about this.

Kakashi fell silent.

He slowly raised his hand and covered one of his eyes. That eye, the one covered by his Forehead Protector, the eye that had been "seeing the world" for him for over a decade.

"... Then, this eye you gave me... watch me fight with it, watch me protect Konoha with it..."

"I have no need to get back what I've given away," Obito interrupted him. "Don't ask such questions."

Obito's face was somber, his brows furrowed, and his lips pressed into a stiff line. Although his words were barbed and his tone was full of impatience, what was hidden in his eyes was far more complex than what he said.

Because he himself made the grave mistake, he himself needs to apologize, and he deserves all the questioning, the anger, and the pain.

This is not something Kakashi should have to bear.

"... Kakashi, this is reality." Obito lowered his voice even further. "I am a sinner."

"I betrayed my teacher, I betrayed you, I betrayed... Lin, I betrayed everyone who once believed in me."

"What I believed... was nothing more than a lie that nearly destroyed the world."

Kakashi's eyes reddened.

His fists were clenched, and he had been hiding his emotions and pretending to be nonchalant, but all his pretense was crumbling.

His hero became a murderer.

The person he remembered for his entire life, the one who entrusted his eyes to him and said, "Watch over this world for me," was the one who personally destroyed his teacher and his wife.

If Kakashi were still a teenager, he would definitely cry his heart out.

Just like when we lost Obito, Rin, and our teacher.

But he's no longer a boy.

"I'm sorry..." Kakashi's voice was weak and almost inaudible. "If... if I could have saved Rin back then... things wouldn't have been like this..."

"Don't apologize to me." Obito's voice suddenly rose a few decibels, almost rudely interrupting. "Rin doesn't want to see you like this."

His gaze was fixed on Kakashi, and for the first time, a clear emotional fluctuation appeared in his eyes. "My master's wife wouldn't want to see you apologize to me either. I've hurt too many people."

"The debt I owe you is something I don't know how many lifetimes it will take to repay. I'm no longer... worthy to be your companion."

After saying that, he lowered his eyes.

He thought that was the end.

He thought Kakashi would remain silent, turn away, and give him one last look with an indescribably complex gaze before disappearing into the Pure Land.

But.

No.

Kakashi's voice rang out.

Obito looked up and saw Kakashi staring at him. Kakashi's exposed eyes were red and brimming with tears, but they didn't fall. His voice was choked with emotion, broken and intermittent, yet unusually firm.

I won't say 'You're not my comrade'.

He took a deep breath. "Because you, the one who gave me your eyes—will always be a part of my heart."