Even If We Beat Obito to Death, We Will Still Bring Him Back

After Obito slunk away in defeat, Kakashi and the others let out a sigh of relief. With their current strength, continuing to fight Obito would only lead to them being picked off one by one—a dead end.

Itachi recalled what Kakashi and Youhu had said earlier and asked, puzzled, "Captain Kakashi, what is going on? How could the Masked Man be Obito? Didn't he sacrifice himself on the battlefield at Kannabi Bridge?"

"I'm not sure either. I remember seeing with my own eyes that Obito was crushed by a boulder..."

Kakashi shook his head slightly. He had no idea why Obito had become the Masked Man, or why he would later attack the village and cause the deaths of Teacher Minato and Mistress Kushina.

Mistress Kushina had doted on Obito more than anyone.

At this moment, Kakashi seemed to recall something and looked at Youhu, who was standing to the side, lost in thought.

Kakashi remembered Youhu saying that morning that both Obito and Rin would be resurrected.

At the time, he had known that was impossible. He had witnessed Obito being crushed by the boulder with his own eyes and had killed Rin himself after she became the Three-Tails Jinchuriki.

He had even told Youhu that there was no ninjutsu in the world capable of resurrection, though deep down, he had still held onto a sliver of hope.

But now, he had seen the dead Obito with his own eyes, appearing before him in the flesh.

This meant that a ninjutsu capable of resurrection did exist in the ninja world, and for such a technique to be activated, there must be a ninja performing it.

It was highly likely that Obito had not become the Masked Man of his own volition.

Thinking of this, Kakashi voiced his thoughts to his subordinates.

"Itachi, Youhu, I've been thinking—the Masked Man really might be Obito."

"However, attacking the village likely wasn't Obito's original intention. He was probably manipulated after being resurrected. The ninja who used him is the true mastermind."

"Brother Obito was being used?"

Youhu's eyes regained a glimmer of spirit, and he quickly said, "I knew Brother Obito couldn't have attacked the village! He must have been manipulated!"

"Captain Kakashi, we can still bring Brother Obito back, right?"

"Mm..."

Kakashi nodded slightly. He also hoped to reunite with his close friend, but he was somewhat afraid to face Obito. Back then, he had promised Obito he would protect Rin, yet in the end, he had let Rin die by his own hand.

Fate was always so bizarre and unpredictable.

Just then, the Third Hokage arrived late with a large group of Anbu.

Glancing at the terrain destroyed by ninjutsu and sensing the lingering chakra in the air, the Third Hokage was essentially certain that the Masked Man who had attacked the village this time was the same person who had attacked it years ago.

Five years later, the Masked Man intended to make a move on the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, aiming to recreate the Nine-Tails' Rampage.

Fortunately, the Kakashi Squad took the initiative to stall the Masked Man this time, and Naruto was kept safe. It was unclear whether Kakashi and the others had sustained serious injuries.

Just as the Third Hokage was contemplating how to commend the Kakashi Squad, Youhu was the first to appear before him. With a look of guilt, he said, "Lord Hokage, please punish us. We failed to detain Brother Obito and let him escape."

"The Masked Man's strength is immense. Even I wouldn't have the confidence to hold him back. You all did very well..."

"Wait..."

The Third Hokage discovered a blind spot. After carefully ruminating on the words, he realized what Youhu had actually said, and his brain began to process the information rapidly.

Youhu, do you mean that not only did you repel the Masked Man, but you also discovered his true identity?

He is a ninja named Obito.

This ninja named Obito sounded somewhat familiar. Had he been the one to issue Obito his ninja headband?

"Kakashi, report to me. Tell me exactly what happened."

Given that Youhu had once spread rumors about him, the Third Hokage didn't quite trust Youhu's mouth and called Kakashi over directly.

"That is how the situation unfolded..."

Kakashi recounted everything that had happened that night.

After listening to Kakashi's report, the Third Hokage's mouth twitched, and he rubbed his forehead in a headache.

How did Naruto end up fishing at the back mountain again, and how did he happen to be saved by Youhu after encountering a wild boar?

Youhu didn't follow Anbu rules either.

How could an Anbu Ninja eat and drink while executing a mission, let alone share a meal with a sensitive figure like the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki?

It was only because he, the Hokage, was willing to trust him.

If it had been an Uchiha approaching the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, the Third Hokage would have had to don his armor and consider whether the Uchiha were about to launch a coup.

However, the final outcome was good.

If Youhu and Kakashi hadn't been staying by Naruto's side, the Masked Man's plan might have actually succeeded.

Itachi had also been quietly approaching the Masked Man in his capacity as an Uchiha to gather intelligence. If he hadn't happened to run into Kakashi and Youhu, he might have truly been able to infiltrate the enemy's ranks...

During the battle with the Masked Man, Youhu also displayed combat intuition that far exceeded that of an ordinary person.

He had actually conceived a way to counter space-time ninjutsu. Such combat intuition was in no way inferior to that of Namikaze Minato back in the day.

It was a pity that Youhu's raw strength was still lacking; Combat Intuition alone could not bridge the gap in sheer power.

The final piece of intelligence was the one the Third Hokage found most unbelievable.

It was the true identity of the Masked Man.

If Kakashi and Youhu had not seen it with their own eyes, who could have imagined that the Masked Man who orchestrated the Nine-Tails' Rampage would be that sunny and cheerful Obito?

However, this also proved from another perspective that the Nine-Tails' Rampage back then was indeed related to the Uchiha.

The Uchiha truly possessed the power to threaten the entire village of Konoha. Should the village's policy toward the Uchiha be slightly adjusted?

Or perhaps, could the Nine-Tails' Rampage have been a self-directed act by the Uchiha?

For a moment, countless speculations surged through the Third Hokage's mind.

At this moment, Kakashi seemed to have made up his mind. He turned to the Third Hokage and said, "Third Lord, I would like to temporarily leave the Anbu to go find Obito and ask him what exactly he is thinking."

The Third Hokage remained silent for a few seconds, hesitating over whether to agree to Kakashi's request.

He knew of the bond between Kakashi and Obito, but he doubted Kakashi's strength was sufficient to deal with the Masked Man.

At this time, Youhu also stepped forward, resolute and firm:

"Lord Hokage, I would like to go with Captain Kakashi as well."

"Kakashi has Brother Obito's Sharingan, so it will be very convenient for us to track him. Even if I have to break Brother Obito's arms and legs, or even kill him, I will forcefully bring him back."

Isn't it a bit too excessive to just kill him and bring back the corpse...

Where does such resentment toward Uchiha Obito come from? Were you two really that close?

However, Youhu did remind the Third Hokage of one point: Kakashi possessed Obito's other Sharingan. If the Masked Man's Space-Time Ninjutsu originated from the Mangekyo, then Kakashi should possess similar abilities.

In that regard, Kakashi was indeed the best choice to capture Obito.

After pondering for a moment, the Third Hokage reached his own conclusion and spoke, "There is no need to leave the Anbu. I am now issuing an order to your squad in the name of the Hokage to pursue the Masked Man."

"You must capture the Masked Man, or at the very least, drive him out of Konoha."

"Yamato, you will not be executing this mission. Your task is to protect the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki."