Itachi, You Won't Betray the Village, Will You?

"I told you, what happened to Rin was my fault. It had nothing to do with the teacher or the others."

Kakashi was at a loss. He had tried so hard to explain things to Obito, but Obito still refused to listen. Instead, his emotions had only grown more extreme.

"You told me to take revenge on you, so why are you dodging?"

Seeing Kakashi evade his attack, Obito snapped furiously.

If I didn't dodge, wouldn't I be dead?

Kakashi's expression stiffened, then he explained, "If I surrender now, you'll get the complete Mangekyō Sharingan, and you'll keep threatening the village."

"I promise that once you surrender, when this is over, you can do whatever you want with me..."

After hearing this, Obito didn't get angry. He laughed instead, and his attacks on Kakashi grew fiercer, pressing him so hard he could barely catch his breath.

Kakashi could only struggle to hold on while trying to figure out how to use the Mangekyō's power. Since Obito could use Space-Time Ninjutsu, there was no reason he couldn't use it too, with the other Mangekyō.

Before long, Kakashi figured out how to use the Mangekyō.

Just as Obito was about to dodge his attack, Kakashi activated Kamui and entered Kamui Space, striking Obito as he tried to evade by Phasing into the space.

"So this is what Kamui can do?"

Kakashi murmured to himself. At last, he had a way to deal with Obito.

"Captain Kakashi, I'm coming to help!"

While Kakashi and Obito were locked in a fierce battle, Youhu had been itching to join in. He charged forward with his weapon, ready to back Kakashi up.

But by the time Youhu reached them, Kakashi and Obito had both vanished. They had entered Kamui Space with Kamui, intending to settle things there.

"Damn it, why didn't I learn Space-Time Ninjutsu? I want to go over there and fight too!"

Youhu slammed his fist into the ground, his face full of frustration.

"Brother Youhu, we have to trust Captain Kakashi."

Itachi could see how frustrated Youhu was, so he went over to comfort him. He understood how Youhu felt right now: watching his former idol, Obito, turn into the Masked Man behind the Nine-Tails' Rampage.

Not everyone could bear that kind of shock.

And after finally finding Obito, Youhu still couldn't get involved in the battle between him and Kakashi.

Youhu nodded, seeming to accept Itachi's point. Then, out of nowhere, he asked, "Senior Itachi, you won't betray the village like Brother Obito someday, will you?"

"Ah..."

The sudden question left Itachi momentarily stunned. Why had the conversation suddenly turned to him?

Itachi looked at Youhu, puzzled. "Brother Youhu, of course I'd never betray the village. What are you thinking?"

Youhu gave a slight nod, then stared at Itachi with murderous intent and said:

"You'd better not betray the village. No matter where you run, I'll find you and kill you."

"..."

Shouldn't I be the one saying that to you?

Faced with Youhu's murderous glare, Itachi was at a loss for words. He had no idea how to answer.

Sometimes, when you were speechless, you really were speechless.

He had been with Root Ninja as Danzo's subordinate for nearly half a year. Because he refused to reveal Anbu intelligence, his clan had kept treating him like a traitor who had sided with the Hokage Faction.

You'd only joined Anbu today, and you were already wholeheartedly on the Hokage's side.

And you were actually worried that he'd betray the village?

Even as he struggled to find a response, Itachi began considering whether he should contact Obito and learn the truth behind everything.

After all, if the Masked Man was Uchiha Madara, then Madara's attack on Konoha was understandable. After all, Uchiha Madara had caused the Battle of the Valley of the End.

But if the Masked Man was Obito, Itachi felt that Obito must have had a reason for what he had done.

Perhaps he had lost faith in his clan, or perhaps he had lost faith in all of Konohagakure.

He, too, had similar thoughts now. He simply couldn't understand why his clansmen were so narrow-minded, or why his superior, Danzo, was so determined to go after the Uchiha.

He might only find the answers if he met Obito again.

A few minutes later, a battered figure emerged from the Space Vortex. It was Kakashi.

As soon as he saw Kakashi, Youhu hurried over and asked, "Captain Kakashi, did you kill Brother Obito? We promised the Hokage that we'd bring him back alive or bring back his body."

Isn't Obito your idol? Why are you always calling for him to be killed?

Is this what they mean by a Blackened Fan? You're so eager to see your flawed idol die.

Kakashi glanced at Youhu, then thought back to his fight with Obito and sighed. "I wasn't a match for him. He got away."

The truth was even worse than Kakashi made it sound.

With only the Mangekyō, Kakashi had been no match for Obito. Even without using Wood Style, Obito had still beaten him with his powerful regenerative abilities.

If Obito hadn't wanted to see Kakashi live on in the Ninja World like a dog, Kakashi wouldn't have had any chance of leaving Kamui Space.

Kakashi felt a complicated mix of emotions.

He knew that Obito still felt the same way about him as before, but Obito was no longer the person he used to be.

Itachi asked, "Does that mean our mission failed?"

"More or less. Obito's gone, and we don't have any other leads..."

Kakashi nodded. Their mission to capture Obito had failed.

With his Kamui, it would be much harder for Obito to infiltrate Konoha than it had been before. He probably wouldn't return to Konoha anytime soon.

But no one knew where Obito would go after leaving Konoha.

There was no way to dig into the secrets he carried, either.

Youhu wasn't surprised that Kakashi had lost to Obito.

How could a dispirited Kakashi defeat Obito, who had gained Uchiha Madara's Inheritance and whose heart was full of Ideals? Especially when Obito had merged with White Zetsu's body and gained monstrous regenerative abilities.

Kakashi had probably survived only because Obito was worried he might destroy the Mangekyō.

Still, the fact that Uchiha Obito's strength had greatly increased could be put to use. Youhu could use it to promote the Izuna's Inheritance he had made up.

Uchiha Obito had gone from Chunin-level strength to Kage Level Strength in an instant thanks to Madara's Legacy.

Then the inheritance left by Uchiha Izuna, Uchiha Madara's younger brother, should also be able to turn an ordinary Uchiha into a Jonin, or even an Elite Jonin.

Surely the two brothers would have shared their progress in researching Wood Style.

With that thought, Youhu broke the silence in the group and asked curiously, "Captain Kakashi, Senior Itachi, it's not as if we have no leads at all. Do you remember that Pitcher Plant Monster?"

"It seemed to call Obito 'Lord Madara.'"

"Do you think Brother Obito became so powerful because of the Legendary Uchiha Madara?"

"Could Uchiha Madara have left an inheritance somewhere after his defeat, and Obito just happened to find it and inherit Madara's Will?"

"Thinking about it, the First Lord was the one at fault. He shouldn't have ignored Uchiha Madara back then."

"If they'd been married, we wouldn't have all these problems now."