Friends

The next morning.

The young girl lying on the bed felt her eyelashes tremble, and then she opened her eyes.

"To think... I slept so soundly."

The girl surveyed her surroundings before finally sitting up.

It was only then that she realized she was lying on the bed, while the sheets and quilt were laid out on the floor not far away.

"Did I sleep on the floor?"

She seemed to understand everything once she saw this, and she realized that she had slept quite peacefully last night.

Even though, just like before, the nightmares of the past continued to appear the moment she fell asleep.

The hideous faces of the Uchiha clan members still haunted her dreams at every moment.

But this time, she did not feel that intense fear in her heart; she seemed able to face it all with composure, which was something even she hadn't expected.

Shaking her head, she stood up, wanting to find Haori.

However, strangely enough, the room was exceptionally quiet, which made her frown involuntarily.

But when she reached the table, she suddenly discovered that breakfast had already been prepared, along with a note.

Feeling a bit puzzled, she picked up the note and began to read.

[Sorry, you were sleeping so soundly that I didn't want to disturb you.

I have to attend a funeral in the village today, so I had to get up early.

However, I've prepared some breakfast for you; remember to eat it.

Your body is still quite weak, and I hope you recover soon.

Your friend: Haori]

"A friend, huh?"

Putting down the note, she couldn't help but whisper to herself.

She lifted her head and looked out the window.

Although the weather today was poor, with a gray sky and rain falling, this light drizzle seemed to cleanse her soul, bringing her a sense of unusual peace.

"That really is a somewhat unfamiliar word."

--

"Ah, so boring. Every time I wake up, I hope this is just a dream."

Inside the dim underground base in the Land of Grass, Obito sighed helplessly; he couldn't even remember how many times he had said this.

However, he still held some expectations in his heart—since he hadn't died, he must return to the side of Kakashi and Rin!

Therefore, even though he had essentially lost half of his body, he kept working hard to train his balance and coordination.

He believed that he would definitely be able to recover.

"Yo, Obito-kun, good morning!"

At that moment, the figure with the Spiral Face appeared right on time, waving to greet Obito.

"Up so early? Are you going to start training again?"

"Spiral Face, hello."

Obito said listlessly, then stood up.

"Yeah, I need to leave this place as soon as possible. I can't stand it here!"

"Obito-kun, who are Rin and Kakashi?"

Just then, another White Zetsu appeared beside him, asking with a curious expression.

"Could it be that you want to go outside and play with bells?"

"Oh, and there's also 'idiot, idiot, idiot, idiot'—there are a lot of those, too."

The White Zetsu with the Spiral Face also rubbed his chin at this moment, speaking with a reminiscent look.

"Sometimes you mix in 'idiot Kakashi' or something like that. What is an 'idiot Kakashi' anyway?

I remember you've been repeating that ever since you arrived here. Do they owe you a lot of money?"

"I actually say such things in my sleep? How embarrassing."

Obito looked awkward, but just as he wanted to change the subject, the Spiral Face spoke again.

"By the way, you only ever seem to talk about them. Don't you have any other friends?"

"Uh..."

This question stunned Obito for a moment. He seemed to think of Namikaze Minato, and Kushina, who had taken such good care of him.

But he quickly shook his head, and before the Spiral Face could say anything else, he hurriedly spoke up.

"Why are only the two of you here today? Where are the others?"

During this time, he had already seen quite a few White Zetsu.

Those people all looked exactly the same, and many of them would even chat with him.

Even though they were all like idiots, Obito could still say he had pleasant conversations with them.

"Them? They went out to scout for intelligence," another White Zetsu answered casually.

"What? They can go outside?" A look of surprise appeared on Obito's face; he truly hadn't known about this.

"Eh, didn't I mention that to you?"

The White Zetsu scratched his head, thought for a moment, and then began to explain.

"We can travel through the earth, so we are able to go out. We have been dispatched to various places to collect intelligence for a long time now.

Actually, we can see all of you fighting wars and such, we just don't participate in them."

"Seriously, why are you only telling me such an important thing now?"

Obito clenched his fists, then quickly asked.

"Then, do you know the situation with Kakashi and the others? My teammates!

You must have seen them when you rescued me!"

"You mean that guy with white hair and the girl with brown hair?"

Spiral Face looked at Obito with curiosity, then rubbed his chin as if lost in memory.

"If it's them, then I really do know a thing or two."

After all, he had been following Haori, and since Kakashi and Rin were right by Haori's side, it would be hard not to know about such things.

Spiral Face's words immediately made Obito excited. Although he couldn't go out, being able to learn information about them was still good for Obito!

"Tell me quickly, how are they doing now? They are my best friends!"

Obito asked excitedly; he couldn't wait to know everything right now.

"They are probably having a hard time right now, after all, they lost their best friend.

Well, well, it's okay, I will definitely speed up my recovery progress so I can return to their side sooner!"

"Uh, although I don't want to interrupt your fantasies, but..."

Seeing that Obito seemed to have fallen into his own world, Spiral Face scratched his cheek and finally said with a hint of helplessness.

"They are both doing very well now. Sadness? Yes, there was some, right after you were buried.

But they recovered very quickly. After all, someone very gentle and also very strong arrived in time and saved them.

And he even carried out missions with them afterward, constantly guiding them through it."

Hearing this from Spiral Face, Obito's body couldn't help but stiffen slightly. Kakashi and Rin have already recovered?

This... what is this supposed to mean?

"Was it the teacher who came? Namikaze Minato?"

Obito pursed his lips and asked with a forced smile.

"If it were the teacher, then he is indeed very gentle and very strong."

"It wasn't him. It was a guy who, just like you, is an Uchiha."

The White Zetsu beside Spiral Face poked his head out, looked at Obito, shrugged, and laughed.

"That guy looks much better than you. He is indeed very gentle and capable; he saved your former teammates.

And he didn't just save them once, either. Plus, their relationship looks very good—even better than yours was at the time.

Oh, right, that guy's name seems to be Haori?"

Haori.

Why is it you again!?

At this moment, Obito truly couldn't hold it together. Why was it this guy who saved Kakashi and the others? Why did it have to be him?

Suddenly, he recalled a sentence Madara had said to him before.

"You and I are both people who have been betrayed, and also people who have been forgotten."

Obito's fists clenched tighter and tighter, and this sentence echoed incessantly in his mind.

After a long while, he suddenly lifted his head, his eyes turning incredibly scarlet at this moment.

"I don't believe it! I must go out and ask them properly!"