Obito Has Already Gone (Please Follow)

"Haori, you're here."

Inside the Konoha camp in the Land of Grass, Namikaze Minato greeted Haori with a warm smile.

"Sorry, I'm a little late."

Haori offered an apologetic expression to Namikaze Minato; he had indeed arrived a bit late, showing up right at the deadline.

The distance from Konoha to the Land of Grass was not short, and knowing the actual circumstances of this mission, Haori hadn't been in any particular rush.

After all, he needed to carefully consider one thing: the issue of Uchiha Hikari's identity.

Leaving this problem unresolved was truly troublesome, especially since Danzo would have more energy to turn his gaze this way after the war, which would make things even more complicated.

Fortunately, Haori had an idea; the battlefield was the most chaotic place, and as long as he found a suitable person and identity, it wouldn't be difficult!

Chatting and laughing with Namikaze Minato along the way, the two soon arrived at a small wooden hut.

Kakashi, Rin, and the others had been waiting there for a long time, and besides them, many other ninjas were already prepared.

Among them were quite a few members of the Uchiha clan, and to Haori's surprise, he actually saw that kid, Uchiha Shisui!

He came too? They really are taking this seriously.

Haori muttered to himself, though upon closer reflection, it was quite normal.

Since the clan head was competing to become the Hokage, this operation would inevitably require the cooperation of the entire clan.

Especially since Uchiha Fugaku had brought his own precious son to the front lines, both the hawks and the doves would be cooperating.

"Alright, everyone is basically here, so let's begin."

After sweeping his gaze over everyone present, Namikaze Minato spoke directly.

"This mission is very important and carries a high level of danger, but everyone here is someone with the resolve and the ability to be present.

However, I must still remind everyone to be careful; after all, besides searching for the Kirigakure ninjas, you must also watch out for the Iwagakure Ninja."

Everyone present nodded; they naturally understood the danger of this mission.

Just as Namikaze Minato said, they all had their own resolve.

Seeing this, Namikaze Minato gave a few final, simple instructions and rearranged the teams.

After leaving a special Kunai with everyone, he departed, as he had other matters to attend to.

"Haori, it looks like we're teamed up again."

After Namikaze Minato left, Kakashi and the others gathered around, and Rin said with a hint of joy.

Haori did not have a fixed squad; last time, he had teamed up with Might Guy and Aoba on a temporary basis.

Now that those two had returned to their own squads and hadn't been drafted for this mission, Haori had to form a new team.

Perhaps due to the experience of fighting together last time, he didn't team up with the Uchiha members, but was instead assigned with Kakashi.

"So many people from your family came, I didn't expect you wouldn't be with them."

Asuma, chewing on a blade of grass, shrugged from the side and said.

"They have fixed teams, so I won't go and interfere."

Seeing Asuma, Haori couldn't help but tease him.

"What about you? I didn't expect you to come either. Isn't the Hokage worried about your safety?"

"Tch, just because that old man didn't want me to come, doesn't mean I wouldn't."

Asuma didn't mind Haori's teasing; he was long used to this situation.

Even though his father was the Hokage, he didn't rely on his father's power.

Of course, this might be because the Third Hokage wanted him to set an example, or perhaps he had already entered his "rebellious phase."

Haori remembered that this guy's rebellious phase was very long and quite intense.

"By the way, Haori."

Asuma glanced at Kurenai beside him, and suddenly thinking of something, he spoke up.

"We never had the chance before, but let's have a proper competition this time and see who can find those Kirigakure ninjas first!"

He had long wanted to challenge Haori; although Haori used to be quite poor, his reputation had changed drastically since he hit the battlefield.

Especially after the last mission in the Land of Grass, which had made him a hero of Konoha.

Many people in the village were talking about him all day long, which made Asuma feel like he was hearing about the "neighbor's kid."

The most critical part was that Kurenai was talking about this guy all day too...

This made Asuma a bit jealous, though he had enough self-awareness to know he probably couldn't beat him in a fight, but surely it wouldn't be hard to compete at finding people?

"Sure."

Haori shrugged and smiled indifferently, though he still offered a reminder.

"Since you're in the mood, let's have a contest then.

But remember what I said: mission first, and don't get carried away."

"I believe you understand the significance of this mission to Konoha better than I do."

"I know."

Asuma pursed his lips, though he couldn't help but grumble inwardly: How could an Uchiha like you actually believe that old man's nonsense?

Asuma's rebelliousness had its reasons; born into a Hokage's family, he had inevitably heard and seen quite a lot.

These things had caused him to waver in his belief in the so-called 'Will of Fire', eventually leading him to become a rebel of sorts and join the Guardian Shinobi Twelve.

After some casual chatter, the group finished their preparations and departed from the camp.

Although Kakashi was nominally the captain for this operation—after all, he was a bona fide jonin—he clearly still remembered Haori's terrifying performance behind enemy lines last time.

Therefore, he was more than happy to follow Haori's lead.

This made things much easier for Haori; since Hikari could not enter the Konoha camp, she was waiting on the outskirts.

Haori could simply lead Kakashi and the others in that direction, then have Hikari find them and follow from behind.

"Haori, I didn't expect us to be able to team up for a mission again so soon."

As the three figures darted quickly through the forest, Rin looked at Haori and smiled.

"I just wonder what we'll encounter this time; it should be a bit better than the last one, right?"

"We don't have to go deep behind enemy lines this time, so the situation will naturally be much better than before. There is absolutely no way the same thing will happen again!"

Kakashi nodded in deep agreement; the situation this time was indeed much better than before.

Please, this mission actually ends up having the same thing happen as last time, and it's even worse...

Haori looked at the two of them, unable to stop himself from grumbling internally.

"Don't be too optimistic. If Kirigakure wants to sabotage the negotiations, the people they send probably won't be simple pushovers."

He said this with a serious expression, though he eventually broke into a smile.

"But don't worry, I'll protect you both."

"Don't talk big. I'm a jonin, so it should be me protecting you."

"Haori-kun, I will protect you too."

Kakashi and Rin spoke up immediately upon hearing this, their eyes filled with particular resolve.

For them, the matter of Obito was in the past.

Although they still felt pain in their hearts because they hadn't been able to protect their comrade, Haori had once told them that one must look toward the future.

Moreover, they had to live on carrying the beliefs and will of their fallen comrade, so that when they eventually entered the Pure Land, they could happily tell them that their sacrifices had not been in vain.

Therefore, they had all made a decision: no matter what, they would never let what happened to Obito happen to them again!

Haori was not Obito, and he could not replace Obito.

But in their hearts, Haori had already begun to subtly surpass Obito!

Haori's gentleness, thoughtfulness, and humor, along with his intelligence and decisiveness when necessary, had deeply won them over.

And having lost one Uchiha, heaven had sent them another, so they naturally cherished him even more.

"Alright, let's not talk about that. No matter what happens, we will advance and retreat together."

Haori shrugged, then said with a smile.

"After all, we are comrades, aren't we?"

"That's right, we are comrades."

Kakashi and Rin nodded in unison; those words were enough.

Sunlight filtered down, casting long shadows of the three of them.

The three of them looked like a true squad that trusted one another completely.

And this scene, falling into the eyes of Madara, caused him to nod in satisfaction.