Obito is Dead

Upon returning to the Konoha Camp, Aragaki Yasushi immediately took Asuma and Yuhi Kurenai to submit their mission report.

Just as they stepped out of the command tent, Aragaki Yasushi caught sight of a familiar figure rushing past in a hurry; upon closer inspection, it was Nohara Rin.

She was covered in bandages, her right arm and leg wrapped so tightly she looked like a rice dumpling, and she was limping heavily as she walked.

Aragaki Yasushi quickly called out to stop her: "Rin! What happened? How did you get so badly hurt?"

Nohara Rin stopped abruptly and turned to face the three of them, her eyes red and her voice choked with sobs: "Obito... Obito is dead."

"What?!"

Asuma's expression shifted to one of shock and fury as he stepped forward to press for details: "What do you mean? What exactly happened? Where is Kakashi? How is he?"

Nohara Rin wiped the tears from her eyes and spoke slowly: "We were on a reconnaissance mission when we suddenly encountered Mist Anbu. They had the numbers, and to protect Obito, Kakashi was slashed in the left eye by the Mist Anbu ninja Zabuza."

"Obito awakened his Sharingan, but we were outnumbered, and they were elite Mist Anbu. Even with the Sharingan, we could barely hold them off."

"We fought with everything we had just to escape. Obito was severely wounded; his right leg was severed by Zabuza."

"The Mist Anbu pursued us relentlessly, so Obito told me to take his left eye to Kakashi while he stayed behind to cover our retreat..."

Aragaki Yasushi was stunned upon hearing this.

No way?

How did they suddenly run into Mist Anbu?

Kakashi and the others must have had the worst luck imaginable!

But as he thought about it, he sensed something was wrong.

Wait, in the original story, Madara manipulated Mist Anbu to capture Rin and sealed the Three-Tails inside her; this must be that old fox's doing as well!

The more he thought about it, the more certain he became.

It was likely that Madara intentionally manipulated the Mist Anbu to surround and kill Kakashi's team, driving Obito into a desperate situation so he could swoop in to "save" him and lure him into falling to darkness.

Although the enemy had been changed from Iwa Ninja to Mist Ninja, it was perfectly in line with Madara's methods.

Furthermore, it was highly suspicious that Kakashi and Rin managed to escape from the Mist Anbu at all!

With Obito in such a crippled state, could he really hold off the Mist Anbu alone?

That's a lie! It's absolutely impossible!

Without a doubt, Madara must have intentionally let Kakashi and Rin go, keeping them as catalysts for Obito's corruption.

After all, without witnessing the death of his beloved, how could Obito be so easily swayed into darkness?

Aragaki Yasushi felt he had seen through the entire scheme.

He just hadn't expected Zabuza to have a role in this.

However, in his memories, Zabuza was indeed a member of the Mist Anbu before he attempted to assassinate the Fourth Mizukage and defected from Kirigakure.

Especially since the Seven Ninja Swordsmen hadn't yet been kicked into becoming the "Lucky Trio" by Might Duy, and the Kubikiribōchō hadn't fallen into his hands yet—the guy was just a regular Mist Anbu operative at this point.

In that case, Zabuza was in for some terrible luck.

Slashing Kakashi and blinding his left eye? That was like jumping straight into a fire pit.

Once Obito fell to darkness, he would likely be the first person he went after.

After all, Kakashi was Obito's dearest friend; Obito would surely hold that grudge for a lifetime.

Some people, though still alive, were as good as dead.

Pushing these thoughts aside, Aragaki Yasushi looked at the tear-streaked Nohara Rin and comforted her: "Rin, don't be too sad. Obito is tough; he wouldn't die so easily."

"By the way, where is Kakashi now? Let's go see him."

Nohara Rin wiped her tears and said: "Kakashi is in the Wounded Soldiers Camp. I was just on my way to look after him."

"That works out perfectly; we'll go with you to visit him," Aragaki Yasushi said.

Yuhi Kurenai and Asuma nodded in agreement.

At a time like this, they had to go see Kakashi.

The group soon arrived at the Wounded Soldiers Camp. As soon as they stepped into the tent, Aragaki Yasushi spotted Kakashi lying on a cot.

Compared to the cool, aloof youth he had been, Kakashi now looked completely drained of light. His eyes were hollow, his face devoid of expression, and there was not a shred of hope for life in his gaze—he looked like a puppet on strings.

Yet, despite his condition, Kakashi was the center of attention in the camp.

Part of it was due to his reputation as a genius.

But the main reason was the blood-red left eye that had just been transplanted into him!

For an outsider to possess the Sharingan of the Uchiha Clan was already a matter of great concern.

Now that many Uchiha Clan ninjas had been dispatched to the Mist Battlefield, the camp was filled with them, making the situation even more sensitive.

The Uchiha ninjas were glaring at Kakashi with such hostility that they looked ready to eat him alive, their eyes practically bulging out of their sockets.

Since few members of the Uchiha Clan could awaken the Sharingan themselves, how could they possibly sit idly by while an outsider possessed one?

The hostility in those gazes was practically overflowing, as if they would rush forward at any second to gouge out Kakashi's left eye.

Yet, Kakashi had completely lost his will to live; never mind the malicious glares surrounding him, even if someone were to actually charge over and dig out his eye, he probably wouldn't even bother to resist.

The most miserable person was the medical ninja treating Kakashi's wounds. They had to carefully tend to his injuries while simultaneously keeping a wary eye on the surrounding Uchiha clansmen who were watching like tigers stalking their prey, not even daring to breathe loudly under such immense pressure.

Being a medical ninja is truly no easy task.

Nohara Rin hurried to the bedside, her voice choked with sobs as she softly called out, "Kakashi."

Kakashi merely lifted his eyelids slightly, giving her a listless look before sweeping his gaze over Aragaki Yasushi and the other two. He didn't say a word, simply letting his head droop once more. His eyes stared vacantly at the floor tiles of the tent, his entire being like a soul lost, completely immersed in his own world, not caring in the slightest about their arrival.

Is this guy just completely giving up on life?

Aragaki Yasushi stepped forward and intentionally raised his voice, "Kakashi, can you tell me what happened when you encountered them?"

Yet, Kakashi remained motionless, his eyes dull as if everything around him had nothing to do with him, not even a flicker of emotion showing.

Seeing this, Aragaki Yasushi had no choice but to start goading him: "With you acting like this, wasn't Obito's death in vain?"

"You can't even avenge your comrade, just cowering here and playing dead—you really are a coward."

These words finally pierced through Kakashi's numbness.

He jerked his head up, his left hand tightly covering the newly transplanted Sharingan. The vacant look on his face was instantly replaced by fury, his voice raspy yet filled with resolve:

"I will kill Zabuza and avenge Obito!"

Just then, the tent flap was shoved open, and three figures walked in, each possessing scarlet Sharingan with three tomoe fully manifested.

They were three ninjas from the Uchiha Clan.

Uchiha Yashiro, who led the group, swept his gaze over the hospital bed and spoke: "Kakashi, is it? Come out; we have business with you."