Obito Is Dead

Back at Konoha Camp, Aragaki Yasushi immediately took Asuma and Yuhi Kurenai to report the completion of their mission.

As soon as they stepped out of the tent, Aragaki Yasushi caught sight of a familiar figure hurrying past. He looked closer and realized it was Nohara Rin.

She was covered in bandages, her right arm and leg wrapped up so tightly she looked like a mummy. Even walking seemed to hurt.

Aragaki Yasushi quickly called out to her. "Rin! What happened? How'd you get so badly hurt?"

Nohara Rin stopped abruptly and turned to look at the three of them. Her eyes were red, and her voice choked with tears. "Obito... Obito's dead."

"What?!"

Asuma's face filled with shock and anger. He stepped forward and demanded, "What happened? What exactly went wrong? Where's Kakashi? Is he all right?"

Nohara Rin wiped the tears from the corner of her eye and spoke slowly. "We were on a reconnaissance mission when we suddenly ran into Mist Anbu. They outnumbered us, and Kakashi was injured when the Mist Anbu ninja Zabuza slashed his left eye while protecting Obito."

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

"We gave it everything we had just to escape. Obito was already badly wounded, and Zabuza had cut off his right leg."

"The Mist Anbu kept chasing us. Obito told me to take his left eye to Kakashi, then stayed behind alone to hold them off..."

Aragaki Yasushi froze.

Seriously?

How had they suddenly run into Mist Anbu?

Kakashi and the others had the worst luck!

But then he thought it over and realized something didn't add up.

Wait. In the original story, Madara had controlled the Mist Anbu to kidnap Rin and put the Three-Tails inside her. This time, the old fox was probably behind it too!

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

Madara had probably deliberately sent the Mist Anbu after Kakashi and the others, driving Obito into a corner before showing up to save him and tempt him into darkness.

The enemy had changed from the Iwa Ninja to the Mist Ninja, but it was exactly the sort of thing Madara would do.

Besides, it was far too suspicious that Kakashi and Rin had escaped from the Mist Anbu!

With Obito half crippled, how could he hold off the Mist Anbu by himself?

That was obviously a lie! It couldn't have happened!

Madara had definitely let Kakashi and Rin escape on purpose, keeping them around as material for Obito's fall to darkness.

After all, without seeing his goddess die with his own eyes, how could Obito be manipulated into turning evil so easily?

Aragaki Yasushi felt like he'd figured it all out.

He hadn't expected Zabuza to be involved, though.

But as far as he remembered, Zabuza had indeed been a member of the Mist Anbu before he tried to assassinate the Fourth Mizukage and defected from the Hidden Mist.

And since the Seven Ninja Swordsmen hadn't yet been kicked into the ground by Might Duy, and Zabuza hadn't gotten his hands on Kubikiribōchō, he was just an ordinary Anbu from Kirigakure for now.

In that case, Zabuza was in for a rough time.

He'd injured Kakashi and blinded him in one eye. Wasn't that practically asking for trouble?

Once Obito turned dark, Zabuza would probably be the first person he went after.

After all, Kakashi was Obito's best friend. Obito would hold that grudge for the rest of his life.

Some people were still alive, but they might as well have been dead already.

Pushing those thoughts aside, Aragaki Yasushi looked at Nohara Rin, who was crying her eyes out, and comforted her. "Rin, don't be too upset. That guy Obito's tough as nails. He won't die that easily."

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

Nohara Rin wiped her tears and said, "Kakashi's at the Wounded Soldiers Camp. I was just about to go take care of him."

"Perfect. We'll go see him with you," Aragaki Yasushi said.

Yuhi Kurenai and Asuma nodded at once.

They had to go see Kakashi at a time like this.

They soon reached the Wounded Soldiers Camp. The moment they entered the tent, Aragaki Yasushi spotted Kakashi lying on a bed.

Compared to the cool, arrogant boy he'd been before, Kakashi now seemed utterly hollow. His eyes were vacant, his face expressionless. There wasn't a trace of hope for life in them; he looked like a puppet on strings.

Despite his appearance, Kakashi was the center of attention in the Wounded Soldiers Camp.

Partly because of his reputation as a genius.

But mostly because of the blood-red left eye that had just been transplanted into his face!

An outsider possessing the Sharingan of the Uchiha Clan was bound to draw attention.

And now that so many Uchiha Clan ninja had been sent to the Mist Battlefield, the Wounded Soldiers Camp was full of Uchiha. Naturally, Kakashi drew even more attention.

The Uchiha Clan ninja looked at Kakashi with open hostility, as if they wanted to eat him alive. Their eyes were practically bulging out of their heads.

Few members of the Uchiha Clan had awakened their eyes in the first place. Now an outsider had a Sharingan. How could they just sit by and do nothing?

Their hostility was practically spilling into the open. It looked as though they might rush forward at any second and gouge Kakashi's left eye out.

But Kakashi had completely lost his will to live. He didn't care about the hostile looks around him; even if someone really came to gouge out his eye, he probably wouldn't bother resisting.

The medical ninja treating Kakashi had it worst. They had to tend his wounds with utmost care while constantly watching out for the Uchiha Clan ninja glaring at him from every direction. They barely dared to breathe, and the pressure was immense.

Being a medical ninja wasn't easy.

Nohara Rin hurried to the bedside. Her voice caught in her throat as she called softly, "Kakashi."

Kakashi barely lifted his eyelids and looked at her listlessly. He glanced at Aragaki Yasushi and the others, said nothing, then let his head droop again. He stared blankly at the tent's floorboards, completely lost in his own world, as if he hadn't even noticed their arrival.

Had this guy really given up completely?

Aragaki Yasushi stepped forward and deliberately raised his voice. "Kakashi, can you tell me what happened when you ran into them?"

But Kakashi remained motionless, his gaze dull. It was as if nothing around him had anything to do with him; not even his eyes flickered.

Seeing that, Aragaki Yasushi had no choice but to start provoking him. "You're going to let Obito die for nothing?"

"You can't even avenge your comrade. You just hide here pretending to be dead. You really are a coward."

Those words finally shook Kakashi out of his numbness.

He jerked his head up and clutched the newly transplanted Sharingan with his left hand. The emptiness in his eyes was instantly replaced by anger. His voice was hoarse but resolute:

"I'll kill Zabuza and avenge Obito!"

Just then, the tent flap was thrown open, and three figures walked in. Each had blood-red Sharingan—Three-Tomoe Sharingan, no less.

They were three Uchiha Clan ninja.

The one leading them, Uchiha Yashiro, looked toward the bed and said, "Kakashi? Come outside for a moment. We need to talk."