"We can't save him. The whole left side of my body's been crushed." Obito was barely conscious. A bag lay beside him—the one filled with Protein Powder. He'd protected both the powder and Rin. He wasn't a coward.
When he saw Zhengyi and Kakashi walk in,
"Zhengyi, it hurts so much. I don't want to die. I'm scared..."
Obito dropped every pretense and broke down crying in front of Zhengyi.
Seeing Zhengyi seemed to remind him of an afternoon when he was six, when they'd played kick-the-can by the lake.
Watching Obito cry, Zhengyi's eyes brimmed with tears too. Damn it! Madara!!
Zhengyi had always been fiercely protective of his own!
He didn't know where he found the strength, but he stepped forward and put his hands against the boulder pinning Obito down. He pushed, his veins bulging as his face flushed red.
"Gahhh!!!"
Perhaps it was the power of friendship and bonds, but he really managed to lift the boulder a little. Still, pulling Obito out whole would be difficult. He might tear half of Obito's body off, so he had to keep lifting.
"This is just one heavy lift at the gym!!!"
Though he was already exhausted, he somehow summoned a burst of strength.
Deep underground, Madara was genuinely furious with laughter. Did this guy called Zhengyi have some kind of grudge against him?
So you're Zhengyi, the brat?
You're something else.
I'll remember you.
The Eye of the Moon Plan needs two guards at Konoha's entrance. You and Tobirama can sit there and keep watch.
"Explode!"
At Madara's command, the cave shook violently, as if it might collapse at any moment.
"Go. Don't worry about me."
With snot and tears running down his face, Obito realized who his true brother was in a crisis. Meanwhile, Kakashi could only stand there, lost in grief.
"Gahhh!" Zhengyi kept straining.
"You're so useless. How are you supposed to protect Rin like this?"
Hearing Obito mutter that, Zhengyi wanted to smash the stone into him and crush his other half too. He was busting his ass to save the kid, and that was what Obito had to say?
But then he saw the Three-Tomoe Sharingan Obito had gouged out of his own eye.
That was right. Seeing Zhengyi risk his life to save him had stirred Obito's grief, awakening his Sharingan. He'd already had the One-Tomoe Sharingan, but now he'd advanced straight to the Three-Tomoe Sharingan.
But! He was about to die. What use was it now?
"Of course a useless guy like you can't take care of Rin. Put on my Three-Tomoe Sharingan... then you'll be barely qualified. Of course, I don't have the strength to dig out the other one. Let me keep one eye for the Pure Land. I'm scared of the dark."
"Obito." Zhengyi's lips moved. Why had such a foolish kid been tricked into joining the Eye of the Moon Plan?
"I'm leaving Rin in your hands. Make sure you take good care of her." Obito reached out with a hand clutching his bloodied eye.
"If you come to the Pure Land before me, Lord Obito won't be happy."
There wasn't enough time to save Obito now. Another boulder came crashing down, and Zhengyi couldn't hold on. The rock he'd been bracing against dropped back into place. Obito's body was already crushed on one side, so he couldn't feel the pain.
"Hurry up and go."
"Rin, you and Zhengyi have to be good to each other."
Obito took one last look at Rin. He could no longer see her; he'd given his eye to Zhengyi.
"Obito!" X3
Obito died with a smile. Now that Zhengyi had the Three-Tomoe Sharingan, he could protect Rin. With that, Obito had no regrets.
Konoha was taking stock of its casualties.
Including Obito, 378 ninja had died. Nearly everyone else had been injured. Even Hiruzen Sarutobi had a bandage wrapped around his forehead.
Zhengyi hadn't suffered many external injuries. His body was mostly covered in bruises, which only hurt when touched.
The pain inside was another matter. His muscles felt torn, and even peeing was a struggle.
"It's supposed to hurt. Pain means your muscles are growing." Orochimaru visited Zhengyi at the makeshift hospital set up in a tent and shook his head with a laugh.
"Teacher, what about Anko? And my two students? Are they still alive?"
"Mm..." Orochimaru looked grave.
"I see." Zhengyi had suspected as much, but hadn't expected Anko to be dead too.
"I don't know." Orochimaru shook his head.
Zhengyi was speechless. That probably meant they were still alive—and indeed, they were. They'd even come to visit him that afternoon.
Some things weren't suitable to discuss during the day. That night, Orochimaru had his subordinates carry Zhengyi's hospital bed to Danzo's tent.
"The Third Hokage is preparing to negotiate with Iwagakure. They're also open to negotiations," Danzo began, giving them the latest information.
"I know." Orochimaru nodded. He wasn't surprised. Ōnoki could see that there was nothing to gain by continuing the war. Of course that old fox would take what he could get and call it a day.
"Is Minato still the one going to negotiate?" Zhengyi asked. When the two men stared at him as if he were an idiot, he realized he'd asked a pointless question.
There was no way they'd pass up the credit for Minato.
The reason their faction under Orochimaru had avoided being blamed by Hiruzen Sarutobi over Minato's capture until now was probably that Hiruzen had been too busy to remember.
Zhengyi fell silent and listened as Orochimaru and Danzo discussed how to seize the Hokage's position.
It made his scalp tingle.
What a pair of geniuses.
They'd even brought up assassinating the Third Hokage. Could the two of them actually beat him?
The Third Hokage would be old and decrepit more than a decade from now, yet still manage to take Tobirama and Hashirama with him. Sure, the Impure World Reincarnation wasn't perfect, but taking on three Kage Level opponents at once meant the Third Hokage of this era had to be incredibly strong.
To the overpowered, the Third Hokage was nothing special.
To ordinary people, the Third Hokage was the ceiling.
No wonder one of them became the scapegoat and the other defected in the original story.
"What is it? Do you think we shouldn't do this?" Orochimaru licked his lips and glanced at Danzo. He'd even felt the urge to destroy Konoha for a moment. But it was where he'd grown up, after all. If he could avoid it, he didn't want to do that.
"Teacher! Uncle Danzo, there's a big problem with this plan."
Danzo frowned. "Then do you have a better way?"
Trying to seize the Hokage's position was like a succession struggle for the throne in some mortal dynasty.
Actually, Orochimaru was still the heir apparent. He'd stormed out of the office in a fit of anger and refused to do the job, but he hadn't formally resigned, and Hiruzen Sarutobi had no suitable reason to remove him.
Unless they exposed Orochimaru's involvement in Minato's capture.
But...
First, Obito was already dead. The banana had been the problem, and the trail ended with Obito.
Second, Tsunade had supplied the poison. By modern legal standards, she probably wouldn't be charged with intentional homicide. She'd thought Orochimaru was going to use the poison against the enemy. But handing a dangerous poison to Orochimaru when he'd already shown signs of being dangerous, without properly supervising him, would count as serious negligence.
Tsunade would have to bear some responsibility too.
If this came to light, Tsunade would be dragged into it as well.
It might be unethical, but if their faction under Orochimaru got taken down over this, leaving Orochimaru forced out of the office, they'd be in a really difficult position.
So they'd rather offend Tsunade than leave her out of it.
Before you continue