If It Were You, You Could Definitely Do It

"Not just the Eye of the Moon... but one type?"

Kou was taken aback for a moment, as if he had thought of something, and looked at Obito in front of him with a complicated expression:

"What other methods are you referring to?"

"Hmph, that's a long story."

Obito shrugged and spoke frankly, as if chatting with an old friend about a long-ago event:

"At the beginning, I didn't really think that much about it. I just acted according to Ban's plan and steadily carried out our plan."

He guided Nagato to establish a new Akatsuki, launched the Nine-Tails Incident, attempted to capture the strongest Nine-Tails, and incidentally weakened Konoha's power, thus clearing obstacles for the Eye of the Moon Plan.

He paused, his eyes gleaming in the moonlight, and a meaningful smile appeared on his lips:

"And most importantly--"

"Secretly guiding you to become stronger, making you a variable outside the overt plan, thereby drawing out Black Zetsu, the culprit hidden in the shadows."

He listened to Obito's words without changing his expression in the slightest.

After all, what he's saying now is either something I already knew, or something I learned a little about from Madara.

Koko simply stared calmly at Obito before him, awaiting his next response.

"... What I didn't expect was that you would recognize me the moment I appeared before you as Madara."

Obito spoke softly, shifting his gaze from Konoha's face to the direction of the Konoha Gate, a hint of nostalgia flashing in his eyes:

"At the time, I had absolutely no idea that something like this would happen, and I was really shocked."

After all, this was something even the usually perceptive Minato-sensei couldn't accomplish...

"Isn't that obvious?!"

Kouchi glanced at Obito and couldn't help but retort:

"His height increased to 1.8 meters in half a year, his voice sounded just like Madara's, his strength jumped from Chunin to Kage level, and then he launched a surprise attack while Sister Kushina was giving birth..."

How could anyone possibly recognize you? You'd have to be incredibly stupid to say something like that!

"But you recognized me right away, didn't you?"

"That's because--"

Kou choked for a moment, unsure of what to say.

After all, you can't exactly tell him, "I knew you'd turn out like this before I was born!" He wouldn't believe you anyway...

Thinking of this, Kou swallowed the words that were about to come out, staring at Obito in front of him with displeasure, ready to give him a Space Collapse at any time to vent his hatred!

Feeling Kotori's displeased gaze, Obito suppressed a smile and waved his hand, saying:

"Alright, alright, I was just kidding, don't take it too seriously."

He paused, then shifted his gaze from Kou's face to the corpse of Minato beside him.

Under the moonlight, Minato's face was serene and peaceful as he nestled close to Kushina, as if he were having a very long dream.

Obito looked at that face, his smile slowly fading, and he whispered:

"Given the circumstances at the time, it was perfectly reasonable that Minato-sensei didn't recognize me."

I am aware of this myself.

"But back then, perhaps I still harbored some expectations."

"I hope that Minato-sensei... will recognize me then."

Seeing Obito's sorrowful appearance, Koko silently swallowed back the sarcastic words that were about to come out of his mouth.

Although I really wanted to curse this guy out, when I thought about what he was going to do next, it seemed pointless to be so quick-witted.

He simply stood there quietly, staring expressionlessly at Obito, which appeared somewhat pale in the moonlight.

"... Sorry, we've gotten a bit off-topic."

Obito seemed to realize something, slowly turning his head to refocus his gaze on Kokoro, the complex emotions in his eyes quickly disappearing.

"Let's get back to the main point. My decision to do this wasn't made on a whim, but after a long period of observation and deliberation, and it was only made recently."

"If we must pinpoint a source, it should be in --"

"Was it when we Mist Village?"

Kō stared intently at Obito, as if he had read Obito's mind, and stated expressionlessly:

"I remember back in Mist Village, there was a time when you seemed to be quite happy."

I initially thought it was just an illusion, or that you were happy because the Mist Village I was managing might be helpful to the Eye of the Moon Plan.

At that time, I was busy with my training and reforms in Mist Village, and I didn't think too much about your reaction.

But now that I think about it, that probably isn't the case.

"... Ah, you're right."

Seeing that Kou had spoken his mind, Obito nodded calmly:

"Although I knew you were quite capable in politics back when we were still in Konoha, I didn't understand that aspect back then. I only knew about it, but I didn't have much of a reaction to it."

"It wasn't until I witnessed you slowly transform that once chaotic and Mist Village into what it is today that I finally understood... what this truly meant."

"Knock, you're amazing, really amazing."

Obito paused, as if organizing the words that welled up from the bottom of his heart, and his tone became serious:

"Unlike a genius like Kakashi, your genius is not limited to ninjas themselves, but extends to the entire Ninja World."

After witnessing firsthand what you did to Mist Village, I couldn't help but have this thought.

"But after our battle in Mist Village, and after witnessing firsthand the prosperity of the Land of Rice that you single-handedly built, this idea gradually solidified, even surpassing the Eye of the Moon Plan itself for which I have given everything!"

He looked at Kou, a gentle smile slowly curving his lips:

"Knock, if it's you, you definitely can."

"To change this Ninja World that, in my eyes, is beyond redemption."

Listening to Obito's words, he fell into a long silence.

Bathed in the moonlight, he stood at the other end of the rows of corpses, before the old friend with whom he had once played and laughed, supported each other in life, and accompanied each other through the longest years, even though they had gone down completely different paths. He remained silent for a long time.

He tried to suppress those surging emotions, but they kept rising up again uncontrollably.

Unable to contain it, or perhaps... there's no longer any will to contain it.

Obito remained silent, simply gazing at Kokoro before him, the gentle curve of his lips still present.

After a long silence, Koko slowly spoke, his eyes filled with complex emotions, even a hint of helplessness, as he looked at Obito:

"In other words, your so-called other methods are actually just entrusting everything to me, and then you resurrect everyone to atone for the sins you committed."

"Finally... should we face death with equanimity?"

Obito remained silent, only looking down at the rows of well-preserved corpses in front of him, and nodded with a smile.

In the moonlight, a quiet smile graced his face, carrying a clean and serene acceptance, as if he had let go of everything...