Seeing Kakashi die right before her eyes, Kushina turned away, unable to bear it. Her face was deathly pale.
Minato Namikaze's expression suddenly turned cold. "Sasuke!"
"Didn't you say you were only taking back the Sharingan?!"
"Why did you kill Kakashi?"
In the scene, Sasuke noticed that the Third Hokage and the Anbu were about to emerge from the underground chamber. He motioned for them to be quiet, then slipped underground as his main body and, with a thought, brought Kakashi's corpse into the Soul Space.
"Kakashi..."
Looking at Kakashi's corpse, Minato and Kushina wore sorrowful expressions.
They simply couldn't understand why Sasuke had killed him!
Even if he had wanted to kill someone, he could have done it in secret. So why had he insisted on making them watch this cruel scene?!
And why had he brought Kakashi's corpse in here, too?!
Was it some sort of sick pleasure?
But soon, they noticed that Kakashi's Sharingan had changed as a result of his death. Once they got a clear look at the pattern, their expressions changed. "This... how could this be?!"
Seeing their reaction, Sasuke said playfully, "Looks like... this Mangekyō pattern brought back some memories for you?"
Minato stared at Kakashi's left eye, recalling the Masked Man's right eye. Comparing the two, he still couldn't believe it. "That's impossible... He was already dead..."
But could there really be so many coincidences in this world?
"Who knows..." Sasuke shrugged, then went straight to Kakashi's corpse and crouched beside it. Making a claw with his index and middle fingers, he deftly plucked out Kakashi's left eye.
He then placed the Mangekyō in a bottle filled with special liquid and nodded with satisfaction.
Kushina snapped back to her senses and whipped around, her lips trembling. "Sasuke, was it really... Obito?"
She simply couldn't believe that kindhearted Obito could have done something like that!
"Let's leave that question aside for now." Sasuke didn't answer. Instead, he gestured toward the corpse on the ground and said meaningfully, "Shouldn't you be more concerned about whether Kakashi lives or dies?"
Lives or dies? Wasn't he already dead?... Kushina was at a loss.
But Minato's thoughts stirred. Remembering the olive branches Sasuke had extended several times, he narrowed his eyes. "Can you bring Kakashi back to life?"
Sasuke smiled. "That depends on whether you can get him to cooperate."
"You want me to persuade him?"
"Exactly."
Minato's gaze flickered as he considered it. After a brief pause, he said, "I can't be sure I'll succeed. But once you get what you want, you have to bring Kakashi back to life and give me an answer."
"Agreed." Sasuke nodded. "But I won't give you much time."
At that, Minato finally breathed a sigh of relief. "Understood."
He knew Sasuke's methods were a little underhanded, but when he gave his word, he followed through.
At least, he had so far.
Cell No. 4.
"Where am I?"
"Wasn't I dead?"
Seeing himself locked inside a cold, gloomy prison, Kakashi felt as though he were losing his mind.
After all, shouldn't dead people be left alone instead of locked up?
Suddenly!
A voice rang out. "Kakashi, you really are dead..."
That voice was... Kakashi's pupils shrank!
He whipped his head toward where it had come from. A familiar figure came into view, and he stared in disbelief. "M-Minato-sensei?"
"It's me." Minato nodded, looking him up and down with a smile. "You've grown up. You've matured, too."
"What's going on, Minato-sensei?!" Kakashi rushed to the cell door and gripped the bars tightly, his voice urgent. "Why am I locked up here? And how are you...?"
Minato shook his head. "Kakashi, I know you have a lot of questions, but I can't answer them."
"What I can tell you is that someone wanted your abilities, so they killed you."
"But you still have a chance to come back to life... though I can't be sure."
"In any case, you'll have to give your abilities to him first."
"If you don't want to die just like this, you can try taking a gamble."
"But your Sharingan..."
Kakashi was stunned.
Someone wanted his abilities.
He could possibly come back to life if he gave them up.
And then there was his Sharingan...
"Minato-sensei, what are you talking about? I don't understand any of this."
Minato shook his head, then said, "Make your choice."
His choice?... Kakashi frowned instinctively, his thoughts racing.
If this isn't an illusion, then Minato-sensei's soul must have been imprisoned by the person behind all this. That person wants his abilities, too.
Judging by the conditions for coming back to life, Sensei hasn't handed over his abilities, so he can't be sure whether resurrection is even possible.
But if he hasn't handed them over, why is he here trying to persuade me?
That's it!
I can't learn much from Sensei's few words alone. All I need to figure out is whether he came here to persuade me of his own free will or under duress!
With that in mind, Kakashi asked, "Minato-sensei, did you come here of your own free will?"
"Yes." Minato understood what Kakashi meant and nodded, then added, "But you don't need to consider my opinion. The choice is yours alone. After all, I can't be sure whether you'll be able to come back to life."
Of his own free will... Kakashi's thoughts stirred.
So Sensei hopes I'll trade for a chance to come back to life, but he isn't sure it'll work. That's why he's leaving the choice to me.
Then Kakashi asked, puzzled, "I'm only average in strength, and the other person is powerful enough to kill me instantly. Why would he want me?"
Seeing that Sasuke didn't seem to be in a hurry, Minato glanced deeply at Kakashi's left eye and said, "Your Sharingan is a Mangekyō Sharingan..."
Mangekyō Sharingan?... Kakashi was taken aback.
He didn't know what a Mangekyō was, but from his teacher's words, he could tell it was an evolution of the Sharingan—or some kind of mutation.
Then he remembered the eyes with the strange pattern that he'd seen just before he was killed...
Could those have been Mangekyō, too?
Does that mean the person behind all this might be an Uchiha?
He wanted to ask Minato-sensei, but from his vague answers, Kakashi could tell that their every move was being watched.
Then Kakashi realized something else, his spirits sinking. "Sensei, do you mean that even if I come back to life, the other person will take my Sharingan?"
Minato fell silent.
He understood that this eye held special meaning for Kakashi.
It might even matter more to him than his life...
With a helpless sigh, Minato said, "Obito might still be alive..."
!!! What?!
Kakashi's pupils shrank sharply!
How could that be?!
Seeing his reaction, Minato shook his head. "I can't be sure, either. All right, we're running out of time. Kakashi, make your choice."
Kakashi closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
He tried to quiet his jumbled thoughts and clear his mind so he could make a rational decision.
But his mind seemed frozen. All he could think about was... Obito was still alive...
After a moment of silence, he opened his eyes. "How can I be sure you're really Minato-sensei?"
Minato revealed several secrets known only to the two of them. At last, his doubts gone, Kakashi's expression grew resolute. "Sensei, I don't want to die just like this. I want to..."
Minato smiled and nodded. "I understand, Kakashi."
"Then what should I...?"
"Just say it in your mind."
In his mind?... Kakashi nodded and focused.
Ding!
Would you like to grant all your abilities to Lord of Souls?
Lord of Souls...
He had been powerful enough to kill Kakashi instantly. Even Sensei's soul was being toyed with at will. And now there was this way of taking abilities...
With power like that, what could his real purpose be?
Kakashi couldn't even imagine.
Of course, he didn't want to care about any of that!
Right now, he only wanted to know for sure... Was Obito really still alive?
If so!
Why hadn't he come back?
What was he doing now?
Why had he hidden the fact that he was alive, and what was he trying to do?
Obito, if you're still alive, I'll find you...
With that thought, his expression resolute, he said in his mind, Yes!
Then.
Ding!
Congratulations, Host, you have obtained 1 Mangekyō Sharingan, Hatake Kenjutsu, Yin, Yang, Wind, Fire, Water, Lightning, and Earth Chakra Nature Transformations, the Lightning Blade ninjutsu... and all of Kakashi's other abilities!
Before you continue