This was indeed the final step in Sasuke's scheme.
He had used Orochimaru's defection to suggest that Minato was a puppet, further souring him on the Konoha High Command.
Then he had assassinated Kakashi, deliberately letting them see the Mangekyo pattern to bring Obito into the picture. He had used the information about reviving Kakashi and Obito as leverage to get Minato to help persuade Kakashi.
Finally, he had let them witness the dead being brought back to life with their own eyes, planting the hope of resurrection in Kushina's heart and putting Minato—who had never accepted the offer—between a rock and a hard place, weighed down by guilt toward his wife.
Of course, this final step wasn't entirely finished yet.
"That person just now was..."
Seeing Sasuke appear again, Minato voiced his confusion.
"You mean the humanoid creature that brought Kakashi back to life at the cost of its own?"
Just a humanoid creature?
Minato was puzzled, but Kushina's eyes flickered. "You mean they aren't human?"
"Right." Sasuke nodded. "You've probably noticed that they aren't human. They're transformed humans from ancient times who fell under some kind of forbidden genjutsu, lost themselves in an illusion, and died there. They were later awakened through some kind of medium. In a sense, they're man-made humanoid soldiers called White Zetsu."
White Zetsu?
They were actually man-made humanoid soldiers?
What was the purpose of making these soldiers?
Minato frowned instinctively.
Kushina, however, secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
That was right. The final part of the scheme was to tell them the price of resurrection, dispelling their moral qualms and hesitation.
Just then,
Minato furrowed his brow, as though he'd remembered something. "I think I've seen one of those things before."
"Oh?" Sasuke said with a faintly amused smile. "Do tell."
Minato narrowed his eyes. "The masked man who unleashed the Nine-Tails and attacked Konoha—one of his arms looked like that."
Back then, he'd hit the man in the back with a Rasengan, causing one of his arms to rot and turn into something like resinous slime that fell to the ground.
After the masked man left, Minato had examined the slime that made up the arm, but at the time, he hadn't known what it was.
Now, though, looking back, he realized it was remarkably similar to the white sludge that White Zetsu had collapsed into after reviving Kakashi.
"Are you sure it was just his arm?" Sasuke said playfully. "Why don't you think about it again? Consider it alongside someone you've already been suspicious of."
Minato Namikaze froze for a moment, then his pupils shrank. "Could he really be Obito?"
According to the mission report, Obito's right side had been crushed by a boulder...
And that night...
Then there were his and Kakashi's Sharingan...
"How could he?" Kushina cried out, then bit her lower lip. "How could Obito have done something like that?"
She still couldn't believe that kindhearted Obito could do something so terrible.
Sasuke shrugged. "People change, especially those of the Uchiha Clan."
Well, apparently his own clan was full of bad apples.
Minato knew a thing or two about the Uchiha Clan as well. He looked at Sasuke. "You just said Uchiha... So it really was Obito?"
Sasuke nodded. "No need to doubt it. It really was your good student, Obito Uchiha."
"It really was Obito?" Kushina's pupils shrank.
"That's right," Sasuke said. "Half his body was stitched together from White Zetsu. As for why he attacked Konoha..."
"He was manipulated, and he witnessed Kakashi killing Rin Nohara with his own eyes. His heart had already been completely twisted."
"That was also how he awakened his Mangekyo—and Kakashi's as well..."
!!! Their pupils shrank.
After a long silence, Minato let out a breath, his expression heavy. "Seeing your best friend kill the woman you love with your own eyes... It must have been unbearable."
Sasuke gave him an amused look. "So? Are you going to bring him back to his senses with love?"
"I'm already dead. Leave it to Kakashi. Besides, you wouldn't let him off, would you?" Minato said, then seemed unable to bear it and closed his eyes.
Of course, his sympathy wasn't for Obito.
So he was still refusing?... Sasuke didn't mind. He merely glanced at Kushina, who was biting her lower lip, her face torn with conflict...
Outside.
'Minato-sensei said Obito had caught up with me... Don't rush to find him... Keep doing your best... And live a good life...'
'Was he hinting that if I went looking for Obito, I'd be in danger, maybe even die?'
Remembering the solemn expression Minato-sensei had worn when he said those words, Kakashi felt his heart grow heavy. 'Obito, what are you doing?'
'Why is even Sensei...'
Suddenly,
"Search over there again."
Hearing an Anbu voice in the distance, Kakashi came back to his senses. Looking at the standard-issue armor pierced through on his body, he thought, 'I can't let them find out that I suffered a life-threatening injury...'
With that in mind, he quickly took out a scroll and formed Hand Seals with one hand.
Release!
A cloud of smoke rose from the scroll, and a complete set of standard-issue armor appeared.
This was standard Anbu equipment, allowing them to replace damaged armor during prolonged missions away from the village.
Kakashi quickly took off his armor and changed into the new set. He sealed the damaged armor inside the scroll and put it away.
Then he walked toward the nearby Anbu searching the area.
"Who's there?!"
The Anbu heard the movement and quickly turned around, going on alert.
Kakashi appeared, one hand covering his eye. "Tiger, it's me."
"You?" Recognizing Kakashi, the Anbu codenamed Tiger first relaxed, then noticed his gesture. "Is your eye injured?"
"More than injured," Kakashi said. "While pursuing Orochimaru, I was intercepted by a mysterious man. He took my eye. I suspect he was there to help Orochimaru escape."
"There was someone helping him?" The Anbu was startled.
"Where's the Third Hokage?" Kakashi asked urgently. "We need to report this to the Third Hokage as soon as possible."
"Lord Hokage has already returned to Konoha," the Anbu said. "Since you're injured, and what you lost was... You should return to Konoha and report to Lord Hokage."
Kakashi's fighting style depended on the Sharingan's ability to track movement. The Anbu knew that losing his Sharingan would severely affect his strength, so he decided to send him back to Konoha first.
"Understood!" Kakashi naturally didn't object. "Leave the search for Orochimaru to you. But make sure to pass on the intelligence as soon as possible, so they don't reach the wrong conclusion."
"Don't worry, I will." Thinking that someone as powerful as Orochimaru had an accomplice, the Anbu nodded gravely. Then he took a long look at Kakashi's left eye. "You be careful, too. Konoha isn't far, but you still need to stay cautious along the way."
"Understood."
After the Anbu left, Kakashi secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Then he turned resolutely and ran toward Konoha.
He was hiding what had just happened and making up intelligence... He didn't know if what he was doing was right.
But whether it was to keep his promise, heed Minato-sensei's warning, or... he had to do it!
Before you continue