Obito Entrusts His Last Wish (2)

"I can't be saved. Half my body's already been crushed to pulp." Obito spoke weakly. A bag lay beside him—the very bag containing the protein powder. He had protected both the protein powder and Rin. He wasn't a coward.

When he saw Masaichi and Kakashi walk in—

"Masaichi, it hurts so much. I don't want to die. I'm scared..."

Obito instantly dropped every pretense and began crying in front of Masaichi.

Seeing Masaichi seemed to remind him of an afternoon when they were six, playing kick the can by the lake.

When Masaichi saw Obito cry, tears streamed down his own aged face. Damn it! Madara!!

Masaichi had always been fiercely protective of his own!

He did not know where he found the strength after stepping forward. He placed his hands against the boulder pinning Obito down and exerted himself. Veins bulged across his body, and his face flushed crimson.

"Aaaahhh!!!"

Perhaps it was the power of friendship and bonds, but he actually managed to lift the boulder a little. Still, pulling Obito out intact was difficult. He might very well rip half of Obito's body right off, so he had to keep lifting.

"It's just one heavy set!!!"

Though he had already exhausted his strength, he somehow erupted with a fierce burst of power.

Underground, Madara was so furious he nearly laughed. Did this Masaichi have a grudge against him?

A Masaichi brat, was it?

Very well.

He would remember this.

The entrance to Konoha Village was missing two gatekeepers for the old man's Moon's Eye Plan. Masaichi and Tobirama could sit there together.

"Explode!"

Following Madara's command, the cave where they stood shook violently, as though it would collapse in the next second.

"Go. Leave me."

Obito was covered in tears and snot. Only in a crisis did one learn who their true brothers were. Kakashi beside him only knew how to stand there grieving blankly.

"Aah!" Masaichi was still holding on.

"What a useless guy. How are you supposed to protect Rin like that?"

Hearing Obito mutter that, Masaichi truly wanted to smash the other half of his body with a rock too. His father was working so hard to save him, and this was the kind of thing he said?

But then he saw the Three-Tomoe Sharingan Obito had dug from his own eye.

Yes, seeing Masaichi desperately trying to save him, Obito had awakened it in his grief. He already had the foundation of a One-Tomoe Sharingan, and now it had directly evolved into a Three-Tomoe Sharingan.

But what use was it if he was about to die?

"Of course trash like you can't take care of Rin. Put on my Three-Tomoe Sharingan... then you'll barely qualify. Of course, I don't have the strength to dig out the other one. Leave me one eye for the Pure Land. I'm afraid of the dark."

"Obito." Masaichi's lips trembled. Why did such a foolish child have to be deceived into carrying out the Moon's Eye Plan?

"I'm leaving Rin to you. Take good care of her."

Obito extended a hand holding his bloody eye.

"If you get to the Pure Land before me, Lord Obito will be very unhappy."

In terms of timing, it was already too late to save Obito. Another massive boulder fell. Masaichi could not hold on, and the rock in his arms dropped back into place. Half of Obito's body had been mangled beyond recognition, so naturally he could no longer feel pain.

"Hurry and go."

"Rin, be good with Masaichi."

Obito cast Rin one final look. He could no longer see her; that eye had already been given to Masaichi.

"Obito!" x3

Obito went down smiling. With the Three-Tomoe Sharingan, Masaichi would be able to protect Rin. He had no regrets left.

Konoha was tallying the casualties from this battle.

Including Obito, a total of 378 ninjas had died. Nearly everyone had been injured, and even Hiruzen Sarutobi had bandages wrapped around his forehead.

Masaichi had not suffered many external injuries. Most of them were bruises beneath the skin that only hurt when touched.

But inside, his muscles felt as though they had been torn apart. He ached so badly that even urinating took effort.

"Pain is good. Pain means your muscles are growing." Orochimaru came to the temporary hospital built from tents to visit Masaichi, shaking his head with an amused smile.

"Teacher, where's Anko? And my two students? Are they still alive?"

"Mm..." Orochimaru looked somewhat grave.

"I see." Masaichi had expected it, but he had not expected even Anko to be dead.

"I don't know." Orochimaru shook his head.

Masaichi was speechless. That probably meant they were alive. They really were alive; they had even visited him that afternoon.

There were things that could not be said during the day, so at night, Orochimaru had his subordinates carry Masaichi's hospital bed to Danzo's tent.

"The Third is preparing to negotiate peace with the Hidden Rock Village. The Hidden Rock Village also intends to negotiate." Danzo was the first to provide the intelligence.

"I know." Orochimaru nodded, unsurprised. Seeing that continuing the war would bring him no benefits, that old fox Ōnoki would naturally stop while he was ahead.

"Is Minato still the one going to negotiate?" Only when Masaichi saw the two of them looking at him as if he were an idiot did he realize he had asked a foolish question.

How could they possibly deny Minato such easy, unearned merit?

The Orochimaru faction had somehow avoided Hiruzen Sarutobi causing trouble over Minato's capture until now. Hiruzen Sarutobi had probably simply been too busy and forgotten.

Masaichi said nothing after that, listening to Orochimaru and Danzo discuss how to seize back the position of Hokage.

It made his scalp tingle.

What a pair of talents.

Damn it, they were even talking about assassinating the Third. Could the two of them beat him?

The Third, who had grown old over a decade later, could directly take Tobirama and Hashirama with him. Though that was partly because the Impure World Reincarnation was not precise enough, he still fought three Kage-level opponents alone. How strong must the Third have been in this era?

To cheaters, the Third was nothing special.

To ordinary people like them, the Third was the ceiling.

No wonder one became the Scapegoat King while the other defected in the original story.

"What? Do you think we shouldn't do this?" Orochimaru licked his lips as he and Danzo looked over. He had even briefly felt the urge to destroy Konoha, but it was still the place where he had grown up. If possible, he did not want to do that.

"Teacher! Uncle Danzo, you have a serious problem with this plan."

Danzo frowned. "Then do you have a better solution?"

Seizing the position of Hokage was like securing the heir apparent in a mortal dynasty.

In truth, Orochimaru's current status was still that of heir apparent. He had merely stormed out of the office in anger and quit his duties, but he had not resigned of his own accord, nor did Hiruzen Sarutobi have a suitable reason to drive him out.

Unless they exposed that Minato's capture had something to do with Orochimaru.

But...

First, Obito was already dead. The issue was with the banana, and the trail ended with Obito.

Second, Tsunade had supplied the drug. Going by real-world legal logic, Tsunade most likely would not bear criminal liability for intentional murder. She believed Orochimaru intended to use the poison against enemies. However, privately handing a highly dangerous poison to Orochimaru after he had already shown dangerous tendencies, without effectively supervising him, was a severe dereliction of duty.

Tsunade would have to bear responsibility as well.

If this matter were exposed, even Tsunade would be implicated.

Although it was deeply unethical, if the Orochimaru faction were taken down over this and Orochimaru were driven out of the office, they would truly be left in a very passive position.

So even if they had to offend Tsunade, they had to drag her in with them.