Impossible.
Kakashi's mind rejected that conclusion.
"Obito is still alive? That's impossible. Half his body was crushed beneath that boulder. I saw it with my own eyes."
His voice trembled as he tried to convince himself with logic.
"Even if he survived, he would have been severely disabled. Although I... I also hope he's alive, this speculation simply doesn't hold up under scrutiny."
Sasuke looked at him coldly, without the slightest ripple in his heart.
"I'll go discuss this with Naruto."
He stood up and looked down at Kakashi, who was slumped on the ground.
"Kakashi, this is a world of ninja and chakra. Orochimaru has already shown us that even someone who is completely dead can return to this world in another form, can't they?"
He paused, his tone devoid of comfort, containing only the coldness of fact.
"Of course, this is merely a logical inference based on the intelligence. But you should consider the possibilities... and make some mental preparations in advance."
With that, he turned and left.
Clean and decisive.
He left Kakashi alone beneath the cold moonlight, swallowed by his chaotic thoughts.
As Sasuke headed toward Konoha's market district, he contacted Zero through Root's encrypted internal channel.
Using the most concise military terminology, he reported everything that had just happened.
"Second Arsenal attacked. Enemy: Deidara, member of Akatsuki. Deidara's C4 Garuda neutralized. C0 self-destruction prevented. Reinforcement Tobi appeared, confirmed to be the 'Masked Man' seen in Kirigakure three years ago, codenamed 'Obito.'"
"Ability characteristics: space-time ninjutsu, divided into 'absorption' and 'Intangibility' forms. Its source is highly similar to Kakashi Hatake's Kamui. Before the mission ended, he issued me a warning and mentioned Itachi Uchiha."
On the other end of the channel, Zero's voice carried a trace of a worker's exhaustion.
"Intelligence received. It will be