At the edge of the battlefield, behind a collapsed Stone Wall.
Two figures crouched in the wall's shadow, watching the earth-shaking clash through gaps in the rubble.
Obito leaned against a half-buried Broken Pillar, his lone eye fixed on the giant golden ape swinging the Adamantine Staff in the distance.
The moment he saw Kakuzu and Sasori ambush Nagato together, his fist clenched. His voice came through gritted teeth, thick with fury:
"They're all fucking useless!"
"Traitors right under our noses, and no one even knew!"
"First Uchiha Itachi, now Pain!"
"Each one more incompetent than the last!"
Kakashi crouched beside him, also watching the figure gathering Senjutsu Chakra in midair.
His mouth twitched at that. Silently, he added:
Stop talking. You're no different.
But his face betrayed nothing. He simply spoke in a low voice, steering the conversation toward a more practical question:
"Obito, have you ever thought..."
"If we can't beat him, why not join him?"
He paused, looking past the dark green Senjutsu flames toward the Golden Armored Giant Ape.
"I don't really understand the First's idea of peace. Wouldn't it be better if Konoha held all the power? The other villages would fall in line, and there'd be fewer wars."
Obito shook his head without a second thought.
"No!"
"We have to carry out the Eye of the Moon Plan!"
"I'm going to create a world... with Rin in it."
Kakashi's fingers curled slightly inside his sleeve. Then he spoke again, his voice carrying just the right hint of hesitation:
"But look... they're fighting like gods."
"We... can't win."
"No matter how good the dream sounds, we have to be realistic, don't we?"
Obito stared at the giant golden ape. After two beats of silence, he answered, his voice lower than before, as though he had