"Teacher, why are you always away?"
Obito's words are like cold knives, cutting through the silent air word by word.
He didn't roar, didn't burst into tears, and his voice was even considered calm.
But underneath that calmness was the resentment, unwillingness, and loneliness that had been frozen for more than ten years, as well as the feeling of abandonment that penetrated deep into the bones.
The moment the words fell, the pattern of Three-Tomoe Sharingan in the right eye twisted and extended, turning into the unique Windmill-shaped Mangekyō Sharingan.
He slowly raised his hand and held a Samurai Sword he picked up on the road.
The blade is not particularly sharp, but it seems to carry a huge weight.
The tip of the knife pointed steadily ahead at the Blond Man who he once looked up to and trusted, but who eventually became his enemy.
"Obviously Minato-sensei you can kill so many enemies in one instant, you are called Shinobi World the fastest Yellow Flash."
Obito's voice had a hollow echo.
"Why are you always not there when your students need help the most?"
He seemed to be questioning Minato, and he also seemed to be questioning the self named Obito Uchiha who once admired the teacher so much.
"Where were you when Kakashi's eyes were blinded by the enemy's Kunai and his face was covered with blood?"
"Where were you when I was pressed down by the huge Rock, my bones shattered, and darkness swallowed everything?"
"Lin... Lin's heart was penetrated by Kakashi and Lightning Blade. She fell down in front of me and her life was extinguished like a candle."
Obito's tone finally had an uncontrollable tremor.
"Where are you-- again?!"
The Samurai Sword in his hand trembled slightly, not because of fear, but because of the rush of strength caused by the agitation of emotions.
"You can't protect the people you should protect..."
Obito stared hard at Minato. The rotating pattern in Mangekyō Sharingan seemed to suck the opponent's figure into Alternate Dimension's Uzumaki.
"What's the point of this power?!"
Faced with this question that pierced his soul, Minato Namikaze's expression did not show much disturbance from beginning to end.
He didn't get angry, he didn't feel ashamed, and he didn't rush to defend himself.
He just stood there, like a calm mountain, bearing all the accusations and pain from his disciples.
His gaze crossed the tip of the knife and landed on the cracked soul of Obito.
In Obito's eyes, the figure of Minato at this moment, for some reason, faintly overlapped with the Naruto Uzumaki who crushed his Eye of the Moon dream with absolute power.
The same blond hair, the same firm eyes, the same word "protection" on the lips, but the same...
It made him feel that if they faced each other, he would die!
"Obito," Minato finally spoke, his voice clear and steady, but with unquestionable power, "As Konoha, Ninja, Konoha needs me."
This sentence, simple and direct, was the creed engraved in the bones of almost all Konoha Ninjas of that era.
"I believe in your cooperation with Kakashi and Lin.
You are my subordinates that I am proud of, and you are excellent Ninja who can stand alone."
There was no pride in Minato's tone, only the sincerity of stating the facts, "However, I failed to appear by your side when you needed me most.
This is my dereliction of duty.
I'm sorry."
His apology was not a shirk of responsibility, but a frank admission of the irreparable consequences of his "absence."
"But," Minato changed the subject and his eyes became sharp, as if he had traveled through time and space and returned to that smoke-filled battlefield.
"The mission I performed at that time was the key to influencing the entire local war situation and even affecting the life and death of countless companions. My speed and ability were put into the places where the appearance of 'Yellow Flash' was most needed.
In order to hold the line of defense, to reduce the sacrifice of more people, and for the overall survival of Konoha, I can only keep running between different battlefields."
He paused, looked at the stubborn and unwilling light in Obito's eyes, and slowly said the words that might have been buried deep in his heart for many years:
"If I could do it all over again, I would still not regret choosing to perform those tasks.
Because that is my responsibility and the choice Konoha Jonin Minato Namikaze must make."
Obito's breathing stagnated slightly.
"What I regret," Minato's eyes became deeper, with a trace of almost imperceptible regret, "Is that I couldn't leave Flying Thunder God's Formula mark on each of you earlier."
If he left Flying Thunder God Mark to his three disciples, at least when Lin disappeared, he would be able to find her with the Sensing of the mark.
As soon as he said this, Obito almost subconsciously raised his hand suddenly and touched the position of his shoulder blade.
There, there used to be an extremely hidden Flying Thunder God Formula belonging to Minato Namikaze.
That was... the night Naruto was born.
Nine-Tails' Attack.
Obito Uchiha, who was wearing a mask, fought against his teacher. During the fierce battle, Minato carved this mark on his body.
Later, after using Izanagi to avoid being killed by Naruto for the first time, Obito noticed the existence of this mark and dug it out with his own hands without hesitation, including the skin and flesh.
If... if that mark was left when I first became Chunin...
If the teacher could really arrive at that moment through Flying Thunder God...
This hypothetical thought wormed its way into his mind like a poisonous snake, making his already chaotic thoughts sting even more.
Minato's "regret" does not point to the right or wrong choice of the task, but to that tiny "technical detail" that could have changed everything.
This rational introspection, more than any sad confession, makes Obito feel more helpless and absurd.
The tip of Samurai Sword's knife was still pointing at Minato, but the aggressive momentum had quietly stagnated.
Obito stood in place, the Windmill in the right eye rotated slowly, and the Rinnegan in the left eye was dim and unclear.
The teacher's words were like cold rain, pouring on the fire of resentment that had been burning for more than ten years, sizzling, but failing to completely extinguish it. Instead, a thicker and more confusing mist evaporated.
Kushina clenched his fists at the side.
Mito's Sealing Formula has been quietly completed for the most part, and an invisible force field envelopes the surroundings.
They all heard Minato's words and saw Obito's reaction. They were looking forward to Obito's next reaction.
"Teacher, if I want to turn back, is there still a chance?"
Obito asked with last hope after a long silence.
"Obito, you don't think you are wrong, but you think you will be sealed, so you are struggling."
Chakra of Golden appeared on Minato, and he entered the Kurama connection mode.
Then Nine-Tails in Minato's body began to transport Chakra to Mito and Kushina.
The golden light emitted by the three Golden figures reflected Obito's half-shattered and ugly face.
The teacher is obviously such a gentle guy, but why can't he be soft-hearted?