At that moment, seeing the pain etched across Kakashi Hatake's face, Minato Namikaze let out a quiet sigh and stepped forward, speaking in his stead.
"Speaking of which… I'm the one who failed as a teacher."
A bitter smile tugged at Minato's lips.
For the first time in a long while, he truly felt how inadequate he'd been as a shinobi. As the battlefield commander, he hadn't protected his subordinates—too many had fallen. And now, he couldn't even safeguard his own students.
The Flying Thunder God Technique was hailed as the fastest jutsu in the ninja world, yet somehow… he was always just a step too late.
From Minato, Shiki learned the full story.
Obito Uchiha had supposedly died in battle. To protect Kakashi, he had been crushed beneath falling rocks. His body was never recovered.
"I see…"
Shiki nodded slowly in understanding.
Dead? Impossible. Shiki didn't believe it for a second. More likely, Obito had been taken away by Uchiha Madara.
That matched Shiki's memories almost perfectly.
The only difference was that Obito never got the chance to give his Sharingan to Kakashi.
In Shiki's eyes, that outcome was both good and bad.
In the future, there would be no Sharingan Kakashi—no "Copy Ninja" Kakashi. But the blade of the White Fang could be inherited in its purest form.
Sakumo Hatake's swordsmanship had always stood at the pinnacle. With the burden of the Sharingan gone, Kakashi could devote himself fully to mastering that art.
Given his exceptional talent, it was very possible that the legendary White Fang style would reappear through Kakashi.
"Keep working hard," Shiki said, patting Kakashi on the shoulder. "If you ever have questions about swordsmanship, come to me."
"…Huh?"
Even his grief was momentarily forgotten. Kakashi stared at Shiki in stunned disbelief.
What kind of figure was Shiki?
A man who had clashed with Kage and severed limbs in battle. A warrior before whom even tailed beasts looked insignificant. The hero of Konoha—the Golden Lion Shiki.
Was that title just for show?
And yet this very person was telling him he could seek guidance anytime. Kakashi felt as if he were dreaming.
"Alright. We'll discuss the details after we return to Konoha."
With a casual wave, Shiki ended the conversation without further explanation.
"Yes, sir."
Kakashi didn't dare ask anything more. As he stepped back, Rin Nohara looked at him warmly.
"Congratulations, Kakashi. If Obito were here, he'd definitely be happy for you."
"…Yeah."
Kakashi nodded firmly.
After his father's death, he had once believed that a shinobi should prioritize the mission above all else—even if it meant abandoning comrades. But after losing Obito, he began to understand something different.
Sometimes… comrades mattered more than the mission.
Maybe… Father really did make the right choice back then.
For the first time, Kakashi truly grasped why his father had abandoned a mission to save his teammates.
"You are?"
When Shiki returned, Tsunade looked at him with open curiosity. Many others nearby shared the same expression.
They couldn't understand why he had chosen to personally mentor Kakashi. Did he see extraordinary potential in him?
"Oh, that?" Shiki shrugged lightly. "I was fairly close with the White Fang. And… I'm curious to see how far Kakashi can go without the burden of the Sharingan."
"I see…"
The crowd accepted the explanation at face value. Only those perceptive enough noticed the faint hint of mischief in Shiki's serious expression. Tsunade rolled her eyes slightly.
If Shiki had truly been close to the White Fang, he wouldn't have been so indifferent when Sakumo died. This was obviously a convenient excuse to satisfy everyone else.
Still, since Shiki didn't elaborate, Tsunade chose not to press further. In the end, he was only taking on a student. That was hardly a major issue.
Elsewhere, beneath the battlefield where Kumo and Konoha had clashed, a hidden base lay concealed underground—much like the secret facility beneath Kannabi Bridge. Because Obito had been fighting on the Kumogakure front, a special base had been constructed there in advance.
"…Where is this?"
Half his body reconstructed with artificial tissue, Obito slowly regained consciousness atop a cold stone slab.
Originally, the right side of his body had been crushed. Now, it was the lower half that had been rebuilt. To the one who had saved him, such injuries were trivial. As long as he hadn't died outright, he could be restored.
"…Shouldn't I be dead?"
Obito looked around in confusion.
Hadn't he been buried on the battlefield while saving Kakashi? Was this… the afterlife?
As realization dawned, he glanced down.
His shattered legs had been completely regenerated. Though the reconstructed flesh looked strange and unnatural, they functioned perfectly.
Then his expression froze.
"…Wait. What about—"
Horror flooded his face. His legs were restored, but something else was missing.
His mind went blank.
"It's over…"
His eyes lost focus as he slumped back onto the stone. In that moment, survival no longer mattered to him. Even if he had lived… what was the point?
His dreams, his future with Rin—it all felt like it had vanished.
A choked sob escaped his throat.
"…Are those tears of joy?"
An aged yet imposing voice echoed through the chamber.
Obito turned toward the sound and froze.
An elderly figure stood in the shadows. Despite his frail appearance, an overwhelming aura radiated from him—the presence of someone who once held the world in his grasp.
"…Who are you?"
"Me?" the old man replied calmly. "I'm nothing more than a ghost of the Uchiha clan."
"…So I really am dead?"
Strangely, Obito felt a sense of relief. If he were dead, then what he had lost no longer mattered.
"No," the old man said evenly. "You're not dead."
"Ah—!"
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