"Isn't it done yet?" Obito asked impatiently. After all, this concerned Rin's revival.
"How many times have you asked already? No matter how fast this goes, we're still dealing with a Tailed Beast."
Tobi helplessly continued explaining:
"You need to understand—if this were a complete Tailed Beast being sealed, we wouldn't be finished even by nightfall."
"I know you're anxious, but this is already the fastest speed possible."
Obito stared at Rin's chest, which no longer rose or fell.
"Rin… can she really be brought back?"
"If I say she can, then she can."
Obito hesitated, wanting to speak but stopping himself.
"Oh? You think I'm fooling you?" Tobi laughed indifferently. "Why would I bother with something so pointless?"
"With the Hashirama cells inside me, reviving Rin is possible."
Obito's eyes widened.
"What, you find that hard to believe?"
Of course he did.
If Hashirama cells could truly resurrect the dead, news of it would have spread across the shinobi world long ago.
Tobi sighed.
"Because Rin's current condition is strange. Saying she's dead isn't wrong, but saying she's alive also makes sense."
"What do you mean?!"
"It means Rin is currently in a dormant state. Her life force has simply weakened to the absolute limit, which is why she looks dead."
"Wait!! You mean Rin isn't dead?!"
"Calm down… I already said her condition is basically no different from death. She can't wake up at all."
"How do you know that?!" Obito was absolutely certain that ever since Rin had "died," he had never once felt her heartbeat again.
Not even once.
Tobi answered as though it were obvious.
"Of course I know. Even though it was extremely faint, I did sense the Three-Tails' chakra inside Rin earlier. That's how I confirmed she wasn't dead."
"Because if she had truly died, then the Three-Tails would already be dead too."
That much was true.
If a jinchūriki died, the Tailed Beast sealed within them would perish as well.
Although the Three-Tails had weakened to an extreme degree, it was still alive.
Which meant the jinchūriki was also still alive.
That was why Tobi said Hashirama cells could "revive" Rin. The cells possessed extraordinarily powerful vitality and regenerative abilities.
Originally, Tobi's Plan A had been simple:
Extract the Three-Tails, let Rin die, then manipulate Obito into joining them.
But he had completely overestimated Obito's rationality.
Without any concrete evidence whatsoever, relying purely on his own instincts, Obito had decided that Tobi was one of the culprits behind Rin's "death" and attacked immediately…
He did not even give him a chance to explain.
How was he supposed to manipulate someone like that?!
Were Konoha's ANBU all this unreasonable nowadays?
Wasn't it said that only elite shinobi could enter the ANBU? That calmness and patience were basic requirements?
Who exactly approved a "fragile-hearted" shinobi like Obito—someone who could snap and spiral into darkness at the drop of a hat—for the ANBU?
Someone had to have bribed their way through the selection process!
So, for the sake of world peace—
And to prevent the world from reaching its ending far too early—
Tobi had no choice but to endure the humiliation and switch to Plan B:
Revive Rin first, then earn Obito's trust and recruit him afterward.
As for Rin eventually suspecting the existence of the "curse mark," he already had a way to deal with that.
The only unfortunate part was that Tobi himself would suffer for it later.
After all, possessing someone else's body was hardly an enjoyable experience.
It was exhausting work.
"But Hashirama cells aren't something you can just fuse with casually, right?" Even after believing that Hashirama cells could create miracles, Obito still questioned how someone could safely accept such a miracle.
Could Rin's body really fuse with Hashirama cells?
"Under normal circumstances, it's definitely difficult. But if someone who's on the verge of death merges with Hashirama cells, the results can become surprisingly effective. And with me helping…"
"You?"
"That's right. Not only can I help Rin fuse with the Hashirama cells, I can also accelerate the process."
"Don't look at me like that… What, did you suddenly realize I'm charming and lovable?"
Obito: "..."
"Come on, your little girlfriend is about to come back to life. At least try to look happy."
Obito: "..."
"Man, you're really no fun."
"Fine, let's change the subject instead…"
Tobi finally dropped his joking attitude and asked seriously:
"After Rin comes back, what are you planning to do?"
"I… I don't know."
"Then can you even return to Konoha?"
Obito fell silent.
Rin had killed so many Root shinobi. There was no way that matter would end peacefully.
And afterward, even he himself had attacked Konoha shinobi…
Konoha was probably no longer a place he could return to.
"If you can't go back, then join us."
"Don't reject the idea so quickly. I think you'll be interested in meeting one of your Uchiha clan predecessors."
"A predecessor?" Obito asked in surprise. "Your companion is an Uchiha shinobi too?"
"To be precise, your ancestor."
Seeing the confused expression on Obito's face, Tobi immediately understood that his thoughts were nowhere near that topic right now.
After all, his girlfriend still hadn't been revived yet.
Fine then.
He could continue the "persuasion" later.
"We have guests."
Obito instantly turned around.
At the edge of the dense forest stood a silver-haired youth holding a blade.
Kakashi!
"You're not going to let him interfere with my sealing process, are you?"
"Leave him to me. I know what matters most right now."
His three-tomoe Sharingan activated instantly.
"Good."
Obito faced Kakashi directly.
"If you came here alone, then you should go back."
"I came alone. And I'm not going back." Kakashi had chosen to come by himself because he wanted to try and salvage everything.
Then he noticed Tobi continuously performing a technique that looked like some kind of sealing jutsu.
"What are you doing?"
"Saving Rin."
"With help from that enemy?"
"Anyone who can save Rin isn't an enemy."
"…Once someone dies, how could they possibly come back to life?"
"Kakashi, you helped Rin and me a lot before. For that, I'm grateful." Obito's resolve was absolute as the three tomoe in his Sharingan slowly began to spin. "But you cannot interfere in this matter. Leave this place… Don't force me."
"Rin was deceived by him. And now you are too."
Tobi immediately sounded offended.
"That's slander."
"I only care about the result. As long as Rin lives, nothing else matters."
Kakashi let out a quiet sigh. How could he not understand that Obito's earlier kick had been meant to drive him away from this conflict?
If Obito had truly gone insane, then there would be nothing to hesitate over.
He could simply draw his blade and cut him down right here.
After several seconds of silence, Kakashi finally compromised slightly.
"If Rin really can be saved, we can ask Lord Hokage. We can ask the senior shinobi in the village—"
"No, Kakashi. You still don't understand." Obito directly interrupted him. "When we needed help the most, where was Lord Hokage? Where was Jiraiya-senpai?"
"And where was Shimizu-senpai?"
"They weren't here…"
"After everything that happened this time, I finally realized something. In the end, the only thing truly worth trusting is myself… and these eyes."
"If I had awakened them earlier, then back at the Hokage Rock, Root would never have been able to threaten us in the first place. Rin would never have become the Three-Tails' jinchūriki…"
"Maybe none of what happened afterward would have happened at all."
"This is my final warning, Kakashi. I don't want the only son of the White Fang of Konoha to die here for no reason."
"Because there's no way you can defeat… these eyes."
Blue chakra flared across Kakashi's body.
Holding the White Light Chakra Sabre in his hand, he quietly replied:
"Then let's find out."
…
From far away, Shimizu could already see smoke rising throughout Konoha Village—
Konoha really had been attacked!
Collapsed buildings and shattered ruins littered the area everywhere he looked.
Hundreds of Konoha shinobi had been killed or injured.
After forcing out the Three-Tails' location through questioning, he once again burst forward at extreme speed toward his new destination.
Not long afterward, he arrived at the new battlefield.
Yet there was still no sign of the Three-Tails.
"It's Shimizu-senpai!"
"Shimizu-senpai's here…"
"Danzō?" Shimizu noticed medical shinobi treating Danzō nearby.
After a brief round of questioning, he quickly understood what had happened.
So Danzō had his throat slit by Obito and was now hovering on the verge of death.
Serves him right.
Shimizu felt absolutely no sympathy for the old war hawk's fate.
If anything, there was even a faint sense of satisfaction in his heart.
Still, the important matter came first.
"Where's Kakashi?"
But everyone exchanged uncertain looks.
No one knew when Kakashi had separated from the main force.
Nor did anyone know where he had gone.
Now that was a problem.
--------
Read Advanced Chapters on : www.patreon.com/c/ReadJin
~ Every 100 PS = Bonus Chapter!
~ Push the Story forward with your [Power Stones]