Late at night, at the Konoha Military Police Headquarters.
"Release!"
The barrier seal was temporarily undone as the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, pushed open the iron bars and stepped inside.
Behind him, the Uchiha clan prodigy, Shisui Uchiha, raised a hand, signaling all the surrounding Uchiha shinobi to leave.
Just as Shisui turned to leave as well, Minato spoke up:
"No wonder they call you Shisui of the Body Flicker, the one who strikes fear into enemies on the battlefield. You've already figured it out, haven't you? Then come with me."
"As someone who awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan because of love and loss, surely you understand Obito. You and he must share the same scars."
Outside the bars, Shisui stopped in place and quietly stood behind Minato.
"Huu…"
Minato let out a long breath and reached out, placing his hand on the swirling mask.
Crack.
A sharp snap. The mask came off in Minato's hand. But the face revealed underneath was nothing like the bright, cheerful student he once knew.
Half of it was made of Hashirama cells, twisted, monstrous. His eye sockets, though no longer bleeding, were hollow and empty. Even without eyeballs, one could see, there was no light in them.
"…Obito."
Hearing the soft voice, Obito slowly raised his head and let out a grating laugh.
"Sensei, you figured it was me long ago, didn't you? The one who gave you the intel, didn't they tell you who I was?"
Obito continued on his own:
"Yeah, makes sense. Whether it's you or Kakashi, both of you made names for yourselves on the battlefield. Of course, you'd be good at analyzing intel. If that bastard Kakashi understood the Mangekyō better, then maybe...."
Minato shook his head slightly. "I just want to know… why did you become like this? Yesterday… you tried to harm Kushina, didn't you? Released the Nine-Tails, tried to destroy Konoha… and maybe even kill your teacher and the woman who cared about you?"
Obito sneered, not the slightest bit ashamed at being exposed. "A Konoha without Rin… a world without Rin… means nothing to me!"
"When Kakashi's Chidori pierced through Rin's chest, this world lost all meaning for me! You, the always-too-late teacher… Kakashi, who killed Rin… neither of you kept your promises!"
Minato was about to respond, but Obito cut him off with a cold laugh: "Rin had the Three-Tails sealed inside her, right? I know. I also know she asked Kakashi to kill her. That's what you're going to say, right? Teacher…?"
Minato was speechless.
"Hahahaha…"
Obito burst into manic laughter, bloody tears streaming from his empty eyes.
The pain of his wounds was nothing compared to the pain in his heart. Just like Minato had questions for him, Obito had too many things he wanted to yell at Minato and Kakashi.
To him, the only light left in this world was Rin… Rin Nohara.
"Sensei… where were you when Rin was kidnapped? Where were you when the boulder crushed me? Where were you when Rin had the Three-Tails sealed in her?"
"If only… if only you had been there… If you, a sealing master, had been there… Rin wouldn't have died!!"
Obito shouted, his body tense, the chains binding him stretched taut.
But neither Minato nor Shisui moved.
"Obito," Minato said quietly. "As your teacher, there's nothing I can say to undo Rin's death. But… I'm sorry. I failed to protect you both."
Minato exhaled, closing his eyes briefly. When he opened them again, his voice was firm:
"Obito, will you come back? Come back to Konoha. You're still Obito. Still my student. Still… Rin's teammate!"
Obito was stunned.
Minato smiled gently and continued:
"What happened last night, besides Kakashi, Shisui, and Captain Fugaku, no one else knows. The two medical nin will keep quiet. Come back, Obito."
Silence fell inside the prison.
Shisui, behind Minato, was slightly surprised. The depth of the Fourth Hokage's wisdom and heart impressed him.
He knew that without the intel they had gathered in advance, the release of the Nine-Tails last night would have been inevitable. And with the Tailed Beast ripped from her, Kushina, Minato's wife, would've certainly died.
Even Minato himself might not have made it out alive.
To still show such forgiveness to a disciple who nearly caused the fall of the village, and to insist Shisui stay and witness it, meant something.
It was clear that the Mangekyō's power from last night, Susanoo and Kotoamatsukami, had been deeply noted by Minato.
Not to mention Obito's Kamui, the Mangekyō's space-warping ability, must've weighed heavily on Minato's mind as well.
This was Minato's way of gaining Shisui's full trust, that the new Hokage, untainted by the Second's biases, would show the Uchiha true acceptance.
"…Tch. Heh…"
A low chuckle echoed in the cell. Obito suddenly looked up, his bloodied sockets glaring at Minato.
"No need!"
"I don't need Konoha. I don't need a teacher. I don't need anyone. I only need a world with Rin. Nothing else matters anymore! NOTHING!!"
With a roar, a surge of blue chakra erupted from his body, instantly breaking through the chakra-sealing jutsu.
The chakra swelled upward, shattering the chains, but in the next moment…
Bang!Seal!
In an instant, Minato's hand pressed against Obito's abdomen. The sealing jutsu activated again, halting the chakra before it could take form.
"You can still use Susanoo without the Sharingan? Even if it wasn't fully formed, that proves you really are a genius of the Uchiha," said Shisui, deactivating his own Mangekyō. He had been ready to summon his Susanoo, too.
Obito collapsed silently to the ground. He didn't want to speak anymore. He'd asked all his questions. Heard the apology. But did it matter?
Rin wasn't coming back. This world didn't have Rin.
…
"Let's go."
Minato gave one last look at his fallen student and turned to leave. Shisui shut the iron bars and restored the seal.
In the corridor, Shisui hesitated to speak.
Minato, walking ahead, said, "Let's give it a few more days. Maybe…"
Shisui bowed his head. He understood now, Minato still wanted to save Obito.
Minato continued:
"Obito used to be late all the time, and every excuse was about helping old folks. I remember one mission where he said, 'There's no old person in Konoha I don't know.'"
"Even though he was called a loser in school, he never gave up. To awaken his Sharingan, he'd put in eyedrops and wear goggles to protect his eyes."
"He… was a boy full of sunshine. And his light… was Rin."
…
Meanwhile, in the captain's office of the Military Police Force, a shadow silently emerged.
…
Kushina once said she hoped Naruto would be as sunny as Obito.
So—how do you judge the ultimate traitor?