"What is there to talk about?" Obito's emotions were complicated. Being recognized immediately made him feel as if he had no secrets left.
The young Rin stood beside Naruto, looking at him from afar with complicated gaze.
Even though he repeatedly told himself in his heart that Rin was dead, that the Rin before him was nothing more than a fragment of her consciousness from the moment of her death, not the real Rin.
But was the Rin from the past still Rin? This was something he couldn't afford to think too deeply about. Almost instantly, a layer of fine sweat broke out on Obito's forehead.
Naruto didn't care at all. He didn't care what Obito was thinking. As he had said, both sides had leverage, so it was better for everyone to sit down and talk.
He had no intention of plotting anything, and he was just here to negotiate. Although he wanted to kill Obito, his top priority was to rescue Ino and Hinata.
"If we sit down, there's always something to talk about, Uchiha Obito." Naruto looked at the figure wearing the orange spiral mask and said in a deep voice, "If you wear a mask for too long, it'll fuse to your face."
"What does that have to do with you?" Obito looked at him coldly.
"Obito! You've gone too far!" Rin, who was standing beside Naruto, suddenly spoke up, looking at Obito with a complicated expression, "How did you become like this?"
Hearing this, Naruto curled his lips and remained silent, ready to watch the show. He hoped that Obito would lash out at Rin and even better, beat up the reanimated Rin.
Everyone lives by their beliefs. Rather than saying Rin was Obito's weakness, it was more accurate to say that Rin’s death was the reason he kept convincing himself to move forward.
At this time, there are only two choices before Obito: to regard the reanimated Rin as the real Rin, which represents the vibrant life of the girl, Nohara Rin, before her death.
Or to insist that Rin was dead, and that this version of her from the past was a fake.
If Obito chooses the former, he will naturally have to accept Rin's questioning. The war had taken so many lives, and she thought Obito was dead, but he turned out not to be dead.
"Obito, how could you do that to Minato-sensei, to so many innocent people?" Rin clenched her hands tightly together and placed them on her chest.
"Innocent? There are no innocent people in this world. Everything is a lie!" Obito stared at Rin and said with gritted his teeth.
"Reality is too cruel. I didn't want to kill them. If they hadn't stood in my way, they wouldn't have died."
"Obito... have you gone mad?" Rin looked at Obito in shock. For the first time, she felt that the person in front of her was particularly strange, "Why did it become like this?"
Naruto stood to the side and watched coldly. Although he did not approve of Rin’s verbal offensiveness, he reluctantly expressed his understanding considering that she was just a naive girl.
"I'm not mad! I just want to change this false world, to create a new one. Is that wrong?" Obito tore off his mask, revealing a dark, empty eye socket.
"Shinobi only bring endless war and death. We are all executioners, reduced to puppets, without ideals and future."
"Rin, Kakashi let you die. I can't forgive him, and I can't forgive myself. If only I had been faster, if only I had been earlier…"
"…It's too late to say this now. No matter what, I don't think what I'm doing is wrong. In this hopeless world, I see no light."
"Whether I'm alive or not doesn't matter anymore."
Rin was stunned. Seeing Obito's furious outburst, she couldn't help but take a step back. This step didn't escape Obito's notice, and a bitter smile appeared on his face.
"Rin, do you think I'm a madman?"
“Gone!”
"Ino and Hinata are both missing?"
"Yes, Neji-sama, the Clan Head of the Hyuga Clan, sent someone to inform us. Also, our people found something unusual at the Yamanaka Flower Shop during their investigation."
"There were almost no signs of a struggle, nor any signs of them leaving voluntarily. They just disappeared inexplicably in their rooms."
Yugao looked at the Anbu subordinates in front of her, and her face instantly darkened.
'Someone had quietly invaded Konoha without anyone even noticing.
Why now, of all times, when Naruto had just returned to the village? And why take only Ino and Hinata? It was clearly targeting Naruto.
‘No, it should be said that it was aimed at the Kyubi.
"Has Rokudaime-sama been informed?" She asked, looking up.
"Yes." The subordinate replied.
"Good. Continue searching the perimeter of the village. Report immediately if you find anything." Yugao nodded, then turned and left, heading towards the Hokage Tower.
Under the moonlight, Yugao leaped silently across the rooftops, and when she looked up inadvertently, she suddenly froze. She landed lightly on a roof with a thud, and she turned her head and stared in a certain direction.
In that direction was the Hokage Rock, where Kakashi's half-finished statue had inexplicably cracked.
Kakashi was obviously forced to wake up from his sleep. His hair was a mess, and he was currently sitting in the Hokage's Office, looking at the summarized clues.
As the Hokage, he had to stay in the village and all he could do was make decisions based on intelligence.
Knock knock knock.
Three knocks sounded at the door. Kakashi lifted his eyelid and called out, "Come in."
Yugao pushed the door open and walked in, then said straight to the point.
"Naruto has also disappeared. I guess the person who kidnapped Hinata and Ino put out a bait. The other party is obviously coming for Naruto, and their target should be the Kyubi."
Hearing this, Kakashi rubbed the paper in his hands and said, "This happened too suddenly. Naruto and the enemy are probably still within the Land of Fire. If we investigate now, there's still a chance."
"I have sent people to notify the Hyuga Clan, the Aburame Clan, and the Inuzuka Clan to provide reconnaissance support. The Anbu will need to assist them. The mission will be temporarily classified as S-Rank."
"Who could be behind this?" She asked.
"I don't know. Unless we find Naruto, he might know who the enemy is." Kakashi interlaced his fingers and was not in a very good mood.
For some reason, he always had a bad feeling.
"Oh, by the way, Kakashi." When no one else was around, Yugao still called him by his name. She knew Kakashi was only temporarily filling in and didn't truly want the position.
"Hmm? What is it?"
"Your half-finished statue on the Hokage Rock has cracked." Yugao looked at him and said, "Could the enemy be someone you know? An old enemy, perhaps?"
"Cracked?" Kakashi was also stunned. He was a loner with countless enemies, but now that he was Hokage, who would dare cause trouble for him?
The conversation ended there, and Kakashi was left without any leads.