Thud.
The moment Kakashi saw Minato finish off the remaining enemies, the taut string in his heart finally snapped.
All the fatigue he had been suppressing surged through his body like an overwhelming tide.
His vision blurred, his legs gave way, and he collapsed on the spot.
"Kakashi!"
Rin cried out, rushing toward him.
After a quick examination, she finally breathed a sigh of relief—Kakashi had merely exhausted himself and fainted.
"Genma, you carry Kakashi," Minato instructed calmly.
Rin and Kurenai, as girls, were not suited for carrying someone over a long distance, and Kiyohara had already pushed himself the most during the battle. His stamina was nearly drained.
Thus, the task naturally fell onto Genma's shoulders.
"Yes, Lord Minato."
Genma nodded and carefully hoisted Kakashi onto his back.
"Are we leaving now?" Kiyohara asked once Kakashi was secured.
"It's already too late in the evening," Minato said. "We'll rest for the night. At dawn tomorrow, we'll destroy the bridge."
"I see…"
Kiyohara hesitated for a moment but ultimately chose not to voice the question forming in the back of his mind.
Why was no one going to retrieve Obito's body?
Neither Kakashi, nor Rin, nor even Minato had brought up the matter.
Even in the original Kakashi Gaiden, Minato arrived, wiped out the enemies, and… that was it. Showing they weren't pressed for time.
If Minato had rushed immediately, cleared the rubble, and recovered Obito's "corpse" for burial, perhaps none of the tragedies that followed would have happened.
Even if they did encounter Uchiha Madara afterward, Minato—who wielded the Flying Thunder God Technique could have escaped easily.
Madara was powerful, yes, but far too old by this point, surviving only because the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path barely kept him alive.
Even with some forbidden technique to boost his strength temporarily, he couldn't pursue Minato very far.
Unlike Kamui, the Flying Thunder God had no long activation delay.
In the end, Kiyohara chose not to say anything.
Bringing up this matter wouldn't benefit him anyway.
If things truly escalated, Minato could escape.
But would he, Kiyohara, be able to escape? Likely not.
Before leaving, Kiyohara didn't forget to loot the battlefield.
After rifling through the bodies of the Iwa shinobis, though he didn't have time to count his spoils and simply followed the others as they moved away.
…
Meanwhile
Deep underground, Uchiha Madara slowly opened his eyes.
His three-tomoe Sharingan quietly observed something within the darkness.
Sure enough, the wall in front of him began to ripple like water as White Zetsu emerged, carrying Obito—whose body was only half intact.
White Zetsu had sealed the cross-section with a thin layer of white flesh to stop the bleeding.
"I have brought him, Lord Madara," White Zetsu said.
Another smaller White Zetsu hovered behind him, its body size almost identical to Obito's.
"Begin the operation," Madara ordered, his voice ancient, heavy, and cold. His long, pale hair draped down his back like a waterfall.
"Yes, Lord Madara."
The White Zetsu clone sliced off half of the smaller Zetsu's body—perfectly matching Obito's missing half.
The operation soon began.
Ribs, organs, muscle—all were seamlessly joined together with the White Zetsu's body.
White Zetsu's flesh contained a high concentration of Hashirama's cells, allowing the wounds to heal rapidly.
Surprisingly, Obito's body responded extremely well to it.
"This little brat..."
Madara muttered.
Obito's survival was intriguing. Instead of being crushed to death, it was as if he had simply phased through the falling stones and ended up below.
"Lord Madara, why must you insist on choosing someone from the Uchiha clan?" White Zetsu asked curiously.
"There are plenty of capable shinobi in this war. Even in that squad, those other brats like Kakashi and Kiyohara seem like more excellent candidates."
Ever since the Third Great Shinobi War began, Madara had been using White Zetsu to monitor many Uchihas, searching for a suitable successor.
But this time, White Zetsu noticed something important—Sharingan could be transplanted into outsiders.
Hatake Kakashi had just proven this by successfully receiving Obito's eye.
If so, wouldn't it be fine to transplant Sharingan into Kiyohara, who performed even better than Obito?
Wouldn't they still be usable as "Uchiha tools"?
After all, both boys clearly had the potential to wield them.
"You do not understand the true nature of the power of the Uchiha."
Madara gave him a cold glance.
Beyond the three-tomoe lay an entirely different realm—the Mangekyō Sharingan.
Unfortunately, none of the current Uchiha youths seemed capable of awakening it.
Only those who awakened Mangekyō could be considered true successors of Uchiha's power.
"Kakashi and Kiyohara lack a bloodline limit," Madara continued.
He acknowledged their talent—both had fought numerous Iwa-nin and improved rapidly.
Yet neither bore the Uchiha name.
"In the Warring States era, I saw countless geniuses. These kids are still far from that level… and at the end of the day, they are outsiders."
Even if they had Sharingan transplanted, they could never awaken Mangekyō through their own power.
Madara's future plans required the abilities of Mangekyō.
An outsider with transplanted eyes would likely be useless—a burden even.
Kiyohara, especially, as a mere civilian-born shinobi, had far too many limitations.
"Outsiders are useless, then?" White Zetsu asked.
Madara shook his head.
"No. Kiyohara still has value. He is just as important as Kakashi—perhaps even more."
White Zetsu blinked.
Madara's meaning was unclear.
To awaken Mangekyō Required a powerful emotional trauma.
Based on the intelligence gathered, Madara already knew that Obito had feelings for Rin.
He also knew about the incident where Kiyohara held Rin's hand, sending Obito into a jealous rage.
So, if Obito were to permanently lose Rin…
He would experience the deepest despair.
The strongest stimulus.
That stimulus was—death.
"They can draw out the darkness within Obito's heart," Madara said.
"They will make him taste the agony of losing everything."
"I see…"
White Zetsu nodded, half understanding, half confused.
So, Lord Madara wanted Kiyohara to take Rin away, so Obito would fall into despair?
As expected of Madara—coming up with strategies they could never think of.
…
As night deepened.
On a grassy plain, Kakashi lay against a boulder.
His eyelashes trembled before he slowly opened his eyes in confusion.
Where… am I?
Did I… die?
That was Kakashi's first thought.
"You're awake, Kakashi."
The operation was successful—you're a girl now.
Kiyohara held back the joke, saying only the first half with a calm face.
Kakashi's expression immediately darkened.
Memories of Obito surged into his heart.
His eyes reddened, tears threatening to spill.
A man does not cry easily—unless the pain is unbearable.
Kiyohara shook his head softly.
This was the unique "bond" between Konoha men—
The kind that could move mountains or destroy them.
"It's all my fault…"
Kakashi whispered, his voice trembling with guilt.
"No. You did everything you could," Kiyohara said, patting his shoulder.
There was nothing they could do.
They had been trapped by the schemes of power.
Madara had been watching the Land of Grass from the shadows, watching and waiting to select a suitable pawn.
Obito's fate had been sealed from the very beginning.
(End of Chapter)