Obito froze in place.
After several seconds, he removed his goggles and rubbed his ears, awkwardly saying,
"Sorry, I didn't catch that. Could you repeat it?"
Sasuke growled,
"I said... every single member of the Uchiha Clan except me was killed!! That bastard Itachi slaughtered them all! He killed Dad, he killed Mom, he killed everyone in the clan! All to measure his own capacity! He killed them all!!"
Without thinking, Obito threw a punch at Sasuke Uchiha!
Thud—
A soft sound.
As Sasuke's mentor, the young Kakashi caught Obito's punch aimed at him.
"Calm down, Obito."
"That brat's talking nonsense! How could Itachi possibly do such a thing?!"
"But it's true, Obito." Kakashi's hoarse voice was clearly difficult to utter. "I'm sorry, but he's telling the truth."
Obito's eyes went blank, and Rin was shaken by their words as well.
Kakashi sighed,
"I'm sorry I couldn't protect the Uchiha Clan for you."
Obito snapped back to reality.
"What about me?! Did I go on missions?! Why didn't I stop Itachi myself?! Why didn't I protect the clan?!"
"You…"
Kakashi's voice was soft, but every word felt like a hammer striking the hearts of Obito, Rin, and young Kakashi...
"You sacrificed yourself in the battle at Kannabi Bridge. Your name is forever engraved on Konoha's Memorial Stone."
Sasuke's eyes widened.
"!"
Naruto gasped.
"!!"
Sakura stared in shock.
"!"
Earlier, they had overheard the conversation between Kakashi-sensei and the Fourth Hokage.
The Fourth Hokage had said that they had been on the Kannabi Bridge mission before arriving in this future.
Which meant, if they hadn't come here... Then the young chūnin standing before them, roughly their age, named Obito Uchiha, had already died?!
Sasuke's voice dropped, as he reminded Naruto and Sakura,
"The Third Shinobi World War."
They had learned in their Ninja Academy classes that every Shinobi World War had been accompanied by massive ninja casualties. Young ninjas had to graduate early from the academy and enter the battlefield—becoming the ramparts defending the ninja nations, the blades that slay enemies, the bargaining chips used for intelligence!
Obito's eyes glazed over, his entire being sinking into a haze.
Rin and Sakura stared at him in disbelief, about to ask more questions when Minato gently shook his head, signaling them to wait.
The meal passed in silence.
"Sorry, I'm full."
Obito was the first to stand up, setting down his bowl and heading upstairs.
After he left, Minato and the others were left in a heavy silence.
No matter what setbacks or blows Obito endured, he had always held onto his dreams, embracing the world with passion—loving the village and its comrades.
No one could remain unmoved upon learning of their own impending death, especially Obito, who had desperately yearned to become Hokage. As the first Uchiha Hokage, he had hoped to push for Uchiha reform and resolve the internal conflicts between the village and his clan.
Equally weighed down was young Kakashi, the leader of this mission.
He had never considered this possibility—never imagined that his first independent mission as a jōnin would cost him Obito.
Looking at his future self across the table, young Kakashi felt a strange sense of dread.
What had this man endured?
How much suffering had transformed him into this state?!
Naruto Uzumaki's words echoed in his mind again: "Why have I never seen any of you in the village?"
Where is Rin?! Where did she go?!
Why did his future self react so strongly when Obito spoke of his dream?!
Why did he look like he hadn't seen Minato-sensei in years when they met?!
He didn't want to think about it anymore!
But the tangled information exploded in his mind, automatically sorting itself with sharp clarity!
No matter how much he didn't want to know, the conclusion was still clear—
It wasn't just his father who had abandoned him and left this world.
Soon, Obito, Rin, Minato-sensei—everyone would leave him!!
The group of Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura had finished their meal.
But Kakashi hadn't touched his bowl or chopsticks.
Reluctantly, they had Tsunami clear the table first, planning to give Kakashi a military rations pill when he got hungry.
Young Kakashi's expression didn't change, but Sakura and the others could sense the near-desperate sorrow radiating from their sensei. They were worried, but couldn't think of any way to comfort him.
Even Naruto could feel the heavy silence in the air. With little enthusiasm, he followed Sakura and Sasuke downstairs to the guest room to organize their ninja tools.
Tazuna's family had left the space to the two adult ninjas.
"Kakashi..."
"Minato-sensei..."
Both spoke at the same time.
Minato gestured for Kakashi to speak first.
Kakashi paused for a couple of seconds. "The future... truly can't be changed?"
He knew that his sensei, Minato Namikaze, appeared gentle and easily swayed. But once Minato made a decision, not even Naruto could change his mind. After becoming the Fourth Hokage, not even the Third Hokage, the advisors, or Danzō could influence Minato's choices.
This time was no different...
Once Minato-sensei found a way back, he would seal everyone's memories. Then, the future would unfold exactly as Kakashi had lived it.
Obito's sacrifice. Rin's sacrifice. Minato-sensei's and Kushina's sacrifice. The Uchiha clan wiped out in a single night...
He was left behind.
Naruto was left behind.
Sasuke was left behind.