[In the Akatsuki, Obito's identity was just that of an intern.]
[After Sasori of the Red Sand died, Obito became teammates with Deidara.]
[He usually relied on his superb acting skills to get by—though perhaps that was just his true personality.]
[The days he spent with Deidara were some of his happiest times.]
[They wrestled together, ate dango together, blew up fish together, and along the way, took down the Tailed Beast he hated the most—Isobu, the Three-Tails.]
[Strictly speaking, Rin could also be considered a victim of the Three-Tails, indirectly.]
[But to Obito, who had already "lost his heart," friendship was nothing more than a fleeting illusion.]
[During Deidara's battle with Sasuke, Obito simply watched, never intending to help him.]
[His main goal was to test Sasuke's strength.]
[Deidara was so enraged by Sasuke that he self-destructed—without a single person there to stop him.]
[After that battle, Obito knew the time was almost right.]
[The fight between Itachi and Sasuke was imminent, and Obito intercepted Team 7.]
[Seeing Kakashi again stirred something deep inside him.]
[Fighting Kakashi after so long, he even showed off some childhood techniques—except Kakashi had never seen them before.]
[Throughout the battle, Obito was playing the fool while secretly holding all the power, toying with Team 7 using Kamui.]
[But with Kakashi there, the longer the fight dragged on, the greater the risk—sooner or later, he would figure out Kamui's secret.]
[Thankfully, at that moment, Zetsu appeared and told Obito—Itachi was dead.]
[That single sentence flipped a switch within him. In an instant, the goofy Obito was gone, replaced by the dark, twisted man he had become.]
[Now that Itachi was dead, there was no reason to continue this little game with Team 7.]
[Before leaving, Obito revealed his Sharingan.]
[That look in his eyes—it was like a warning to Kakashi, a sign that his nightmare was about to return.]
"Looking back… why didn't I realize the masked man was you back then?"
Staring at the images on the glowing screen, Kakashi fell into deep thought.
If he had recognized Obito earlier, could he have prevented the Fourth Great Ninja War?
"It's simple. In your heart, I was already dead. A dead man couldn't possibly stand before you."
Unlike Kakashi, who was caught up in his regrets, Obito seemed unbothered.
After all, to the rest of the world, he had died beneath that massive boulder long ago.
"One Sharingan… and in the right eye, no less. Such an obvious clue—why didn't I figure it out back then?"
Seeing Kakashi getting stuck in his own thoughts, Sakumo patted his son on the shoulder and said, "Time is a frightening thing. It wears down your will, blurs your memories, and makes everything feel natural… even if it isn't."
"...Dad, can you say that in a way I actually understand?"
Sakumo was speechless.
He was never great with words. Just coming up with that poetic line had taken years of accumulated wisdom.
And this foolish son of his… couldn't even understand it?
What a waste of his heartfelt sentiment.
"What I mean is, don't overthink it. Just let things be."
"Dad, that sounded nice, but… maybe don't say it next time."
"..."
Taking his father's advice to heart, Kakashi decided to stop dwelling on why he hadn't recognized Obito. Instead, he suddenly asked, deep in thought—
"Obito, are you really that scared of Itachi?"
"Hah? Me? Scared of him?"
Obito's fur bristled like a cat that had just had its tail stepped on.
"What a joke! With my Kamui, why would I be afraid of that sickly guy?"
"Then why did you act differently before Itachi died? You're naturally a goofball, and when you were paired with Deidara, that wasn't an act—it was just you being yourself."
"…What exactly are you trying to say?"
"I'm saying that before Itachi died, you went back to your usual personality because you wanted him to believe that you weren't a threat to Sasuke or Konoha, right? Otherwise, it doesn't make sense. The moment he died, you immediately reverted to your darker self."
To be honest, Obito was wary of Itachi.
A man ruthless enough to kill his own clan and parents—who wouldn't be wary of him?
Obito considered himself a rational person. The last thing he wanted was to be targeted by a lunatic like Itachi at such a crucial moment.
Those Mangekyō Sharingan eyes… They were still a threat to him.
Of course, Obito had no intention of showing weakness in front of Kakashi.
He waved his hands dramatically and explained, "I was just honoring my agreement with Itachi. It has nothing to do with being afraid of him."
"Oh?"
Kakashi narrowed his eyes. "I don't believe you."
"…Like I care whether you believe me or not."
"Well—"
"Well, what? You're so damn annoying. Hmph!"
"…"
[After Itachi's death, Obito set his sights on Sasuke.]
[What he didn't expect was that Itachi had left behind an Amaterasu, specifically prepared for people like him who harbored ill intentions.]
[Obito: Heh, good thing Itachi doesn't know everything about me.]
[This seemed to imply that even Amaterasu, known as the strongest fire, couldn't kill him.]
[He exaggerated Itachi's story when telling Sasuke, manipulating him into capturing the Tailed Beasts for him.]
[But it seemed like Obito had forgotten Orochimaru's past mistakes.]
[Orochimaru practically treated Sasuke like a father spoiling his son, and yet, he still ended up getting killed.]
[This suggests that Obito, who planned to use Sasuke, probably wouldn't have a good ending either.]
"This conclusion really follows the typical pattern of a literary work, huh?"
Orochimaru wasn't surprised that Sasuke ended up killing him.
Given his personality, he definitely intended to train Sasuke, then take over his body with Living Corpse Reincarnation. That way, he wouldn't have to keep training new vessels anymore.
But Sasuke was the deuteragonist of the story—there was no way he'd let Orochimaru succeed.
So Orochimaru's fate was obvious.
"Still, killing me isn't that easy."
In reality, with Konoha having resurrection techniques, even if he died, Kabuto could bring him back.
And if that wasn't enough, the Second Hokage from another timeline could revive him too.
Even in Naruto, he could return through the Curse Marks he left on Anko, Sasuke, and others.
Truly killing him?
That was nearly impossible.
"Orochimaru."
"Ah? What are you talking about?"
Just as Orochimaru was feeling a bit smug about his supposed immortality, Sasuke pointed at the glowing screen and said, "That version of you can be like my dad and spoil me. So why can't the real you do the same?"
"...The hell?!"
These words were so shocking that even the always-calm Orochimaru cursed out loud. That alone showed just how lethal Sasuke's statement was.
"Haven't I spoiled you enough? I taught you ninjutsu, forbidden jutsu, and summoning techniques. I let you do whatever you wanted. I even tolerated your constant disrespect toward me! What more do you want? Do you seriously want me to bow to you?!"
"Uh... no, that's not necessary."
Sasuke thought about it for a moment.
To be fair, Orochimaru had treated him quite well. Other than keeping him away from his experiments, Orochimaru had basically taught him everything he could.
That realization made things a little awkward.
"Ahem. Alright, just forget I said anything."
Looking at Sasuke's forced calm expression, Orochimaru was screaming internally: Just you wait! I swear I'll reclaim my dignity as a teacher!
*********
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