Three days later, when Minato chose to split from Obito's squad, Chiya stirred in the shadows.
The real show was about to start.
He trailed far behind them, barely a thread on the wind, while vast sage chakra coursed through him as a net, watching for any warped ripple in the area.
Two Iwa chakra signatures slipped into range.
"Oi, Mahiru ran off to scout and never came back."
"Think those brats took him out?"
Two Iwa shinobi crouched between boulders, eyes gloomy as they watched Obito's team below.
"Let us ask, then. Ninja Art: Camouflage Concealment."
One smirked at Nohara Rin, then blurred from sight, while his partner triggered a prepared device to cover the approach.
A feint followed, then Rin's cry of alarm burst from behind Obito and Kakashi.
"Damn it."
Obito spun. Rin was already down and in enemy hands. He roared and lunged to give chase.
"Wait, Obito. Do not pursue."
Kakashi's voice cut him off.
His father's end, choosing comrades over mission and dying for it, had carved a cold rule in him. Mission came first. Even with Rin taken, he pressed to continue.
"What did you say?"
Heat flared through Obito. To him, comrades were everything. Anyone who did not value them was trash. And this was Rin, the girl he had loved for years.
"Do you even know what you just said?"
Kakashi did not flinch.
"I know. We proceed," he said flatly. "The enemy wants our plan, so they will not kill her immediately. We are lucky she is a medical-nin. As a prisoner she will be treated decently in exchange for tending their wounded."
"If they learn our plan, they will reinforce the bridge at once. Our mission gets harder. A ninja continues the mission even if it means sacrificing a comrade. That is the rule. If we fail, the war drags on and more people die."
Listening from the dark, Chiya could not help a quiet sigh. White Fang's death had wounded Kakashi in ways few could grasp. Later, it would be Obito who changed him. Because of Obito, the future Kakashi would care less about raw talent and far more about the bonds between teammates.
When Obito's fist sent Kakashi skidding, Chiya smiled faintly.
Let Obito reshape him. Let it stay that way.
Although Rin was not in immediate danger, Chiya kept her within his sensing range. She was the key to Obito's fall, which meant Zetsu would watch her too. Until she fulfilled that role, nothing would happen to her.
After Obito's barrage of words, even Kakashi could not leave them behind. Fingering the medical pouch Rin had given him, he hesitated, then turned and ran after Obito.
Chiya followed at an easy lope, a shadow eating popcorn.
Soon Obito clashed with the rear guard, Oishi.
Driven into a corner, Obito was saved at the last instant by Kakashi, whose left eye was slashed open by Oishi's blade.
His friend's injury shattered something inside Obito. Emotion surged, a peculiar chakra brewed behind his eyes, and the world slowed. Reading the enemy's motion, he flicked a kunai and ended Oishi in a breath.
"Double tomoe, not bad."
Chiya's focus slid deeper. He extended his senses through the cavern where Rin was held, feeling downward into the earth.
No Madara. No lair.
"Strange. Nothing? Or did Zetsu hide the complex with something special?"
Obito and Kakashi reached the cave. Inside, Kakkou worked genjutsu over Rin to pry out their mission. Sensing their approach, he turned with a thin smile.
"Oh? So quick. Useless little punks."
Facing Obito's crimson, two-tomoe gaze, Kakkou dropped the condescension. Sharingan had a grim reputation.
"Kakashi, Rin's chakra is a mess. She is under genjutsu."
Steel hissed as Kakkou rushed them.
They fought. Kakashi felled Kakkou, or seemed to, and dispelled Rin's illusion, only to spring the man's trap.
The corpse rose, grinning, and the earth groaned. "Earth Style: Rock Cave Collapse."
"You kids are green."
Kakkou bolted from the cave.
Stone thundered down. RUMBLE!
Obito's squad froze in shock, then scrambled to dodge the falling slabs.
A swift shard knifed down and clipped the fastest of them. Kakashi went tumbling.
Obito hurled him clear without a second thought and stayed behind.
A looming boulder dropped like judgment, suddenly accelerating.
"Obito..."
Rin screamed as the giant stone fell.