Konoha Training Ground Three.
This was a clearing in the woods, with three wooden stakes standing in the center. The moment Namikaze Minato's figure vanished from the cave, he reappeared in this clearing. The next second after Minato flashed in, an intricate seal appeared on the ground, and in the moment after that, Uchiha Obito, wearing a masked and black cloak, was also instantly warped into the clearing.
The moment Namikaze Minato and Uchiha Obito's eyes met, both fell into silence.
At this point, Obito fully realized that he had fallen into a trap set by his opponent. Furthermore... the fact that Minato would set a trap in that location meant that his existence had been exposed long ago. Even worse... his identity had likely already been guessed by the man in front of him.
Uchiha Obito looked at his powerful, handsome teacher standing before him and was momentarily speechless. His scarlet eye flashed, showing surprise first, then solemnity, followed by acceptance, and finally... a touch of hysteria and madness.
"As expected of... Fourth Hokage-sama!"
"From when did you realize my existence?"
Communication between smart people is always straightforward. After years of growth and working behind the scenes, Uchiha Obito's mentality was no longer comparable to the naïve dead last he once was.
He now clearly understood the situation he faced. Instead of scurrying away and deceiving himself into thinking his existence was still undiscovered, he decided to try and extract more information from Namikaze Minato.
He believed he had hidden himself well. With the White Zetsu and Kamui, he had moved freely within Konoha, never being detected.
Yet, Minato had somehow discovered his existence, even going so far as to guess his identity and set this trap at Rin's grave. In this game of wits, Uchiha Obito had been utterly defeated.
But Obito didn't know why he had lost. He desperately wanted to find out why!
Even a mind like Obito's couldn't possibly imagine that Konoha housed a "Divine Eye" (Shinichi's Byakugan) acting on the sly.
However, in response to Obito's question, Minato was calm. He glanced around the training ground and did not directly answer Obito's question:
"This is Konoha's Training Ground Three."
"Whenever I return here, I remember the days I spent learning and training with the members of Team Minato."
"I chose this as the location for our meeting. Do you like it, Obito...?"
Minato spoke, immediately identifying Uchiha Obito.
The moment Obito fell for the trap and appeared here, Minato had already confirmed his identity.
After all, Hyūga Shinichi had provided so much information about Uchiha Obito that it had already planted a visualized imprint in the minds of Minato and Kushina. Moreover... this person fell for the trap at Rin's gravestone.
Minato simply couldn't conceive of anyone else in the world who would appear at Rin's gravestone. Besides Kakashi, besides him and his wife, who else could it be?!
"As expected..."
Hearing Minato speak his name, Uchiha Obito suddenly lowered his head and chuckled to himself. As he spoke, Uchiha Obito silently removed his mask, revealing his current face to Namikaze Minato.
The young Obito had inherited the Uchiha Clan's good genes and possessed a handsome, well-defined face. Even now, though half of his face was a pale reconstruction by White Zetsu, he could still be called handsome.
Looking at Obito's familiar face, Minato displayed a gentle smile:
"It truly is you... Obito."
"Thank goodness, you're not dead!"
The emotion Minato showed greatly exceeded Obito's expectations. He could feel that Namikaze Minato was genuinely happy.
Suppressing the surge of emotion in his heart, Obito covered his chest with one hand, his eye glaring coldly at Minato:
"No, you are wrong!"
"Uchiha Obito is dead!"
"The one who is alive now is the avenger of the Uchiha!"
As Obito spoke, he put his mask back on, and the Three-Tomoe Sharingan swirled in his eye.
"The perceptive Fourth Hokage..."
"Why weren't you as perceptive back then?!"
"Why, being so strong and so perceptive, were you still unable to protect Rin?!"
Uchiha Obito harbored hatred toward Namikaze Minato. Although it was Kakashi who killed Rin with the Chidori, Obito hated the powerful Minato more than the "weak" Kakashi. The man known as the Yellow Flash of the Ninja World, the man who could become the Hokage, couldn't even manage to protect one young girl. In that moment, Obito became disillusioned with Minato and disillusioned with the "Hokage" he had admired.
Turns out... the Hokage he admired was nothing special!
"Obito..."
The regret in Obito's heart was also Minato's regret. But how could Obito understand what Minato had gone through? Obito's only concerns were Kakashi and Rin. But Minato, as one of Konoha's strongest combatants at the time, bore the burden of winning the entire war, the lives of countless Konoha ninjas resting on his shoulders.
Yes, if he had accompanied them to the Mist ninja battlefield, Rin would not have been captured by the Mist ninjas. But if that had happened, would the other Konoha ninjas on the other battlefields have been victorious?! Minato was never an arrogant person, but he was acutely aware of how much his existence influenced the war. In this regard, Minato genuinely felt deep remorse for failing to protect Rin. Facing Obito's accusation now, Minato had no desire to argue.
"Heh...."
"Saying all this now is meaningless!"
"Fourth Hokage..."
"I will create a world that has Rin!"
"I will personally reclaim everything I have lost!"
"No one, no matter who, will be able to stop me!"
As he spoke, a spatial vortex formed in Obito's Sharingan, rapidly sucking his body into the alternate dimension.
In just a few short breaths, Uchiha Obito vanished from Minato's presence.
Although the exchange was brief, Uchiha Obito knew he couldn't extract any information from Minato. On the contrary, the longer he spent with a ninja like Minato, the more likely his own information would be exposed.
Although his identity had been discovered by Minato, it didn't matter. This was only the beginning. More importantly, Uchiha Obito believed that the experiences he had gone through were beyond Minato's imagination.
Information regarding his Mangekyō Sharingan's dōjutsu would not be leaked. Every one of his plans would proceed smoothly. Even Namikaze Minato did not possess the ability to foil the Moon's Eye Plan, which Uchiha Madara had plotted for so long!
But first... he would prove that he was stronger than Namikaze Minato!
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