Kakashi didn't know what Obito would have done back then if Rin had suddenly charged at Raikiri and he had accidentally killed her—if Obito had still been alive.
Would he have killed him on the spot to avenge Rin?
At least in the dream, although Obito had vaguely struck his younger self, he hadn't intended to kill him during the attack.
The sight of adult Kakashi caused Minato Namikaze's eyes to darken immediately.
It seemed Kakashi's claim of failing to protect Rin held deeper implications...
He didn't believe that Kakashi had consciously intended to kill Rin. Besides, the ninja world was full of techniques that could turn allies against each other—illusions, Puppet Technique, Jujutsu, including the Nara clan's Shadow Imitation Technique, and the Mind Body Switch Technique.
Still, both Obito and Rin's deaths appeared to have had a profound impact on Kakashi's life.
Groggily, Obito Uchiha realized the hellish vision haunting him was merely a dream. In his half-asleep state, he'd even beaten Kakashi—and apparently with particular intensity.
He scrambled to his feet and rushed to apologize to that sharp-tongued little genius, knowing he'd never hear the end of it otherwise.
"Sorry!! Kakashi! Thank goodness you woke me up—I might've scared myself to death in that dream."
Young Kakashi rolled his eyes. "And this is how you repay the person who saved you from a nightmare?" He deliberately showed him his still-healing injuries.
Obito's eyes shifted nervously, and his guilt deepened.
During the Kannabi Bridge mission, clumsy Kakashi had insisted on prioritizing the mission over rescuing Rin—and Obito had hit him hard for it. But it turned out Rin had already been rescued by Minato-sensei and Kakashi while he was unconscious...
And now, after Kakashi kindly woke him from a nightmare, he'd gone and hit him again...
No matter how you looked at it, this was entirely his fault!
"I... I'll run errands for you for an entire month! Please forgive me, Kakashi!" Obito clasped his hands together, eyes tightly shut.
Young Kakashi snorted arrogantly, clearly accepting the offer. He wasn't about to miss out on the chance to make Obito feel guilty and enjoy giving him orders.
Sasuke stood in the back, frowning. He had never seen such a spineless Uchiha.
Wait, is this guy really even an Uchiha?
No... wait, he really is. At least he's activated his Sharingan!
Just then, little Obito realized they weren't alone—besides clumsy Kakashi, Rin, and Minato-sensei, there were also...
"Ah! You guys!!" He pointed at Naruto and Sasuke. "Minato-sensei said you're people from the future!!"
Young Kakashi tapped his head. "Idiot! It's not people from the future who came to us—we came to the future!"
"We came to the future?" Obito processed this, then immediately grabbed someone at random and demanded, "What about me?! My future self?! Have I already become Hokage?!!"
The person he casually grabbed was Naruto Uzumaki, who shared the same dream of becoming Hokage.
With that shared dream, Naruto instantly felt that this guy from the same clan as Sasuke could be cool!
"The future Hokage is me—Naruto Uzumaki!" He looked at Obito. "By the way, I've never seen you around the village. Who are you, anyway?"
"Me?" Obito snapped back to attention, adjusting the goggles on his forehead.
"I am Obito Uchiha! The man destined to become Hokage!"
Sakura and Sasuke pressed their hands to their foreheads. This felt exactly like Naruto.
Also, didn't Naruto wear goggles when he was a kid too...?
Obito realized he'd awakened his Sharingan—and not just one tomoe, but two.
"I'm one step closer to becoming Hokage! Someday, I'll be the first Uchiha to hold that title!!"
He didn't expect his words to make Sasuke Uchiha's eyes darken.
Meanwhile, Obito turned toward Kakashi, whose face was partially concealed by a mask and forehead protector, leaving only his right eye visible.
"Are you really that future clumsy Kakashi? This feels unreal. You were so skinny back then, and now you've grown this tall!"
Young Kakashi: "╬, are you looking for a fight?!! Who was skinny? Who says I can't grow tall?!"
Obito chuckled and looked over at Minato Namikaze. "Sensei, have we completed our mission at Kannabi Bridge?"
Minato Namikaze shook his head. "We haven't returned yet."
"Then Rin..."
Young Kakashi pointed to Tazuna's family. "They found Rin unconscious not far from home. It seems that, like us, Rin was transported to the future by the power of the Space-Time Ninjutsu."
Obito immediately expressed his gratitude to the family, who had stayed relatively in the background.
"Minato-sensei, how can we return? The mission at Kannabi Bridge is crucial, right?"
Minato Namikaze shook his head. "We haven't figured out a way back yet."
Tsunami suggested, "How about we head downstairs for dinner first?"
Everyone was hungry, so they followed Tsunami downstairs.
On the way, Obito noticed that Sasuke, who had turned around, also carried the Uchiha Clan's distinct aura. He shyly walked over to greet him.
Obito, having grown up an orphan and struggled with his grades, wasn't highly regarded within the clan. The only ones who occasionally helped him and his grandmother were the clan leader, his older brother figure, and his sister figure, Mikoto.
"I haven't heard of you before. Maybe you weren't born yet in our time," Obito said. "Who are your parents? I might know them."
"Fugaku Uchiha and Mikoto Uchiha."
"!!!!" Obito's eyes widened. "Fugaku-san and Mikoto-san?! They had another child?! That's great! You must be another genius in the clan! Before my mission, I played shuriken with little Itachi—he was only two and already better than me!! And Shisui—that kid's another little genius in the clan!"
Young Kakashi couldn't help but retort, "You idiot, you're thirteen! Your Shurikenjutsu is worse than a two-year-old's, and you still have the nerve to say that."
"Tch, would you die if you don't take a few jabs at me?! Stupid Kakashi!!"
"Stop bickering!" Rin chuckled. "These are all our juniors, and Kakashi-sensei is their teacher. We should leave a good impression on them, right, Kakashi?"
Adult Kakashi remained silent.
Young Kakashi snorted. "I'm joining ANBU someday. No way am I teaching any stupid kids."
Surprisingly, this time neither Naruto, Sasuke, nor Sakura spoke up to argue...
Seeing Sasuke's grim expression, Obito asked, "What's wrong? Are you okay? If you're not feeling well, Rin can check you out—her Medical Ninjutsu is amazing! She's saved both my life and that dumb Kakashi's more times than I can count!"
Sasuke's face darkened. "The Uchiha Clan... I'm the only one left now."