Hiruzen persuaded me to die

"Who knows what the hell that b*****d Uchiha Obito was thinking!"

"We all thought he was dead, okay?!"

The Uchiha clan ninja were fuming with anger.

In the 46th year of the Konoha calendar, Uchiha Obito became honored as a hero on the memorial monument.

Then, just two years later, in the 48th year, the Nine Tails attacked Konoha, killing the Fourth Hokage and his wife.

Between Obito's supposed "death" and the Nine Tails attack was a mere two years.

When Obito "died," he was only thirteen years old. Barely at the level of a Chūnin!

Who could've imagined that someone like that would become capable of launching an attack of that scale?!

Previously, even the Uchiha clan had conducted internal investigations regarding the identity of the masked man.

Some suspected Uchiha Madara.

Others theorized it was Uchiha Izuna.

A few even brought up Uchiha Kagami, the famed disciple of the Second Hokage.

All of them were legendary figures in Uchiha history!

But Obito?

No one ever considered him.

His strength, on paper, made it impossible.

"Did someone in the clan mistreat Obito or something?!"

"How many people died in the Nine Tails attack, including Uchiha members!"

"And that b*****d made us shoulder the blame for the whole thing!"

Thinking about this, the fury of Uchiha clan members intensified.

The stigma of being blamed for the Nine Tails chaos weighed heavily on them for years.

And despite their efforts, they could never clear their name.

The clan compound had been under constant surveillance ever since.

Now, finally, the truth had come to light.

It was all the doing of that b*****d, Uchiha Obito!

"Damn."

The Konoha villagers exchanged glances.

With this revelation, the Uchiha clan did seem... a little unfortunate.

Not only had they also suffered casualties during the Nine Tails rampage,

But afterward, they were falsely accused of orchestrating the whole thing.

Just imagining being blamed for such a catastrophe was enough to make anyone spit blood.

"We can't let it go!"

"So many of our people died—and that monster is still alive out there?!"

"Where's Obito's old house? Is it still standing?!"

An Uchiha ninja scoffed.

"Long gone.

"During the Nine Tails incident, most of our clan compound was destroyed."

After Obito's "death," his home had been preserved as a tribute to the fallen hero.

But on the night of the Nine Tails attack, that part of the compound was reduced to rubble.

Later on, Danzo forcibly relocated the Uchiha to the village's outskirts.

Living under a cloud of suspicion, no one cared about the past.

The living had to survive—who had time to dig up relics of the dead?

"However... that b*****d's tombstone is still in the cemetery!"

Anger flared in the villagers' eyes.

How could the person who caused the greatest tragedy in Konoha's history

Be honored as a hero?!

Soon—

A mob swarmed the Konoha cemetery.

Here, many of the village's fallen heroes rested.

Crack!

A sickening sound of stone shattering echoed.

Fueled by wrath and betrayal, Obito's tombstone was smashed to pieces!

Some even began digging up his grave!

"…Damn,"

Jiraiya stood off to the side, watching, but did nothing to stop them.

These people had lost loved ones during the Nine Tails attack.

Finding out that the man they had admired for years was behind it all...

They had every right to unleash that pain.

"…We're too late."

Kakashi arrived slowly, carrying several bundles of flowers.

He handed some to Jiraiya and Naruto.

"…Was it really my father's student who killed my parents?"

Naruto's expression was twisted with conflicting emotions as he stared at the desecrated grave.

Logically, he knew this wasn't right.

But emotionally…

He understood their rage.

Kakashi didn't try to stop the villagers either.

That tomb had been erected by him and Rin after the mission at Kannabi Bridge.

At the time, both of them had believed Obito died in action.

They had buried his belongings in place of a body,

Honoring him as a fallen hero.

But now?

Obito no longer deserved to be buried among the honored dead.

After a long silence, Kakashi murmured:

"...I'm sorry."

If he had died instead…

Would Obito still have ended up like this?

"This isn't your fault,"

Jiraiya consoled him.

After Minato's death, Kakashi had spiraled into confusion for years.

It took a long time for him to stabilize again.

"I remember Minato once told me…"

Jiraiya recalled wistfully.

"He said that little brat Obito wanted to become Hokage."

"He even made a promise to Minato… that he would become one."

"But…"

Jiraiya's gaze shifted to the tombstones of Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki.

His tone darkened.

"I can't imagine what happened in those two years Obito disappeared…"

"What could twist someone like that?"

Shaking his head, he said to Kakashi:

"Kakashi, if you really feel guilty…"

"Then find out why."

"Find out what happened to Obito."

"Find him—and ask why he became a monster."

Suddenly, a female voice rang out from behind them.

"Are you talking about yourself, Jiraiya?"

Jiraiya's eyes widened instantly.

That voice!

"Tsunade?!"

Even without turning, he recognized her immediately!

"What you just said—sounds like you're talking about you and Orochimaru, doesn't it?"

Tsunade said with a smirk.

Behind her, Shizune followed silently, carrying Tonton the pig.

After many years away, Princess Tsunade had returned to the village.

"Can you not chime in like that?!"

Jiraiya grumbled.

He had left the village partly to search for the Child of Prophecy—

And partly to find Orochimaru.

In this regard, he and Kakashi shared some common ground:

Both had a friend they couldn't let go of.

"I've made up my mind!"

Naruto suddenly shouted.

"I'll become Hokage!"

"I'll be a Hokage greater than my father!"

"Obito once promised my dad he'd become Hokage, right?"

"Then I'll prove to him—I'm the one worthy of that title!"

Tsunade looked at Naruto's spiky blond hair and clear blue eyes.

"…This kid—is Minato's son?"

She asked in disbelief.

Aside from those strange whisker marks on his cheeks,

He was the spitting image of Minato Namikaze!

"Granny, you knew my dad?"

Naruto asked excitedly upon hearing the name.

Hearing that—

Jiraiya flinched in panic!

"Naruto, shut up!"

He hissed urgently.

"Why? This old lady seems to know my dad."

Naruto blinked in confusion.

He didn't think he said anything wrong.

"You little brat!"

Tsunade's face darkened.

One hand slapped down on Naruto's head.

"Who are you calling an old lady?!"

With both hands, she tugged hard at Naruto's cheeks!

If not for the fact that this boy reminded her of her younger brother Nawaki—

Even if he was Minato and Kushina's son, she'd still give him a proper beating!

"Listen up, brat!"

Tsunade growled, face-to-face with the teary-eyed Naruto.

"Only a fool would want to be Hokage!"

With that, she let go of his cheeks.

Naruto backed away, holding his face in pain.

This granny was scary!

Jiraiya chuckled, slightly smug.

"Consider yourself lucky. That's barely a slap."

He, after all, was the one who had been beaten the most by Tsunade in the whole ninja world.

The other side—

At the same time, Kabuto Yakushi returned to the village.

Almost instinctively, he wandered toward Konoha's cemetery.

He wanted to pay his respects to Nonō Yakushi.

But then he remembered—

Her body, which he had killed with his own hands,

Had never even been returned to the village.

It was still far away, somewhere in the Land of Grass…