In Naruto with the Flame-Flame Fruit

As Kiyosuke stepped out of the Hokage's office, he spotted Kakashi and Rin waiting outside. Neither looked in good spirits. Kakashi especially—his left eye covered by his forehead protector, only the right side of his face exposed—seemed colder than before.

Something had happened to Obito.

Kiyosuke sighed inwardly but forced a somewhat awkward smile.

"It's been a while, Rin, Kakashi."

"Hi, Kiyosuke," Rin greeted him with forced cheerfulness.

Kakashi gave a curt nod. "Mm."

"You know," Kiyosuke said, "covering one eye like that just to look cool? That's a bit much."

But at the mention of his eye, both Kakashi and Rin's expressions fell.

Kakashi touched the covered eye gently. "Obito… he's gone."

That was Obito's farewell gift to him—a parting gift for reaching jōnin: the Sharingan.

"..."

There was a moment of silence.

"That's not funny," Kiyosuke said. "Come on, Rin, call him out already. I just got promoted to jōnin. He owes me a present."

Tears welled up in Rin's eyes. "Kiyosuke, this isn't a joke. Obito gave his life to save Kakashi and me."

She had watched her closest friend die before her eyes. There wasn't even a grave to mourn at.

Kiyosuke kept his expression composed, but his heart was heavy.

So the plot had begun.

Obito had likely already been rescued by Uchiha Madara by now—and would soon become one of his pawns.

All of it stemmed from Ōtsutsuki Kaguya's desire to break free of the seal placed on her by her two sons. She manifested her will as Black Zetsu to make it happen.

And Black Zetsu, in its relentless quest to resurrect his mother, found his first pawn: Uchiha Madara. He deceived him into awakening the Rinnegan.

But by the time Madara awakened the Rinnegan, his body was frail and nearing death, so he transplanted his eyes into a young boy named Nagato—and then recruited Obito as pawn number two.

Obito, thoroughly manipulated, went on to deceive Nagato in turn, making him pawn number three. A never-ending chain of pawns inside pawns.

Tch.

Obito's future crimes couldn't be easily forgiven. A hopeless romantic with a classic Uchiha temperament, cursed Sharingan, and a master manipulator like Madara—it was a recipe for darkness. His eventual descent into villainy was no surprise. But for now... there was still hope.

Seeing the frustration on Kiyosuke's face, Kakashi and Rin assumed it was grief over Obito's death. Rin wiped her tears and tried to comfort him.

"Kiyosuke, please don't be too sad. Obito…"

She couldn't continue. The sorrow overwhelmed her, and she broke into sobs.

Kiyosuke handed her a tissue. "I get it. Kakashi… what about Obito's body?"

"We couldn't recover it," Kakashi said bitterly. "Half his body was crushed under a boulder. After he gave me his Sharingan, Iwa-nin collapsed the cave with a jutsu. We didn't have time to pull him out."

He slammed his fist against the wall. "If I just had a little more time… just a little more… I could've…"

It was only after losing Obito that Kakashi truly understood the importance of comrades.

"I'm going to the Land of Earth."

Face cold, Kiyosuke turned to re-enter the Hokage's office.

Rin quickly grabbed his arm. "Kiyosuke, don't be reckless. Going to the Land of Earth won't change anything. The war is still raging there."

"They can't kill me."

He brushed her hand off and pushed open the door.

"Hokage-sama, I want to go to the front lines in the Land of Earth."

Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had been discussing strategy with Minato, frowned.

"Why? You've been performing well on the front lines in the Land of Water. Moving you now wouldn't benefit you or your teammates."

"I want to bring my friend back."

He couldn't just tell them Obito was still alive or that Uchiha Madara was involved.

Who would believe someone personally killed by the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, was still alive?

And more importantly—how would he even know that?

Revealing too much would only attract attention from the village's darker corners. Even Orochimaru might not be able to protect him. Hell, Orochimaru might be the first one to dissect him.

No, it was safer to hint at things little by little—letting the truth surface through careful deduction.

Minato winced. Losing a subordinate and student cut deep.

"I understand how close you were to Obito," he said gently. "But the dead don't come back. This is war, not a game."

"I don't believe he's dead," Kiyosuke said. "He's going to be Hokage one day—I know he is. His life is that strong. Even if he is dead, I'm bringing him back. Konoha's heroes shouldn't vanish without a trace. Don't you agree, Hokage-sama?"

Sarutobi took a long drag of his pipe.

"The fighting at Kannabi Bridge hasn't stopped. You're sure you want to take this risk?"

Truthfully, he was proud that his student had nurtured someone so loyal to his comrades. But a shinobi's duty came before personal feelings. He couldn't allow sentiment to disrupt the bigger picture.

"I'm sure. I'm not afraid of the Iwa-nin."

Kiyosuke's confidence was real. Iwa-nin mostly specialized in Earth Release techniques—few of them were adept at Water Release.

"In that case, I'll allow it—just this once." Seeing the determination in Kiyosuke's eyes, Hiruzen relented. Young men needed space to be reckless once in a while.

"Minato, take your two squad members and Kiyosuke to Kannabi Bridge. You have two days. Good luck."

Minato straightened up and bowed.

"Thank you, Hokage-sama!"

"Mm. We'll discuss the rest when you return. You may go."

"Yes, sir."

"Thank you, Hokage-sama," Kiyosuke said.

"Thank you," Rin and Kakashi added, bowing deeply.

...

After leaving the Hokage's building, Minato said,

"No time to waste. I still have a Flying Thunder God seal at Kannabi Bridge. Everyone, grab my arm."

He held out his arm. The three of them reached for it—

In a flash, they vanished from Konoha.

...

Not long after, the four of them reappeared near Kannabi Bridge. Minato looked pale—long-distance teleportation took a toll. He wasn't in Edo Tensei form now; no infinite chakra, no half of the Nine Tails backing him.

"This is Kannabi Bridge?" Kiyosuke looked at the ruins ahead. The bridge had been blown apart. This was the battlefield that had made Minato famous. Here and there, they could still see the corpses of Iwa-nin.

"Sensei, are you okay?" Rin stepped forward to support Minato, concern in her voice.

Minato shook his head. "I'm fine. Just used a lot of chakra from the distance. Kakashi, you lead the way."

"Yes."

Kakashi hadn't forgotten a single detail of that place. Without hesitation, he took point, leading the group toward the spot where Obito had been buried.

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Pls Drop some Power Stones

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