[send powerstones plz]
The revelation that Uchiha Obito was still alive sent shockwaves throughout the shinobi world.
After all, more than a decade ago, Obito had been nothing more than an unremarkable young chūnin.
Yet now the entire world had learned that the same boy had somehow survived, grown powerful enough to control the Nine-Tails, and fought the Fourth Hokage himself.
High in the sky, Deidara leaned closer to Tobi and studied him suspiciously.
“Tobi…”
“You wear a mask too.”
He narrowed his eyes.
“Don’t tell me you’re actually Uchiha Obito, hm.”
Obito immediately recoiled in exaggerated panic.
“W-Whoa, Deidara-senpai!
Don’t scare me like that!”
He waved his hands frantically.
“How could I possibly be someone that terrifying?
If I were strong enough to control the Nine-Tails, would I still be the rookie getting dragged around on missions by you?”
Deidara thought about it.
Then nodded.
“Fair point.”
He looked Tobi up and down again.
“Someone as ridiculous as you really doesn’t look like the mastermind behind the Nine-Tails attack.”
A moment later, curiosity returned to his face.
“Still…
now I kind of want to know what you look like under that mask.”
Obito gave an obnoxious little laugh.
“Oh, I’m definitely more handsome than you, Deidara-senpai!”
Deidara flicked his bangs aside.
“You?”
He snorted.
“Not a chance, hm.”
Obito didn’t continue the argument.
Behind the mask, his expression became serious.
Now that his survival and identity had been exposed, he needed to reconsider his next move.
But one thing remained unchanged.
His plan would continue.
No matter what the shinobi world learned about him.
…
Elsewhere within the Akatsuki, the faintest smile appeared on Itachi Uchiha’s face.
He was almost certain now.
The masked man calling himself Tobi had to be Uchiha Obito.
No wonder I could never determine who he really was.
He was someone the entire world believed to be dead.
That explained far too much.
But another question remained.
Why?
Why had Obito hidden his identity for so many years?
Why had he caused tragedy after tragedy from the shadows?
What exactly was he trying to accomplish?
Before Itachi could dwell on it further, new text appeared on the screen.
[Itachi Uchiha, choose whether your question and its answer will be made public.]
Itachi answered immediately.
[Itachi Uchiha: Private.]
[State your question within three minutes.
If the time expires, your reward will be forfeited.]
Three minutes passed.
Then—
[State Your Question]
[The Screen Will Answer Truthfully]
Itachi’s expression remained calm.
But only on the surface.
Then he asked the question that had haunted him for years.
[Itachi Uchiha: Was I right to accept Danzo Shimura’s terms and carry out the massacre of the Uchiha Clan?]
The response appeared almost immediately.
[Answer: Wrong.]
Itachi’s pupils contracted.
For several seconds, he said nothing.
Then—
[Itachi Uchiha: Can you tell me why?]
[Each reward grants only one question.]
That was all.
Itachi felt as though every ounce of strength had suddenly drained from his body.
There was one belief that had allowed him to endure everything until now.
He had believed that what he did—
however cruel,
however painful,
however unforgivable—
had been necessary.
That belief had allowed him to bear the hatred.
The grief.
The guilt.
It had allowed him to keep moving forward after slaughtering his own clan.
But now…
the mysterious screen had told him that the decision itself had been wrong.
Itachi found that far harder to accept than he had expected.
There had been countless nights when he had asked himself the same question.
Was there really no other way?
Was killing the entire clan truly the right choice?
And every time, he had forced himself toward the same answer.
Yes.
It had to have been.
Otherwise, everything he had sacrificed would become unbearable.
Now even that certainty was gone.
So I really was wrong…
Itachi slowly closed his eyes.
People often understand themselves most clearly when death is near.
It seems I still have time before mine comes.
Then I should use that time to understand where I went wrong…
and do whatever I still can to make amends.
…
In the plaza outside the Hokage Building, the spectators had no idea what Itachi had asked.
All they knew was that he had chosen to keep both the question and answer private.
That alone earned him plenty of criticism.
“Why hide it?”
“What’s the point of winning a question if no one else gets to learn anything?”
“Look at the Fourth Hokage.
Even after death, he used his reward to uncover a threat to the entire shinobi world.”
“That’s what a real Hokage does.”
As the complaints continued, some of the crowd gradually turned toward Sasuke.
Their expressions had changed.
After learning that Uchiha Obito had been responsible for the Nine-Tails attack, many of them no longer looked at the Uchiha Clan the same way.
And Sasuke—
one of the few known survivors—
became an easy target for that resentment.
Some of the sympathy people had once felt for him disappeared.
Sasuke noticed every stare.
He might have acted cold and indifferent most of the time, but he was far from oblivious to how others looked at him.
His hands tightened into fists.
Without saying anything, he turned and left the plaza.
As he walked away, only one thought filled his mind.
Itachi.
Obito.
You bastards dragged the Uchiha name through the mud.
I won’t forgive either of you.
…
Then the screen changed again.
A new ranking appeared.
[TOP 20 TRAGIC SHINOBI]
[NO.
18: PAKURA]
[Reason for Ranking: A Victim of Great-Power Politics]
The moment Pakura’s name appeared, the people of Sunagakure were stunned.
Pakura?
A victim of political maneuvering between major powers?
Wasn’t she supposed to have died fighting Iwagakure?
Rasa’s expression immediately became unnatural.
Of all the names that could have appeared…
he hadn’t expected hers.
Live Chat Group One quickly became active again.
[Maki: Sensei…?]
[Maki: Wasn’t my teacher killed during a battle against Iwagakure?]
Kitsuchi immediately recognized the name.
[Kitsuchi: Pakura.
Now that’s a name I remember.]
[Kitsuchi: Her Scorch Release caused serious losses among Iwagakure’s shinobi back then.]
Neji stared at the ranking reason.
[Neji Hyuga: “A victim of great-power politics”…]
[Neji Hyuga: Was her situation similar to my father’s?]
[Chojuro: If she was sacrificed because of politics between major nations, then whoever was responsible went too far.]
Ao immediately cut in.
[Ao: Chojuro.]
[Ao: You’re still young.
Don’t rush to conclusions before you understand what happened.
Watch first, speak later.]
C noticed the reaction immediately.
[C: That’s a very cautious answer.]
[C: Don’t tell me Sunagakure and Kirigakure were both involved in Pakura’s death?]
For a moment—
no one answered.
And that silence told everyone more than words could have.
Something about Pakura’s death had clearly been hidden.
Something involving both the Land of Wind…
and the Land of Water.