In the Hokage Building, Minato slumped in his chair, buried under a mountain of documents. Though renowned as the fastest man in Konoha, even his speed couldn't keep up with the endless stream of paperwork. He leaned his head back and sighed.
"Being the Head of the Administration Department is no easy task. I wasn't even this tired when I was Hokage."
"What? Already thinking of quitting?"
A familiar voice startled Minato, and he nearly jumped out of his seat. Standing before him, seemingly out of nowhere, was Chiga.
Minato collected himself and scolded, "Chiga, can you stop showing up out of nowhere? It's unsettling."
Chiga shrugged. "And you using Flying Thunder God isn't? How is my arrival any scarier than yours?"
"My Flying Thunder God needs a mark. Yours just... happens. Did you enhance the jutsu again?"
"I'm not using Flying Thunder God. You wouldn't understand the principles even if I explained."
"Tch. Fine, keep your secrets. But at least tell me the name of this technique. I want to evaluate it!"
"Not a chance. You and your explosive naming style can keep that to yourself."
Minato felt slighted. It was no small miracle that Naruto ended up with a normal name, given Minato's naming preferences. If he had his way, Naruto would've been named something like Super Spiral Flash Invincible Clone Kid.
Just as Minato was about to retort, Chiga raised a hand to cut him off.
"Enough chit-chat. I brought someone I want you to meet."
"Who is it this time? Which rogue ninja did you manage to swindle into following you back?"
Chiga merely raised an eyebrow, opened the dimensional gate of the Door-Door Space, grabbed Minato by the collar, and dragged him through.
The inside of the Door-Door Space was a vast, dark green dimension littered with sparkling treasures. Minato gawked in awe.
"Did you rob a hidden village, Chiga?"
Chiga rolled his eyes. "These are just items I stumbled upon. Stop focusing on the junk. Look there."
He pushed Minato's head to face the far corner. There, bound by Black Receivers, sat a dazed Obito.
When their eyes met, Obito trembled. "Minato... Sensei?"
Minato stared, recognition dawning slowly. "Obito... is that really you?"
Obito nodded, his gaze shifting toward Chiga. "Did you use Rinne Rebirth on him?"
It was the only explanation Obito could think of. The jutsu brought back the dead, but at a steep price—the user's life. And yet Chiga stood there, very much alive.
Perhaps Uchiha Madara had been mistaken about the jutsu's requirements.
Meanwhile, Minato was connecting the dots in reverse.
"Chiga, you brought Obito back to life? Thank you!"
Hearing Minato's gratitude made Obito flinch with guilt. He had been the one responsible for Minato's death.
Chiga shook his head. "Your student never died. You even met him during the Nine-Tails incident."
"He's the masked man. Do you remember now?"
Minato turned back to Obito, disbelief written all over his face. Obito slowly lowered his head, silently confirming the truth.
Minato stood in stunned silence, then asked softly, "Obito, why?"
Obito's voice turned bitter. "To change this cursed world."
The ferocity in Obito's eyes was unrecognizable to Minato. The passionate, idealistic youth who once aspired to be Hokage was now a shadow of his former self.
Chiga stepped forward and locked eyes with Obito.
"Is what you saw really the truth?"
Obito furrowed his brows. "What are you implying?"
"Madara implanted a curse mark on your heart, didn't he?"
Obito froze. "You even know that?"
Chiga smirked. "I know more. Rin had the same curse mark."
"Shocked? You never wondered why Rin let Kakashi strike her down? Because she knew. She was being controlled. It was her decision."
Obito's eyes widened. That moment had haunted him ever since—the moment that awakened his Mangekyo Sharingan. That despair had led him down the path Madara laid out.
He asked, voice trembling, "Who did it? Who implanted the curse mark? Could it be...?"
Chiga answered calmly, "You know the answer. It was Uchiha Madara."
Minato's breath caught. "Madara? He's still alive?"
"No. But he can be resurrected. He left behind a pair of Rinnegan."
Minato felt a chill. "Madara awakened the Rinnegan too?"
"Yes. Once the Akatsuki collect all the Tailed Beasts, he'll return."
The realization of the looming threat weighed heavily on Minato. Follow current ɴᴏᴠᴇʟs on 𝚗𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚕·𝚏𝚒𝚛𝚎·𝚗𝚎𝚝
"What does he want with the Tailed Beasts? World domination?"
Chiga chuckled. "Hardly. He wants to cast the Infinite Tsukuyomi. To trap everyone in an illusion and create a false paradise."
He turned to Obito. "Am I wrong?"
Obito looked down, his voice hollow. "Isn't that kind of world beautiful?"
Chiga gave a cold smile. "Living in an illusion isn't wrong. But do you even understand what the Infinite Tsukuyomi truly is?"