Naruto: The Information Broker from the Uchiha Clan.

Chapter 338 Obito and Kushina

Minato's feelings about Obito really being able to return were actually quite complicated.

Thirteen years ago, according to the information Uzumaki Sora had at that time, if the Nine-Tails had really been released, Kushina and I would have died, and Konoha would have suffered heavy losses.

After this, the Third Hokage once again assumed the position. However, his ideals were completely different from those of Kumo, which led to Konoha and the Uchiha clan becoming adversaries.

At that time, Obito wanted to destroy Konoha, and he didn't even hesitate to do so to Kushina, who had always been kind to him.

But what caused all of this was his own failure to arrive in time to rescue them. Bringing all his students back safely is the responsibility of every Jonin instructor…

At that time, Itachi agreed to stay, and the main reason for that was largely due to himself.

The passing of the torch between the old and new Hokage... the village and the Uchiha clan were more important to him than revenge.

"Although he didn't kill Fugaku, he's the one who caused everything thirteen years ago. If he tries anything again, and Yun intervenes, I won't have anything to say."

Minato sighed, "He can't capture the Nine-Tails' power in a short time. Let the Anbu keep an eye on Shukaku. Even though it's only a part of it, it can still serve as a substitute for the Nine-Tails."

Shikaku nodded: "It was arranged a week ago. Apart from being chased and beaten by Class 7, there's nothing else to worry about this week."

Being chased and beaten by Class 7?

Minato frowned and then relaxed: "Team 7 won't be his target. Although Team 7 has no way to counter Hollowfication, he definitely can't kill them instantly in a short time."

Minato smiled and shook his head: "Precautions are necessary, but if he really gives up Infinite Tsukuyomi, that would be a good thing."

Shikaku thought for a moment and replied, "Actually, I don't think he has any reason to go back on his word right now. It was my arrangement to have the Anbu keep an eye on Shukaku, but I don't really suspect what the other party might do."

"Now that the truth about the Infinite Tsukuyomi has emerged, this information is completely aligned with what we've gathered in the past. Just like what Yun asked back then: if the Infinite Tsukuyomi could truly bring about lasting peace, why didn't the Sage of Six Paths accomplish it himself?"

"Now we know the result: the stone tablet may indeed have been left by the Sage of Six Paths, but its contents were altered by Black Zetsu, who has lived for thousands of years. The true purpose of Infinite Tsukuyomi is to kill everyone and release the sealed Kaguya Otsutsuki."

"All the information can be smoothly connected, and the veracity of this information is already somewhat established. In this way, Obito no longer has the option to back out..."

As he spoke, Lu Jiu took out a file.

"After confirming that the masked man was Obito, I specifically gathered information about him. An Uchiha who helped the elderly in the village every day when he was young, even though his personality changed drastically because of the death of his bond, his true nature remained..."

"Peace in the ninja world. Having experienced the Third Shinobi World War, he hates war because Rin Nohara died because of it. Under these circumstances, the fact that the Infinite Tsukuyomi is a fake peace has been exposed, so there's naturally not much to worry about."

"Of course, if the Hokage wishes to do anything, that's fine with me."

After saying that, Shikaku turned and left the office. With the Joint Chunin Exams approaching, he still had many things to do.

Meanwhile, Minato, standing by the window, was staring blankly in the direction of the memorial monument. He had always been a gentle person; back in the ninja academy, Kushina would even call him Little Sun.

Back then, Naruto wasn't around yet, and the disciples... were sometimes just kids.

"Whoosh!"

A golden flash disappeared in an instant, and Minato vanished from the spot.

……

"I'm back!"

The sound of water startled Kushina, who was still busy folding clothes.

He then stood up and looked at Minato with a puzzled expression: "You're back before it's even dark? Didn't I hear the Joint Chunin Exams are about to start? Why are you so free?"

Minato scratched his head and chuckled, "It's not that there's nothing wrong, there's just something I wanted to tell you."

???

Kushina tilted her head, circled Minato, and sniffed. "There's no perfume scent. What have you done wrong? Tell me, I'm listening."

Minato gave a wry smile: "I'm not like Jiraiya, how could I...?"

Kushina teased, "That's hard to say. Jiraiya-sensei came back yesterday, and the Women's Federation has put all the bathhouses on high alert. If they catch him, they'll send him straight to the hospital."

Minato was taken aback: "Why do we need to take him to the hospital?"

Kushina, hands on her hips, replied, "Because Lady Tsunade is at Konoha Hospital! She's the current president of the Women's Federation, and she said that if we catch her, we'll break all her bones first, then heal her and break them again!"

"hiss……"

Minato shuddered. It seemed he needed to find an opportunity to remind Jiraiya-sensei, otherwise he might really get beaten to death.

"By the way, what do you want to tell me?"

"Um……"

Minato hesitated for a moment, but seeing that Kushina was about to explode with anger, he could only say, "Obito is back."

???

As soon as she finished speaking, Kushina froze on the spot.

Kushina still vividly remembers the scenes from Obito's past.

That child's parents died in battle very early, and he was raised by his grandmother, but he was not much better off than Kakashi. However, compared to Kakashi, his naturally optimistic attitude was very endearing.

I remember Minato mentioning during a mission that there wasn't a single elderly person in the entire village that the child didn't know.

The reason he was able to do this was because he voluntarily helped the elderly in the village every day.

Optimistic, positive, ambitious, and never giving up—even though he wasn't as talented as Kakashi, Kushina liked him more than Kakashi did.

Yet this child is the same person who tried to kill him thirteen years ago and unleash the Nine-Tails to destroy Konoha.

"call……"

After sighing, Kushina looked at Minato and asked, "Was he captured by the Clouds? Can I go see the child?"

Uh……

Minato hesitated before replying, "He wasn't captured; he came to Konoha on his own. He traded crucial information for the right to return to Konoha."

???

As soon as she finished speaking, Kushina put down her clothes and walked towards the entrance.

But just as he changed his shoes and was about to leave, he stopped again.

After sitting back down on the sofa, Kushina said, "His plan failed thirteen years ago, and because of the presence of the Cloud, he has not caused any damage to Konoha since then... This is the key reason why Konoha was able to accept him."

"But... what was the key to his return? I know that child's personality very well. How could he destroy such an optimistic and positive child? Has he let go of Lin's death?"

Minato sat down beside her and put his arm around Kushina.

After sighing, he said, "According to him, Madara Uchiha and he were both deceived by that guy called Black Zetsu. The Infinite Tsukuyomi will only kill everyone and cannot bring about illusory peace."

Kushina looked at Minato: "So these things aren't necessarily true, right? What do you want me to do?"

Minato shook his head slightly: "Although it hasn't been confirmed, it's probably all true. But I think if it were Kushina, perhaps the bonds that child lost would be rebuilt..."

After he finished speaking, the living room fell silent for a moment.

After a long while, Kushina got up and walked towards the door: "Wait for me at home for a bit, buy some groceries and then we'll go invite him. I remember before... he was the only one who would force himself to finish everything."

A scene from long ago flashed through my memory.

At that time, I was still figuring out how to cook, and sometimes the dishes I made weren't as good as Kakashi's.

So sometimes Kakashi would dislike her, but Rin would encourage herself. Only Minato and Obito would force her to finish all the food and say it was delicious.

……

In the evening, a memorial stele was erected.

Kakashi came again, this time with a bunch of chrysanthemums. He placed the chrysanthemums on the memorial stone and then wiped away the fallen leaves.

"So you did this on purpose? Believe me or not, I'll go to the black market tomorrow, pick up two missions, and come back with wads and wads of flowers!"

Kakashi rolled his dead fish eyes at him: "You can't leave the village. If the Anbu finds out you're missing, you'll only be able to go to jail when you come back."

His seemingly ordinary words almost made Obito lose his temper!

"You're still as annoying as ever! Can't I use Shadow Clone Jutsu? My ninjutsu is really strong!"

Kakashi continued calmly, "Shadow clones can't get out. I'll remind the Anbu to test if it's a shadow clone. Also, if they notice your chakra suddenly decreasing, the Anbu will notify Uchiha Un."

"Ah!!! You bastard, do you want to fight?"

"Let me tell you, I'm incredibly strong now, a thousand times stronger than you, a copy ninja! One slap from me and you'll be begging to stay alive, believe it or not?"

Obito reached out and grabbed Kakashi's neck, but Kakashi did not dodge.

Kakashi, his neck being gripped, was being shaken back and forth, a scene that happened right in front of Rin's memorial stone.

"whee……"

The sudden burst of laughter froze the two of them in place.

How is that possible?

"Did you hear me?"

"You heard it? You heard it too?"

"I'm not deaf!"

"Is it haunted?"

"If Lin really comes out of the Pure Land, the first thing she'll probably do is slap you twice."

"Ugh! You're such a jerk, I really hate you!"

……

"I really didn't expect that you two could get back to how you used to get along so quickly."

Upon hearing this, Obito immediately pushed Kakashi away, straightened his collar, and said, "I was afraid I'd lose my temper and kill him. This guy is just too..."

Obito didn't finish his sentence because behind Minato was someone he absolutely didn't want to see right now.

He could confront Kakashi with complete confidence, and even resort to violence without hesitation, because Kakashi had failed to keep his promise...

He was able to speak to Minato on equal terms, even offering information as a bargaining chip to stay in Konoha, because Minato was not only his teacher but also the Kage of Konoha...

But when facing Kushina...

"You...you...why are you here?"

After hesitating for a while, Obito adopted a more respectful form of address and nervously searched his pockets for a mask to wear.

At this moment, he desperately wanted to use his eye technique to escape, or even just bury his head in the ground. Anything was fine as long as he didn't have to face the person in front of him.

He felt guilty towards Kushina. After learning everything from Sora Uzumaki, the events of thirteen years ago became a murder, not an effort for the new world.

Even when Kushina walked up to Obito and even placed her hand on his head, his body remained stiff and motionless.

Kushina ruffled Obito's hair, just like many years ago. Back then, Obito was about the same height as Naruto is now, but now he's even taller than her.

Feeling the hands above his head, Obito unconsciously lowered his head.

"You two are still the same as before, arguing the moment you meet, neither of you willing to give in. Every time this happens, only Lin and I can separate you two."

As she spoke, Kushina gently touched Obito's right cheek: "Back then... it must have hurt a lot, right?"

Obito trembled slightly.

At that moment, he didn't know what was going on in his mind; it was very chaotic, extremely chaotic.

I wanted to avoid the touch, but my body wouldn't cooperate and I couldn't move.

After her grandmother passed away, her teacher's wife often invited her to eat at her teacher's house. At that time, Lin even said that she could be her teacher's son.

But myself...

"I'm...I'm so...sorry..."

He uttered the word with trembling hands, as if he had exhausted all his strength.

Kakashi was about to say something when Minato raised his hand to stop him.

At this point, even Kakashi had no right to say anything...

In Obito's bond, love is Rin, friendship is Kakashi, and family is his long-deceased grandmother, a part of which is embodied in Kushina.

Within the vast illusion of Infinite Tsukuyomi, there is Rin and Kakashi, there is himself as a teacher and there is Kushina.

Perhaps what he initially wanted was such a perfect world, even if that world was just an illusion.

When he lost love, Black Zetsu offered him a false possibility, and this false possibility subsequently sustained his will.

Now that the facade has been exposed, all the truth has returned. Building new bonds is the best course of action for the Uchiha.

"Why are you apologizing?"

Kushina ruffled Obito's hair vigorously, then laughed, "I'm not dead, am I? It's good that you're back. At least there are people here you can truly trust."

"Besides, the way you looked when you were little, everyone would think you were easy to fool. That old lady who sells pancakes would always wait for you to appear so she could ask you for help, just so she could have an easier time..."

"And then there's the old lady who gives you candy every time you help her move things; one piece of candy isn't enough to hire a ninja to help you..."

"You're just too kind-hearted, always rushing to help the elderly. You're easily scammed, that's why that bastard targeted you!"

……

(End of this chapter)