Traveling through Naruto, I am Uchiha Obito?

Seemingly having firmly resolved his chaotic yet real thoughts, Obito turned around and faced the Rubik's Cube, which was staring at him with a look of surprise and uncertainty.

A rare, even somewhat awkward, smile appeared on his face.

That wasn't a fake mask belonging to the "Uchiha Madara" spokesperson, but rather the clumsy yet incredibly sincere smile of "Uchiha Obito".

"rubik's cube,"

He spoke, his voice steady and firm.

"I need you."

"Let's complete the Eye of the Moon Project together. In that world, there will be no more of those filthy things, no more deception, oppression, and pointless sacrifices. You, everyone in the village, and... Chino, can all live happily ever after."

His eyes dimmed for a moment, but then became clearer and more relieved:

"Rin will live happily in that world. She will live with Kakashi, whom she has always loved... Although I am very unwilling, I sincerely hope that she can find happiness in that world."

His eyes no longer held the previous evasion, panic, and numbness; instead, they appeared unusually confident and...sunny, as if he had returned to the passionate and dream-filled boy standing before the Kannabi Bridge.

He flashed a signature smile, the kind that belonged to Obito Uchiha—slightly silly but incredibly sincere.

“I hope you can try to rely on me. Although I don’t have much confidence, I will try my best to be a good father.”

He solemnly promised, his voice filled with an unprecedented determination.

"I want to be...your support."

"Come to me, Rubik's Cube."

Looking at Uchiha Obito, who was openly facing his own heart, shedding all pretense and extending an olive branch to him, the Cube felt for a moment as if it were a dream and unreal.

If he hadn't already known the truth about the "Eye of the Moon," he probably would have been moved by this clumsy yet sincere fatherly love and the beautiful vision he described, and thus readily agreed.

He remained silent for a moment, and finally, looking at Obito whose eyes were filled with expectation, he gave him an extremely complex, bitter smile that was mixed with understanding, gratitude, but even more so with helplessness and determination.

“I’m sorry,” he said softly, his voice not loud but unusually clear, “thank you for your kindness.”

"But, I refuse."

Chapter 77 Dreams and Reality

Chapter 77 Dreams and Reality

Can you give me a reason?

Obito was quite surprised by the answer, and the confident smile on his face froze instantly.

He couldn't understand why, after personally experiencing such a horrific tragedy, the boy before him could so resolutely reject the "perfect world" he had envisioned.

The Rubik's Cube did not answer immediately, but looked up at the moon in the night sky. The cool light shone on him, as if it were gilding him with a layer of silver.

He remained silent for a long while, then, for the first time, opened a little of his heart to this man and slowly spoke:

"Before my mother passed away, she said something to me."

Obito listened quietly.

She said, 'The world of dreams is beautiful, but it has forever lost its future... She still misses her parents very much, but... because of my existence, she feels very happy in reality.'"

The Rubik's Cube turned its gaze away from the moon and solemnly looked at the silent Obito.

"Dreams have no future."

"My mother told me before she passed away that she felt she had lived a very happy life. Even though she had experienced so many tragic things, after having me and having the memories of the life we ​​shared, she began to love this real world again."

"She taught me that no matter how painful things are, you can't just run away from them. You can't change the past, but you can change the future."

The sound of the Rubik's Cube is steady yet powerful:

“Now… I can understand what you were thinking back then. But, putting aside whether the ‘Infinite Tsukuyomi’ is real or not, even if it is real, it’s just a shortcut to so-called ‘peace’.”

He paused, recalling the blond, blue-eyed underachiever, and his tone unconsciously carried a hint of approval:

“A naive guy I know once told me, ‘There is no shortcut to becoming Hokage.’”

Obito was slightly taken aback. The image of that once passionate, fiery, and loudly proclaiming-his-despite-becoming-Hokage figure uncontrollably appeared before his eyes, causing his body to tremble almost imperceptibly.

"He's absolutely right. There are no shortcuts to achieving your dreams."

Ultimately, "Infinite Tsukuyomi" is just a means of escapism, a compromise with all the injustices and evil people in the world, and a kind of self-abandonment that admits that one can never defeat them in reality.

"I will never compromise."

The Rubik's Cube's gaze was sharp and resolute as it stared directly at Obito.

"I will not numb myself with false dreams. I will change this world and personally transform this imperfect world into the one I desire!"

He reached out his hand firmly toward Obito.

"It's you who should be coming to my side...! Obito Uchiha, how long are you going to keep running away?"

Obito stared intently at the boy before him, whose face still bore a hint of childishness. The words that uttered from his mouth were so arrogant, yet they carried a shocking resolve. While Obito found it somewhat laughable, a sense of respect involuntarily arose in his heart.

"You should know, right?"

Obito's voice lowered.

"Changing the world is infinitely more difficult than implementing 'Infinite Tsukuyomi'."

"Of course I know."

"...Have you made up your mind?"

"what."

"Heh, as expected, he's still an arrogant brat who doesn't know his place."

Obito gently shook his head, his tone carrying the tolerance and understanding of an elder, as if he were looking at a sulking child.

"Is it the power of the Mangekyou Sharingan that makes you so confident? After you experience more and feel more helplessness and powerlessness, you may no longer naively believe that you can change the world on your own."

He attributed Rubik's Cube's words to the boy's youthful impetuosity and naiveté. As his "father," he seemed to feel it was necessary to give him some patience.

"It seems you're not coming with me now, are you?"

"what."

"I respect your choice."

Obito's tone was unexpectedly calm.

"But since you've chosen this path, it means that one day in the future, we will inevitably stand on opposite sides."

"It's as if we're not on the opposite side now."

The Rubik's Cube chuckled.

"……Too."

A relieved smile appeared on Obito's face. Strangely enough, even though he hadn't achieved his goal tonight, he felt an unprecedented sense of ease.

Rubik's Cube felt extremely uncomfortable under Obito's suddenly gentle and even somewhat gratified gaze; he was really not used to this strange atmosphere.

"Alright, Naruto and Gaara are still waiting for me, I'll head back now."

After saying that, he leaped down from the treetop and ran towards the village without looking back.

Obito didn't stop him, but simply gazed at the boy's departing figure and said slowly and clearly:

"If you change your mind... I'll be waiting for you."

The Rubik's Cube remained with its back to Obito, not pausing even for a moment because of those words. It waved behind it, as if saying goodbye.

Obito watched as the Rubik's Cube disappeared completely into the darkness of the dense forest, leaving him all alone on the broad tree trunk.

He raised his head once more, gazing at the bright yet cold moon on the horizon. Tonight, he temporarily shed the mask of a "fervent savior" and the disguise of "Uchiha Madara," briefly and clumsily becoming "Uchiha Obito" again, attempting to do what... a father should do.

The night breeze caressed his young yet weathered face as he gazed at the moon, as if whispering to a girl forever frozen in his memory:

"Lin... I have so much to tell you."

His voice was soft, carrying endless longing and a complex emotion that was hard to describe.

"You probably didn't expect this, did you? I've actually... become a father..."

He seemed to have opened a floodgate of words, as if he had returned to his boyish days when he used to chatter incessantly in front of Lin. Under the cool moonlight, he poured out his pent-up longing, confusion, and the unexpected encounter tonight that warmed a part of his heart.

……

Meanwhile, Rubik's Cube had quietly returned to the small house where it had temporarily settled.

Inside, the atmosphere was oppressive and heavy. Naruto was awake, but unlike usual, he wasn't full of energy. Instead, he was curled up in the darkest corner of the room, his arms tightly wrapped around his knees, his face buried deep in them, making his golden hair appear dull and lifeless. He had shrunk himself into a small ball, as if this would allow him to escape the immense pain brought by reality.

Gaara stood silently to the side, seemingly having tried to persuade him, but with little effect.

He silently stood by Naruto's side, his blue eyes, always adorned with thick dark circles, revealing his concern for Naruto's current condition.

He chose to offer Naruto a small measure of comfort through this quiet companionship.

The Rubik's Cube silently entered the room, its gaze sweeping over Naruto in the corner. Its footsteps were very light, but Naruto seemed to sense its arrival, and its body trembled almost imperceptibly.

Finally, Naruto slowly raised his head.

What was revealed was an expression never before seen on his face. His blue eyes, which were always full of sunshine and stubbornness, were now red and swollen, overflowing with tears and boundless pain; his usually carefree mouth was turned down weakly, and his whole face was filled with vulnerability and collapse.

He spoke in a hoarse voice, his voice choked with emotion:

"Brother Rubik's Cube... I'm sorry... It's all my fault..."

Tears streamed down his face like broken beads, but he seemed completely oblivious.

“I shouldn’t have left the village because I was playing... If I hadn’t left the village... those guys would never have... none of us would have... It’s all my fault... It’s all my fault…”

His voice grew louder and louder, filled with painful self-reproach:

“Everyone in the village is right… I’m a monster! A useless piece of trash who can’t protect anyone! Neither Sasuke nor anyone else… I couldn’t protect any of them… I can’t do anything… Waaaaah…”

By the end, he was sobbing uncontrollably, and only his suppressed, painful sobs echoed in the room, heartbreaking to hear.

Rubik's Cube listened quietly to Naruto's tearful self-reproach. He didn't interrupt, but stood there silently, like a black reef bearing all the grief and regret.

Only after Naruto had finished speaking, leaving only suppressed sobs, did he slowly open his mouth, his voice unusually calm, yet carrying a power that pierced the heart:

"Naruto, do you know... why all of this happened today?"

Chapter 78 Namikaze Menma

Chapter 78 Namikaze Menma

"Naruto, do you know... why all of this happened today?"

The Rubik's Cube spoke softly, yet it struck the most chaotic part of Naruto's mind like a hammer.

Naruto looked up with teary eyes, instinctively wanting to repeat "It's all my fault," but looking into the Rubik's Cube's eyes, which seemed to see right through him, he choked up and just shook his head blankly.

The Rubik's Cube's gaze swept over Naruto, and it seemed to see something deeper through him.

"It's not because you left the village, nor because I didn't remind you."

His voice was calm to the point of cruelty, directly negating all of Naruto's self-condemnation.

"Those are, at best, insignificant external factors."

"The real reason..."

His tone became more forceful, and every word he uttered was crystal clear.

"The world is sick."

"It is because of the distorted system in which those nobles and lords who are high and mighty and regard human life as worthless can easily issue orders to massacre people for trivial interests and ridiculous 'face'."

"It's because of those greedy parasites who hold positions of power, embezzle military pay to line their own pockets, imply that their subordinates can act recklessly, and have fed their consciences to the dogs."

"It is because of those pitiful yet hateful executors who were driven to the brink of despair, who chose to wield the butcher's knife against the weaker in order to survive, and who ultimately lost their humanity."

The sound of the Rubik's Cube carried a deeper sorrow.

"It is precisely because of the deeply entrenched and corrupt system in our ninja world, the bottomless exploitation of ordinary people by the high-ranking nobles, the struggle for resources, and the endless scheming and infighting between large and small countries... that such tragedies have fertile ground to grow."

He took a step forward, squatted down, and looked directly at Naruto, who was curled up on the ground.