Traveling through Naruto, I am Uchiha Obito?

He remembered Iruka-sensei treating him to Ichiraku Ramen, Kakashi-sensei's helpless gaze, Shikamaru, Choji, and Ino, Sakura's fists and occasional acts of kindness, Sasuke's approval and the inexplicable bond between them... He remembered the perverted sage... He remembered the protection and guidance that the Rubik's Cube had given him all along...

'I am not alone! I am no longer alone!'

He vigorously wiped his face, forcing a bright, yet trembling and tear-streaked smile, and introduced himself in a loud voice:

"Hello, uncles and aunts! My name is Naruto Uzumaki! This is my older brother, Cube Uzumaki! We are... from another world! Sorry to bother you!"

Minato and Kushina clearly noticed Naruto's unusual behavior earlier and his forced smile now. They exchanged a glance and quickly accepted the shocking news. Their eyes revealed concern and doubt, but even more so, tolerance and goodwill.

"Welcome, Naruto-kun, Rubik's Cube-kun."

Minato put down his book, stood up, and smiled as warmly as ever.

"I am Minato Namikaze, and this is my wife, Kushina. Menma's friends are our friends, please come in and have a seat."

Kushina also greeted them warmly:

"Dinner's almost ready! You must be hungry, come and eat with us!"

The table was laden with a sumptuous meal, yet the atmosphere was subtly quiet. Minato and Kushina enthusiastically served food to Naruto and the Rubik's Cube, asking them questions about their "hometown."

Naruto, head down, mumbled his answers to Kushina's questions, mostly burying himself in his food to hide his emotions. When Kushina couldn't help but ask, "What's it like for us on your side?" Naruto paused in his eating, then looked up, revealing an extremely bright, even exaggerated, smile:

"They're all so nice! They're incredibly nice to me! I'm so, so happy!"

His voice was loud, as if that would make his words seem more real.

Rubik's Cube sat silently to the side, watching Naruto's forced smile and listening to his full of lies. The anger in his heart towards the cheap old man Obito burned fiercely again, and he wished he could immediately drag that bastard out and beat him up again.

Minato listened quietly, his azure eyes gently fixed on Naruto, a gaze that seemed to see through everything, filled with tenderness and a hint of barely perceptible heartache. He didn't expose it, but simply smiled gently:

"Really? That's great."

After the meal, Menma stood up, indicating that he needed to tidy up his room for the guests. Minato also stood up:

"Let me help you."

The father and son entered the room one after the other and closed the door. Only the faint sounds of packing remained in the room.

The silence lasted for a long time.

Finally, it was Minato who spoke first, his voice very soft, carrying a hint of barely perceptible worry:

"Mianma... was all of this... arranged by 'Master'?"

Menma didn't look up, continuing to focus intently on making the bed, as if it were an extremely important task. He didn't give a direct answer.

Minato watched his silent back and seemed to understand something. He wanted to say something to dissuade him, but the words circled on his lips a few times before finally turning into a soft sigh.

"I know a little about Master's plans."

Minato's voice was low and somber, "This plan was supposed to be executed by me... but I..."

He paused, his tone filled with deep remorse, "But I couldn't muster that courage... I never imagined that this burden would ultimately fall on your shoulders. I'm sorry, Menma."

"Don't say things like that again, Dad."

Mianma finally stopped what she was doing, but still didn't turn around; her voice was calm yet firm.

“There are always things that someone has to do. To save our world… even if it means becoming the ‘villain’ in the eyes of others, I’m willing to do it.”

Minato was silent for a moment, then asked:

"Let me ask you this: ...would you harm their lives?"

"……Won't."

Mianma's answer showed a very slight hesitation, but it quickly became clear.

"it is good."

Minato nodded.

“I believe you. But Menma, I want you to remember that unless absolutely necessary, we should never take someone’s life lightly… even if we are ninjas.”

His response was an even longer silence.

Minato knew that he could no longer change his son's mind. He said nothing more, but silently helped Menma clean the room thoroughly.

……

It's quiet at night.

Rubik's Cube and Naruto lay side by side in the soft bedding. In this unfamiliar environment, in this unfamiliar world, they had each other as their only support.

The Rubik's Cube turned its head to look at Naruto's quiet profile, as if waiting for him to say something.

Naruto felt his gaze, smiled in the darkness, his voice soft yet filled with a sense of relief:

"Brother Rubik's Cube... I used to have a father and a mother."

"My father... is the Fourth Hokage, a hero of the village."

"I...I'm not some kind of fox spirit, am I?"

"what……"

The Rubik's Cube responded softly, affirming his words.

Naruto stopped talking and just lay there quietly, feeling as if a knot in his heart that had been tangled for more than a decade had been quietly untied tonight.

He turned over to face the Rubik's Cube, and even in the darkness, you could feel the cheerful smile on his face.

"Don't worry, I'm fine!"

His voice regained its vitality.

"For me right now, you, the Perverted Sage, Iruka-sensei, Kakashi-sensei, Shikamaru and the others... are the most important family members I have right now!"

"Thank you, Rubik's Cube! As long as you guys are here, I'm not alone!"

The Rubik's Cube watched him quietly, and at that moment he even felt that Naruto in front of him was perhaps far more mature and stronger than he had imagined.

Perhaps... I've always underestimated him.

He murmured with emotion, "Naruto, you've really grown up."

Naruto felt this recognition and smiled happily. In this unfamiliar world, their deep, warm laughter quietly filled the small guest room.

……

Meanwhile, in the Uchiha clan's territory.

Obito's home, however, was a completely different scene. Little Cube was jumping around trying to snatch back the "Youth Hokage Training Manual" that Chino had confiscated, while Obito acted as a peacemaker in the middle, but he usually ended up pleasing neither side and was instead ostracized by the mother and son.

Obito's grandmother sat in a rocking chair nearby, watching the chaotic scene with a smile, occasionally beckoning to Little Rubik's Cube and patting his little head affectionately.

The commotion finally subsided, and Obito lazily lay down on the tatami mat, his head naturally resting on Chino's lap. Chino smiled helplessly, her fingers gently smoothing his slightly messy black hair.

"Speaking of which..."

Obito closed his eyes, enjoying this warm moment, and casually brought it up.

"I met the two children that Menma brought this afternoon... One of them, also named Rubik's Cube, is from another world."

"Ok?"

Chino paused in her movements. "A Rubik's Cube from another world?"

"yes,"

Obito's voice was filled with undisguised admiration.

"That kid... he's so handsome, tall and dashing, with a calm and reliable demeanor! He's completely different from our mischievous little monkey! If our little Rubik's Cube can be even half as good as him in the future, I'll be laughing in my sleep!"

Upon hearing this, Zhi Nai's face showed a hint of self-reproach:

"Really... I was so busy disciplining that little brat that I didn't pay much attention... It seems that years of being a housewife have really made me a bit lax."

She gently poked Obito's forehead.

"Even you, have you almost forgotten that you were once an elite Jonin of Konoha with a three-tomoe Sharingan, a rising star of the Security Force?"

Obito chuckled and took her hand:

"It's better to forget about it! It's so much better this way."

"Won't you regret marrying me?"

Chino looked at him and suddenly asked softly, her eyes filled with a smile and a hint of seriousness that was hard to detect.

How could I possibly regret it?

Obito immediately sat up and looked intently into her eyes. "These are the days I've always dreamed of! They're the best days ever!"

"Then... what's the deal with that girl named Lin who often comes to the school to see you?"

Zhi Nai suddenly changed the subject, looking at him with a half-smile.

"Is that the girl who's so popular in the medical class?"

"Lin?!"

Obito was taken aback, then didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

"I've probably told you this many times already! We've been best friends since we were little! I've always treated her like a little sister! Maybe it's because I've taken care of her since we were little that she's always been quite dependent on me."

It's strange, though. Ever since I got together with you, especially after we got married, she doesn't seem to come to see me as often... I was quite disappointed about it for a while, thinking I had done something wrong..."

Seeing his bewildered and aggrieved expression, Chino couldn't help but sigh and rub her forehead.

"You thick-skinned idiot... Luckily I acted early, otherwise you'd probably still be a single dog!"

"Hey! That's really hurtful to say..."

Under the warm lights, the family laughed and joked, and the air was filled with a simple yet genuine happiness.

However, no one noticed that in the deep shadows of the night outside the window, a figure wearing an orange swirling mask stood silently like a ghost.

He remained motionless, his single eye beneath the mask peering through the crack in the window at the blindingly warm scene inside, staring at the "self" with a bright smile, possessing everything he longed for but could not have.

He just watched quietly.

……

Mianma House, guest rooms.

Menma, who should have been resting in bed, was nowhere to be seen. The room was empty, except for a uniquely designed Flying Thunder God kunai lying quietly on the table.

His figure had already appeared inside a hidden underground research institute.

He walked through a passage filled with various sophisticated instruments, gleaming with a cold, eerie light, and familiarly made his way deeper inside. Finally, he stopped in front of a heavy metal door.

The door slid open silently.

Inside, a tall man with wild, long white hair and wearing a white researcher's lab coat stood with his back to him in front of a huge lab table. Hearing footsteps, the man slowly turned around, the glasses on his nose reflecting a cold light.

He adjusted his glasses and asked in a calm and mature voice:

"How's it going, Mianma?"

Menma bowed slightly to the man before her—Jiraiya, the director of the Konoha Research Institute—his tone calm and unwavering:

"Everything is going as you predicted, Jiraiya-sensei. They have indeed arrived in our world. The plan is progressing smoothly so far."

He paused and added:

"But... the man wearing the orange mask seemed to have sensed something and disappeared."

The man known as Jiraiya nodded, seemingly unsurprised.

"It's alright. As long as we still hold this crucial 'piece of the puzzle'..."

His gaze shifted to the lab bench.

On the experimental table, a handsome man with black hair was unconscious with his eyes closed, his body connected to various complex wires and tubes—this man was none other than Uchiha Itachi, who had fallen into this world with them.

"...they won't be able to easily return to their original world." Jiraiya's voice was deep and full of confidence.

"Our plan will continue smoothly."

Menma raised his head and looked at Uchiha Itachi on the experimental table. His eyes were icy cold, without the slightest wavering or pity. All the gentleness, shyness, and even helplessness that he had shown during the day had vanished, leaving only absolute indifference and a ruthless determination to achieve his goals.

"To save this false world..."

Mianma's voice echoed in the cold research institute, carrying a kind of obsessive determination.

"To protect my family and companions..."