The Myth
Synopsis: As time passes by, true event becomes history and history becomes myth. Alternate ending to chapter 647.
He wanted to see her again so badly that he was willing to kill, to become a monster and to destroy the whole world. But not like this. It wasn't supposed to happen like this.
Rin was standing just a few meters in front of him. But her eyes were the wrong colour - the white of her eyes were black instead.
"NO!" he roared like a wounded beast. The earth shook beneath him. The Jyuubi's chakra was swelling in his body dangerously, threatening to burst from its cage any second. Everyone kept their distance further away from him except her. She was the only one on the battlefield who seemed unfazed by him. She took a step forward towards him. And then another.
"Stop!" he clutched his chest tightly. Everything hurt too much. And he wanted nothing but for the pain to stop, for her to stop.
She did the opposite. In a few leaps, she landed right in front of him. His scorching chakra burned her porcelain skin but she recovered just as quickly. His body was tense until she disarmed him with a simple smile, a smile that he had missed and thought would never see again.
"I'm here," she said before continued, "You don't need to fight anymore."
Her voice was gentle and soothing like misty rain after a long drought. She sounded exactly as he remembered her voice to be so many years ago. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, wanting to be soaked in her essence desperately.
He wanted to believe her wholeheartedly, except he couldn't. His heart was ripped out just as hers being ripped out by Kakashi. They were both already been dead once. He had no illusion about that. There was only one more thing left to do.
"Sorry, I can't."
For the first time in his life, Obito rejected her. Then he activated the final stage of his plan. The earth broke into large chunks as giant stems suddenly sprouted from underground. Resounding screams of horror filled the atmosphere as the giant tree sucked the chakra out of every living soul it touched. Soon it would be over. And then everything would start over again. They could start over again.
Their eyes met amidst the chaos and destruction. This time Rin smiled sadly at him. For an instant, time stopped. The tree stopped attacking. Before Obito could comprehend what was happening, all the branches of the tree curled back and started advancing towards Rin in an alarming speed.
Something was wrong, terribly wrong. The tree was not supposed to attack a corpse that was being resurrected by Edo Tensei.
Something glowed brightly within Rin's body for a moment. But she was quickly swallowed by the tree.
"No! Not her! Give her back!"
Obito fired rounds of attack at the tree like a possessed man but to no avail. The tree grew and grew until it almost touched the sky. A giant flower bud emerged at its tip and promptly blossomed into a flower. But it didn't stop there. The flower petals soon withered away and revealed a glowing fruit at its heart.
Just as despair filled Obito's heart, a translucent silhouette emerged from the tree and appeared before his eyes. He recognized her immediately.
"Don't be sad for me. I was the reincarnation of Princess Kaguya Otsutsuki who ate the forbidden fruit from this sacred tree. Now I am merely returning what was stolen. And so will you."
"I don't understand. How can this be?" he shook his head and asked in disbelief. "None of this makes sense."
"Why do you think you're still alive after you've been crushed by the boulder? And why do you think those Kiri-nin abducted me?"
"You left me to die!" he retorted.
"No, I didn't. I preserved your body with the power of the fruit. I was going to retrieve and resurrect your body but you were already gone when I did."
"Liar!"
"It's the truth and deep down you know it. I know you blame Kakashi for my death but I made him did what he did so that the power of the fruit would not fall into the wrong hands."
"Kakashi knew?"
She nodded silently.
"And sensei too?"
His suspicion was confirmed by her uneasy silence. Obito clenched his fists until his knuckles turned white. His chakra flared up in response to his fury.
"So I was the only fool who knew nothing."
"No, you were the only one who cared too much."
The utter sincerity in her eyes when she said it was almost overwhelming. The void in his chest throbbed painfully.
"Come with me, Obito-kun."
The ghost of Rin held out her hand.
All he ever wanted was to be with her. It didn't matter if she was merely a ghost or a dream.
Obito was about to take her hand when a callous voice rang behind him. He didn't need to turn to know who it was.
"I've always known that I can't count on you, foolish boy."
"Madara, don't stand in my way."
"To come so far only to fail. All for a girl. You're a disgrace to Uchiha name."
"Hn, we shall see about that."
And so another battle began. Obito was gaining the upper hand with the power of the Ten Tail. But the older Uchiha had other plan - he was aiming to seize the fruit for himself. When Obito finally realized Madara's real objective, he was already one step behind.
"I won't let you have it!"
"Too late, boy. Nothing can stop me now."
The instant Madara plucked the fruit from its socket, the sacred tree shook terribly and its stem began to turn black.
"No, the tree is dying!" Rin cried. And to Obito's horror, her translucent silhouette began to disappear as well. Obito tried to hold on to her but it was already too late. She was fading into dust and there was nothing he could do to save her.
"Take the seed and fuse it with the Jyuubi inside you. This is the only way to defeat him."
That was her last word before she faded completely into the wind.
He had lost her twice without having the opportunity to tell her how much she meant to him. Nothing in the world could extinguish the anguish he felt except vengeance.
Meanwhile, Madara has transformed into an immortal after consuming the fruit. All signs of Edo Tensei have been erased from his body. He was fully resurrected to his former glory and beyond. The sheer pressure of his presence was enough to suffocate the lesser shinobi. Their worst fear and nightmare has come true.
"I am your new God. Any attempt to defy me will be futile." Madara declared to the world beneath him.
Madara was too occupied to complete the Eye of Moon spell that he didn't bother to stop Obito even as he picked up the black tiny seed from the dead tree and swallowed it.
True despair sunk in when the moon turned blood red. Nothing could stop him now. Or so he thought.
Nothing happened at first.
Then slowly Obito began to feel the changes in his body. His entire body became lighter and lighter until he was light enough to float into the air. He continued to float higher and higher above the ground towards the blood red moon.
This is for you, Rin.
He closed his eyes tiredly one last time.
Ten years later.
"Now, can someone tell me how the Great Fourth Shinobi War ended?" a Genin teacher asks in his class.
A few students raise their hands eagerly.
"Yes, Shiba-kun?"
"The red moon curse was broken by the great white tree."
"Very good. Now turn to the page 50…"
The younger generation who never experienced the war only learns it through the history textbook that skim through the brutal and harsh reality of the war. They will never know the man who ended the war was also the same man who started it. Peace is maintained for the last ten years and the shinobi villages are recovering slowly from their loss.
Naruto has become the Hokage as he promised. Many older generation of shinobi who fought the war are retired including Hatake Kakashi. Uchiha Obito's name is forever buried among the names carved on the monument stone. No one will remember him except those who know the truth when they gaze upon the slightly red tinted moon.
A hundred years later.
It is the hundredth anniversary of the moon festival. It has become the most significant festival to celebrate all year round. This year Konoha village is the largest host of the carnival.
A little girl tugs at her mother's kimono sleeve at the carnival.
"Mommy, can you tell me the story of the great white tree on the moon again?"
"A very long time ago, the moon was cursed and turned into blood red by an evil man called Madara. In order to save the world, a nameless man swallowed the seed of the sacred tree and flew to the moon. He became the great white tree that covers the red moon and ended the red moon curse. It was said that the evil man, Madara tried to chop down the great white tree but the tree always grows back no matter how many time he chopped it. He is cursed to forever trying to chop down the tree."
"The tree must have hurt if the evil man keeps chopping it," the little girl says worriedly. Her mother smiles and reassures her, "Rin-chan, you don't have to worry about that. Good will always prevail over evil."
That night, Rin prays to the moon in her room before she sleeps.
"Thank you for protecting us all, dear great white tree. Although mommy said good will always prevail over evil, I hope you won't hurt too much when the evil man tries to chop you down again."
She falls asleep quickly afterwards. If she stays awake that night, she will notice that the moon shines more brightly than usual as if it has heard her prayer.
A/N: First of all, Happy Mid-Autumn Festival to all the Chinese around the world. I've incorporated some elements from the Chinese mythology of the moon into this story. I know this story is highly unlikely to happen and it's just a product of my wild imagination. But I hope you enjoy reading it anyway.