Devastation

An hour earlier…

Uchiha Obito hastily trailed after his teammates. He saw Kakashi's silver hair and Rin's dark brown flowing in the wind. Although the Uchiha was only a few meters behind them, Kakashi's usual brilliant shinobi skills did not sense Obito following them. It must be Rin, Obito thought as he stared at the kunoichi in Kakashi's arms. She seemed smaller than he remembered her being, and Obito's heart wavered when he saw her eyes. They seemed to pass through him completely, and were drowning in despair. What the hell happened out there? Obito had only seen Kakashi kill countless of Kirigakure shinobi before he picked up Rin in his arms and ran towards the border where the village was located. A forbidden feeling rose inside Obito, and he couldn't ignore it as Konohagakure came closer into view. The familiar sights of long green grass and clear blue skies blinded him for an instant. The sight of trees and people down below made Obito realized how much he missed the Land of Fire.

The chūnin-level shinobi had been thought dead when a boulder collapsed on him as his teammates ran to safety. None of them had perceived Obito being rescued and healed by none other than Uchiha Madara. Obito remembered his own shock and disbelief at his ancestor's words. Uchiha Madara was thought of as dead, killed by the Shodaime Hokage. It seemed that the young and old shinobi had more in common that they themselves had thought. The words rang inside Obito's head. What did he mean…? But Obito had no more time to think, for the village of Konohagakure was in sight. He watched as Kakashi continuously carried Rin to the entrance to the village as he concealed himself with one of the branches. His dark eyes widened as he witnessed Rin pushing Kakashi away with a hard shove, causing the silver-haired shinobi to collapse on the ground. He saw Rin's lips move frantically as she fell onto her knees and shook. Obito was about to reveal himself when he saw Rin's body becoming covered with chakra. The power seeping from it made Obito recoil, and his Sharingan revealed the malice and hatred within the chakra. An inhuman scream rising to a wail echoed in Obito's ears as the chakra coating Rin's body exploded and rose. It seemed then that Obito ceased to breathe. His eyes widened even wider as Rin disappeared and a red and blue turtle met his stare.

Three…tails? The three tails emerging from the turtles back seemed larger than its body. Somehow the volume of chakra only increased as the creature continued to live its existence. Suddenly Obito felt the hatred and malice seeping from it, and was about to turn back when the turtle gave a huge roar. The roar echoed in Obito's ears long after the echoes had faded. At the corner of his eye, he saw the turtle trying to crush a stunned Kakashi with its feet, and Obito swiftly grabbed Kakashi by the hand and lifted him up into the tree as the creature continued its destruction. Obito felt Kakashi eye his robed figure curiously, and removed his hood.

"…Obito?" Kakashi was shaken. His teammate saw him swallow, and try to speak again without much success. The former expressionless face that Obito had known was brimming with emotion.

"We don't have time, Kakashi." Obito's voice was strangely curt as he saw the beast continue to bring destruction across its path. Now Obito let Kakashi see his scarred face; the gray eyes of his teammate widened. "We have to stop whatever it is that's causing Rin to behave this way."

"It's not Rin, Obito." Kakashi's voice was monotone. "It's the Three Tails." Obito stared at his reunited friend, not understanding. "The Kirigakure shinobi forced Rin to become the container of the Three Tails to destroy the village." Suddenly his voice caught as his glazed eyes stared at the Three Tails' massive form. "She tried to tell me…but I didn't listen. I wanted to keep my promise to you."

Obito remembered the promise very well. It had been his last words – or so they all thought. He closed his eyes and thought. Obito had sacrificed his body to protect his friends. He would do the same for the village, if need to be. His eyes opened and they hardened when he spoke to Kakashi.

"You can still keep that promise, Kakashi. Rin's not dead yet, nor am I. We need to save the village, and save Rin. We can do that." Obito crouched down to Kakashi's knees and continued to speak. "I know we can." Abruptly Obito stood and fingered the only weapon he had in his arsenal – a kunai.

"Obito...you…" Kakashi seemed breathless. Obito could imagine the shock plastered on his face. He didn't expect me to be alive, nor expect me to say those words. Suddenly the Three Tails gave a huge roar, and a mass of dark chakra focused in its mouth. Then it was released, its speed rapidly colliding with the village. Debris and dust surrounded Obito's vision as he stared open-mouthed at what had been the heart of the village. Nothing remained of the structures that had once stood; half of the Hokage tower that Obito had hoped that he would one day occupy was gone; and millions of bodies lied on the ground.

A fierce rage at what the Three Tails had done infuriated Obito. He didn't look back at Kakashi to see if he was still following him, and ran as fast as he could to the Three Tails.

"Obito!" The Uchiha didn't hear his friend calling him. His only focus was on the beast before him, and punched in the direction of the three tails. The punch didn't hit. Obito's shocked face was frozen as he witnessed another ball of chakra colliding in another direction of the village as his form seemingly passed through the Three Tails. "No!" Flames burst on impact, and Obito thought he could hear screams coming from them. Instant thoughts of his family and classmates burned in the tormented young man's mind. "No!"

Suddenly a branch grew from Obito's arm. It grew and grew until it came in contact with the Three Tail's scales. The beast howled in pain as Obito stared in amazement. He stared at the branches coming from his arm. They almost seemed to be a part of him. Blood was seeping out of the Three Tail's body, and as the blood dripped onto the ground, an image of Rin appeared in Obito's mind. The shinobi instantly withdrew. The Three Tails continued to howl with pain as blood continued to rain down on Obito, and the dark-eyed shinobi was surprised to find Kakashi right beside him.

"What are you doing, Obito?" Instantly, the memories of being told-off by Kakashi when they were a team resurfaced in Obito's mind. "Keep fighting it!"

"But...Rin…"

"If we don't act like we can kill it, we can never stop it! Besides, it's not Rin! I know she's in there somewhere! We just don't know where!"

The Three Tails was again preparing for another assault when Kakashi shoved Obito out of the way. "Rescue who's ever left, Obito! I'll distract him for now!"

Obito thought of his older brother and sister then, the ones who had raised him after their parents had died on a mission soon after he was born. Will they recognize me after all they've been through? Obito's oniisan had lost his teammates and sensei in the war, and Mikoto's young son had never recovered from the deaths he had witnessed at such a tender age. Matte, oniisan, oneechan! Konohagakure shinobi, returned home from the war, threw various kunai and weapons at the Three Tails in vain. Obito saw the Sandaime Hokage in a black jumpsuit and a bandanna-like Konohagakure forehead protector, something that Obito hadn't seen before. However, the young shinobi had no time to stare at the ensuing battle between the Three Tails and the shinobi. He had to find his family.

Nothing remained of the Uchiha compound. Obito jumped through debris and fallen concrete, not believing what he was seeing. Blood was splattered on the fallen bodies across his path, and Obito felt fear quickly entangle him in its grasp. Shininaide, onegai! He could not imagine see his kind sister bleeding and dying before her child, and he could not imagine his brother dying either. They were both too strong for death. Obito shouted in the destroyed landscape to try to locate his older siblings, but all was for naught. The young shinobi was becoming fatigued and collapsed on his knees where he began to cry. Thick tears traveled down his cheeks, and Obito was broken out of his trance from a loud voice calling to him.

"Hey, Obito! We're not dead yet! So quit your tears and come help us!"

Obito visibly smiled despite the tears continuing to run down his face. He recognized the voice. Kushina! His sensei Minato had obviously fallen in love with the fiery kunoichi, and Obito visibly remembered their wedding, which had before the Kanabi Bridge mission. Everything had been different then. Kakashi had still been an aloof asshole instead of a self-sacrificing hero; Obito had been his naive and short-tempered self; and Rin had not been a jinchūkiri, hosting a beast that would destroy their village. An even earlier memory resurfaced in Obito's mind. He remembered meeting Kushina for the first time when he had been a very small child. She and his sister had been best friends since Academy days, and had been on the same genin team together. "He reminds me of myself when I was his age, Mikoto! Always getting into things he's not supposed to!" Then she had bent down to his height and whispered in his tiny ear, "That's what makes a good shinobi or kunoichi though." Obito remembered that moment now as he raced to where the voice came from. He stopped to find Uzumaki Kushina, his sister, and four year old Uchiha Itachi huddled in a deep crater. None appeared to have injuries. "I told you he was alive, Mikoto," he heard Kushina say to his sister. Then her attention switched to him.

"What are you doing just standing there for? Do you have no idea how hard it is to be pregnant and to be stuck in a deep crater?" Obito slightly rolled his eyes at Kushina's sharp sarcasm and jumped into the hole.

"Daijoubu, oneechan?" Uchiha Mikoto had no immediate injuries that he could see, and she clutched her young son Itachi tightly despite her large eight-month pregnant belly. Obito breathed a sigh of relief. So the baby's okay. Mikoto continued to stare at him as if he was a ghost from the past, and shakily and gently stroked the scar across his face. Tears were threatening to spill from her eyes, and Obito gently smiled at her. As gently as he could, he carried his oneechan, Kushina, and Itachi with both of his arms. As Obito stood, he noticed of how Kushina had black rings under her eyes and was trying not to cry, and Mikoto's face was white as a sheet, and Itachi looked more like a child than he ever did. "What happened?"

"Minato died…by protecting us." Kushina's voice was pained and even Obito could see devastated she was. "He didn't have time to transport any of us to a safe place, so he shielded us with his very own body." Despite her pride, she gave a strangled sob. "I can still see him disappear into nothingness." Obito watched as his older sister comforted the grieving widow by having a hand on her arm.

"Obito…" her voice became vacant too. "Shisui died too when the Tailed Beast Ball destroyed our home. He was one of the first casualties." Despite tears flowing down her face, Mikoto's voice did not shake. Obito stared at his sister open-mouthed. Shisui…? He remembered his older brother's patient face as he explained something to Obito as a child, and telling him what a shinobi truly was. "It is not based on skill, Obito. It is based on how well you can protect the village from the shadows." Now Obito would never hear his voice again, and that made Obito want to weep. But he couldn't now. His Sharigan could see the Three Tails before him, and this time he ran without thought of disobeying Kakashi's orders.

Obito found Kakashi right beneath the Tailed Beast. The uniform he had worn was torn to shreds and was coated with blood. The hands that had once shed blood now were still. It seemed that Kakashi was sleeping. No… Obito thought trembling. The body of the Sandaime Hokage was surrounded by countless other bodies, including many classmates Obito had known. Suddenly as the Three Tails roared and as Obito stood alive among the dead, he thought of Rin imprisoned inside the Three Tails, and felt a deep rage and power he didn't know he possessed come alive. He felt the branches come alive from his hands, and saw the Three Tails scream in agony. But Obito did not falter. He continued to push the branches in until he couldn't see them anymore. His hands were dark with blood. Suddenly the Three Tails gave a long mournful wail, and slowly disappeared as Rin surfaced. Obito caught his teammate in his arms, and felt her limp body against his own. She was unconscious. As the thoughts strayed to the devastation of Konohagakure and the lives lost, Obito slowly cried, stroking Rin's hair.