Chapter Nine - Public Execution
The chaotic commotion allowed the three of them to blend into the crowd undetected. Oto shinobis were stationed all along the streets, partly an attempt to keep order and partly to keep an eye out for Shisui and Obito, but there were simply too many people for them to keep track. With a simple nondescript henge, Shisui and Obito were able to slip past their watchful eyes into the crowd.
While the two of them tried to force their way closer to the execution stand like the rest of the crowd, Kakashi lingered towards the edge of the crowd. He planted himself near the route where they would bring Itachi in, giving him both a good vantage point and a quick escape. Once he got into position, he half heartedly began to mimic the movements of the crowd, trying to push forward closer to the center and standing on his tiptoes so he could crane his neck to see above all of their heads.
When Kakashi felt the Oto shinobi's eyes flicker off him, he let out a tiny sigh of relief before he continued to push his way through, while not really wanting to advance.
A sharp cry pierced through the commotion, drawing Kakashi's attention away from what was in front of him, but to his left. Walking through the small alley between two of the buildings, Sora Uchiha was in the lead, followed by his underlings who flanked Itachi from all sides. Itachi's shoulders were hunched forward, a black strip of cloth wrapped around his eyes. His steps were languid; a shove from one of the guards caused him to stumble forward. His characteristic ponytail was gone; gray tendrils of hair fell around his face limply.
Natsuo and Toshiro took up the rear.
While the crowd surged forward towards the Uchiha group, the Oto shinobis stepped in, forming a human barricade to allow the group to pass to the execution stand without a problem. In the midst of the chaos of the crowd either chanting for Itachi's death or to spare him, Kakashi caught Toshiro's gaze for a brief second.
It was time for him to leave.
While everyone else was distracted, whether by Itachi's appearance or too preoccupied with keeping the crowd in order, Kakashi slipped away. It was like he was never there at all. The people that stood next to him had been none the wiser.
Kakashi hurried through the streets, taking to scaling up the side of one of the buildings to gain access to the rooftops. Although he knew most of the village had turned up for the execution, Kakashi didn't want to take any chances.
Another Uchiha's life was in his hands.
Glancing backwards, Kakashi noted that there was no one following him. The plan had been for Toshiro to come along with him as he was more familiar with the location of the Naka Shrine, but it looked like Kakashi would be on his own.
It didn't matter. There was no room for failure. Shisui, Obito, and Toshiro were all counting on him to succeed, just like he was counting on them to save Itachi.
Naka Shrine was located deep within the Uchiha compound. After studying the map extensively yesterday, Kakashi concluded that there was no way around going through the main entrance. Situated by the cliffside, if Kakashi opted to scale up the cliff, it would cost him an additional twenty minutes to traverse through the forest to reach the landmark.
Through the Uchiha compound it was.
The Uchiha compound was completely devoid of any buzzing chakra signatures. He wouldn't have expected a prominent clan to leave their quarters completely defenseless, but there was no one that wanted to be left out of the spectacle. After all, they were either there to celebrate their leader's execution or they were there to lament his predicament.
Either way, it allowed Kakashi to slip through the front entrance easily.
Despite not feeling any chakra signatures, he stuck to the shadows and the planned route, taking some of the more deserted pathways even if it added a few extra minutes to his trip. The sole of his sandals slapped lightly against the dirt road, so softly that one had to listen out for him to be able to hear him. It was a precarious balance between the urgency and caution.
A chakra signature flared within his range. Without thinking, Kakashi dove into the path on his left, proceeding all the way down the path right as he felt the chakra signature turn onto the exact path that he had been. Keeping tabs on that chakra signature, Kakashi continued to trudge forward to his destination albeit with more wariness in mind.
That had been too much of a close call for him.
The blueprint of the compound imprinted in his mind guided him towards his destination even after he veered off his original path. The closer that Kakashi was to the Naka Shrine, the more his movements slowed as Kakashi began preparations for completely masking his presence.
Back pressed rigidly against the wall, he peered around the corner. Two guards at the entrance. His eyes swept the rest of the surroundings, noting a few trees that would do nothing to obscure his presence and the cliffside just like Shisui described. The sound of the roaring water filled his ears as his mind began working in overdrive to formulate an impromptu plan.
Hand reaching into his weapons pouch, Kakashi surveyed his weapon stock based on touch alone. A handful of shurikens and kunais, ninja wire, a few paper bombs and most importantly, the reverse summoning seal.
Looks like he would have no choice then.
Kakashi took off in a sprint, passing by the buildings fast enough to only come off as a blur to the Uchiha who didn't have their Sharingans activated. With the sound of wind filling his ears, Kakashi couldn't make out whether or not they actually heard him, but that didn't matter. He had already traversed to the furthest end of the cliff.
Fishing out chakra masking seals, Kakashi applied them to all four of his limbs before he darted to the cliffside. Channelling chakra to the soles of his feet, he used his chakra to stick to the side of the cliff. He descended until he was midway down the cliffside, completely out of sight before he began to walk forward. Slow and steady.
Beads of sweat rolled down his forehead as Kakashi poured all of his concentration towards regulating his chakra flow. With the chakra masking seals on him, it felt like he was relearning chakra control all over again. Too little and he would be sent plummeting down into the icy, roaring waters below and too much, his chakra would alert the guards of his presence.
Time ticked away in his head. At every single second, Kakashi was acutely aware of how much time he had left until he was supposed to meet up with the other group. His earlier run in with the unexpected wanderer and detour around the entrance to the Naka Shrine put him way behind schedule, cutting into the time for him to crack the seals and to escape.
All the pressing thoughts on the time were quickly forgotten when he registered that he was in line with the guard's chakra signatures. Bit by bit, Kakashi scaled up the cliffside, heart thumping rapidly as he approached the edge.
He only had one chance.
Kakashi halted once he had reached the spot where he could see the guards' positions if he craned his neck. Both of them were looking away from his direction, one of them even turned to complain to the other. The other was facing straight ahead of him and if Kakashi wasn't careful, then his peripheral vision would catch his movements.
Both of them remained rooted to their positions, making no indication that they were going to move anytime soon. Staring down at the two kunais in his hand, Kakashi contemplated his options once more before he revised his plans to include back up plans in case it went wrong. And based on past experiences, Kakashi was certain something was bound to happen.
It had taken him a split second to channel his lightning based chakra to the kunais before he threw them with deadly accuracy. The guards had been too slow to react, by the time they even registered what was going on, the sharp end of the kunais had buried themselves into their necks.
The sound of two thumps filled the air while Kakashi pulled himself back onto the land. Ignoring the growing pool of blood, Kakashi stepped over their bodies to reach the entrance of the shrine, only to be confronted by a seal.
The seal pattern was one that he had seen before; it was activated by blood. Depending on how the sealing formula was written, the seal would only activate if the blood matched the original sample. It was most certainly encoded with Uchiha's blood; Kakashi's gaze flickered to the two prone bodies on the ground.
Had they been granted access to the shrine? Kakashi didn't know, but it was worth a shot, considering his other option was to waste time trying to create the undo seal. Bending down, Kakashi used the pad of his thumb to swipe a bit of blood from the pool. Facing the seal once more, Kakashi dragged his thumb on the seal, starting from the top left corner until he reached the bottom right. His thumb remained pressed on the bottom right corner, channelling his chakra through the seal.
The kanji on the seals glowed into a gold color before the black ink disappeared completely, leaving only the streak of blood against the stark white paper. Peeling off the seal from the entrance, Kakashi pushed open the door and slipped inside. He made sure to close it after him, to buy him extra time in the event of an unwanted visitor.
Recalling Shisui's instructions, Kakashi made his way to the stone tablet. Upon activation, the tablet was supposed to move, revealing a secret entrance to the underground room. But how was he supposed to activate it?
Kakashi scoured the area around the stone tablet, looking for some sort of seal or maybe a lever, but came up short. At one point, he tried to physically push the stone, but it wouldn't budge even with the aid of chakra. Breaking it probably wasn't the best option, so Kakashi left it alone and went searching around the room for more clues.
There was nothing. His head jerked towards the front door when his ears registered the sound of footsteps. Kunai already drawn, Kakashi crept along the wall to obscure himself as much as possible.
The door creaked open. The figure stepped inside, right foot first followed by the rest of his body. Kakashi flung the kunai at him, but the figure seemed to have expected it and whirled around at an insane speed, deflecting his kuani. The kunai sailed across the room before clattering to the floor.
Familiar red eyes stared back at him.
"Toshiro," Kakashi greeted while Toshiro lowered his weapon. "I didn't think you would be able to make it."
"Took me a while to slip away undetected," Toshiro responded while he tucked away his kunai. "What's your status?"
"I couldn't figure out how to move the stone tablet."
Toshiro hummed in response while he moved to stand in front of the stone tablet. The pattern in his eyes swirled into the Mangekyo shape before his fingers began to move through a sequence of seals. Mentally, Kakashi scoffed.
Thanks for telling me that I needed the Mangekyo Sharingan to even activate the entrance, Shisui.
When Toshiro finished, the stone began to shift, scraping against the stoned floor. Toshiro motioned for Kakashi to follow him before he descended down the set of stairs. Kakashi was right behind him, traversing through the dark stairway until he reached the base of the staircase. Without Toshiro's body blocking his view, the first thing his eyes were drawn to was Izumi, who laid on the floor curled up into a feeble position.
Toshiro was by her side in an instant, crouching down next to her as he gently shook her shoulders. Izumi stirred, making the act of opening her eyes seem like an insurmountable effort. When her brown eyes opened and landed on Toshiro, all Kakashi saw was emptiness.
"Izumi, we have to go," Toshiro said with urgency laced through his voice. While Toshiro moved to help her into a standing position, Izumi's body didn't cooperate with him. She remained in a sitting position while her stare was riveted on him.
"Who are you?"
All of Toshiro's movements halted. His shoulders sagged slightly. Silence pervaded the room, so eerily quiet that Kakashi could hear the crackle of the fire from the torch from the common room.
It was just as Kakashi thought. Izumi didn't recognize him.
She cocked her head to the side, looking at him expectantly for an answer.
"What do you mean, Izumi? I'm Toshiro. Don't you remember?"
Kakashi made his way over to the two of them, squatting down next to Toshiro. At the sign of movement, Izumi's eyes swung over to him and remained on him as she inspected his features. They had never been close, only met a couple of times in passing, so Kakashi wasn't too concerned when he saw the blank look remain in her eyes.
"We're Itachi's friends." Bingo. The transformation was instant. Light flooded into her eyes. Kakashi had successfully captured her attention.
"Our other friends are currently saving Itachi," Kakashi continued. "We're here to get you out of here. In just a short while, you can be united with Itachi."
Her eyebrows knitted together, forming creases on her forehead. "Like Shisui?"
Oh good, Izumi remembered Shisui as well. "Yes, Shisui is there."
Izumi opened her mouth to respond, but Kakashi cut her off. While she remained blissfully unaware, Kakashi was acutely aware of the time that was ticking away. He needed to convince her, and fast.
"Listen Izumi," Kakashi said sternly, keeping her attention on him. "If you want to see Itachi and Shisui again, I need you to cooperate with me. I know you probably don't trust me, but just for once, I need you to believe in me."
He extended his hand out to her, inviting her to take it. Her brown eyes flickered to his outstretched hand, staring at it for a few moments, but it seemed like an eternity for Kakashi. And finally, Izumi nodded, placing her hand in his to allow Kakashi to pull her to her feet. She stumbled. Kakashi caught Izumi before she fell, wrapping his arm around her shoulder.
Making eye contact with Toshiro over his head, they exchanged glances before Toshiro took the lead out of the underground room.
Izumi's legs wobbled with every step she took. It was only with Kakashi's support that kept her from careening face first into the stoned steps. With immense effort, the three of them made it back to the original room of the Naka Shrine.
Kakashi half dragged, half carried Izumi out of the Naka Shrine. He instinctively sidestepped the two prone bodies lying on the ground, didn't bother to spare them a glance until he saw Izumi's gaze trained on them. Her mouth opened and closed, repeating the sequence two more times before Kakashi caught her eye. Giving her a poignant look, Kakashi tried to convey that now was not the time for questions.
Her mouth clamped shut.
Kakashi pulled her farther along, not without Izumi shooting furtive glances back at the dead bodies.
They stopped at the edge of the cliff, far enough from the Naka Shrine that the structure seemed smaller than a grown adult. That also meant the dead bodies were no longer in Izumi's line of sight, so she reluctantly put forth her full attention on Toshiro and Kakashi's exchange. Her curious brown eyes flickered between the two of them. Forehead creased, lower lip slightly jutted outwards, Izumi showed every sign of confusion.
"If you get to the other side of the cliffs, you'll reach the forest. Keep going and you'll eventually make it out of the Uchiha territory. There is little patrol in that area since it's so dense."
It would also take him on a slight detour, costing him precious time. One glance over at a still clueless Izumi, Kakashi concluded that the extra time would be worth not having to duck around guards.
"See you in a bit then."
Toshiro shot him a wry smile. "Ah, I can't go with you guys."
Kakashi shot him an incredulous look. Maybe Toshiro never explicitly stated that he was coming with them, but Kakashi just assumed since he was a key part of their plan. "Why not?"
Toshiro shrugged. "Someone has to be on the inside, right?" Toshiro clamped a hand on Kakashi's shoulder. "I'm sure you understand. After all, that's what you used to do, isn't it?"
The small, irrational part of him wanted to argue that had been during times of war, but who was he to say their current situation was any different? Fighting for a cause that he believed in...Kakashi could respect that.
He nodded. "Be careful."
Toshiro smiled. "Make sure you get them out of there safely. Take care of them, alright?"
"I will."
After hearing Kakashi's promise, Toshiro turned to leave, heading back in the direction of the compound, ready to join the Uchiha ranks once more. Kakashi wasn't sure if his loyalties would be compromised as a result of his absence, or perhaps they had already begun suspecting him all along, but at this point, there was nothing more that he could do other than to hope that he would see him again.
Under his breath, Kakashi scoffed. Looks like he was more attached to his former comrades than he originally thought.
While Toshiro ventured to return to his post by his father's side, Kakashi steeled himself to complete his mission. Izumi was startled by his sudden movement, when he turned to face her.
"Get on my back," Kakashi commanded. Knees bent forward, he lowered himself so that she could easily climb on.
"What?"
"You're malnourished. You'll only slow us down. It'll be faster if I carry you."
Izumi frowned at his blunt comment, but still clambered onto his back, regardless. Even she couldn't deny that her legs felt like jello. With every step she took, Izumi swayed violently and she feared that she would crash face first into the ground.
Her legs were wrapped around Kakashi's waist, hands gripping onto his shoulder as he stood up, repositioning her onto his back.
"Hold tight," Kakashi instructed. Izumi nodded, even though he wasn't looking at her, before her grip on his shoulders tightened.
Kakashi took off.
The thumping of his heart filled his ears, drowning out the noise of the commotion happening around him. His fists were balled tightly by his side while his eyes remained riveted on the group that was leading Itachi up to the execution stage.
Itachi's head hung low as he took small, nimble steps towards his death. With each shove from the Uchiha guards, Itachi came close to toppling forward every time. With his arms bound behind his back, there was no way for him to catch himself.
And the Uchiha guards knew it too.
Shisui gnawed the bottom of his lip as he stared intently at the sight before him. Guilt crawled up his chest, his eyes drinking the sight of Itachi's desolate state and burning the image into his mind.
I shouldn't have left him, Shisui's mind screamed, but the small, rational part of him knew that he made the right choice. It was what Itachi would have wanted him to do. Even if he hadn't left, Shisui would have ended up in Itachi's state.
That didn't mean it hurt any less.
For the first time in his life, Shisui witnessed Itachi's defeated state. Taking a few deep breaths to suppress his erratic chakra, Shisui's eyes flickered over to Obito, who was in a deep state of concentration to build up his chakra.
Shisui had confidence that his cousin would succeed, yet a dark thought still flashed across his mind. They only had one chance to succeed. One chance...and that was it. The odds didn't look good. And if they failed, none of them would make it out alive.
He squeezed his eyes shut, desperately trying to purge those thoughts from his mind. At this point, none of that mattered. All he could do was hope for the best and hope that at least Kakashi was able to rescue Izumi. That way the entire ordeal wouldn't have been in vain.
The crowd fell silent. Shisui's eyes snapped open. Itachi was standing in the center of the stage, head held high as he faced their direction. Even with the blindfold over his eyes, Shisui couldn't help but feel that Itachi was staring in their direction. Glancing over at Obito, his anxiety began to build when he realized that Obito still wasn't ready.
They were behind schedule.
Along with the rest of the crowd, Shisui held his breath as Sora began to circle around Itachi like he was the predator and Itachi was his prey. His right hand hovered over the handle of his sword that was sheathed by his side. Shisui's eyes widened considerably when Sora's hand gripped the handle of the sword, unsheathing it. The glare from the sunlight reflected off of the sword, blinding Shisui temporarily, but he regained his vision just in time to see Sora press the sharp edge of the blade against Itachi's throat.
Shisui's breath hitched. Itachi didn't even flinch, not even when the blade dug into his throat, enough for a trickle of blood to drip down his throat.
A sadistic grin stretched across Sora's face as he retracted the sword back to his side. In one quick movement, Sora shoved Itachi forward. His body toppled forward, his knees hitting the wooden plank with a loud thud. Sora's right foot planted itself on Itachi's backside, the pressure forcing Itachi's body to curl forward in a kowtow position.
Itachi made no move to resist. Shisui felt sick in his stomach. If it was anyone else, Shisui might have looked away, but he couldn't. It was his best friend that was suffering. It was his best friend that was taking the fall for both of them. It was because of Itachi that Shisui was still a free man.
Sora made a show of clearing his throat. "As you already know, Itachi Uchiha is being executed for treason for conspiring against the Uchiha clan."
"Your once benevolent leader now kneels before all of you to apologize for his deeds," Sora continued. "He was the one who caused the Uchihas to lose the last war. If not for him, we would be celebrating a victory, not succumbing to the Senju's ridiculous terms or playing nice with those bastards." Sora paused, as if he was expecting an uproar in agreement, yet the crowd remained deathly quiet. Although it was clear that not many people agreed with Sora's ideology, no one was brave enough to speak out against him either.
Sora plowed ahead despite the awkward silence that blanketed them. "None of that matters. Itachi Uchiha has been caught trying to overthrow the council, the very same council that our ancestor, Madara Uchiha founded. He seems to think that the council is impeding on his quest for change, but in reality, we are the ones who keep him in line."
"Who would have thought that someone like him would turn so power hungry?" Sora's rhetorical silence was met with a few chuckles from the guards standing nearby. If not for the fear of ruining the plan, Shisui would have been the first to adamantly protest that Itachi wasn't power hungry at all.
Everything that they had done was for the sake of the village, for the alliance. The council was the root cause of the toxicity that stemmed in the village.
"So I hereby declare that Itachi Uchiha has been ousted from his position as leader. Natsuo Uchiha will serve as the interim leader of the village until we find another suitable candidate," Sora announced. "And as a lesson for the rest of you who are thinking about rebelling, I hope that the image of Itachi being beheaded is forever imprinted into your memory."
It felt like it was happening in slow motion when in reality, it was only a span of a few seconds. Sora raised his sword, ready to swing it into an arc. Shisui instinctively moved forward, but a hand on his shoulder held him back. Obito's eyes snapped open, the Mangekyo pattern present in both of his Sharingans. The sudden burst of chakra caught the attention of a few onlookers nearby, but none were hostile.
Blood began to drip from the edge of Obito's eyes as he poured all of his focus onto Itachi. Shisui's mouth fell open as he saw the space surrounding Itachi twitch before a concrete black hole began to form. Sora stumbled backwards from the unknown force, muttering curses underneath his breath.
Before anyone knew what was happening, Itachi was gone.
Obito stumbled backwards, clutching his left eye. Shisui latched onto his arm, ready to hightail it out of the crowd before anyone figured out it was them.
Then chaos erupted. Uchiha guards and Oto shinobis alike began to storm the crowd at Sora's command. Shisui and Obito were in the middle of the crowd, but judging at the speed that the guards were wading through the crowd, they only a few seconds before they were caught.
Shisui tugged Obito along, ignoring his cries. The onlookers seemed to part for them once everyone began to realize that it was the two of them that the guards were after. Unfortunately that meant they also parted for the guards, so they were rapidly gaining on them.
It looked like Shisui would have no choice but to use some chakra as the guards rapidly closed in on them.
Performing his signature teleportation jutsu, Shisui teleported down the street with Obito in tow, leaving behind multiple mirages of him. That was enough to confuse the guards chasing after them as they tackled his mirages, but unfortunately there were guards everywhere. Including at the end of the street where Shisui had just teleported to.
Dredging up his chakra to teleport once more, Shisui continued to move as far away from the execution square as much as possible. However, it seemed that every single person had already gotten word that there were intruders since Shisui ran into hostile guards at every stop.
Well, he would have no choice but to continue teleporting, even if it sapped a significant portion of his chakra. What the hell was Kakashi doing? He was supposed to be reverse summoning them...right about now. Shisui cursed under his breath.
When his feet touched the ground once more, a kunai planted itself right at his feet. An inch closer and it would have planted itself into his foot. When Shisui readied himself to teleport again, a barrage of kunais forced him to drop the idea and dodge, while dragging around Obito's deadweight.
The Mangekyo Sharingan had taken more out of Obito than either of them expected.
Shisui backed away when a woman hopped down from the rooftop of a building, followed by four more of her comrades.
Of course, a sensor ninja. Otherwise they wouldn't have been able to pinpoint his location so quickly. Even so, Shisui was impressed that they were able to catch up to him in the first place.
But who was he kidding? It was Mikoto Uchiha. She wouldn't be the matriarch of the Uchiha clan if she was weak.
Her black eyes softened as recognition flashed across her features.
"Should have known it was you," Mikoto murmured softly. "You and Itachi always do everything together."
If she had been alone, Shisui had no doubt that Mikoto would have pretended that she never saw him. Regardless of whether or not she agreed with what they were trying to do, Shisui knew that she was eternally grateful that Itachi wasn't dead. Yet Shisui recognized the four men behind her to be Sora's loyal followers.
Shisui shifted himself into a fighting stance, while the five of them mirrored his actions. Looks like he would have no choice but to fight.
But right as Shisui moved to make his first move, he felt the pulsing sensation on his shoulder.
Oh shit, Kakashi.
Rather than meeting his opponents head on, Shisui turned his back onto them and sprinted back to Obito. He was getting reckless he knew, the first rule to being a shinobi was to never turn his back on his opponent, but if Obito didn't make it out of here, then neither did Itachi.
Right as Shisui felt the pull of the seal, his hand wrapped around Obito's wrist before both of them were yanked into oblivion.
"Fuck!" Shisui cursed as he picked himself off of the ground. Plucking the two kunais that made its mark, he carelessly tossed them onto the ground next to him. He accepted the proffered roll of bandage from Kakashi.
"You're late."
Kakashi rolled his eyes. "And you didn't tell me that the Naka Shrine could only be opened with a Mangekyo Sharingan. Bandage yourself up and we'll get moving."
Shisui's eyes drank in his surroundings. "Where are we?"
"Out of the Uchiha's territory if that's what you're wondering," Kakashi remarked. "Activating the seal at such a distance pretty much sapped all my chakra and I know you and Obito are both low, but we can't stay out here any longer than needed. We need to get back into Senju territory as quickly as possible."
"Izumi?" Shisui prompted.
"Safe," Kakashi responded. "But I suspect that her memory has been tampered with. She doesn't remember anyone but you and Itachi."
Shisui frowned. Bad news just seemed to come one after another. Their small victory was tampered by yet another bad news.
On the bright side, they were still alive.
Obito chose that moment to wander by, plopping himself next to Shisui. While his left eye was no longer bleeding, Obito chose to keep that eye shut. He let out a defeated sigh.
"Izumi doesn't remember me," Obito confessed. "Not fair. Why does she remember you and Itachi and not me? I obviously met her first."
Shisui resisted the urge to chuckle. Almost everyone knew that Izumi had a crush on Itachi, so of course she would remember him. And by everyone, Shisui meant everyone knew except for Obito. Heck, Shisui was almost sure that even Kakashi had figured it out in such a short amount of time.
He couldn't pass up the opportunity to tease Obito about it. "Probably because you're not as cool as us."
With his good eye, Obito glared at him while Shisui stifled his laughter.
Kakashi interrupted their moment, dampening the lighthearted atmosphere. "It's time to get going."
Obito nodded, clambering to his feet, while Shisui voiced his concerns. "Do you think we should let Itachi out? We don't really know what's in that dimension, what if it's dangerous…" His train of thought trailed off; Shisui really didn't want to entertain the possibilities.
"In his current state, Itachi will only slow us down," Kakashi was saying, but Shisui wasn't focused on his answer. Rather, he watched as all of the color drained out of Obito's face.
Shisui waved his hand in front of Obito's face. "Obito? What's wrong?"
Obito's mouth parted before he shut it again, repeating the movement a few times, before he finally found his voice.
"I don't know how to retrieve objects from the dimension."
End of Part One
A/N: Hi again!
When I set out to write this story, I basically had everything planned up to this point and intended for the story to end here. However, when I actually got to this point, I felt like the ending wasn't conclusive enough, as in the situation with the village is still outstanding/not resolved. So since I already got carried away with the plot, I figured why not write a part 2?
TLDR: I wrote a part 2 to this story. Can't say it's any good because I ran into a road block during it, but I will be posting for the (few) people who are still reading out there.
I do intend to stick with my weekly updating schedule, but I'm quite busy this semester, so do forgive me if I am off by a day or two. I'm also working on like 3 different stories at the same time, so this one might slip through the cracks at times. Thank you for reading! Until next time.
-MM