I don't know if this will be a one-shot, or maybe a big story. It mostly depends on the reception. I've had this idea for a long time, so I hope I pull it off well.
—
I do not own Naruto, Naruto Shippuden, or any of the characters portrayed in this story.
Obito: Taikaden
大化伝
Obito had stopped counting how long he was with Madara in that stone room. The days all blurred together, and the only entertainment he had was Guruguru, the zetsu that was training and interacting with him the most. But even that wasn't very interesting usually.
Funnily enough, the clearest things in his mind were the dreams he'd have in the night.
The Hidden Leaf.
Minato Sensei.
Kakashi.
Rin.
At all hours of the day and every night, these images swirled in his head. They were his inspiration and drive to escape and return to the world.
No doubt, when he'd return, they would all be so happy and excited to see him. Kakashi, Rin, Minato... They all thought he was dead. He could just imagine their shock and joy at his return.
"Hehehe," he chuckled under his breath. "That'll be a great day."
He flexed his arms, the right one feeling more like his own than it had the day before, followed by his legs. Every day he became more accustomed to the newer appendages. He closed his eyes and felt the chakra around and within himself.
One thing he had noticed since being there was that the whole place was incredibly chakra-rich. The walls, the floor, even the air hummed and flowed with energy. He saw it, with his sharingan. He had been so weak since his injury, but somehow, maybe because of his sharingan, he had started to take in that chakra. He didn't even know that it was something he could do, but he was doing it. And, amazingly, it was strengthening his body.
"What are you doing?" Madara Uchiha asked with a dry chuckle. "Trying again?"
"I have to," Obito responded. "I do appreciate everything you did for me, Mr. Madara, but I have to get back to my village."
"Your village...? Feh! What a farce."
"No, I'm wanted there," Obito glared at the old man. He'd been spouting his idealism all the time he'd been there and it was getting on his nerves. "I matter to them."
"You'll see," Madara sighed. "The Hidden Leaf is no Uchiha's village."
"No! We're closer than that," Obito argued. "You don't know about my life."
"But you don't know about life, young Obito. You're naïve. But, you'll see that things aren't what they seem."
"I've been thinking... about why I can't escape here," Obito said, changing the subject rather purposely. "It's because I don't have a jutsu or technique exactly fit for this."
"Ahahaha!" Madara laughed aloud. "And? What has this revelation brought you to?"
Horse
Tiger
Serpent
Boar
Ram
Serpent
Horse
Tiger
"This!" Obito announced, bringing his hand to his mouth. "Fire style! Fire drill jutsu!"
Obito had been secretly constructing and practicing this new jutsu. His own jutsu! Unlike the simple fireball jutsu, this flame spiraled into a fine point, like a drill. Plus, it was much more powerful. The high power flame wedged into the stone between him and the outside world, and broke away the rock until the cracks enveloped it and it came crashing down. For the first time in a long time, as the flame died down, Obito looked up and saw the sky. It was cloudy and raining, but the cool rush of fresh air still felt refreshing. Then he collapsed, because the fire drill jutsu was still kinda experimental and took a lot of chakra.
"... Perhaps I was wrong about you," Madara sighed. "But you still may return to me, if ever you see that I was right... about life."
"Obito!" Guruguru called as he phased into the room. "Your friends, Kakashi and Rin, they're in trouble!"
"What?" Obito asked, eyes widening. "Where are they?!
"Ah... AH, you've broken the boulder!" the zetsu exclaimed.
"Guruguru, where?" he asked again, getting up to his feet.
"Right to the West of here," he said.
Obito jumped up and out of the room, but collapsed onto one knee when he landed.
'That jutsu really overdid it,' he sighed internally. 'I was only able to manage it because I soaked up chakra from that room, but now... I have to get to them, but... Which way is West anyways?'
"Obito, you're weakened!" Guruguru exclaimed. "Let me bring you to them, it'll be quicker!"
"Yeah, let's go," he nodded.
So Guruguru wrapped around Obito's body, and the two of them ran off towards the Uchiha's old teammates. Pretty quickly, Obito realized that Guruguru wasn't going at full speed. He'd moved faster during their training together.
"Guruguru, speed up," Obito urged. "As fast as you can!"
"I am going as fast as I can!"
"Why are you lying?!"
"I'm not, I—"
"Faster!" Obito insisted.
This time, Guruguru didn't respond. His body shuddered slightly around Obito, then he started moving faster. In fact, he went even faster than Obito knew he could. Soon enough, they stopped on top of a tree that overlooked a clearing. In front of him, across the clearing, Obito saw ninja from the Hidden Mist charging in his direction. And below him, he saw—
"RIN! KAKASHI!"
The two, who were previously looking at the incoming ninja, turned and looked up at Obito, whose face was now visible as Guruguru's face tentacles(?) retracted.
"O... Obito...?" Rin asked quietly.
"You... You're..!" Kakashi gasped.
"No time!" Obito said as he jumped down. "What's happening?"
Kakashi's shock quickly receded and he explained, "Rin was captured, and they put a tailed beast into her! They're trying to push us back to the Hidden Leaf where they can unleash it to attack us!"
"A tailed beast?" Obito asked. "How can we stop it?"
"There are only two ways," Kakashi said. "We either need to use a strong sealing jutsu to trap the beast inside her, or..."
"Or I need to die," Rin finished with an empty smile. "And it's not like we have a sealer here, do we?"
"Woah woah woah," Obito said, a bit panicked. "Where's Minato Sensei?"
"Busy, on another important mission," Kakashi said. "The war has our shinobi stretched thin, after all."
"This... N-No, we can't..." Obito stuttered, grasping the situation.
"Damn kids!" a ninja shouted, lunging towards Obito.
The Uchiha caught his hand and kicked him away, but there were another 10 just following him and he didn't think the 3 of them could hold them back, at least for long.
"Guys, hold on!" he shouted before grabbing Rin and Kakashi in each arm and jumping into the trees.
"We can't!" Rin said.
"Any closer to the Leaf, and we'll endanger it!" Kakashi exclaimed.
"Kakashi," Obito said as he landed on a branch with them, "is there anyone in the village right now who is good with seals?"
"Yes," he nodded.
"Then go back to the village to get help, and I'll help Rin keep away from these guys until you get back."
"Could we find you in time though?" Kakashi wondered aloud.
"Just go!" Obito insisted. "I'll keep her safe, I promise."
Kakashi looked at Obito in the eye, then nodded and booked it towards the Leaf Village.
"... Obito, they're coming," Rin said after a moment.
"Yeah... Let's go that way," he suggested before they leapt off, away from their village.
They ran for a while, since Guruguru seemed to have insane agility. Finally, they stopped for a moment in a clearing and checked behind them.
"Obito..." Rin said quietly.
"We still aren't safe," Obito said as he squinted into the forest with his sharingan. "We outran them a bit, but they'll catch up soon. We can make some traps if we're quick."
"I-I have paper bombs, and some tripwire," she offered. "And some kunai and shurikens."
"Perfect!"
The two of them began making traps while they rested in the clearing, with an award silence between them.
"O-Obito, what are you wearing?" Rin asked first.
"I call him Guruguru," he said. "He's a sentient being, not clothing. Say hello Guruguru."
"Hello Rin," a distorted voice spoke out. "It's nice to meet you... I've heard a lot about you... as well as Stupid Kakashi."
"H-Hello..?" she said tentatively.
"I'm out of energy, so he's helping me move," Obito explained.
"Hmm... Obitooo, I don't like this!" the zetsu said. "They're almost here! And we're too far from Madara, my connection is weakening!"
"We don't need Madara," Obito said decisively. "He's just an old hermit."
"But I need Madara!" Guruguru said. "I can't head too much further away!"
"Why?" Obito asked.
"Because he willed it!" he responded. "WATCH OUT!"
Obito rolled back to dodge as a kunai struck the ground, then grabbed Rin and began running.
"So we need to head back?!" the Uchiha asked.
"Yep yep! Unless you want me to leave you to those ninja!"
As much as he wished it wasn't true, Obito was beyond exhausted and the only reason he was still moving was Guruguru's support. It didn't mean he trusted Madara, but he knew they had to go back.
"I sure hope Kakashi can find us in time," Obito grunted as he and Rin made their way back towards the old Uchiha's lair.
—
Kakashi Hatake was focused on getting back to the leaf village. Of course that didn't mean his mind wasn't racing. In fact he was quite adept at the practice of running across treetops, and it was more of a mindless act. The trip gave him what amounted to plenty of alone time to think about the recent turn of events. But really, he couldn't wrap his head around it. How did Obito survive bring crushed by that huge boulder? Where had he been all that time? Why come back now?
Of course any amount of speculation likely wouldn't come close to any accurate answer. He knew that, but he had to distract himself from the emotional upheaval of Obito coming back into their lives. Back then, on the day that Obito had died—or supposedly did—Kakashi had told Rin how Obito felt about her.
"Obito really cared about you," he told her. "He loved you more than everything else, you meant the world to him. That's why he sacrificed himself for you."
"T-Then... Kakashi, you should know how I feel—!"
"I...!" Kakashi cut Rin off. "I was once a piece of trash who chose to leave you behind! But now... Go, Rin!"
That day, the two of them had been able to escape the surrounding enemy shinobi because Minato had reached them in the nick of time. But, things changed between them afterwards. Kakashi knew what Rin was going to say. Not that she was the kind of girl to fall head over heels so obviously, but he had realized even before then that she had feelings for him. Obito loved Rin and Rin liked Kakashi, and Kakashi would have nothing to do with it. He couldn't dishonor Obito's memory by letting her confess.
Over time, things between Rin and Kakashi became less awkward once again. He didn't assume she felt no more feelings toward him, but it was clear that they both knew Kakashi wasn't interested. And so she moved on, or at least acted like it. Kakashi liked to think that, had Obito stuck around, Rin would've ended up as an Uchiha. Perhaps Rin thought about that too. He knew it was what Obito wanted.
But now he didn't know how to feel. Confused, he was definitely confused. But aside from that he didn't know if he was happy that his friend was back, angry at whoever kept Obito away, angry at Obito for making them think he died, or worried about the circumstances surrounding the whole situation. To be brief, he didn't gain any headway on the matter by the time he had returned to the village.
"Who's there?" the guard ninja called. "Kakashi? What are you doing here alone? What happened on your mission?!"
"Get me Lord Third!" Kakashi requested in an urgent tone.
—
"Oh, you've returned," Madara noted. "And with the girl, I see."
"Yeah, I—Huoghh!"
Guruguru retracted from Obito, and the young shinobi collapsed from chakra exhaustion.
"O-Obito!" Rin gasped, instantly kneeling down and attempting to use medical jutsu on him.
"I can't m-move..." he said quietly.
"Do not worry, Obito just needs to rest," Madara said, standing up.
It was true—Obito hadn't collapsed from injury, just extreme exhaustion. Well he was injured, but that wasn't the cause of any real issues. But the right half of his body had an extremely odd feel to it. It felt... like it wasn't a part of him. Still, although she couldn't heal him, Rin tried to impart some chakra onto him.
"W-Who are you?" Rin asked, looking at the old man.
"Obito didn't tell you?" he chuckled. "I'm the one who's been helping him recuperate since he was injured almost a year ago... Madara Uchiha."
"M-Madara Uchiha?" Rin gulped. "As in, the one who fought the First Hokage more than 50 ago?"
"Hah... Already in the history books, eh?" he laughed. "Yes, that was me. I survived that fateful battle, and I've been living here as a hermit ever since."
Rin was instantly on guard. Even though this was an old man, he was still the legendary Madara Uchiha who rivaled the First Hokage. And even though he'd taken care of Obito, was was Madara Uchiha. Not the trustworthy type, if she'd heard accurately.
The sounds of combat outside of the room caught Rin's attention, and she looked out to see naked white-skinned men fighting the Hidden Mist ninja. Well that was certainly... odd.
"Those beings are called zetsu," Madara said. "They're similar to Tobi. Or Guruguru, as Obito calls him. They are an extension of my strength, and are made from the cells of Hashirama Senju."
"The First Hokage's cells?!" Rin gasped.
"Hehehe... Yes, the very same," the old man grinned. "They protect me, and they've helped Obito recover while he's stayed here."
At the mention of her teammate, Rin looked down at his barely conscious form. The half of his body that she had noticed was odd was white, and she got a better look at the creases on his face. He certainly had been through a lot.
"I used those same cells to regrow the half of Obito's body that was crushed," Madara said. "He lost both his leg and arm, along with some parts of his torso."
"Why? Why help him?" Rin asked. There were a million other questions in her head, but that was really the important one.
"I may hate the Hidden Leaf, but I hold no resentment to my own blood," he shrugged. "His company was welcome. And, I suppose I thought I could help him see the world my way."
"What way is that?"
"... It's a cruel world," he sighed, looking out of the hole Obito bored in the rock. "No matter how good your intentions are, people will end up unhappy and confused. I want to create a world where everyone can live their happiest lives."
"That... sounds nice?" Rin tilted her head.
"Yes... It does," Madara smiled softly, before resetting his expression and looking at Rin. "Now, more importantly, what is the reason you are being chased by so many Hidden Mist Jonin?"
"They... They're trying to push us back to our village, so they can attack it."
"That doesn't explain why they are so intent on chasing you back," Madara said. "What is it? Do you have something valuable to them? Have they placed some ticking time bomb into you?"
"It's... a tailed beast," she said, backing away a little. "They put one inside of me, and they want me to go back to the Leaf so they can unleash it there."
"They must have had some plan to force you to go back, but Kakashi rescued you and ruined it, right?" he speculated. "Did they have you under a genjutsu?"
"Yes," Rin nodded.
"Master!" a zetzu, half black and half white, exclaimed as he appeared next to Madara. "They're forcing their way through our zetsu!"
Just then, three Jonin burst into the room covered in injuries. A zetsu leapt down and took one of them out, but the other two were able to incapacitate him. Then a couple more zetsu appeared, and one Jonin blocked both of them before yelling, "Go!"
The one remaining Jonin, taking the opening, ran straight at Rin. She took out a kunai and clashed with him, knocking him back.
"Water style! Needle rain!" the ninja shouted.
He splashed water up from a container on his hip, and it formed thin needles that fell down at Rin.
"Water style! Water wall!" Rin called, and spewed water from her mouth that formed a wall in front of her.
The water needles were mostly absorbed by it, but a few hit her arms and cut them. The Jonin burst through the water barrier and swiped his kunai at Rin. She dodged and swung her own kunai at him, only for him to catch her arm. He raised up his kunai and swung down, but he didn't hit Rin.
"Don't touch her!" Obito shouted, with venom in his voice and a kunai deep in his shoulder. He could just barely weave the hand signs with his injured shoulder, but he did and he shouted, "Fire style! Fire ball jutsu!"
The fireball impacted the ninja's upper torso and face point-blank, and sent him flying back. He hit the wall and was knocked unconscious.
"O-Obito!" Rin exclaimed when she processed what had happened.
She pushed Obito down onto his back, grabbed bandages from her hip pack, removed the kunai and began applying her medical jutsu.
—
"Are we getting close?" Kakashi asked.
"Yeah, the scent is getting stronger," Pakkun, Kakashi's tracking dog, answered.
"This could be bad, but it could also be an opportunity," Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had been informed of the situation by Kakashi, said. "If we can turn Rin into a proper jinchuriki, then she would become an invaluable asset to the village."
"But, what if she doesn't want to?" Kakashi asked.
"It's true, jinchurikis can live difficult lives. However, whether or not she wants to, this is the situation she's been placed in. If she does not master her inner beast, then she will live her life in suffering. Or otherwise, she would die."
Kakashi grimaced. The Third Hokage was wise, and he knew that they had no alternatives. He hoped Rin wouldn't suffer too badly with this new burden.
"Lord Third... What about Obito?" Kakashi asked.
"I don't know," he admitted with a sigh. "It depends on the circumstances of his disappearance and reappearance. While I would love to welcome him back to the village with open arms, there's a chance that his absence would qualify as desertion. We'll decide what to do with him after we take you all home, and find out the truth of what happened."
"We're getting close!" Pakkun announced.
"There, look!" Kakashi pointed out as he stopped and motioned to the ground, which was covered by Hidden Mist Jonin.
"You said that neither of them could have fought them all off, correct?" Hiruzen recalled.
"That's right," Kakashi nodded and gulped.
"Be on guard."
"But if something's wrong, then we have to hurry!" Kakashi said.
"There's an opening in the rocks over there," Pakkun said. "That's where they are!"
"Kakashi, follow my lead!" Hiruzen commanded. "Don't act rashly."
"Yes sir!" Kakashi nodded.
—
The three Jonin that had broken through were the last of them, and now Rin and Obito had some time to breathe.
"Lord Madara," Black Zetsu said as he leaned into his ear. "Kakashi is coming near, and he's bringing the Third Hokage."
"Tobirama's old student, if I'm not mistaken," Madara mused. "This does complicate things... We may have to go with plan C. You know what to do?"
"Of course, Lord Madara," the being chuckled.
"Woah Rin, you've gotten really good at that!" Obito praised as he felt his bandaged shoulder. "That was a pretty deep wound, but it doesn't feel so bad."
"Well, it has been a while," she shrugged and smiled.
"A-Ah, yeah," he scratched the back of his head. "I wish I hadn't missed so much... Sorry."
"That's the part you're apologizing for?" she asked, looking up into his eyes. "We thought you had... d-died... I thought you—"
Rin brought her hand up to her face and looked away, trying to hold back tears.
"I would've come back if I could have, honest!" he said, waving his hands. "You know, the thing that kept me going every day was the thought that I'd be able to go home again. You, Kakashi, Minato Sensei... I thought of being able to see you guys every day!"
"But I thought I'd never see you again!" she exclaimed. "And it was all because of me! I felt so guilty, but I didn't cry much afterward... I held it back, because ninjas aren't supposed to cry, but... God, I can't help it now! I'm just... so relieved!"
Rin grabbed Obito in a tight hug and sobbed into his shoulder. It took him a few seconds, but Obito reciprocated her advance and hugged her back.
"I'm sorry, Rin," he sighed. "I wish I could have reached you some way."
"How touching," Madara chuckled. "You truly do have wonderful friends, Obito. I hope, for your sake, I was wrong. But if you should ever find yourself in that dark, dark place, you can always return here."
"Even if you kick the bucket, old man?" Obito asked with a smirk.
"Watch your tongue," Madara narrowed his eyes. "But yes, even then. This room is always open to you."
"Rin? Obito?"
"Huh?" Obito and Rin looked up at the entrance, where stood— "Lord Third! Kakashi!"
"T-That's! No way!" Hiruzen exclaimed as he looked at Madara.
"You know me, Hiruzen Sarutobi, student of Tobirama?" the old Uchiha grinned.
"I should hope I don't, but if I'm correct then you're Madara Uchiha," the Third Hokage ventured.
"And what if I am?" Madara asked.
"Then you are a long overdue fugitive of my village," he said. "It's lucky that I face you now, when you are so aged yet I am still able-bodied."
"You're not so young yourself, anymore," Madara remarked. "You're pushing sixty, right? Or are you older?"
Hiruzen bit his thumb and exclaimed, "I'm plenty young to face you! Summoning jutsu!"
In a poof of smoke, Hiruzen summoned a large staff that he held at his side.
"Now now, I'm not looking for trouble," Madara claimed. "I'm an old man on the verge of death."
"Not looking for trouble?" Hiruzen scoffed. "I doubt that, considering your history and how desperately you're clutching to life. And I'd like to know how Rin and Obito came across you."
"I found Obito on the verge of death almost a year ago, and I've been nursing him back to health," Madara explained. "A simple coincidence."
"I brought Rin here because I had no choice," Obito said. "My chakra was too low to keep going."
"Madara, why would you help Obito?" Hiruzen asked. "You resent the Leaf, don't you?"
"My hatred for the village does not extend to my own blood," Madara sighed. "Why would I leave an Uchiha to suffer and die when I could prevent it?"
"That's a lie," Hiruzen frowned. "You hated the Uchiha just as much for not siding with you."
"That was a long time ago," Madara claimed. "Besides, Obito held no part of that. He's simply... misguided."
"Really, aside from talking about a lot of nonsense, Mr. Madara hasn't done anything bad since I've been here," Obito supported him. "I doubt he's a major threat."
"Don't let him fool you," the Hokage said. "He may have aged considerably, but he is Madara Uchiha. He is still an extremely dangerous individual."
"So you won't let this go? Won't let me spend my final years in peace?" Madara asked.
"If you had beaten Hashirama, would you have let us have peace?" Hiruzen questioned pointedly.
"Heh... Yes," Madara grinned, bearing his sharingan. "There would have been a glorious peace! Mangekyo Sharingan, Susano'o!"
A blue light glowed around him, then a large skeletal form appeared. A giant arm grabbed Rin and quickly retracted, bringing her close to Madara.
"Rin!" Obito screamed.
"Madara, you bastard!" Hiruzen clenched his teeth.
"Let me go!" Rin struggled against the Susano'o.
"Tsk tsk tsk, let's not excite the tailed beast inside of you!" Madara laughed.
"Let her go!" Obito yelled.
The Hokage jumped forward and slammed the staff down at Madara, but his Susano'o blocked it and pushed him away. Then the giant apparition loaded a crossbow-like weapon and fired it at Hiruzen. The staff transformed into a white-haired money who grabbed him and pulled him out of the way, and the energy bolt collided with the wall behind him in a concussive blast that shook the room. The wall and part of the ceiling collapsed in a heap of rubble.
"Obito!"
"Kakashi!" Obito said, looking up at his friend.
"This time, all three of us have to make it out," Kakashi said, pulling up his headband to reveal the sharingan Obito had given him. "Right?"
"Right!" Obito nodded and grinned.
"Fire style! Fire dragon bullet!" Hiruzen shouted as he launched a beam of flame into the Susano'o.
"Not gonna make this that easy for you!" Madara shouted.
"Chidoriiii!" Kakashi exclaimed.
He ran straight into the torso of the Susano'o with immense speed. Upon impact, cracks formed along the outside of the Susano'o's body, and it started to cave in.
"What power!" Madara winced. "Damnit, I was focused on the Hokage..!"
"Fire style! Fire drill jutsu!"
Obito's jutsu crashed straight through the apparition and struck Madara in the chest. But as the Susano'o vanished, Madara also disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving behind only a wood log and allowing Rin to fall to the floor.
"A substitution?!" Kakashi shouted.
"This is how you repay me for my help?" Madara shouted as he jumped up behind Obito, surprising everyone with his agility.
Obito turned and looked up at the old Uchiha, whose sharingan bored into him.
—
"Huh?" Obito looked around, and saw only darkness. "Where am I?"
"We have to sign the treaty, Madara," a voice said.
Obito turned, and saw a man in a chair talking to (a much younger) Madara Uchiha.
"If we do, it will put the Senju into power," Madara insisted. "Not that I don't trust Hashirama, but it's the common people I'm worried about. Given the history between our clans, they'll never truly give us peace!"
"Even if it isn't peace, it's better than war," another man said, stepping into the image. "We're tired of the fighting, Madara. We just can't do this anymore."
"Madara, we'll work together on this," another voice said from behind Obito, and he turned around to see Hashirama Senju shaking Madara's hand. Hashirama continued, "Together, we'll build a bright future for both of our clans."
"Okay," Madara nodded with a smile. "It's peace then."
And the crowd around them erupted with cheer.
"I'm sorry, Madara," Hashirama said as a new scene took over yet again. "The people of my clan won't have it."
"What, they take me as some sort of villain?" Madara scoffed.
"Some of them, yes," Hashirama sighed. "But it's to be expected I suppose. We'll have to work hard to unite our clans after all."
"Fine... You will be the first Hokage," Madara sighed. "If it will show the Senju that I'm not some power hungry dictator, I'll allow that much... But I still want to have a say in the decisions around here."
"Of course my friend," Hashirama laughed. "This is our village, together."
The scene drifted away, and gave way to a dimly lit room.
"Damnit," Madara sighed, now leaning on a table in front of a small crowd of men. "Again, Hashirama and Tobirama held an important meeting without me. This has gone too far, they're not allowing me to have any voice in this village! And the Senju are showing more and more hate towards the Uchiha since they are rarely ever punished. Maybe peace was never an option... I'll bring them an ultimatum."
"We don't want any more conflict, Madara!" someone in the crowd said.
"But don't you want equality?" Madara pleaded. "Follow me, so we may have true peace!"
"Why would we follow a murderer who took his own brother's eyes?!" someone called.
The rest of the crowd began shouting and hollering, and wouldn't let Madara get a word in. Accusing voices called him evil, and a warmonger.
"I did what I had to for our clan's sake!" Madara exclaimed, but someone threw trash up at him.
"Nobody trusted me anymore."
Obito turned again, and saw the sole figure of the current elderly Madara.
"The infinite tsukuyomi is the only true way for everyone to be at peace. Only, I discovered that fact too late. Now, I had hoped that you would help me complete my plan. But, perhaps you weren't ready. Perhaps you will be, someday. If that day ever comes, return to this place."
—
"Foolish child!" Madara shouted as he jumped up behind Obito. "Fire style, great flame—!"
The Monkey King Enma struck Madara in the side, sending him flying across the room until he smacked against the wall.
Obito fell down on his rear end, hyperventilating and dripping with sweat. What just happened? Was that a genjutsu? Why did Madara show him that? Was it all true? Was Madara betrayed by the First Hokage, and not the other way around? What was this about the Uchiha being discriminated against? Why was Obito's inner voice asking so many questions so loud?
"... R-Rin," Obito whispered, and shook his head. He looked over, and saw Kakashi helping Rin up from the floor. "Rin!"
He got up and ran over, fussing over her and checking if she was okay. She laughed and assured him she was fine. And the three of them, finally, had their real reunion. After being chased by the Hidden Mist ninja, running back and forth from the Hidden Leaf, and facing Madara, it was the first moment all three of them had to breathe and realize that they were all together again.
"Y-You guys," Obito sniffed as he teared up. "I missed you both s-so much."
"It's good to have you back pal," Kakashi sighed lightly as he put his hand on Obito's shoulder. "But you know, shinobi shouldn't cry loser."
"Oh shud up," Obito sniffled.
Rin laughed, "We missed you too, Obito."
"I don't want to have to break up this reunion," the Third Hokage said, "but I did come here to seal the tailed beast."
"Yes sir," Rin nodded. "Right away please."
Hiruzen sealed the Three-Tails inside of Rin with a five-pronged seal, and then the four of them got ready to leave. However, Madara's body had disappeared. They searched shortly for it, but there wasn't a trace left. The Third Hokage decided that it was an issue to bring up with the security and Jonin of the village, but that it wasn't the biggest priority at the moment. Getting the three young shinobi home was much more important.
Once they returned, Obito once again had to bid farewell to Kakashi and Rin. This time, however, it was under much better circumstances. He was to be held by the village for questioning and, assuming he told them the truth and wasn't guilty of betrayal, was going to be released within the month. Then he would be able to resume active duty as a Hidden Leaf Chunin.
—
The sun was up, and the early morning dew was dripping from the foliage of the park. It was relatively early, but really, he was late. But what could he do? Just ignore the old ladies that needed his help on the way?
"Hey!!" he shouted as he ran up to meet his team.
"You're late," Kakashi sighed.
"But not that late," Rin said with a smile. "You used to show up even later."
"I rushed, since today's a special day!" Obito grinned.
"Your first mission in over 11 months," Minato laughed. "Sure you haven't gotten rusty?"
"I'm sharper than ever!" Obito beamed. "I mean my depth perception is a little wonky, but that's what this is for!"
He flashed the two-tomoe sharingan in his left eye, and pointed at it with his thumb. He didn't have his goggles anymore, but he did have a piece of cloth covering the left side of his face, where he had no eye. And he had the same goofy, wide smile as he always did. Obito was back.
"Alright then," Minato smiled. "Team, let's go!"
—
Authors notes: Like I said at the top, I don't know if this will become a continued story. I've set up plenty of plot threads in this chapter just in case I do want to continue it, but I have other stories, a life, and a limited knowledge of Naruto lore (especially during this time period). That being said, this is a story I think should exist! So, I made it exist.
I know I didn't go over what happened in between the Madara incident and Obito's first mission, but I figured it's not important unless I decide to do another chapter. If I do, I'll go over it then.
Essentially, worst case scenario is that this stays as a one-shot. Best case scenario, I make this an extremely long story, and maybe a sequel where the next generation (Naruto and co.) grow up in this altered universe.
Feedback and input are greatly appreciated, I'll see you next time!