While establishing his village years ago, Fugaku remembered a young ambitious Obito. The kid wouldn't stop talking about wanting to become Hokage and unite all nations together. His dream stemmed from the fact that his mother missed her life in Konoha when she was young. His parents had shown him pictures from Konoha and read him stories. And that just inspired the young Obito to dream about being Hokage, reform the toxic political system, and unite the nations.

...But then, a spy from Konoha snuck into the small village and murdered his parents in front of him…

And from that day, a different Obito was born.

Fugaku sighed, unable to contain his smile just as the now-grown Obito finished telling him that he was re-evaluating his dream of wanting to become Hokage.

"Guess you already figured what I was going to say,"

"You're not that hard to read, Obito. Besides, we're all seeing how close you've become with Rin in the last couple of days,"

Obito pressed his lips and looked away, only to turn his head back when Fugaku laughed. "I have nothing against it, by the way. I think your parents would've been proud at the fact that you've met someone,"

"We're not together like that," Obito clarified; and while Fugaku said nothing to that, he knew that it was only a matter of time. Many members of his clan have started gossiping between them; some were indifferent about it, while a few were against the pending relationship. They still didn't trust the brown-haired girl. The only thing Fugaku warned those few members about was not to harm the girl in order to avoid any confrontation with Obito.

"So what would you like to do? To become Hokage?"

Obito cleared his throat, "I would like to start conversations with Danzo,"

Fugaku's smile dropped. "Danzo? Obito, you know that man can't be reasoned with. Just yesterday we had three families come to our village begging for refuge. What are you trying to accomplish by talking to him?"

"I'm not sure," Obito sighed, feeling as if he was betraying Rin.

"Being a leader isn't easy. And I'm not against your dream of wanting to become a Kage and uniting us all. But I recommend you to take a step back and analyze your enemies first. And speaking of enemies, we have a bigger problem than Danzo right now,"

"What's going on?"

"There's some activity going on in Suna, and I need your help,"

"I thought Itachi was looking into it,"

Fugaku sighed, "I...rather keep Itachi within my eyesight,"

Obito didn't say anything to that. As a matter of fact, he agreed with that decision. The younger Uchiha have started raising some suspicions as of late.

"What would you like me to do?"

"Within the next hour, I would like you and Shisui to scout the area and gather as much information as possible. Especially on a Shinobi going by the name of Sasori,"

Like Rin expected, Laila had her scrubbing the floor. Somehow, she had found out about her and Obito's "date" last night. And before Rin was even able to eat breakfast, Laila had approached her with a bucket and brush.

And as she scrubbed the floor, Rin wondered about her remaining days in this village. The physical labor was making things worse. Her body would ache, and she knew that she no longer wanted to be taken advantage of like this. She didn't escape Konoha just to be treated like a slave in another village.

So as Rin finished scrubbing the floor of one room, she thought about her next steps. She wasn't sure if the Uchihas would allow her to stay as a normal young lady tending for herself (maybe Obito could help there); but the thing she was sure of was getting her sister and father out of Konoha. Obito's unique abilities had been on her mind for a while, and she wondered if it would be possible for him to transport them out of Konoha. The whole thing could be done quickly within an hour. She was certain that Tenten was with Kakashi, and her father was probably in some concentration camp.

But how would she talk to Obito about this idea? While things were getting friendlier between them, she wasn't sure how to ask him for that type of help. And this was mostly due to the fact that she didn't know what his intentions were. If he truly had romantic feelings for her, then she was glad that he was at least being a gentleman and not forcing himself onto her. And as much as she wanted to explore what could be the start of a relationship, she needed to save her family.

Rin turned around at the sound of footsteps, her eyebrows raising as she watched Laila approach her. She hoped that she wouldn't be tasked with more strenuous work. Her back and arms were hurting already.

"Your presence is required immediately,"

"Oh? Alright. Do you know why?" Rin asked, standing up from the floor and following her.

Laila shrugged, "Not sure,"

They walked in silence, exiting the house and entering another property. The property only had one room, and it was located towards the very back of the village. There was nothing inside the room, and Rin looked around confusingly. She turned around to ask Laila what was going on, but flinched as she saw three unfamiliar male Uchihas standing behind her instead. Their expressions were stoic and eyes bright red. The designs of their red eyes were different, and Rin wondered what their abilities were. She remembered Obito telling her that abilities differed based on the eyes.

She wanted to say something, but didn't really know what. They took a step closer to her, and she stepped back. The beat of her heart increased, and she tried her best to remain calm.

"I...was told to come here...by-"

"State your true intentions, and we'll let you go without harm,"

Her eyebrows rose, "M-My true intentions? What are you referring to?"

"Why are you here in our village?" asked the man standing at the center.

"I...was told I could stay-"

"What are your true intentions?"

"I have no intentions, aside from living here peacefully,"

"Liar,"

Rin gulped, feeling the temperature become warmer. Her head began to sway a bit as her mind realized that the room was becoming unbearably hot, causing her throat to feel dry and body to sweat.

"Last warning or else. Tell us your true intention,"

Rin shook her head tiredly, the heat making it unbearable to even think. "I...I d-don't know wh-what you're talking about,"

She opened her eyes, ready to plead to the men to let her go. But they were suddenly gone. She took a step forward, but only to be pulled down roughly to the ground. Rin screamed as her arms and legs were spread. She looked around frantically as sweat rolled down her face, and another scream escaped her lips as two kunais were impaled into each of her hands.

"Stop!" she screamed, feeling the pain jolt through her body and blood ooze to the ground.

There was a presence sitting by her head. But before she could see who it was, a damp towel was placed over her face. Seconds later, boiling hot water poured over her face; entering her mouth and nostrils. She screamed again and again, her legs kicking frantically as the skin on her face burned.

"You are a spy of Konoha, and are here to steal our family's secrets," said one voice.

Rin coughed the water against the towel.

"Who sent you here?"

'No one!' she replied mentally, her throat dry and burning. She felt as if she couldn't speak.

"Very well,"

And again, more boiling water was poured over her face. And Rin screamed frantically as some of it got into her eyes. She moved her head left and right frantically as her legs kicked the ground. The kunais still held her arms down, the pain from that injury nothing compared to the boiling water poured over her face. She could feel her skin breaking. She coughed the water against the towel and heavily gasped for air.

"Your last chance, or we will kill you,"

"...I…" she tried to speak, but couldn't. Everything hurt, and her brain was spinning.

"Seems like you have chosen death,"

'No!'

She felt a weight on her stomach, as if someone was sitting on her. This was followed by hands wrapping around her neck and pressing hard, causing her legs to kick the ground again as she started to lose the little bit of oxygen she had left. She made strange noises while trying to gasp against the wet towel, but eventually everything turned dark…

"What the hell is going on?"

The males turned around to find Izumi entering the room, her eyes landing on the half-conscious brown-haired girl.

"We were doing what Obito failed to do from the beginning. We're interrogating her to ensure she's not a risk to our village and clan!"

Izumi rushed over to Rin, crouching in front of her. The brunette was trembling, and Izumi pulled her hair back. Rin's eyes were half-opened, tears rolling down her face.

"We didn't physically harm her," said the second male, "We put her in a Genjutsu in order to get some answers from her,"

"You mentally tortured her," Izumi said angrily while trying to help a semi-conscious Rin sit up.

"She'll survive," the third male huffed, "At least now we know she isn't a spy,"

"Obito is not going to be happy,"

"Pfft, like he's going to fight someone from his own clan because of this foreigner,"

The men left the room, and Izumi rolled her eyes at them before placing Rin's arm over her shoulder and helping her get up. Izumi then bent down and carried her over her shoulder, leaving the scene while thinking about how to tell Obito.

She arrived at the small clinic within minutes, and she sighed in relief upon seeing Mikoto there. The older woman rushed to her just as Izumi placed the unconscious Rin on an empty bed.

"What happened?"

"She was placed in a genjutsu and tortured,"

"By whom? Fugaku has not ordered for any interrogation, let alone torture!"

"Kogi, Asahi, and Souta. My guess is that they wanted to take matters into their own hands. They told me that they did what Obito failed to do. They're upset that Obito never interrogated Rin to make sure she wasn't some spy,"

Mikoto sighed tiredly while examining Rin. "Aside from the trembling, I don't see any injuries on her,"

"All three of them used Gentsu on her. Whatever they did to her there has her really shaken up. Mikoto, how are we going to explain this to Obito? I think he may actually kill those three…"

The older woman nodded in agreement, "I need to let Fugaku know asap. Before Obito comes back. In the meantime, stay here with her. I don't know if there may others who will want to hurt her,"

It was well into the evening by the time Obito arrived from his mission. One of the Uchiha children had notified Izumi of his arrival, and she prepared for whatever was to come. She had been sitting by Rin's bedside for hours, only taking a couple of breaks. Getting up from the chair, she walked over to the window and watched as Mikoto spoke with Obito. His back was facing the window, so she couldn't see his expression. The only thing she noticed was him nodding his head a bit before disappearing into a swirling vortex. Mikoto had then walked away, and Izumi turned around as she felt a presence in the room.

Obito had appeared, and he walked over to the bed where Rin laid. He sat on the side and gently said her name. Izumi watched curiously as Rin's eyes slowly opened.

"Obito," the girl said as she sat up, and the male placed a hand on her cheek.

Izumi could only watch, feeling a bit awkward. She watched as Rin turned her head to the side, as if giving in to his touch. And Obito continued to caress her face.

"How are you feeling?"

"Like my brain was ripped into pieces. Everything felt so...real…"

"It was a Genjutsu… None of it was real,"

"I know that now… I thought I was going to die…The pain and everything felt real," she looked up at him as he got up from the bed, "Where are you going?"

"I'll be back shortly,"

"What are you going to do?"

He gave her a slight smile, "I'm going to take care of some things," he then turned around and faced Izumi, "Can you stay here with her? I won't take long,"

"Sure," Izumi said, wondering what the older Uchiha was about to do.

Obito disappeared shortly after, leaving both young women alone. There was a slight awkward silence at first, until Rin broke it.

"Thank you...for saving me,"

"What they did was wrong and against Fugaku's orders,"

"Is Obito going to...hurt them?"

Izumi smiled and shrugged, "I wouldn't be surprised. And when he does, it's definitely going to cause a rift within the clan,"

Rin frowned, "I'm sorry…. I didn't mean for any of this to happen,"

"I know, and our clan has seen how close you and Obito have become. Seems like you two have caught feelings for each other,"

The brunette slowly nodded, "Yeah, I think we may have…"

XxXxX

Kogi and Souta looked around nervously, taking in the strange surroundings. There was nothing but blocks around them. There was no sunlight. No atmosphere. No village. Nothing. It was as if they were trapped in some type of box. Both men had been sipping Sake at a small bar when their entire world turned upside down. They had then landed in this cryptic, mysterious place with nothing in sight.

"Hello!?" Kogi screamed, "Hello!? Anyone around?"

"Help us!" Souta added.

But their screams and calls for help only echoed back… Revealing to the men that they were truly alone.

XxXxX

Asahi coughed out some blood as his body hit the hard ground. His nose and two front-teeth were broken. He was no longer in his village. While he had been going home to his wife, a large gust of wind had sucked him in through some type of portal. Everything was dark and gray until he landed on top of a large rock on a very tall mountain. Perplexed, he had turned around to understand where he was and who had brought him here, and why. And the moment his eyes landed on Obito Uchiha, a strong fist made contact with his face. Over and over. Upon falling to the ground, Obito knelt over him with his knee right on his ribs.

"You put your hands on her…"

Asahi raised his head, "It had to be done! She could've killed us all! We did what was necessary -UGH!"

"Who ordered you to do this?"

"N-No one!"

But Obito didn't believe that. He knew these three men. Heck, he still remembers playing with them as children. And because of that, Obito was certain that these three were ordered to interrogate Rin. And because it happened while he was gone, he suspected that the order originated from someone close to the main family. And he already had a clue of who it could be…

"Wh-Where are you going?"

"To spend time with Rin," Obito replied as he got up. Personally, he didn't want to deal with any of these three clowns. In addition, he needed some time to think about what he wanted to do next.

Asahi stood up on shaking legs, "W-Wait...d-don't leave me here! Take me back home!"

"You're a Shinobi. You should be able to get home yourself,"

"B-But I don't even know where we are!"

Obito didn't reply to that as he activated his Sharingan and disappeared into the night sky.

Meanwhile in Konoha…

"One of my men is missing," said a suspicious Danzo as he limped up and down the room in front of his ANBU soldiers.

Kakashi remained still, his expression as stoic as usual. Truth be told, he wasn't surprised at the news. Violence towards the ANBU has grown. Overall, villagers were fed up and tired of being mistreated by those who were supposed to be protecting them.

"Not only that," he said while sitting down. "I have gathered some useful intel regarding one of our deserters…"

Danzo waited a couple of moments before continuing, "Rin Nohara! The young lady who is guilty of killing our unborn citizens and then escaping has been caught living with the Uchihas…"

There were gasps all around the room, several soldiers yelling the words 'traitor' and wishing for her death. Kakashi remained stoic just as his mind wondered as to just how his leader knew that. Could Danzo have a spy within the Uchiha clan?

"We must bring her back so she can face the full consequences of her actions!"

"I'm not surprised that a clan like the Uchihas is hiding a traitor and murderer like her!"

"Death to them all!"

Danzo raised his hands, calming his soldiers. "All in due time. Rin Nohara will be brought to justice. In the meantime," he then turned around as a taller figure appeared from the shadows, "I would like to introduce you all to Orochimaru…"

Author's Note: Hope you all liked chapter 8! Let me know your feedback in a review down below!