New chapter! Yay! So, I think I should mention, I really want this to be a bit more light-hearted (and hopefully funny) fic than most of my others. Not that the others are all angst filled or whatnot. And not that there won't be a few angsty moments in this one.

Disclaimer that I don't own the Naruto verse!

Chapter Three

As soon as they landed, Obito pushed away, then turned to glare at his 'kidnapper'.

"What the heck, Bakashi?" he yelled. "What was that for?"

"Shut up," Kakashi said, and the fierce look in his eyes had Obito gulping, though he'd forever deny it. "I want to know what the hell is going on, and how you apparently knew that I was going to… be here too."

Obito sighed. "Well, it all started like this…"

He cocked his head and stared up at the sky…

Epic Flashback…

"Well," Rin said. "That was certainly something else."

Obito and Rin were standing in a kind of white space, having arrived here just after they'd watched Kakashi and his team seal Kaguya and Zetsu for good. Naruto and Sasuke had saved the day, and the Sage of Six Paths had made sure they'd made it out of that dimension in time. After that, everything had gone white for them.

"Yeah, it's not every day you can say that a knuckle-head and an angst-ridden Uchiha put the beat-down on an insane goddess."

"And don't forget Sakura," Rin said. "I don't know if I could have ever punched a goddess in the face."

"Of course you could have, Rin!" Obito affirmed. "I'm sure of it!"

Rin blushed prettily under the praise, then the two of them looked around. "Well, what do you suppose we do now?" she wondered.

"I dunno?" Obito kinda, sorta asked, but also stated. "Maybe ask someone for directions to the Pure Lands?"

The two of them looked around at the empty, white space around them. "There's no one else here," Rin said.

"That is not entirely accurate," a voice spoke, and Obito did not squeal like a girl and start.

"Who're you!" he demanded, even as he turned to see someone he'd only ever glimpsed once on a carving in an ancient temple wall.

(Zetsu had told him something they needed was there, but to this day, Obito still had no idea why he'd needed that)

"The Sage of Six Paths," he breathed…

"Hold up, wait a moment," Kakashi interrupted, just like the sound of a record forcefully stopped short. "The Sage sent us back here?"

"Bakashi!" Obito protested. "You ruined my epic flashback!"

Kakashi just gave him one of those looks, so Obito sighed and got back to the story…

Epic Flashback, continued…

Rin looked at the Sage, glanced back to Obito, then back to the Sage. She bowed low and greeted, "It's an honour to meet you."

Obito awkwardly bowed as well. "Uh, yeah, and honour, sir," he said.

"I have come before you now for a reason," the Sage said. "Due to the circumstances of your existence, young Uchiha, I have consulted with Others, and we have seen fit to offer you a most prestigious opportunity."

Obito and Rin glanced curiously at one another, then Obito asked, "What kind of opportunity?"

"One which would see you go back and retake your life," the Sage said. "You would be able to assure that things did not progress as they did before, you would essentially live your life over once more."

Obito gaped. "What the heck?" he sputtered. "Wait, would that be like living in an alternate universe or something?"

The Sage shook his head. "It would be your original time line," he told him. "Only from the moment you woke as who you are now, the time lines would diverge, and a new one would be created. The one you recently departed would remain, it is already firmly embedded in the annals of time itself. This, young Uchiha, is an opportunity not many are given, and those, not generally for the same reasons. You must see this opportunity as more of a chance for redemption for your soul. Of course, you are free not to take it."

Obito was stumped silent for a moment, then he asked, "Could… could Rin come too?"

Rin looked at the Sage hopefully, but the old man shook his head. "Because her death was tied to one of the tailed beasts, she cannot be afforded this opportunity," he said. "But there is another whom I can send along with you."

"Who?" was Obito's curious question.

The Sage chuckled. "I cannot say at this moment," he said. "But I am sure that you would discern it easily enough, once they arrive."

"What does that bit mean?"

"It means simply that you will arrive in the past before they do," the Sage said. "Now, Uchiha Obito. Do you accept this opportunity presented to you, or do you not?"

End of Epic Flashback…

"And you agreed, just like that?" Kakashi demanded.

"Are you kidding me?" Obito huffed. "I refused! But after a whole bunch of arguing, Rin convinced me to give it a go. And now that I am back here, I'm gonna make damned sure that everything goes right, even if it means that I have to end up back in that kami-forsaken cave, just so I can kill those bastards!"

"There's absolutely no way!" Kakashi growled at him. "You are not going back to that madman!"

"Do you have another idea?" Obito asked. "You're the genius here, Bakashi. You tell me what we should do, then. What's your grand plan?"

"I don't know," Kakashi reluctantly admitted. "I… I've been trying to figure that out. But I'll think of something, something that doesn't require you sacrificing yourself again!"

"Well, we've got a little over a year until the mission, Bakashi," Obito said. "Unless you can come up with something better, we're going with my plan."

Before Kakashi could object again, Obito used his kamui to teleport out of there.

OoOoO

The Uchiha compound was lively with activity. As Obito walked through the streets, he determinedly focused on the fact that they were all here, alive and well, instead of on the fact that he knows that he was the one who slit Giichi the potter's throat, and that the woman who ran the bread shop was one of the few who'd woken from the genjutsu, and her scream…

No. No. He'd promised himself (and more importantly, Rin) when he'd come back, there'd be no guilt tripping, no moaning and moping over what had happened in that other time. This one… well, things would be different here. He slunk through the compound streets, big smile on his face as he rather deliberately ignored that painful feeling in his gut.

After all, denial was something he was good at, even before he deluded himself with the infinite tsukuyomi.

"Obito-nii!" a voice called, and Obito turned, a more genuine smile on his face this time as a five year old, dragging a small toddler along with him, came running.

"Shisui-nii, you're too fast," an absolutely adorable chibi Itachi whined.

"If you wanna be a ninja, you gotta move fast," Shisui told him, then turned back to Obito. "Obito-nii, you promised me dango when you got back from training today!"

"Oh, did I?" Obito mused playfully. "Hmm. I don't seem to recall that."

Shisui's jaw dropped and his face became one of pure horror and betrayal. "You so did too!" he exclaimed, pointing accusingly at him, and Obito couldn't help but chuckle.

"Alright, alright," he said. "I'll get you some dango. Itachi too? Or does he need to go home?"

"He can come, he can come!" Shisui exclaimed, then turned to his little cousin. "You want dango, 'Tachi?" he asked.

Itachi frowned, and it was absolutely adorable. "Tou-san said dango will rot my brain," he said.

"Nu-uh, it won't!" Shisui declared, then turned back to Obito, holding his hand out. "Come on, Obito-nii!"

Obito let out a put-upon sigh. "Alright," he said, grabbing Itachi up and hoisting him onto his back, then grabbing Shisui's hand. "Let's go. I got some real good mission pay yesterday, and I think there's enough left for a few dango each."

Shisui cheered and Itachi held on tight as they moved. This time, this time, Obito was determined to protect his family, no matter what it took.

Shimura Danzou, he thought. Once Madara and Zetsu are out of the way, I'm coming for you.

So what did you think? Review please!