Okay. Now at this point, I'm betraying my update schedule. But it's 4/20, it has to happen.

HybridTrash13: Lmao, that's alright. It should be a little bit more exciting this chapter. It's ridiculously long. Kushina becomes much more involved and relevant to the story later. It is terrifying, isn't it? I'm finding myself making my a small chunk of my stories full of pessimist views on life, but they don't get very far. Barely past the prologue/first chapter. But I'm glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for your review! :3

Chameleoneyes: I love excitement. Lol, thanks for your review! :3

Tbh, this chapter length isn't a record. I've written 11k chapters, so…I guess this is little to nothing in a strange sense.

Original word count: 8.1k~

Recommended songs: I spoke to the devil in miami, he said everything would be fine by XXXTENTACION.

Enjoy! :3

Chapter 4: Eleutheraphobia

Jiro travelled nonstop for almost a day, and when he reached the entrance of Konoha with his hands up in the air and scroll visibly in hand, he quick to be yanked into a choke hold by the infamous Sannin Senju Tsunade.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't pull your bones out and make you eat them alive," she hissed, a kunai pressing against his head.

Jiro blinked, grabbing her forearm and struggling for air. "Messenger—I'm just a messenger," he gasped. "Don't kill the—"

"Tsunade-chan," an eld voice croaked. "Let him talk."

The Sannin blinked. "But sensei—"

The Sandaime Hokage shook his head. "Do as I say, please," he stated.

Tsunade growled and threw Jiro to the ground, who sucked in a deep breath of air.

Hiruzen stared with narrowed eyes. "Why are you here?"

"Message," Jiro repeated in a struggle for breath. He straightened, but didn't stand. He kept a hand on his throat. "It's—it's a message. From Hashimoto—or, or something…I don't know its exact contents."

"I do not know who that is," Hiruzen informed.

"The baby Hatake's kidnapper and a village medic superior," he wheezed.

"Where is Kakashi?" Tsunade asked with a stern and scary voice.

"Beats me," Jiro spat. "I'm just a messenger."

"Liar."

"Right, right. I'm just a messenger who could die at any moment. Why do you think I'm here otherwise?" he snarked.

"That's a confident move your village has made," Hiruzen spoke, "leaving a jōnin to die in the hands of an enemy."

Jiro rolled the scroll to Hiruzen's feet, who picked it up, and the Iwa-nin was still panting from lack of breath. "Can't question it," he rasped. "Hashimoto can be sloppy sometimes."

"You talk an awful lot," Tsunade hissed. "Are you actually here on a mission from your village?"

Jiro snorted. He didn't answer, but he did lose consciousness—and he fell, his chest rising and falling evenly.

"…Your orders?" the Sannin inquired.

Hiruzen picked up the scroll, cautiously and slowly unraveling it. He briefly scanned it over. There was nothing hidden—just the blatant letter that was addressed to both Hatake Sakumo and Sarutobi Hiruzen. He narrowed his eyes, closing the scroll to look at his female student. "Kill him and bring him to the morgue," he ordered. "Keep out of sight."

Tsunade grinned. "Gladly," she said. Her hand grabbed the man's black hair, her arm jerking it back. His neck was exposed—and in a clean death, his throat was slit open. His body jerked and struggled, but he didn't regain consciousness, and he was dead. A stray cloth Tsunade held was pressed over his neck, the blood getting soaked into the layers. She picked the man up—and was gone, leaving a tense Hiruzen to turn away and return to his office with his hands crossed behind his back.

Kakashi regained consciousness with a cold body.

He shivered, sitting up and leaning over far enough to pull the oxygen mask off of his face, since his wrists were still handcuffed to the bed. He hunched over himself, tucking his face into his knees with shaking breaths.

"Calm down," Obito's voice sounded.

Kakashi's head shot up, his misplaced ebony black eyes dragging across the empty but watched hospital room. His eyes narrowed. He couldn't see Obito, and he couldn't feel the Uchiha's presence. He awkwardly pulled his mask back up onto his face, his breathing slow, steady and quiet—

"I just possessed you. We're getting out of here," Obito stated very loudly and very suddenly.

Kakashi jumped in surprise, his head whipping left and right in alarm. "Wh—"

"Don't talk out loud. I'm in your head," the spirit snapped. "The seal won't affect my chakra. I can break it. But I'm not gonna do it just yet. Pretend you woke up from a nightmare, or whatever. We have at least one jōnin and three Iwa ANBU watching over us in the ceiling and two jōnin outside. Don't be super fake. Got it?"

Kakashi blinked. No wonder he was so cold.

So the Hatake laid back down. He stared up at the ceiling, breathing through his mouth to "calm down from his nightmare", before he closed his eyes.

When he opened them, a kunai was clutched in his hand, his front side covered in blood. Six bodies were all on the floor, and he was standing over all of them. Crimson replaced the clean, white walls of the room. He felt a minor spin in his head, and it wasn't until the sharp tang of metal hit his sensitive nose that he realized a bloodbath was surrounding him. He moved his tongue and jaw, too, and as he narrowed his black ebony eyes, he could taste the warm, metallic taste only blood could ever make.

"Obito," he said calmly. "There was no need to create an abattoir."

"The war was supposed to end almost two weeks ago," Obito spat. "Everybody's working overtime and many unnecessary deaths are going to occur on our side that could create unpredictable and disastrous cause and effects we won't be able to control within the shadows."

"And these deaths?"

"You don't remember them?"

"No."

"Taiseki. Kakkō. Miharu."

Kakashi's eyes widened before they narrowed. He stared at the jōnin of the guarding group, and sure enough, he saw their ugly, bloodstained mugs—and honestly, he has never felt so much relief seeing people die such a death. These three men—these three Iwa jōnin—were the sole reason why Obito had gotten crushed; why he lost an eye; why Obito fell into the hands of Madara; why he got a Sharingan eye; why Rin fell, because Kakashi was a failure from the beginning and Obito "dying" left a failure to protect Rin; and why Obito had to die on the inside.

He clenched his teeth together to the point of where he heard a loud pop in his head. Pain pierced his jaw, but it disappeared with a rush of cold energy.

Ebony black eyes narrowed murderously. "Your action has been justified," he whispered. He could feel himself stray back to the ways of Inu—to the days of needless murder.

"Careful, now."

Kakashi moved Taiseki's corpse with his barefoot, exposing the man's wounds. He had a slash across his stomach and throat, and one of his eyes had been stabbed out. His mouth was red with blood and wide open from screams of pain, and multiple stabs to his throat was visible. It made familiar squishy sounds, and chunks of flesh fell from the wound.

Messy, Kakashi thought.

He looked at Mahiru and Kakkō. Mahiru's face was frozen with terror, and both of his eyes were gauged out. He had a torn out throat, and now that Kakashi thought about, he could feel blood mixing with saliva in his mouth. He reached up to touch his face. Sure enough, his mask was pulled down and the wet feeling of blood was all over his skin. It was messy enough to hide his features alarmingly well, but he pulled his mask back up anyway.

Kakkō was simply gutted. The ANBU died cruelly, too, with mere slashes up their arms and stabs to their ears and throats.

It was overkill.

But Iwa needed to wake up and see that they always did lose more than Konoha during wars.

"How much feelings have you bottled up over the years?"

Kakashi turned around, his dark eyes landing in the true green eyes of Hashimoto. "What?"

Hashimoto uncrossed his arms, the door sliding open to reveal a dead woman behind it. A jōnin had opened it up frantically out of concern, but Hashimoto hit the man with his elbow hard enough to cause fatal internal organ and external damage. He smiled devilishly, his green eyes flashing a dangerous death red. "Your killing intent is so profound and general," he continued. "It's extremely strong. I doubt only a Kage or higher level shinobi would be able to detect it."

Kakashi blinked. "I'm not giving out any malice…" he said, though his voice trailed off when he realized that he was, indeed, feeling the intentions to kill. A living target was within his sights, and the urge to kill it was strong but intelligence interfered and spoke firmly.

Hashimoto suddenly laughed almost hysterically. "Inu, Inu! Tobi, Tobi!" he cried the names in a song-song voice of madness. "Inu, Inu! Tobi, Tobi! Haha—you two…you two…! Haha…hahahaheh…" He did laugh hysterically this time, his body shaking as he doubled over with what might as well be insanity. "Inu, Inu, Tobi, Tobi! You two could kill the whole world with all of those bottled feelings!"

Kakashi glared. "What are you talking about?"

Hashimoto straightened up, a grin stretching across his face. He chuckled darkly. "I would be careful," he warned with a shaking voice. "Your true grey eyes and ebony black eyes are different. If it's noticed, and trust me it will be noticed, the fact that Obito is here will be exposed. Whatever plan you're following or going to follow will not only be disturbed by me, but by your surrounding comrades and if they feel the need to be overprotective, you'll have to leave."

"…That is true, as much as I hate to admit it…" Obito murmured.

Kakashi sighed loudly, stressfully rubbing the back of his neck with a bloody hand. "I've started in such a sloppy way," he mumbled in disappointment. "I guess hanging out with tou-chan took a toll. I'm getting too caught up in playing happy childhood."

Hashimoto snorted. "I would shank you with scissors if you continued," he taunted. "Baby scissors—the ones toddlers use." He grinned in amusement. "The teacher would yell at me for running with scissors."

Kakashi rolled his eyes. "Whatever," he grumbled. He stepped over the corpses, his feet soaking in the pools of redness. He stepped up to Hashimoto, but the medic didn't move. The Hatake looked up to the tanned brunette, red Sharingan eyes bright with murder. "Move."

Hashimoto grinned, but he still didn't stwo aside. Kakashi raised his kunai like a cliché murderer in a cliché horror movie, stabbing the weapon into the brunette's chest. Blood was quick to spill from the wound and down the man's shirt, the red liquid getting into both of Kakashi's hair and face.

"You're losing your mind," Hashimoto rasped. "Or perhaps you're just losing the little tiny chunk of sanity you thought you had…"

Kakashi looked up at the man, blood dripping down his temple and brow from his hair. "Possibly," he said coldly. "The last time I went on a bloody rampage like this was about forty years ago. I used the carnage and adrenaline of battle as an escape to forget my loss. Now at this point, I believe that I am just doing it for the fun of it. Obito's possession is a good excuse, too, don't you think?"

The brunette chuckled, pulling out the weapon and stumbling aside with wet, rasping breaths. "I do," he croaked.

Kakashi smiled creepily, his bloody cheeks rising. "Bye," he spoke.

"Hm…" Hashimoto gagged on blood, though the wound was healed and all that was left was the metallic scent and red stream.

The young Hatake turned and walked away, bloody footprints acting as his trail. He made it to a window, and then he blacked out completely.

Obito took complete control, Kakashi's iris's returning to a solid, sinister ebony black. He pulled back his fist and punched through the glass, leaping out from the fourth floor. He landed on the rocky floor that surrounded the hospital, breaking the ground easily. He looked over his shoulder. The hospital seemed to be designed for criminals, seeing as the hospital sign itself clearly stated that it was connected to Tetsu no Taka-sa Keimusho.

That was scary. A five year old being sent to Tetsu no Taka-sa spoke of highly punishable crimes. The prison was the sister to Burrado Keimusho, where he clearly remembered Naruto being sent to at one point for a mission Tsunade assigned him. He heard that he almost died, and only lived because a woman with an all-powerful healing kekkei genkai healed him to full health with her life as the healing medium.

That would be an interesting kekkei genkai to investigate.

"Criminal on the loose!" a voice screamed. "Run!"

"Which floor?!" someone shrieked.

"Fourth!"

"Shit—fuck! Get away! Danger, danger!"

Obito looked up behind him towards the building. Indeed, the highest floor was the fourth floor—right where he came from. He smiled underneath his mask. The system developed in Iwa was interesting. That was another thing to investigate.

He turned his head back when he heard ninja surround him.

Obito got out of his crouching position, his wounds already healing from breaking the glass and jumping four stories down. The Iwa-nin surrounding him were mostly ANBU, with the occasional jōnin. Iwa ANBU always wore cloaks to hide their bulky organic Doton. They wore baggy clothing that was flexible, though some wore skin-tight outfits. Most wielded swords, namely ōdachi and Kama with the occasional katana. Some had mini scythes, chains—one even had some war fans.

He could wield all of them.

The first few brave ninja charged him. Obito didn't have the patience, though. He was feeling irritation eat away at his insides—the results of possessing a body that wasn't familiar with his spirit just yet.

He closed his eyes, Kamui activating as he reopened them. The turquoise ribs of Susano'o flared into existence, a constant pain stabbing in every single cell of his body. It hurt, but he enabled the skeleton arm to swipe away at the men who charged him. They were swatted into the buildings across the path from the hospital, blood spilling onto the floor.

An ANBU snuck up behind him very quickly, his double-wielding weapons stabbing through Kakashi's body, aiming to hit him in the kidney and heart. Obito smiled again and turned around, the blades phasing through the flesh of the Hatake harmlessly.

He slashed his kunai, the ANBU's jugular getting sliced open. Blood sprayed onto his face again, getting into his hair and eyes. He grabbed the Kama the dead ANBU wielded, the Susano'o's skeleton completely developing and crushing every single shinobi that charged him with ease. He simply stood there, though, with a calm, dead and bloody look.

When the one-sided abattoir finished, mangled bodies and blood soaked the rocky grounds. Pools accumulated at rapid speeds, some actually reaching his feet through the power of combination. He shivered and hugged himself, crouching down and tucking his body into his thighs. His breathing was loud and shaky, and the taste of blood was the only thing that kept him from completely losing control of his bloodlust primarily because he remembered that this was not his body.

He missed killing, in all honesty. He's done it so many times. Sometimes he would kidnap people and just torture them for the fun of it, other times for the craving, and most times for the adrenalin the screams created. It acted as an escape from what he's done. He's also gone on random rampages, and Kirai's existence was the result.

That bastard of a personality still existed, sadly. Obito was always in denial about wanting to kill ever since he fell under the Tsukuyomi. Maybe before that—before disaster fell. Perhaps that is why Kirai exists.

This is nice… he thought quietly. A roaring sound filled his ears, drowning out sounds of slaughter. He just stared at the ground, studying every single detail even as more and more blood accumulated and gathered to soak his bare, pruning feet. The roaring ocean-like sound turned into a ringing that got so loud it faded out of Kakashi's hearing range into an eerie silence that drowned out all others.

Obito looked up with wide eyes, his mouth clamped shut with excitement. The ringing came back instantly, though it quickly faded away and the drowned sound returned to his sense of hearing. He blinked in unimpressed surprise when he noticed that the Iwa shinobi were keeping a distance created from fear. The carnage surrounding him gave off sharp smells that he was all too familiar with.

Scarily enough, he felt at home with it.

Slowly, Obito stood, the bloody hair matting to Kakashi's face. His Susano'o disappeared, though his red eyes remained. A rain of shuriken and kunai rushed him from the shinobi on the rooftops, but the weapons went straight through him. They hit the rocky floors behind him with a loud shattering clang.

He stepped forward, which caused the shinobi to swallow with fear.

Obito looked at them. He wouldn't lose to scum like this. He wouldn't dare let it happen.

He used both Kamui to hurriedly take out a unit of five. They were brave enough to move, though many of them lost chunks of flesh or limbs to the dimensional dōjutsu. It repeated multiple times among the units across the pathway, and they didn't know how to dodge it. He stopped the instant they started attempts in pelting him with weaponry.

(One jōnin stared with calculating eyes).

Obito's tongue clicked. He walked forward, becoming intangible as multiple ninja tried multiple jutsu's. Some were very well done and executed, while others were sloppy with fear, though the potential could be seen.

For every ninja who dared to uselessly utilize taijutsu to bring him down, more blood was spilled by the Kama. It was because of that that the ninja resorted to long-distance attacks.

But the weapons were sucked into Kamui and sent right back with the force of a demon.

Obito smiled with dead eyes, an extremely brave taijutsu user swinging a fist at him. Obito stabbed his kunai into the man's fist, his sword swinging and chopping the arm off. An airborne roundhouse kick later, the man's neck was twisted and he was on the floor with blood spilling from his mouth.

"You're strong for such a young one," an elderly voice commented.

Obito looked up with dangerous red eyes.

"The Sharingan? Oh my, I didn't know you had Uchiha blood in you…" the elderly man said smugly. He crossed his arms, teeth showing in his cocky grin. "As far as I was concerned, you were just a Hatake puppy with only enough skill to hurt a man…but to create a bloodbath with my subordinates? I won't show any mercy."

"You're the Tsuchikage…" Obito spoke with a soft voice.

Ōnoki's grin widened. "None other than I, strange Uchiha brat," he shot back.

Obito narrowed his red eyes. "I'm no Uchiha," he shot back. He honestly abandoned that name to a consent. Naruto brought it back to him, but during the confusing Tsukuyomi Kaguya cast, he basically let it slide and become translucent—a mere memory.

"Oh…? Then what are you?"

"I am no one," Obito quoted. "I don't want to be anyone. Just know me as you see fit."

Ōnoki snorted. A silent order to retreat and tend to the wounded was seen through a flick of the Kage's hand, and when the wounded were cleared, and the able dropped back, rocks rose from the ground and surrounded the Tsuchikage.

And an armored half body turquoise humanoid surrounded Kakashi, Kamui-like shuriken in hand with string tied to it.

Obito smiled hungrily. He has wished for Iwa's fall for almost fifty years, sixty counting the time in the Tsukuyomi—and this would be how it was done.

Sakumo got his arm surgically patched up in five hours, and Shōsen Jutsu completed the healing process. It took a full seven hours, but eventually his shattered bone was reduced to a mere few cracks. He got orders from the med-nin who completed the process with Shōsen, Nohara Ren, to restrain use for the next month or two best he could. His arm was placed within the security of a few layers of gauze and a brace, and he was discharged.

He barely left the lobby when an ANBU used Shunshin no Jutsu to stop him dead in his tracks. A scroll was in his hand, the red string wrapping around it. It was signifying that it was sent directly from the Hokage with top secret information, and that it shouldn't be seen by just anybody's eyes.

"What is this?" he inquired quietly.

The ANBU's dark eyes stared. "S-class," he simply whispered. "Share this with Tsunade-hime, Kushina-hime and Minato-san. It concerns them as well."

Sakumo took the scroll, tucking it away. The ANBU stepped back, and disappeared, and the Hatake took his leave. He knew that Kushina and Minato were up and about, helping around for rebuilding while anxiously waiting to take leave for Kakashi. Only a day has passed. Sakumo was worried sick, too.

He didn't know where Tsunade was, but if he had to guess he could say that she was possibly with her distant cousin, Kushina, and Minato. Or he hoped so, at least. She might as well be in a bar, too.

Sakumo found Kushina and Minato bickering over who would handle the hammer and nails while the other would hand the boards, but it was interrupted the instant Sakumo showed.

"Sakumo!" Kushina shouted. "Who should hold the boards up?! Me or the blonde bitchass dattebane?!"

The Hatake gave a ticked smile. "Why don't we just take a break," he suggested, though he was honestly surprised by how sharp Kushina's tongue was. "I've got some news as well, and it involves you two mischievous kiddos."

Kushina crossed her arms and Minato laughed nervously, sheepishly scratching the back of his head. He was unaffected by the sharp words, which was honestly another thing that was surprising.

"Do you guys know where Tsunade is?" he asked.

"Probably with Hokage-sama," Minato murmured.

"She's at a bar dattebane."

"How can you be so sure?"

"She's Tsunade, you girly idiot! She's established all bars as her unofficial home!"

"I'm not girly!"

Sakumo waved his arms. "Now, now children…"

"I heard my name."

Both of the chūnin jumped in surprise, their heads turning towards the origin of the voice. Sakumo turned his head, too, and saw that it was, indeed, Tsunade. He smiled in amusement. "Yes, they were bickering over where to find you," he said.

"Oh. I was just reporting in to Sarutobi-sensei," she stated.

"I told you…" Minato snapped through his teeth. Kushina glared and kicked him in the stomach, causing the blonde to double over in pain. "Ow—K-Kushina-chan…!"

"You shut your mouth, you sissy!" she shouted. "She probably would've made way to a nearby bar if this news thing didn't pop up so suddenly dattebane!"

Tsunade laughed evilly. "I would," she agreed.

Sakumo chuckled. "Speaking of the news," he spoke, "it seems to be top secret, and I would like to hurry and look into it."

Kushina blinked. "Oh. Damn. Okay, dattebane. What's it about, then?"

Sakumo pulled the scroll out. The red string wrapped around it brought the two teens to immediate attention. He looked around, and when he saw that everybody was too busy rebuilding, he unfurled it. Stupid, yes, but he didn't care at this point. His anxiety was sky rocketing more than ever and all he could think about was getting his son back.

It was a letter.

Sakumo read it.

His eyes widened. It was only a few sentences long, but they were filled with demands. The first was that he goes to Iwa. The second was that he brings a unit of five with him. And it stated that if he didn't arrive three days after the invasion, Kakashi would die.

The last two sentences cleared up that he would fight a man named Mugen, who would assuredly kill Konoha no Shiroi Kiba, and that Kakashi was hanging in the balance.

Sakumo narrowed his eyes. He's killed many, especially people from Iwa for the past two years, so if this was a battle for revenge…

Well, he would still fight because of Kakashi. But he did feel some guilt. He hated fighting battles in the name of vengeance.

"That's stupid," Kushina murmured.

"This entire thing is," Minato agreed quietly.

"A battle for revenge is not the way to go at things," Sakumo mumbled.

Tsunade sighed. "Can't help it," she said. "We only have two days. Pack up, you brats. We're leaving within the hour."

Kushina and Minato nodded, and were quick to leave.

Sakumo closed to scroll, stuffing it away.

Tsunade stared at him, sighing again. She patted his shoulder in reassurance, staring forward at the people who were resting and rebuilding the general area. "Don't worry. This Mugen guy will die a nasty death," she said briskly.

Sakumo smiled tightly, though it disappeared only a second after it appeared. A dark look stretched across his face, and it appeared as mellow but Tsunade could see the darkest promises of death in the man's eyes. "Yes. Yes, he will."

Obito didn't have too much trouble with Ōnoki. He did take away the armored Susano'o, though, and left it as a mere half-body skeleton humanoid. The rocks were easy to deflect and his "intangibility" stopped the ground from under his feet from hitting him.

He did move, though, dancing across the blood and on top of the corpses. It seemed to piss the Kage off, too, and he could feel a bubble of laughter rise in his throat.

He kept on dodging, and dodging, and dodging—

And then he could feel Kakashi's heartbeat skip and slow down. He instantly stopped, his legs wet with blood and his feet soft with liquid.

He listened.

And he heard.

The heartbeat skipped another beat every few seconds.

Obito narrowed his eyes. He needed to end the battle quickly. He's stayed within the body of young Hatake Kakashi a little bit too long, and the toll was being paid.

He put his hands together to make the snake and ox seals, and chakra coated his hands. He launched himself forward with the Susano'o surrounding his little vessel, but it disappeared and he swiped his arms.

Ōnoki blinked in confusion, backing away, but he was caught off guard when he suddenly couldn't see.

A genjutsu had been cast on him, and he couldn't see.

Obito hid his chakra signature completely, because he knew that Kakashi's was still blocked. He took off in some random direction, jumping from cone roof to cone roof. There were no nearby shinobi or civilians. All of them had left for what may be a cave, but Obito wasn't super sure.

He did stop, though, when he spotted a hole in the ground. Nobody was in it, and while it was right next to a home, he could let Kakashi recover in there for some time.

Obito leaped down from the roof on soft feet. The blood on his skin had flown off in the wind and onto the roofs, and he knew for sure that his trail had been erased well enough. He squeezed into the hole, crawling on his belly down the hole until he reached a rectangular room. He swung himself down into it, the weapons still in his possession.

A cry of fear and alarm made him turn around sharply. He saw a woman with three identical toddlers behind her legs, and one of them had broken down crying under the pressure of the present enemy. Soon enough all three children were crying, and their mother was quick to calm them best she could. He blinked, his muscles bunching up to move a step forward, but the body failed him.

Obito instantly cut himself off from Kakashi, who regained consciousness as he fell to his knees coughing and breathing heavily with cold limbs. He obviously didn't realize where he was, as he just bunched up in a crouching ball. He hugged himself, his jaw chattering with hypothermia. He was quick to drop the weapons, too, and his Sharingan faded into glazed grey eyes.

"Kakashi," Obito spoke briskly.

"Shut. Up. I know," he hissed through gritted teeth. He let go of himself and grabbed the weapons with weak, cold hands. They were still dripping with blood, and the fact that his clothing was still soaked wasn't helpful. He stepped away until his back hit a wall, his Achilles touching the roughness of a jutting stone.

Tired grey eyes landed on the four other occupants of the room, his chest heavy and struggling to capture breath. "Why aren't you with everyone else?" he rasped.

The woman winced, though her tone of voice with strong with confidence. "W-we couldn't make it in time. What about you? Why are you here?"

"Hiding, obviously," he shot back irritably.

Obito narrowed his red eyes. They were glazed over, too, and it seemed like he wasn't actually here. "Don't trust her," he whispered. "Don't."

Kakashi felt his throat tightened. He leaned forward, his head hanging low. He could hear their shaking breaths, the scent of their fear could be smelled, and he knew just how vulnerable they were.

He dragged his foot forward. He was breathing loudly like a zombie at that point, and quite honestly it scared even his own self.

"Are you okay?" the woman asked. "Where are your parents? Are you hurt?"

Kakashi's jaw tensed as he looked at her. "I don't know…" he mumbled. "I'm here, covered in the blood of my enemies, because of my father. I'm—I'm honestly too old for this…"

The woman looked very confused. "What are you talking about? You couldn't be any older than six…"

Kakashi sped up in walking towards her. She was going to figure him out, and the world would be against him. He couldn't have that.

Yes, kill her and her children. Why should she live in ignorant bliss? I've lived well over ten years in blood and blood only. Why did I stop?

"Make their deaths messy," Obito advised with a dark tone. "I can see it—they'll tell, and they'll figure us out—"

"Shut up!" Kakashi shouted. He stopped dead in his tracks, his knuckles white as his grip on the hilt's of his weapon tightened. He turned his head towards Obito, eyes a bright, burning red as he activated his own pair of Mangekyō. "I am getting to it! So shut up!"

Obito glared back, his arms crossing over his chest. His irises were glowing dangerously, his mouth twisted unpleasantly—and instantly, Kakashi knew that Obito was about to slip back into the boots of Kirai.

He looked back at the woman, rage filling up in his own red eyes. "You're probably gonna tell everyone about this, aren't you?!" he shouted. Yes, yes, she would. Even under the threat of death, she would speak, because she was devoted to her village and her village only. He raised his kunai, his expression screaming of promised death. "I won't let you…"

The woman's eyes widened in fear. "What are you…"

"Shut up!" Kakashi shrieked. He charged them, slashing randomly and landing a hit for every time he sliced.

Soon enough, three toddlers and a woman were dead, flesh sliced to the bone. He was soaking in more blood of more victims as a result of more death and more madness. He fell to his knees, his shoulders shaking. He was crying.

Water mixed with cold sweat and blood, and he fell into hysteria. By the time he recovered, his left eye was blinded with blood. The sting of it forced his eye closed, and—

And it was triggering.

He felt like he could open up his left eye and reveal Obito's Sharingan—and kill, kill, kill, kill, record it all, remember it all vividly even in the afterlife, dream about it repeatedly and calmly wake up with the relief of seeing carnage to stop seeing Rin's horrified, bloody face and Obito's sad half smile that was crushed by a rock and the raspiness of his voice as he was crushed destroyed dying dead and half dead and half alive and the funeral—the funeral of Minato, Minato Obito Minato Kushina Obito Rin Rin Rin Minato Rin Obito Kushina Kushina Obito Rin Kushina—the life of Naruto ANBU ANBU ANBU—Inu, yes, he was Inu and he was to stay as Inu and he was never truly Hatake Kakashi and all he could bring was death death tragedy tragedy blood loss loss of comrades failure record it all remember it all dream about it and stop.

Kakashi blinked, his hands limply dropping the weapons. He looked up at the dark ceiling. Movement outside was little to none, and even Ōnoki had fallen off the grid. He smiled blandly. "I'm becoming Inu again," he whispered hoarsely. "I can't really feel Kakashi anymore…why…? Obito…what happened? Why did we do this? We haven't been here for a full eight days and already we've created a few hundred graves too many…"

Obito was quiet, but his voice was shaking when he spoke. However, it was mixed with sadness, strain and madness. "I'm sorry," he murmured. "K-Kirai…"

"I've figured that much," he said. "What's it like to have MPD…?"

"You're told that you lie sometimes. You don't remember, and you have to right wrongs you've never done in the first place. Amnesia. Confusion." Obito smiled bitterly. "You'll sometimes hear the others thinking. It may seem like they're completely different people. But, y'know, they're actually you and when you hear it…it's…it's scary."

Kakashi slowly stood up. "We're getting out of here," he rasped. "I want to go home."

"And be in the safe arms of Sakumo…?"

"No. Those safe arms would raise up high in the sky and stab their core," Kakashi whispered shakily. He pressed his right fore and middle finger against his forehead, his nose scrunching and his eyebrows deeply creased. "He's…not safety…he's…he's something to be guarded…and I'll lock him up in a basement if that's what it takes to keep tou-chan alive."

Obito nodded his agreement, his face becoming creased with exhaustion. "Rest," he stated hoarsely. "I'll wake you up if anything happens."

Kakashi's head tipped back up to where he came from before he nodded in silence. He turned around, found a place to sleep, and closed his eyes.

It didn't take long for him to drift to slumber covered in blood that wasn't his own and with an unstable mind.

Sakumo, Tsunade, Kushina and Minato didn't waste any time in getting to Iwa. It took them well over a day, but by the early morning of the final day the letter mentioned, they were sneaking in through the entrance that lacked guards.

That was very strange. Was Iwa prepared?

The four Konoha shinobi pulled out kunai, sneaking in through the tunnel. There were at least two abandoned carts that held weapons at the entrance to the village. Sakumo frowned and extended his senses to their limit, only to find that—

"There's no one here."

Everyone looked at Kushina.

"I can't sense a human chakra signature anywhere," she said, her frown deep. "They're all clumped in one place on the opposite side of the village. Even the shinobi are included. I mean—well, the Tsuchikage is flying around…but I can't sense anyone else."

"That's because they're all either dead or hiding."

Their alarm skyrocketed, weapons held up in defense as they looked into the village. A man with brown hair stood a few mere feet away from them, his arms crossed over his chest. He wore a plain black muscle shirt, fingerless gloves, shinobi pants and zori. He had true green eyes and naturally tanned skin that was beautifully toned. It looked as if he spent his whole life in summer rather than in Iwa.

Minato stared.

"Who the hell are you?" Tsunade hissed.

"I'm Hashimoto," he said with an even tone. He smiled when Tsunade glared, her arm bracing to throw her weapon.

"I don't know you," Kushina snarked underneath her breath.

"I'm the one who was ordered to wisp the little puppy away," Hashimoto spoke.

"I knew it." Minato spoke with a promise of pain. "You…"

"Calm down, now," he said. "I said they were orders. I can't really defy them."

Sakumo blinked. "Where is this Mugen person?"

"Oh, that guy?" Hashimoto replied. He smirked. "Doesn't exist. The plan is that we lure you in alone and kill you. I made some alterations, though. It would be boring to just kill you."

Sakumo gave a hard, long stare. Hashimoto's smirk turned into a toothy grin, his eyes shining with the determination of a psychotic killer. The eld Hatake almost winced under the eyes of the brunette, and instantly he knew that he really shouldn't engage in a fight with him. "I'm assuming something is made up for that."

"Of course," the brunette said. "Why don't you see for yourself? The scent of a slaughter is so very strong right now."

Sakumo froze. His eyes widened. He sniffed the air—and sure enough, the choking smell of blood was floating from the northeastern corner of the village. He covered his nose and mouth with his hand, his head becoming dizzy from how heavy the metallic scent was. "What…what happened…? It's such a thick scent…"

Hashimoto's grin widened. "Ask your son."

Kakashi woke up to hearing Obito's voice calling out to him. He cracked open his right eye, but he had difficulty opening his other one. He rubbed it, and instantly it watered up. When he got it open, it was blurry and he had difficulty seeing. "Oh, come on…" he murmured irritably.

"You should've gotten the blood out of it before you took that nap," Obito retorted.

Kakashi sat up and snorted. He felt uncomfortable. His mouth was dry. He was shivering with hypothermia, and his hands, feet and forearms were numb. But despite the fact that he was so physically numb from the cold, he took hold of the kunai and Kama he was wielding.

He stood up, briefly stretched, and was very quick to exit the room and leaving the smell of rotting corpses and blood behind. He climb out of it, his now red Sharingan eyes dragging along the bridges and paths of Iwagakure. He made sure that his chakra signature was hidden to the point of where one would think he had no signature.

He saw no one. And when stretched his senses out, he noticed that everybody was still cooped up in their hiding place. Even the Tsuchikage wasn't roaming too far about.

However, he could sense Hashimoto towards the western part of Iwa, where Kakashi knew for sure where the entrance was at due to visiting multiple times as both Hokage and Rengōku shinobi.

He crawled out of the hole completely, standing up on his feet. Obito manifested next to him, his own ebony black eyes a threatening blood red. "Sakumo is here."

"Already?"

"Yes. So are Kushina, Minato and Tsunade. They're at the entrance," Obito stated. He sneered. "So is Hashimoto."

Kakashi rolled his eyes. He deactivated his Sharingan. "Possess me."

Obito glared, shaking his head.

Kakashi turned his head towards the Uchiha. "Did I stutter?" he retorted aggressively.

The spirit blinked in surprise, his arms almost unfolding completely. "It's dangerous."

"I would rather be in the path of extreme danger than to have to explain this in a lie," Kakashi shot back. "If it's checked…"

Obito sighed. "I won't be able to stay for long. Your body is too undeveloped," he murmured.

Kakashi nodded, his line of sight darkening and, soon enough, he knew nothing but unconsciousness.

Obito completely took over in that mere moment, the Hatake's true grey eyes turning a sinister ebony black. The Uchiha leaped up into the air, landing on a small wooden bridge that connected two roofs together. Indeed—the Tsuchikage was no longer floating about. There was no Iwa inhabitant in sight, and quite honestly it was almost satisfying.

As much as Iwa is good in some sort of perspective, they were the reason why he was crushed by a boulder. Admittedly, Madara wanted Obito to fall in his hands sooner or later and had the plans to do so, but it was Iwa that ultimately pushed it over the edge.

He turned his head over his shoulder, a harsh wind making Kakashi's body shiver. Obito sighed. "You are so reckless," he said out loud. "We started off so messily. And Kirai is spreading his infection, too. I can tell. You had decades to rebuild your mental state, and I watched it happen. Your effort was wasted, Kakashi. Forty-seven years of effort is gone. All that you know now are possibilities…and Inu."

Kakashi physically and mentally flinched, and Obito smiled. But he spoke no more, and jumped up. He leaped from cone roof to cone roof, easily reaching the entrance within a minute. But he tripped, stumbling through the air. He hopped down onto a deck, crouching and holding his throbbing head. He was breathing heavily and he could barely enable movement.

And then he blacked out—or so he thought. He couldn't use four senses, but he could feel Kakashi's body move.

He recognized this feeling.

Kirai.

Kakashi's bloody face stretched into a grin. His body lunged forward into the air, skipping roofs and easily reaching the entrance. He stopped, however, and stared down at the five shinobi.

They were talking amongst themselves. However, Hashimoto looked up to Kakashi. He smiled evilly, cruelly, and purely out of relieved appreciation. He disappeared with a wisp of smoke, and instantly, Kirai took the chance to hop in the air.

His shadow fell over Kushina, who looked up with wide eyes. But shock made her even more surprised, and she couldn't help but to draw in a sharp breath. "Kakashi?!"

Kirai narrowed his eyes. They turned a deadly red that could easily be identified as the Mangekyō, and he grinned darkly. He spun in the air and threw the kunai he held with strength and velocity gained from the spin, aiming for the red haired chūnin's heart.

Kushina realized the events enough to move, but the kunai was fast and was thrown with the power of a devil. It dug into her shoulder with ease, deep and painful. She gripped her upper arm, crying out in surprise and wincing back.

"What the hell are you doing, you brat?!"

Kirai landed in a crouch, the skin on his feet getting raw from the rough rock. He turned his attention to the blonde woman who had shouted at him earlier. He stared at her, and in return her eyes widened.

"Sh-Sharingan?" she murmured.

Kirai blinked mellowly, his face becoming relaxed in an alarmingly deadly way.

"Kakashi, what are you doing?" Sakumo asked in alarm. His guard was completely down, but he still had a kunai in hand and his dark eyes were wide. "That's Kushina-chan!"

Kirai blinked in realization, his head tipping a little as he looked at the red haired chūnin. "Kushina…" he echoed.

Sakumo nodded hopefully. "Yes, yes, that's right, Kakashi. It's Kushina-chan."

Oh, yes. Kushina. Uzumaki Kushina. He remembered her clearly. She was the one who restrained him and stopped from from killing Namikaze Minato and Hatake Kakashi in their fight.

He blinked again, his eyes narrowing. His brow creased and his nose scrunched in displeasure. White eyelashes clouded his vision, and he blinked with rage of being reminded.

Kirai was quick to put his right hand up to his chest, his fore and middle finger raising up to the sky. Chakra was charged and accumulated, and it was blasted out to his surroundings. Wind and grit flew everywhere in a circle, his face full of rage.

Oh, yes. Kushina. Uzumaki Kushina. He hated her deeply. Well, he hated everybody with reasonless profoundness, but he was Kirai.

Kirai was always read as "hate".

Sakumo raised his weapon, his arm blocking his face from the ferocious whipping winds. He didn't care for the rest of his being, and the wind was quick to knock the rest of the unit away.

Kirai wanted to fight this man and this man alone in his current standing, merely because he knew who Hatake Sakumo was.

The second personality wanted to exact revenge on Hatake Kakashi, and going by the wide eyes of the eld man, he knew that it would succeed.

So he summoned up the ribs and skeletal arm of his Susano'o, the hand coming down on Sakumo. But the Hatake pushed himself out of range, his eyes wide with fear, surprise and just plain confusion.

Kirai laughed loudly. The chaos he was creating—it was beautiful. He continued laughing evilly, darkly and happily. It faded into insane chuckles, the wind still sharp and strong with chakra.

"Kakashi!" Sakumo shouted, his unhurt arm reaching out between Susano'o's ribs. He dropped the kunai, his hand almost touching his sons cheek.

But Kirai's arm lashed out, grabbing the man's wrist with wide red eyes. He was breathing heavily, a cold sweat mixing with the blood of the enemies he has killed. His hand was freezing cold, his grip weak and shaking. He suddenly coughed, the Susano'o disappearing as his head went limp.

Kirai was feeling quite odd. He didn't feel very in control, and it was…scary. He did, however, suddenly feel his conscious shift. He no longer was seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling or feeling. He was staring into nothingness, and all he knew was that there was a fourth person within the little five year old's mind.

Sakumo reached out with his other hand. It gently touched his sons shoulder, and he slowly pulled the young Hatake into a comforting one-sided hug. "Kakashi," he spoke. "Don't worry. Tou-chan is here."

"Tou-chan…" he repeated in a whisper. "Tou-chan." His voice got stronger. But he grinned madly, and the Kama was driven through Sakumo's stomach. "Tou-chan…tou-chan failed."

Sakumo gritted his teeth together, blood rising in his throat. He coughed a little, but he kept the crimson liquid in his mouth. He smiled painfully, blood straining his saliva and causing his lips and teeth to be tinted with red. "Yeah…tou-chan wasn't doing a very good job," he agreed. "Tou-chan almost left you behind…and honestly, it was selfish."

The boy slowly blinked. He pushed himself away, his bloodied face staring up at his father. His face was completely relaxed, his dangerous red eyes glazed over with unshed tears. He looked down at the wound, his bloody hand still gripping the sword.

Sakumo straightened up, his face stretched with realization and sadness. "You…you're not Kakashi," he spoke.

The child blinked. "No…" he murmured with a quiet voice. He frowned a little, continuously staring at the wound. It sounded more like he was talking to himself. "I can't tell…if I'm alone in my head…"

"How come…?" Sakumo inquired gently. Kakashi was obviously going through something and his father has full intentions of digging.

"…Too…too many details…" he mumbled. His eyes widened dramatically. The Sharingan faded into an ebony black, the unnerving color setting Sakumo's internal alarm off. "I—we're…the same? Yeah…we're the same? No…we're all different…too different. Violence, hate, anger, loathe versus…versus? No, no…"

Sakumo blinked. "Versus what? Do you know?"

The young Hatake blinked, his voice soft and directed towards what might as well be everyone no matter the fact if they heard or not. "V-versus…a hero? I—I don't know…I can't tell…a failure? Yeah. A failure. No—wait…a-an idiotic failure? Yeah. Violence, hate, anger, loathe…versus an idiotic failure…"

Sakumo stared. "Where are you hearing these things?"

"There…are…" Kakashi's voice died out, though. His eyes widened again. He slowly looked up at his father, his eyes returning to the true grey eyes Sakumo knew and loved. He pulled the Kama out, dropping the weapon with shaking breaths and hands. Tears gathered in his eyes. He felt his breathing quicken. "T-tou-chan…"

Sakumo put his hand over the wound. He reached out and pulled Kakashi into another hug, the wind instantly dropping as if it never were there in the first place. Kakashi's hands were still wet with blood as he fisted Sakumo's jōnin, tears spilling like rivers.

"You're okay," Sakumo murmured in reassurance. "You're okay. I'm fine, this is nothing."

Kakashi honestly couldn't remember anything since he asked Obito to possess him. Waking up to seeing the very thing he wanted to remain alive straying to the path of death made him feel something akin to mistrust. He turned his gaze to Obito, who was crying as well, with dark glazed over eyes.

Obito smiled bitterly. "I'm sorry," he murmured. "They all…they all got free…our dark selves…Kirai, Inu…"

Kakashi looked away, tucking his bloody face into his father's shoulder.

"I'm sorry," Obito repeated quietly. "I will handle them best I can. You can rest easy."

Kirai… Kakashi echoed. Kirai…Inu…Obito…Kakashi…

The young Hatake moved his head to look at Tsunade, Minato and Kushina. But he was picked up by his father, and they were moved out of his line of sight.

And besides, he didn't need to look twice to know that they were hesitant in approaching.

We can't be let free…

(And then he blacked out completely).

"Tetsu no Taka-Sa Keimusho": "Iron Heights Prision"; made up but derived from DC's Iron Heights.