A/N: FINALLY. I have been waiting for this particular "event" to happen, and it's been planned pretty much since I started this fic. Word count is ~6.3k.

Rating: T, WARNING - has some somewhat graphic violence (or imagery), so the rating is perhaps for older teen. I don't think it's too bad, but just a warning.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Chapter 19 - Crash Down

One week's worth of ration bars, two sets of sharpened kunai, a dozen shuriken, a water canister, a blanket, and some heavier clothes.

Obito packed up these necessities in a standard Shinobi pack and headed to the door of his sensei's house to meet up with his team at the Konoha gates. He paused at the threshold, however, and turned back to look into the quiet apartment.

"… I'm off," he mumbled, knowing full well that there was no one present. With a shake of his head, he exited the door, making sure to lock up fully before executing Shunshin to the gate.

As soon as he landed he was met by the irritated gaze of Kakashi.

"You're late," the silver-haired Chūnin grumbled, glaring at the Uchiha.

Obito scratched the back of his head in a sheepish manner. "Heh… Sorry, I guess I was so excited about this mission last night that I couldn't go to sleep, and then I woke up late, and there was a lingering ghost that I had to say goodbye to calm the spirit so—"

"Now now, let's not bicker," Minato called out with a bright smile. "And no excuses, Obito. We came from the same direction, after all."

The raven-haired boy blinked a few times before smiling back. Minato seemed… Normal. Back to how he usually was. It was a bit of a comfort to the time traveler.

"Are we going to leave now, sensei?" Rin asked, readjusting her pack as she smiled hello at Obito.

Minato nodded, glancing up at the slightly colored rays of light reaching through the dark shroud of early-morning. "Yes. If we make good time, we should be able to make it to Yu no Kuni in three days, maybe even two."

The Chūnin waited as Minato walked over to them, handing them each a small pack. "Safeguard these. They have the scrolls containing the rations, and are our priority in this mission."

"Hai, sensei."

With a nod amongst themselves, they darted off through the trees.

When Team Seven finally touched down for the night, Obito observed his teammates with slight shock.

Both Rin and Kakashi showed varying levels of exhaustion, and though the Uchiha made a constant effort to appear worn out as well for appearance's sake… He barely felt drained at all.

It was something he could really only attribute to the Senju cells, but even he hadn't dared hope that his other capabilities had come back through his bastardized sort of treatment—he had failed to gain the Mokuton, after all, so he hadn't expected to gain the other effects he had previously. Without the Senju cells, Obito knew for a fact that he truly would've been as drained as his teammates, as his current body hadn't had the stamina training his future self had. It appeared that the cells were working far better than he had hoped previously in supplementary terms; though he would have preferred having the Mokuton again, he was not one to look a gift horse in the mouth. His increased durability would come in handy against older and physically stronger individuals, and that was something that actually mattered quite a bit.

"Food's ready," Rin chirped, poking the sizzling fire with a stick. Obito's silent, if not somewhat questionable musings were cut off as he was handed a portion of their catch.

Kakashi let out a sigh as the brunette handed him a rabbit leg. "Thanks."

"Enjoy it now, you three," Minato commented lightly, taking his own portion and lightly blowing on the cooked meat. "Most likely, tomorrow we'll be lasting on rations."

The three Chūnin nodded, understanding the implications. Most likely, tomorrow they'd be crossing the border separating Hi no Kuni and Yu no Kuni. Being so close to Kaminari no Kuni, they couldn't chance using even the smallest of fires to cook any caught food, unless they wanted to chance turning the mission from a simple C-Rank to a B or possibly A-Rank. B they could probably handle with Minato present, but A-rank would be stretching it—the blonde would have to be wary about not only protecting his students, but dealing with the enemies. Not to mention, they couldn't exactly turn around and go home just because of a sudden rank change, because this mission held dire importance despite its level. Without the rations Team Seven held in their possession, the outpost to the north would fall easily, leaving their country open to an attack from Kumo.

Obito took a bite of his own portion and chewed slowly, watching the last remnants of sunlight disappear past the horizon. He couldn't help but feel that something was going to go wrong, but that could likely be attributed to the fact that he had been rather paranoid with the whole prospect of war. After all, it was war—the very same one he had "died" in and lost Rin to the first time around. What with all that he'd changed, there was no telling how this unprecedented mission would go.

Even though the rational side within his mind was adamant that he was simply nervous and, should something happen, he actually was strong enough to protect everyone… He couldn't completely look away from the possibility. He had to be careful, lest he or his team end up with unwanted consequences.

"… Ugh." Obito made a face as he chewed on the powdery, tasteless brick of a ration bar. It tasted like taking a bite out of an over-sized multivitamin… Heck, that's probably what a ration bar was.

Nutritional, yes. Life-saving, in most cases yes. But if there was one thing Obito was actually glad about when he had become a missing-nin, it was that chakra pills and real food replaced the necessity of ration bars, which were only supplied by hidden villages anyway. It wasn't as if he could've gotten them (as if he ever would have) anyway, seeing as he was a missing-nin.

It was mid-afternoon of the second day of their travels, and they had made it into Yu no Kuni. They were just southwest of the Konoha outpost, a few hours away at the most at a fast traveling speed, and had sat down to eat. Even though they would make it to the outpost in three hours, that was only if they used chakra to enhance their speed and traveled through the trees—if, through some bad luck, they encountered some Kumo Shinobi along the way, they'd be far from in the best shape to battle. "Last spurts" were not considered wise, especially not during wartime. When they actually had time, taking said time was important, all for the purpose of conserving energy and always being prepared should the situation take a turn for the worse.

'… But man. This shit is horrid,' the raven thought in disgust. He had never been able to adjust his palette to the tasteless things known as "ration bars," if it wasn't obvious enough.

Rin giggled, and even Kakashi and Minato looked amused as the Uchiha curled his lip. "Tastes bad, Obito?"

Kakashi, who had finished his ration bar before anyone even got a chance to see his face (not that they minded, all of them were used to this by now) gave a shrug. "I don't get what the problem is. It's not like it's bitter or anything."

"I think it'd taste better if it was," Obito commented, glaring halfheartedly at the innocent ration bar. "At least then it would have some flavor. This tastes like I'm eating a mixture of Iwa's rocks and Suna's sand. This isn't food, it's freaking-conglomerate."

"… I think I have to agree," Minato interjected with a frown. He chewed his own bar slowly, staring at the ground in front of him. "I never did manage to get used to these, but it's a necessity. Taste leads to smell, and any traces of actual food would be evidence for trackers. We should just be thankful that we don't have to last on these for the duration of the war, like the Shinobi at the outpost."

The comment received a trio of cringes from the Chūnin. The Shinobi at the outpost… Often times, for high-leveled Chūnin, Tokubetsu and Jōnin, their time spent at outposts during wartime ranged anywhere from a couple months to a couple years. Even then, at the end of their term—unless they were gravely injured—they would instead be sent to another outpost, perhaps one with less war activity if they were only slightly injured, or one with even more activity if they were particularly skilled. It wasn't as if they always ate ration bars, but the condensed bricks typically made up half of their meals.

Rin sighed, looking at her own chunk of nutritional brick. "What I wouldn't give to have some of Kushina-san's cooking right n—"

Minato and Obito tensed simultaneously, having sensed the same disturbance—the sudden shift in the air. The blonde reached for Rin, while the Uchiha reached for Kakashi and their packs containing the rations just as a rain of kunai landed where the four had previously been seated.

"Huh, not as green as we thought," a woman's voice called out condescendingly. Five Shinobi—Kumo, of course—leapt down from the trees across Team Seven, assessing. The three in the front were clearly Jōnin level, the woman from earlier being one of them. They all wore the standard white Kumo armor, and had varying shades of skin and hair. Behind them stood two Chūnin, maybe Tokubetsu Jōnin leveled Shinobi, both with an air of nervous yet determined concentration about them.

Minato took an automatic step in front of his team, hand already reaching for his kunai.

"Now now, blondie, so quick to draw your weapons?" The woman spoke casually, a smirk on her lips.

"Stay back," Minato whispered to the three Chūnin behind him briefly before turning back to the team of Kumo Shinobi. "You were the ones to initiate hostilities. I am well within my rights to retaliate, one would think."

"Wouldn't have mattered if you were dead," one of the other Jōnin, a blonde-haired, dark-skinned man spoke. He regarded the Konoha team with a lazy yet keen look. "Give us the rations and we won't have to kill you."

Minato remained silent, eyeing the enemy Shinobi as the third Jōnin, a light-skinned man with auburn hair sighed exasperatedly. "Damnit Arai, we've told you before, you suck at parfait, you just gotta leave it to us."

"Parley, you mean."

The auburn-haired Shinobi shot the woman a look before turning back to the Konoha Shinobi. "Whatever, you knew what I meant. Anyway, blondie, hand over the rations unless you wanna die."

A kunai whizzed passed his cheek, leaving a small, hairline cut. Though they stiffened, the Kumo Shinobi relaxed upon seeing the miss. "… What the hell? That was a real sissy throw right there, y'kn—"

He didn't get to finish his statement, as Minato was suddenly behind him, quickly dragging his retrieved three-pronged kunai across the neck of the auburn-haired man, slitting his throat in a quick and practiced motion. He fell to the ground, gurgling what sounded like a drowning scream as his eyes rolled to the back of his head. The moment of surprise that resulted quickly passed as rage overtook the features of the remaining four Kumo Shinobi, and the five entered a battle of speed and strength.

Minato was clearly the fastest, managing to easily brush past any close call with the enemies, deflecting each attack while surreptitiously keeping an eye on his students that stood off to the side. While the Kumo Shinobi were wasting their resources, throwing kunai after kunai and darting around with excess chakra in attempts to overwhelm the blonde, he kept his reserves at stable levels and had yet to bring out another weapon besides the Hiraishin kunai he had first drawn.

Obito looked over at Rin and Kakashi, the former who was staring wide-eyed at the battle and shaking slightly, the latter who was clearly nervous but determined. The Uchiha watched Kakashi's hand reach for the tantō hilt on his back as he swallowed thickly through his mask, as though trying to suppress his nervousness through the action.

"Stop," Obito whispered, placing a hand on the Hatake's arm. Both Rin and Kakashi turned to him hesitantly, slowly, so as to keep attention off of them.

"… Minato-sensei will need help," The silver-haired Chūnin replied stoically, his hand gripping his weapon. "We can't just stand here."

"And what do you think you're going to be able to do? Minato-sensei is way faster than the enemy and is the one with the upper hand. If we draw attention to ourselves, if they come after us," Obito emphasized, eyes narrowed, "then he'll be having trouble. At the moment, we're his weakness, and the best thing you can do is stay back and let Minato-sensei deal with this."

Kakashi's grip tightened and Obito could see the boy's teeth grinding as he deliberated. Rin looked between the two with panic in her eyes. Finally, after a few moments of stilted silence amongst them, the silver-haired Chūnin's grip relaxed and Obito sighed a quiet breath of relief—until he heard Kakashi's next words. "… We can't chance something happening to Minato-sensei."

Everything happened all at once.

One of the Chūnin engaged in battle with Minato flung a stray Kunai, headed straight for Rin. Kakashi leapt towards the battle his sensei was engrossed in, not noticing how the brunette tried to stop him. And a sixth Kumo Shinobi, undoubtedly Jōnin, leapt up from the brush behind them.

Obito saw it all in slow motion, the kunai heading straight towards the side of Rin's head, unnoticed by her as her attention was still on Kakashi, whose attention was riveted to their sensei. The fourth Kumo Jōnin, heading straight for Kakashi and Rin with twin wakizashi in his hands, aiming for their necks. Two meters away. One meter.

He reacted.

The sound of clashing metal, death threats and rustling leaves immediately settled when an ear-splitting, painful, animalistic scream tore through the air.

Everyone, including Rin and Kakashi who were now wide-eyed at the sudden realization of the very real threat that almost killed them, turned to the ground behind the two Konoha Chúnin—and saw a body, hunched over, alive, a kunai in his throat but alive—

—and missing his legs.

"KITAI!" One of the Kumo Chūnin screeched, immediately turning to Obito with rage in his eyes. "You—!"

He was abruptly cut off. Obito's Mangekyō continued swirling in an angry red as he stared at the Chūnin, and silenced the fool with a narrowing of his eyes. The body fell in a bloody, motionless heap on the ground save for a few automatic twitches, noticeably missing its head.

Nothing more than a useless sack of bloodied flesh.

A moment of uncomprehending silence fell as the Kumo Shinobi stared with widened eyes at their two fallen comrades, one dead, the other still letting out silent, squelching sobs as he raked at his quickly bleeding throat and legless stubs. The moment passed as they turned back to Obito, rushing at him with renewed anger, utter hatred, their previous target long forgotten. The remaining Chūnin was slightly more coherent, however, as he instead went for Rin and Kakashi as the leg-less Jōnin had, believing them to be the weak links of their team.

Obito slammed his hand to the ground, and muttered in a toneless voice, "Uchiha Kaenjin."

The resulting fiery barrier caused both Kakashi and Rin to flinch back as they watched, in unconcealed horror, the way the enemy Shinobi were incinerated before their eyes. The cylindrical flame barrier roared over the terrified, pained screeches of the Kumo Shinobi—the once Kumo Shinobi—as they were reduced to nothing but burnt charcoal and ashes, laden with the smell of forcefully dried blood and incinerated flesh.

The technique dissipated with a quiet hiss as Obito cut off his chakra, and he stared down at the now lifeless bodies—or rather, what was left of them. Even the leg-less wonder had been reduced to nothing but a darkened clump of human matter, having been in the range of the barrier technique's wrath.

The Uchiha's face was blank. But something… Something within him was unable to look at his work with complete reticence.

'… Why?' He couldn't help but wonder, his empty eyes belying the confusion he felt. The confusion he had, because something he hadn't accounted for had surfaced in the back of his mind as he killed these individuals in cold blood.

Guilt. Pain.

But… Why?

It made no sense, it was completely without basis. Obito had killedbefore, murdered, in the worst ways possible. These people were about to kill the people he cared for, so why, why was he feeling guilty?

His brow furrowed slightly in consternation. Perhaps… In another future, these people were part of Naruto's following, part of the precious people the blonde Child of Prophecy had befriended, some of the individuals who had fought alongside Naruto in their attempts to stop Obito and Madara.

Obito had never paid much attention to details such as this; thinking about the what-ifs and the potential futures those he killed could have had. After all, what was the point? It wasn't worth it, pondering on the lives of people who were dead, people who would never have any sort of life because they were busy being dead.

Perhaps it was because he was actually from the future, and as such knew the future to an extent, had prior foreknowledge to refer to.

… Or, perhaps, it was because Naruto would've been disappointed.

Disappointed in Obito. Naruto had literally beaten his ideals into the Uchiha, told him exactly what he thought of his foolish dream of a false, "perfect" world, and… Reached out to him. Brought him out of the darkness forcefully, made him accept the truth. And, for the first time in almost twenty years… Obito had seen it.

Uchiha Obito. He was supposed to die, but that didn't happen—he was instead tossed into the past. He had fought against it at first, but eventually, accepted the idea, decided to embrace the questionable chance at redemption. He had… He had decided that he wasn't supposed to be a cold-hearted killer just like "Tobi." That was it, it had to be—he actually had a conscience, now, and it caused him to feel this strange sense of empathy for the very people that had threatened his team, the very people that he had just killed. He had killed them in cold blood, and was only now realizing it…

… But hadn't he been prepared to do just that, when he thought of Danzō and Orochimaru?

He froze.

He didn't know when, but at some point—something that made him change without realizing it—his priorities had reversed on themselves. Certainly, both of them had committed heinous crimes and offenses from what he recalled—some that very well likely hadn't even happened yet, a betraying voice called out to him in the back of his mind as he recalled the worry he felt when scouring Orochimaru's lab—and he, at first, had wanted to kill Danzō and Orochimaru because of the threats they posed to his loved ones… but even then, he had been thinking calmly, debating the pros and cons, considering the possible effects of their deaths. The other possibilities, the other paths he could take.

And yet, at some point his reasons had changed from, 'because they could be a potential threat to my precious people,' to, 'because of the threats they pose to me, because they are useless to me.'

Obito looked down at his hands, small, young, but callused and hard. It wasn't visible, but he could feel the blood on his hands, the warm, life-infused liquid signifying that he had taken even more lives in a blind rage.

He had lost himself. Again.

A hand landed on his shoulder, stirring him from his self-deprecating thoughts. He looked up at Minato, whose eyes were riveted to the ground where a clump of burnt human lay. In the corner of his vision, he could see both Rin and Kakashi, clearly hesitant to come near; fearful, but… Worried, as well. And the thought eased some of the tension he felt.

He turned back to the damage he had done, to the remains of the people he had killed.

Killing was… It was something a part of him. Even now, though he undoubtedly felt guilt and pain at taking more lives, it wasn't the normal kind—it was almost the kind of feeling that one developed when seeking approval, hoping for acceptance. But he couldn't give in to that. He couldn't not kill.

… But he also couldn't ignore the lives he had taken. He wasn't sure he could become the kind of person his sensei was, but… No matter what, he couldn't fall back into that selfish, self-serving cycle he had once been in. He couldn't disregard life, because if he started again, it wouldn't stop. He would be no different from how he was before.

If he disregarded Minato's, Kushina's, Kakashi's, Rin's, and everyone else's lives for a second time… He was more than certain that he wouldn't ever be able to forgive himself.

But he still had to kill.

He had to kill so that Minato wouldn't have to. So that Rin wouldn't have to. So that Kakashi wouldn't have to, so that Naruto wouldn't have to. Unfortunately, they all lived the life of Shinobi, and as such completely banning them from killing was impossible—but he could at least try to lessen the weight of those killed from their shoulders. He would kill so that his loved ones didn't have to.

Uchiha Obito, no matter the facade he put up, was still part of the darkness. No, he was the darkness, and had been living it for the past two decades of his life. As such, it only made sense that he handled the more unsavory tasks, that he be the literal shadow of his village's light, in a twisted analogy similar to a certain warhawk's. It didn't matter if he had to be "evil," as long as he still had his priorities in check.

Blinking, he looked at his sensei and his still hesitant teammates, a glint of determination sparking to life in his onyx eyes.

He would do it. Because if it meant that the people he cared about were alive and safe…

… He would do anything.

"I think you have some things to explain to us, Obito."

The addressed Uchiha sighed, having expected this. He and his team had settled back down at their camp, recovering their ruined items (and thankfully still in-tact rations for the outpost) when all three of the other members of Team Seven turned to him with varying looks of worry and seriousness.

"… Um, Obito, are you…" He turned to Rin, who fidgeted slightly from where she sat. "… Are you… Okay? That was your first kill, right…?"

Obito blinked. '… Oh. Right,' the time traveler thought somewhat sardonically. He wondered if he should act traumatized, as was probably expected… But after a brief moment of contemplation, decided against it. If it were between keeping his secret and keeping his family happy, he could honestly say that he would prefer the latter.

He gave them a reassuring, if slightly strained, smile. "I'm Uchiha Obito! Of course I'm fine guys, really. Don't worry." His smile wavered at the uncertain looks he received from both Kakashi and Rin, and he leveled them with a serious look. "Stop it. They were the ones who attacked first. It would have been much, much worse had any of you been the ones to die. But that isn't the case, and I couldn't be happier."

They were silent as the other two Chūnin stared down at their laps. Obito had little doubt that they were contemplating, reassessing their third teammate. To what, he wasn't quite sure, but he was certain that he didn't wish to know.

Kakashi suddenly looked up, an unreadable expression on his face as his hands curled into fists. "… You were going easy on me."

Somewhat taken aback at the abrupt shift of topics, Obito tilted his head to he side in a mockery of confusion.

"You've been going easy on me," Kakashi repeated, growling slightly as his eyes narrowed. "You never used those techniques in any of our spars or mock battles."

Obito inwardly sighed, easily seeing the offense and hurt in his teammate's eyes. To Kakashi, his ability and prowess were a couple of the only things keeping him grounded—and the fact that Obito had belittled that had not only left him feeling offended, but betrayed by the fact that his teammate was holding out on him. He couldn't exactly lie, but…

"You're misinterpreting something, Bakashi," the raven-haired boy said nonchalantly, raising a hand to tap at the corner of his eye. "Do any of you remember how my eyes had been bleeding, a while back?"

This incited a clear flinch from Rin, and Kakashi's shoulders stiffened imperceptibly. Minato didn't react visibly at all. "I'll take that as a yes. You see, the level of Sharingan I can achieve—it's called the Mangekyō—is the reason why I was able to use those techniques earlier." A half-truth; it applied to the Kamui only, but they didn't need to know that.

"So yes, you were right, I was holding back on you," he stated, ignoring the flinch Kakashi gave at that, "… But it's also for me. My eyes, while powerful, can render me blind after so many uses. It's a tradeoff; for temporary and great power, I lose my eyesight somewhat each time I use it." He gave a bitter smile at the shocked looks his fellow teammates gave him. "It's a curse of the Uchiha when they activate this level, which is very, very rare. My iteration, in particular, I assume is particularly degrading to my eyesight—it hurts like hell." Which was true enough; though he knew that both Itachi and Sasuke suffered, something told him that their Mangekyō activation didn't hurt quite as much as his. Either that, or they were just insufferably stoic Uchiha freaks… Which, to be fair, was also true.

Of course his eyes hadn't bled this time due to the Senju cells, but unless they asked… Well, it wasn't necessary to bring up the small detail.

"Then what was that? How did you…" Rin's brow furrowed. "… That was you, wasn't it? The way that one Kumo Shinobi's legs… The head…"

She trailed off, and Obito, seeing her distress, gave her reprieve. "Yes," he stated casually, perhaps too casually, for his teammates stared at him with odd looks. "That was my Mangekyō's special ability, called 'Kamui'. Each strain of Mangekyō has a different version depending on the user, a different technique that accompanies it, though I believe the main branch typically has…" His brow furrowed before he shook his head, realizing he was digressing. "Anyway, for those who activate this level of the Sharingan, they gain a differing technique for each eye. My eyes have two variations of the Kamui which can alter space. One requires physical contact while the other doesn't—that's how I severed the Kumo Shinobi's legs."

"… Wait." All attention turned to Minato, who had a calculating gleam in his eyes. "… There is one power in each eye… And you said you use two iterations of this 'Kamui'?" Obito gave a faint grimace but nodded, knowing full well where his sensei was going with this. "What about the black flames?"

Kakashi tensed as Rin gasped, eyes wide. Obito shook his head. "That… That was actually the technique I had intended on using, actually. But it seems I can no longer use it."

"Do you know why?"

Obito couldn't guess as to why he no longer had it because he wasn't even supposed to have it at all. Rather, the real question was why he even had it to begin with.

In all honesty, it had been a long-held belief of his that the Amaterasu was the original technique of the Mangekyō Sharingan and over the years branched out, revealing other techniques such as Shisui's Kotoamatsukami and Obito's Kamui. The reason for this belief was that, in a fit of curiosity before Madara had passed, he had asked the elder about it and confirmed that his eyes originally had Amaterasu. He had begun to wonder if the black flames were an origin technique stemming from a century back (Madara had never answered these questions, sadly) and when he saw that Itachi and Sasuke gained the Amaterasu, he had begun to believe that it truly was an original technique of the Mangekyō.

He frowned.

… But then again, that didn't make any sense. Even if his theory could never truly be proven unless he joined Madara's side again, he knew for a fact that each eye only had one technique. At the time, when he had first arrived in the past, he had been too… Preoccupied with other things to realize it. He had three techniques specified for the Mangekyō, three. And it didn't make any sense. It wasn't as if he had a third eye like Kaguya, after all—

He slapped a hand to his forehead, suddenly very, very worried. The rest of Team Seven looked both worried and confused.

His thoughts ran in conjunction to his speeding heart—what if he was the reason for the Kyūbi's strange appearance in another way that he had never thought of? What if, this time, he had somehow become Kaguya's… Vessel? Sacrifice? Instead of Madara?

Abruptly, Obito shook his head and removed his hand from his forehead. He… He was acting stupid. These were all baseless, fleeting conjectures of his tired mind—sure, the concept of time travel required an open mind, but his mind was a little too open, at the moment—and his imagination was running away with them. The Kyūbi had verified that the woman was sealed, and as far as Obito knew… He wasn't Kaguya. Or harboring her. Or whatever. He was certain that the witch hadn't gotten her claws into him, he was still Uchiha Obito.

But still, that didn't explain why he could use Amaterasu, a technique he shouldn't have had at the time, and couldn't use it now—

He paused, blinking.

… Maybe that was it. It was at the time. He couldn't use it this time, even though he had actually meant to use it. So that most likely meant that he didn't have the Amaterasu now… But why did he have it before? Did it have to do with the fact that he had just awoken from his travel to the past, perhaps…?

The time traveler inwardly cursed. He should've checked his Sharingan as soon as he arrived. Perhaps it was some interference with the sage chakra that was still evident in his physical body before he was shot into the past. Maybe it somehow did something… Causing his Sharingan to gain enhanced abilities, to gain the Amaterasu…?

Okay, that just sounded crazy, preposterous—his status as a time traveler notwithstanding.

"Obito?"

He blinked, again, realizing that his team was staring at him, and Kakashi in particular looked rather irritated.

It wasn't exactly prudent to think about this, he realized. Not now, and not later, either. There were more important matters at hand, and as long as his strange case of having a temporary Amaterasu didn't somehow effect his loved ones, then there were other things he could be wasting his time on.

Minato sighed, waving his hand dismissively. "I suppose you don't, but that is to expected I suppose." His eyes gleamed with something unreadable as he regarded the Uchiha. "I'm actually curious about how you even knew this much, Obito."

For a moment, Obito only furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

Then, realization hit, and he went wide-eyed, inwardly swearing.

He wasn't supposed to know so much, especially being the black sheep of his clan. Activating his Sharingan to stage three was already a stretch, but could be attributed to a strange and strenuous happenstance. He hadn't actually expressed his knowledge on his clan's dōjutsu at the time, after all—but this, a supposedly hidden and unknown quality to his eyes, he did know.

… But, couldn't he say that Fugaku had told him? Couldn't he say that he had, say, been given access to the clan's library, or something—

His racing thoughts were abruptly halted when Minato's gaze diverted, focused to the North. "I suppose it doesn't matter. Let's keep moving since we're all still wide-awake; we need to deliver these rations as soon as possible." He turned back to Team Seven with a cold gaze. "There's no telling if there are more Kumo Shinobi in the area, and we shouldn't take our chances. We need to hurry to the outpost, now."

Inwardly thankful, yet confused, Obito nodded along with his teammates.

The conversation ended.

The delivery had been completed without issue. Team Seven had reached the outpost, delivered the rations and, with a few cordial good lucks and goodbyes—the guards had been rather insistent that they stay the night, but Minato was also rather adamant that they leave immediately, for whatever reason, despite the way Kakashi and Rin were clearly drained—they left.

Four hours into their travel back to Konoha, the blonde suddenly stopped in a clearing and set his pack down.

"M-Minato-sensei?" Rin called out questioningly, breathlessly. Something akin to relief flashed in her eyes, and Kakashi's as well. "Are we stopping for the night?"

The blonde nodded curtly, not removing his eyes from his pack as he set up. "Yes. The three of you need your rest, and we'll be waking up at dawn tomorrow to resume our return." He turned to them briefly. "I'll take the first shift while you get rest."

The three of them accepted without a word. Obito might've questioned why they didn't simply stay at the outpost, but something told him that it wasn't particularly wise—especially considering that the frigid demeanor that worried him had returned to his sensei's disposition.

Kakashi and Rin noticed too, for they both glanced to each other and Obito, looks of barely concealed worry in their eyes. Rin had even asked to examine Minato to ensure he wasn't injured—which he wasn't, of course, he was far too strong for the earlier Kumo Shinobi to actually harm him—and sighed in relief yet confusion as she settled into her makeshift sleeping bag.

Obito and Kakashi followed her example shortly after, settling into their own spots to enter an uncomfortable sleep. The last thing Obito remembered as his eyelids settled heavily was the frigid profile of his sensei, as the man looked up at the moon. A pained, barely concealed grimace formed on his face.

'Maybe Minato-sensei actually was injured…?'

And he fell asleep.

Pressure.

Obito stirred awake none too gently, having felt the strange, threatening weight on his stomach, and his eyelids flew open.

Upon seeing the cloaked figure, his eyes darted briefly to the side—Rin and Kakashi were still asleep, and—

'Shit,' he thought angrily, seeing the slumped form of his sensei against the tree. He didn't know how, but whoever this enemy was had subdued their sensei.

He shoved the knee on his diaphragm out of the way and rolled to the side, dodging the hand that reached for his throat. A man, he noted, and fast based on his quick and decisive movements. Obito's eyes darted again to his team, and upon seeing them unharmed, he made his decision.

Whoever this man was, his focus seemed to be on Obito.

So he ran.

Inwardly, he hoped that he had assumed correctly—that the man truly was after him. He also wondered things such as, 'why?' and 'for what reason?' His thoughts trailed to Orochimaru briefly, but he was still fairly certain the Sannin hadn't caught on to his identity. He then thought of Danzō, but even though he didn't feel emotion from the man he had confronted, it was reined in—it was still there, but hidden so he couldn't sense it.

He breathed a quiet sigh of relief when he felt the approaching, veiled chakra signature of his adversary. He had been playing diversion for a while now, and something told him this wouldn't be the last time.

When they were a solid twenty minutes away from his team—they were safe, he thought with some relief and satisfaction—he turned around and released a wave of powerful killing intent.

The cloaked man stumbled slightly, but regained himself not a second later, causing Obito to smirk faintly. 'Not bad.'

A volley of shuriken and kunai were hurled his way, and while he dodged a few, his eyes swirled to red and he caught one to inspect it. To his disdain, it was a standard issue kunai—he couldn't tell the village it was from, meaning that the man before him was still a mystery.

Deciding there was nothing to lose, he opened his mouth to ask just as he dodged a kick. "Who are you?"

The figure didn't respond. Instead, he sent a fist towards Obito's diaphragm, letting out a small sound of surprise when his fist went through him. Obito's smirk grew malicious. "Nice try."

He lifted his hand in a Tiger seal. "Katon: Bakufū Ranbu."

His opponent flinched back, leaping just out of the way of the swirling fire. It followed him, however, and the cloth of his cloak was thoroughly singed. Not enough to fully reveal the man, but maybe just one more attack…

Obito twitched when the man was suddenly behind him—he hadn't even seen the flicker of chakra required for Shunshin—and just managed to turn around and block the downwards kick aimed at his head.

He let out a small "oof" as his back collided with the earth for a second, and to his disdain, found himself pinned to the ground. He inwardly sighed; he hadn't taken his opponent as seriously as he probably should've.

Still, knowing he could get out of the predicament with utmost ease, Obito smiled challengingly. "So, can I at least know who my killer is?"

His foe released his carefully restrained chakra, and Obito had one second—one second—to blink, to think that there was no way, to feel his mouth go dry, to feel his heart speed up with sudden nervousness, with anxiety, with fear—

The man's cloak fluttered uselessly to the side, and onyx connected with azure. Frigid, steely, petrifying azure.

Obito gulped, and was made suddenly, frighteningly aware of the three-pronged kunai held closely to his jugular.

He blinked, catching sight of golden strands of unruly hair, only slightly illuminated by the sparse moonlight. His heart dropped to his feet when he heard an achingly family voice speak to him in a low, threatening tone—one he had hoped would never be directed towards him again.

"Who are you?"