Obito stormed off after the conversation with Kakashi, "He's really getting on my nerves." His blood felt like it was boiling so hot that anything he touched would melt to cinders.

He ran away from the Hokage's estate to a training ground, he wanted to punch something, and if Kakashi followed him then... He would have something to hit.

He began punching and kicking trees, he'd hit so hard that any tree he hit turned into splinters.

"You've gotten stronger, that's for sure."

Obito hated hearing his voice, "If you have anything left to say, say it now before you have no teeth left to speak with."

Kakashi stepped forward, "I'm sorry about Rin. I tried everything in my power to save her, but it wasn't enough."

"I don't care," Obito's voice was harsh. "I saw everything, I understand. But that doesn't mean anything. The Shinobi systems of this world brought that circumstance to life, and for that, I cannot forgive it."

Kakashi understood what Obito was going through, but what Obito was going through was amplified tenfold due to his Sharingan and Uchiha heart. "Obito, long ago you believed that friends were the most important thing. Are you really going to go back on that?"

Obito hesitated for a moment, "I have no friends."

Konan appeared in a storm of paper, "Do you truly believe that... Obito?" Both Kakashi and Obito were surprised that Konan followed them, but then again she had some investment in the two.

Obito grunted, he wished Konan hadn't heard him say that. "I..." He refocused himself, "I stand by what I said. But you're... ...different, Konan." He refused to elaborate further.

Konan was curious, was he coming on to her? Did she give him that impression earlier? "I suppose I did say love, huh." She didn't regret it, but just the thought of the two of them being a couple felt like a knife in Nagato's back. Maybe he'd forgive them.

There was silence in the air, not a sound could be heard but the wind whistling, the leaves humming, and the village bustling in the distance.

Kakashi broke the silence, "Obito, why hide yourself?"

Obito shrugged, "The man I am now is very different than that of the boy you knew. There was no point in keeping that name."

A leaf landed in between Kakashi and Obito, both staring at each other. The tension between them was so thick that anything caught in between them would be cut into ribbons.

Kakashi tried speaking, "Obito-"

"No," Obito answered. "In six days I'll be leaving the village, and I'll never return."

Kakashi was dumbfounded, Obito was smart enough to guess what his next question was.

Konan asked, wanting to know what truly troubled Obito so much. "Obito, why do you hate the Leaf village so much?"

Obito snapped his eye to hers, his gaze softened slightly, "The Leaf, no, the whole system of the Shinobi are flawed. Every Shinobi is taught to live and die by their village no matter what, anything else doesn't matter. Take Kakashi's father Sakumo for example, he valued his allies more than his mission. That cost his reputation dearly, and he was vilified by the Leaf's people because of it. So much so that he took his own life and left Kakashi to find his body. A just system would've intervened and stood up for him, but the Leaf isn't just. It persecutes and disenfranchises the Uchiha clan as we speak. It's only a matter of time before they have enough and bite back, but with someone like Danzo who has a deep-rooted hatred of the Uchiha having such a huge role will no doubt rule in for the Uchiha's extermination. That's why I wish to leave."

Konan was left speechless, she hadn't thought of the darkness that lay beneath the major hidden villages. Maybe Obito was right, being a part of the village meant you were a part of the problem. She thought that Nagato and Obito weren't that different in that respect, they both despised the village systems.

"So what, you're just going to run away?" Kakashi asked. "Like you always do?"

Obito was irked by Kakashi's words, "I'm not running away. I plan on changing the world with..." He stopped himself, talking any further would result in him revealing the infinite Tsukoyomi. He didn't want Kakashi or Konan to learn of it just yet. Preparations were still yet to be completed. "It doesn't matter what you think. My actions are my own and there's nothing you say or do will stop me."

An idea popped into Kakashi's head, there was a possibility it might work. "You seem very confident in that."

Obito could tell by the way Kakashi spoke that he was trying to lure him into a trap of some kind. "I do. But that doesn't mean you can goad me into anything."

Kakashi played it off, "If I were to goad you what would it matter? Seeing as how confident you are, anything I'd try would be of no use, right?"

Obito narrowed his eye, "What are you planning?"

Kakashi shrugged, "We've only sparred once since you've been here, and if you plan on leaving then I'd like to spar with you at least once more. Both of us going all out and with some stakes."

Obito was curious, "What type of stakes?" He knew that he was falling into Kakashi's trap but there was nothing he could do to him, Obito was in a whole other league than Kakashi.

"How about if I win you stay in the village for at least a couple of months, three at the very least," Kakashi stated.

"And when I win?" Obito asked.

Kakashi tapped his headband covering his eye, "You can have your Sharingan back."

Obito folded his arms, "Very well." Kakashi proceeded to uncover his Sharingan, he had little hope of winning because Obito had wood style and was a full-blooded Uchiha with a Sharingan.

The two took ten steps away from each other and turned around, both pulling up their index finger to eye level.

Konan felt like she should stop the two but it seemed way too far out of her control. "Is there anything that would stop the two of you from doing this?"

"No," the two of them answered at the same time.

Konan sighed and disappeared into a storm of paper, she'd watch from a distance.

Kakashi couldn't help but get deja Vu to one of their many sparring matches as kids. He could hear Minato-sensei's words, "Shinobi hand-to-hand combat. Well now that you're ready, begin!"

The two charged at each other trading and blocking blows, Kakashi felt sluggish after every hit Obito landed. Obito kneed Kakashi in the stomach and punched him in the chin, Kakashi was sent flying upwards.

Obito manifested large branches of wood above Kakashi, causing him to slam into it. Kakashi shook off his disorientation and climbed up onto his branch. He looked down below and didn't see Obito.

"Over here!" Obito shouted before striking Kakashi in the left shoulder with a wooden stake, drawing blood. Kakashi groaned in pain, but Kakashi then turned into lightning and shocked Obito, discombobulating him.

Kakashi burst through the tree branch a decent distance away and launched a few shuriken. Obito raised his right arm and caught two in his fingers and the other was embedded in his arm. Kakashi took this time to fire a ninjutsu, "Water style, Water Dragon Jutsu."

Obito threw the three shurikens, shrugged off the lightning, and performed some hand signs, he took in a breath, "Fire style, Phoenix Flame Scarlet Claw." He breathed out fire and the shuriken were encased in fire chakra. The three shuriken weren't enough to overtake the water dragon so Obito performed a couple more hand signs and breathed in one more breath. "Fire style, Fireball Jutsu." He launched a massive fireball. The fireball finally overtook the water dragon.

In an effort to stop the fireball, Kakashi created a mud wall on the branch, the fireball hit the wall and nearly tore it to shreds but it withstood it well enough to protect Kakashi.

Obito using the smoke to mask his presence created a wood clone. Obito flanked Kakashi's wall by creating a moving branch larger than before, he jumped from the branch and into the air.

Kakashi turned around to ready for Obito's attack but another Obito grabbed him through the mud wall and held him in place. The real Obito was prepping another wooden stake to injure Kakashi, his knees would do.

Kakashi couldn't writhe from the Obito clone's grip, he was at Obito's mercy.

Obito was ready to maim Kakashi but something felt wrong, he saw Rin standing next to Kakashi, she was sad.

"Stop it, Obito."

Obito's mind was left in shock, and his body froze up as he was in the air.

Kakashi took advantage of Obito's indecisiveness, he flipped the clone over himself and threw it into Obito. Obito fell out of the air and hit his head on a branch, knocking him out cold.

Kakashi was worried that Obito wouldn't stop himself from hitting the ground, so he jumped down to grab him but he wasn't fast enough to catch him.

A platform of paper caught both of the boys and they landed softly. Kakashi urgently checked to see if Obito was still alive by checking his pulse. Thankfully, Obito was still breathing.

Konan appeared and knelt to Kakashi and the unconscious Obito, "Is he okay?"

Kakashi nodded, "Yeah. He just hit his head. He'll be fine."

Konan breathed a sigh of relief, she was thankful that neither was gravely injured. "Is this what you two used to do?"

Kakashi started thinking about every training session with Obito, "No. Usually, it was friendly, Obito always lost but he was a good sport about it."

Konan tried imagining that goggled boy, with that bright smile that endured many hardships. "I wish I could've known him then."

"I wish I could have him back," Kakashi murmured to himself.

"Obito? Hello, anyone in there?" A feminine voice asked loudly into his ear.

Obito jolted to the side, "Huh? Yeah, I'm here." He answered meekly. He was right in front of a mirror, he was putting on a blue suit with a red tie.

A jumble of red hair and green eyes smiled from behind him, "Aren't you excited to finally fulfill your dream?" The wife of the Fourth Hokage, Kushina Uzumaki. Obito always saw her as his mother figure.

Obito nervously chuckled, "I'm not sure I fit the description anymore." He stared at himself in the mirror seeing that he was an adult, much like his real self, scars and all. "Kushina, I'm not sure kids would want to look up at the Hokage monument to see my scarred face."

Kushina tapped his shoulder and leaned over the other, "They say scars make men more distinguished and sexier. But no matter who looks up they'll see the face of a man who fought for his beliefs and clawed his way to survive whatever brought you this scar." She then had a smirk on her face, "And I'm sure many women would want to be the future Mrs. Hokage. But you've probably got a couple women in mind already, don't you?"

Obito squirmed slightly due to Kushina poking him with her fingers, "No. I've been too busy with training and working."

Kushina's smirk deepened, "So you haven't had enough time for Konan then?"

Obito's hardened cheeks blushed, "She's a friend. A good friend."

"One that could be the future Mrs Hokage perhaps?" She teased.

"If she'd like to...maybe." Though this was a dream he couldn't see himself ever getting married.

Kushina's smirk turned into a frown, "Oh come on. You both have chemistry together, what's the worst thing that could happen?"

"She says no?" Obito questioned.

"Is that all you boys ever think of, the worst outcome?"

Obito leaned his head to the side, "For the most part."

Kushina yanked Obito's tie, he was forced to look straight into her eyes. Kushina sighed and said, "If you aren't honest with your heart then you'll lose yourself. The jinchuriki of the nine tails before me was Mito Uzumaki, she said that as long as you have love in your life then anything is possible. No matter how dark your heart gets there's always the one you love waiting for you." She softened up and smiled, "So please, find something to live for and embrace it, don't push it away."

Obito nodded, "I'll try."

Kushina let go of the tie and readjusted it. "There, let's get you to that coronation."

Obito slowly opened his eye, his vision adjusted to the light of the moon shining into the room. He was lying in his bed, in his apartment, so that meant he lost to Kakashi. Which meant he was to stay in the Leaf village for three months. "Dammit..."

"Dammit is quite right," Madara's voice could be heard.

Obito looked over to his right, "You saw the fight?"

"I did," his voice didn't show any emotion.

"I take it you didn't like my performance?"

"Somewhat. You fought well, but you hesitated at the end. The Hatake boy utilized this weakness and defeated you. Now, are you going to fulfill your deal with the Hatake or will you not?"

Obito turned his head back to look at the ceiling, "I feel that I should try to stay true to my word."

Madara moved to Obito's bed, "It's one thing to let one person know your identity, but two... Well, that's a disaster waiting to happen."

"I won't kill Kakashi, he's suffered too much already," Obito said.

"But who hasn't?" Madara countered. "If we were to have sympathy for everyone who has suffered, there would be no sympathy left in this world."

Obito thought on it, his opinion was very different from Madara's. Obito had sympathy for those who deserved it, no matter how little he showed it, but in the end even that was inconsequential to the infinite Tsukoyomi. But then again, could true peace be obtained with different people at the helm?

Obito started thinking about Madara's memories that involved Hashirama Senju. Hashirama was a peace-preaching and charismatic man, but even he couldn't fully fulfill his dream of peace. And he died mysteriously, which was strange considering his strength and abilities.

"If you want to belittle me for at least trying to keep my old friend alive, just remember that you couldn't sever your connection to the First Hokage." Obito closed his eye.

Madara sighed, "You may have a point, but our positions and perspectives on our former friends are very different. But the respect we have for them will never wither."

Obito breathed slowly trying to fall asleep, "Three more months of this dump, yay..."

The early morning in the Leaf village was normal, or as normal as it could be considering what happened two days ago. Kakashi sat at a bench that presided alongside a stone pathway, he was looking up into the sky. But something was strange, Kakashi was wearing a blue shirt that came accompanied by a face mask, his pants were of a similar shade of blue, and he was missing his headband.

"Sensei, Father, I don't know what to do. Obito seems too far gone to help, but I want to help him." Kakashi spoke, hoping and praying for a response.

But as were things the dead couldn't speak, at least not without some otherworldly help.

A green spandex-wearing youthful man walked by and saw his eternal rival in thought. "Yo, Kakashi. What's got you so down?"

Kakashi changed his sight to Guy who was now standing in front of him, he started thinking about how to say what was on his mind to Guy. He sighed, "It's about Tobi, we fought yesterday."

Guy sat next to Kakashi, he was worried that his friend was slowly succumbing to his demons, who wouldn't after what Kakashi went through. "Are you not adjusting to having two different people at your side? Do they remind you of Obito and Rin?"

Kakashi felt that he should tell Guy about Obito, but Obito clearly didn't want anyone else to know about him. "In a sense they do, but there's something else. Tobi has a dark side to him, something far darker than I ever thought possible. I want to help him but I don't know how. I tried something yesterday but I don't know if I made things better or worse."

Guy thought about anything that could help, "Well, Kakashi, they say time heals all wounds. Maybe just give Tobi time and he'll come around."

"I wonder about that..." Time was something that Kakashi didn't know if he had, considering he was unsure if Obito would commit to his side of the bet. But ironically only time would tell.