"It's over."
Kaede calmly looked at Obito as he gripped him by the throat.
Now that he had acquired the Rinnegan, Kamui was no longer an invincible escape technique. The Reverse Summoning Technique wasn't foolproof either. With the Rinnegan's power, he could easily perceive spatial distortions, open a portal, and follow directly through.
Obito's ability was indeed troublesome.
Especially since he hadn't given one of his Mangekyo eyes to Kakashi, meaning he had both, without any of the usual drawbacks. Breaking through Kamui in that flawless state would've been nearly impossible.
But now...
It was all over.
"… you…"
Blood dripped from the corner of Obito's mouth as he tried to gather chakra to break free, but Kaede's Six Paths power surged through his hand, flooding into Obito's body and instantly dispersing his chakra.
Even a semi-Sage Body couldn't compare to the Six Paths Body and the power of the Six Paths. His regeneration was completely suppressed.
Kaede and Obito locked eyes for a second.
Through the Rinnegan's perspective, Kaede could clearly see Obito's current state. The seal over his heart had already shattered from Kaede's earlier strike. However, within Obito's Mangekyo Sharingan, there was still a lingering wave of dark chakra.
Buzz!!
The Rinnegan's power flared.
=============
In a vast, white void,
This wasn't a genjutsu realm, but a space suspended between illusion and reality, a place where the consciousness of the dead briefly lingered.
Obito appeared here, dazed and frozen. After a few seconds, his awareness gradually returned, and he started to comprehend what had happened.
New memories emerged in his mind.
They were of Rin becoming the Three-Tails' Jinchuriki and being saved by Kaede. They also included the entire plot orchestrated by Uchiha Madara, manipulating the Hidden Mist.
Because the fragment of Madara's will left in his soul had been utterly destroyed, Obito had now fully regained his sanity.
"I… I actually…"
"Madara…"
In his fully lucid state, Obito instantly realized he had been manipulated all along, and that everything up to this point had been part of Madara's scheme.
He'd been completely controlled without even realizing it, so much so that he had come to believe that sacrificing Rin and reviving her later in a new world was somehow acceptable.
Obito was horrified at what he had done.
"…Looks like you've finally come to your senses."
Kaede's figure appeared silently in front of him, watching him calmly.
Uchiha Obito stared at Kaede. Countless emotions flickered across his eyes before pain settled in.
"I'm sorry… I…"
Kaede shook his head. "It wasn't really your fault. No one could escape the manipulation of someone like Uchiha Madara, especially you, who was just a Chunin back then."
Obito lowered his head.
His fists clenched tightly, eyes full of remorse.
After a while, he slowly relaxed his hands, looked up at Kaede, and said bitterly, "Nagato is in a new base we built beneath a mountain range near the Land of Earth. The exact location is… here."
As he spoke, he raised his hand. A wisp of chakra traced a rough map in the air, marking the location of Nagato's base.
Kaede glanced at it.
Exactly what he needed.
He memorized the map, then looked at Obito. "So… what will you do now? Return to the shinobi world… or let it end here?"
Obito stared at Kaede for a few seconds, then looked away, a bitter smile on his lips. "After everything I've done… I can't go back. But… thank you, for saving Rin back then."
"No need to thank me. I couldn't save you from Madara at the time."
Kaede shook his head.
Obito stared blankly at the endless white void beneath his feet. In his mind, images of Rin and their past memories surfaced.
Eventually, he snapped back and let out a soft sigh.
Bitterly, he said, "I won't return. Take my eyes back with you. They can help protect Rin and the Leaf."
Then he looked up at Kaede and said, "If Madara still has other plans… Rin, as the Three-Tails' Jinchuriki, will probably be targeted again. Rin always liked you… so I hope you'll keep protecting her. Don't let her suffer anymore."
Kaede almost wanted to joke, "People who like me are starting to pile up," but seeing Obito's expression, he felt it would be too cruel. He chose not to be a devil this time.
He nodded. "I'll protect Rin."
"…Then I'll leave it to you."
Obito gave a faint, bittersweet smile of relief. A moment later, his body dissolved into countless white particles and merged with the void, vanishing completely.
Kaede watched Obito disappear and shook his head.
Then,
A faint sky-blue gleam flickered in his Rinnegan as he turned to gaze deeply into a certain direction within the white void. A moment later, his figure vanished silently.
In the far distance, two figures floated in the air, observing silently. Their appearances were similar, and both had black Truth-Seeking Orbs hovering around them.
Otsutsuki Hamura,
And the Sage of Six Paths.
Hagoromo and Hamura looked in Kaede's direction. Though they couldn't see each other directly, they could sense one another. Their gazes brushed past each other across the void for a fleeting instant.
"He sensed us," Hamura said softly.
Now that Kaede had stepped into the realm of the Six Paths, he had essentially become one of them, gaining the ability to let his consciousness enter this space between life and death.
"If it weren't for you, he might've taken much longer to reach this level," Hagoromo said, turning to look at Hamura.
Hamura was silent for a few seconds, then quietly closed his eyes again.
Hagoromo shook his head and tapped his Six Paths staff against the white ground. The landscape of the shinobi world appeared, revealing the Hidden Mist Village.
=============
Kirikagure.
On the roof of a building,
Kaede took out Uchiha Obito's Mangekyo Sharingan, then gently laid down Obito's body. After a moment of thought, he summoned a Truth-Seeking Orb to envelop the corpse, gradually reducing it to ash.
"Hopefully, you won't be disturbed by Edo Tensei again."
Watching Obito's body vanish into dust, Kaede let out a soft breath and sealed the Mangekyo Sharingan into a scroll.
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Completed version available on Patreon Patreon.com/Veltoria