It was late at night, and the lights in Konoha Village were dim.
The stars filled the sky, shining down on the earth, while the bright moon hung at an angle in the sky.
"I... have failed."
From the moment Minato Namikaze applied the "Eight Trigrams Sealing Style," Uchiha Obito knew.
He had failed.
Not just this mission to raid Konoha Village.
But the entire 'Eye of the Moon Plan' as well.
And even what was most important in his heart, what he wanted to achieve most of all—to be with Rin forever.
It was all impossible now.
"Rin, I'm sorry."
"I probably... won't be able to fulfill my promise to you."
Uchiha Obito collapsed weakly onto the ground, his eyes gazing dimly at the starlit sky as he muttered to himself.
Speaking of a promise that didn't even exist.
Although it was just Uchiha Obito's wishful thinking, in his heart, he truly considered it a promise between himself and Rin Nohara.
"Obito, as your former teacher, I can give you one last chance."
Minato Namikaze stood before Uchiha Obito, looking at his dejected disciple with a complex expression as he spoke:
"Tell me everything you know, every piece of intelligence."
"I can take responsibility and strip you of your Chakra, letting you live as an ordinary person in Konoha Village."
As it stood, although Uchiha Obito had made the dangerous move of attacking Konoha Village, he had actually been subdued by Minato Namikaze before he could cause any real damage.
So under these circumstances, Minato Namikaze was still willing to give Uchiha Obito a chance.
As long as he revealed all intelligence regarding the 'Eye of the Moon Plan', 'Black Zetsu', and 'Uchiha Madara'.
Hearing this, Uchiha Obito turned his head with a blank expression and looked at Minato Namikaze.
Then, he began to laugh like a madman:
"Hahahaha, hahahahahahaha!"
As if he had seen the most ridiculous thing in the world, Uchiha Obito couldn't help but press a hand to his forehead while pointing at Minato Namikaze with the other, laughing until he was out of breath:
"Hahahaha..."
"Hypocrisy! Sanctimony! It makes me sick!"
"Minato Namikaze! What's the point of acting like this now? What's the use of sparing my life?"
"I will only hate you more! I'll want to destroy this hypocritical Konoha Village even more!"
Uchiha Obito shouted through gritted teeth, and as he spoke, tears began to stream from the corners of his eyes:
"It was you! You're the ones who killed Rin!"
"Rin is dead! This world no longer has any value in existing!"
"And I, who could not save Rin, have no value in existing either!"
"Kill me! Kill me!"
Listening to Uchiha Obito's words, Minato Namikaze couldn't help but frown, but for some reason, he didn't respond.
"You bastard, what nonsense are you talking about!"
"I remember that little girl named Rin Nohara too; she died because of a conspiracy by the Hidden Mist Village."
"What does that have to do with Konoha!"
Minato Namikaze remained silent, but Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't help but speak up in rebuttal.
When Rin Nohara died, Hiruzen Sarutobi had not yet retired and was still the Third Hokage.
Intelligence regarding that incident was handed over to him afterward, so Hiruzen Sarutobi was quite clear on the details.
"Bullshit!"
Like an enraged beast, Uchiha Obito jumped up and pointed at Hiruzen Sarutobi's nose, cursing loudly:
"If it wasn't for your mission, how could Rin have died!"
"If it wasn't for him not being by her side at the time, how could Rin possibly have died!"
"Rin... Rin died at the hands of Kakashi Hatake! I saw it with my own eyes!"
The "him" here referred to Minato Namikaze.
Back then, Uchiha Madara and Black Zetsu had set a trap, placing a Cursed Seal on Rin Nohara's heart, then manipulating the Hidden Mist to seal the Three-Tails inside her; at the critical moment, she was pierced through the chest and killed by Kakashi Hatake's Chidori.
Meanwhile, Minato Namikaze was trapped on another battlefield at the time and could not arrive in time.
Having witnessed all of this, Uchiha Obito used it as a major reason for his resentment towards Minato Namikaze.
"Humph! Carrying out missions is the foundation of a Ninja's survival."
"Over the years, if not a hundred thousand, then at least fifty thousand Ninjas have died during missions."
"Can that be a reason for you to attack Konoha and commit such atrocities?"
Facing the accusations of the crazed Uchiha Obito, Hiruzen Sarutobi remained unmoved.
Perhaps in the eyes of the Old Monkey, a Ninja dying on a mission was a very common occurrence, nothing worth discussing.
He didn't want to argue with Uchiha Obito either, so he turned to Minato Namikaze and urged him:
"Kill him, Minato."
"Bringing his corpse back will be the same; Shin'ichi's ability can be trusted."
In Konoha's Intelligence Division, there are specialized methods for reading information from the brains of deceased Ninjas; the secret techniques of the Yamanaka Clan are specifically for this purpose.
"Hehe, how could the high-and-mighty Hokage-sama understand the pain of low-level Ninjas."
"In the end, people like us are nothing more than tools for you to maintain your rule."
Seeing Hiruzen Sarutobi's superior attitude, Uchiha Obito suddenly spoke with a cold sneer:
"To Hokage-sama, ordinary Ninjas are just tools, cannon fodder for missions; you don't care how many die."
"But I am different!"
Uchiha Obito pointed to his own chest, his tone intense:
"To me, missions are dog shit!"
"Rin's life is far, far more important than any bullshit mission!"
"Forget missions—Rin's life is more important than yours, than everyone in Konoha Village, and than everyone in the entire Ninja World combined!"
"For Rin, I am willing to give up everything, even if the price is destroying this world!"
Uchiha Obito became more and more agitated; he knew he had no chance of survival this time.
Even if he did, he wouldn't be willing to surrender to Minato Namikaze.
With a determination to die, he only wanted to speak out and release everything in his heart.
"Rin... Rin!"
Uchiha Obito suddenly had an emotional breakdown, clutching his head with both hands as tears flowed copiously; his knees buckled, and he knelt on the ground.
"Heh, foolish."
At that moment, a cold voice suddenly rang out; it was Orochimaru.
Orochimaru, who was maintaining the Four Red Yang Formation barrier, suddenly spoke with a look of deep mockery and disdain on his face, looking down at Uchiha Obito:
"Even while learning and growing beside a great Ninja like Minato, have you not learned even a single thing?"
"Rotten mud that can't be smeared on a wall will fall off on its own, no matter how hard you try to stick it there."
"The value of life lies in carrying the memory of the deceased and then working hard to change this world!"
"If you hate those in power high above, then pull them down!"
"If you pity the ordinary people who live in uncertainty, then use your own strength to protect them!"
"That is the value of life's existence!"
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