Obito-Sensei Chapter 103

Takes A Hand Extended In Forgiveness

The moment when Onoki was knocked out of the fight passed so quickly that Obito almost missed it. In one second, the Tsuchikage was on the other side of him, harrying Minato with Dust Release. In the next, his throat split open, his eyes going wide as the pain crawled towards his brain.

Obito blinked, and the Kamui opened up: Onoki vanished, dumped into Rin's lap, and then he was alone. Kurotsuchi had been drawn in minutes before, barely saving her from death. He was out of allies.

It was a Wind jutsu that had done it. Techniques like that weren't Minato's preferred style, but his mastery of three elements was part of what made him infinitely dangerous, and he'd lulled Obito and Onoki both into an unconscious rhythm by relying primarily on the Hiraishin and taijutsu, convincing their instincts that he was hoarding his chakra for another large-scale attack. The small and invisible blade of wind had slipped through the chaos, and slit the Tsuchikage's throat.

When Onoki vanished, a calm swept over the battlefield. Countless trenches had been carved out by Dust Release, transforming the terrain around the teetering fortress into a checkerboard of muddy gullies and clean-shorn stone. Obito and Minato stood across from one another, sizing each other up. Their chakra pressed together, splitting the ground in places and shaking the air. They were both breathing heavily, tired but not exhausted. Obito had a couple small wounds; the Hokage seemed basically untouched, but his fatigue was deeper.

"That's the last one," Obito grunted, wiping some blood from his cheek with a thumb. Even his Eternal eyes were feeling the stress. A single bloody tear had emerged, though his vision was still crystal clear. "It's over, sensei."

Minato's mouth twisted into a frown. "You've made this really difficult, Obito," he said, shifting from foot to foot. "But it's not quite over. They all might be dead in there, you know."
"Rin's taking care of it," Obito said, breathing out and standing up straight. "I trust her."
"You think?" Minato asked with the ghost of a smile. He started stretching, as if this were a careless spar. "Okay, plan b then."

"And what's that?" Obito asked, shaking his hands out. His knuckles and palms were bleeding badly, but there was no time to wrap them. His sensei's smile became solid.

"It's pretty simple," Minato explained, locking and rotating his arms over his head with a satisfied grunt. "They're all trapped in the Kamui, doubtlessly at each other's throats. Rin's in there too, so I can't just send an attack into it." His arms came down, and he started pacing. Obito rotated too, the both of them circling the other as their chakra came alive again and ground against one another, filling the air with a sourceless rumbling.

"But I'm pretty confident that with enough hands-on time, I could figure out the Kamui," Minato said frankly, and Obito blinked at the terrifying admission. "So I beat the crap out of you, take my time studying it, and then break through the dimensional barrier and kill them all in there." He grinned. "Or maybe even figure out how to pull them out one at a time? That would be a lot safer. The result's the same either way. I think this has proven pretty conclusively that I can take them, right?"

"Sensei, you know you're sounding a little megalomaniacal, right?" Obito asked, and Minato laughed.

"That's fine," he said with the same grin. "You should try it, Obito. It's fun to speak without reservation."

"Okay then," Obito said, returning the grin. "How about this? I beat the crap out of you, and then you'll give up and let me try to talk some sense into the rest of the Kage?"

Minato's grin faded, but the light didn't leave his eyes.

"That's the spirit," he said, and then he rushed forward. Obito met him head-on.

###

Battles between ninjas were supposed to be brief. There were circumstances where they could be dragged out, of course: skirmishes taking place over a longer period of time, or two perfectly matched opponents struggling to take the initiative. There were legends like the Third Raikage that had supposedly fought for three days straight, but situations like that were vanishingly rare. Most ninja didn't have the endurance to pull off something ridiculous like that, and it wasn't a good decision besides. The Raikage had been trying to distract and hold back an entire army; in single combat, dragging out the fight was just allowing more and more time for the fatal mistake that would decide the battle.

But Kushina and Mikoto had been smashing against one another for almost twenty-five minutes now, and neither of them were showing any sign of slowing down.

Mikoto refused to give up, Kushina thought. On any other day, it would be admirable, but today, it was just infuriating. The Susano'o had been in full bloom for almost fifteen minutes now, blood pouring from both of Mikoto's eyes as she threw herself against Kushina's chakra chains and tried to restrict her over and over again. The Susano'o itself was infused with the Benzaiten: where its hands fell, chakra vanished, turning the chains to dust and even once nearly paralyzing Kushina herself as the icy grip closed around her before she wiggled free with a desperate, child-like scramble. One of Mikoto's eyes was more crimson cataracts than white, and her whole body was shuddering, her fingers twitching and muscles spasming as she poured everything into the spectral guardian, battling Kushina mind, body and soul to keep her from getting to the other side of the Fortress and her husband.

And she just wouldn't go down!

"Will you cut it out?!" Kushina screamed for what felt like the hundredth time, but Mikoto just remained grimly determined, cutting off her escape route with a massive blue hand and locking her in place once again. On another day, she might have thought the Susano'o beautiful, magnificent; the amount of chakra that was exploding out of Mikoto and forming the guardian was incredible, and it wore ornately detailed armor, almost like a samurai's, with a demonic mask with two long curving horns placed over its skull, and wielded a longsword in one hand that was a mirror to Mikoto's own.

But today, it was just a terrible obstacle. Kushina tried to burst through again, but the Susano'o pushed her back, burying her in the ground with the force of its counterattack. One of Mikoto's eyes slid shut, blood dribbling out from beneath the lid as she hyperventilated.

"You're killing yourself, Mikoto!"

"I'll live," Mikoto barked harshly. She swung again, driving Kushina back as the Susano'o blade carved a vast swathe from the earth and raised a blast of debris: Kushina smashed aside several stones with her chains and caught one with her bare hands, hurling it back at the Susano'o where it shattered against the armor, driving Mikoto back a step, her hand clutching her heart.

"It might be over by now!" Kushina roared, charging forward and being thrown back once again. "Just lie down!"

"We'll know when it's over!" Mikoto shouted back. "We'll feel it!"

And she was right; the sensation of Obito and Minato's chakra clashing was obvious, like a silent lightning strike just out of sight. So long as that feeling persisted, the battle was still on.
They continued in that statemate for another minute, bashing bloody against one another, before Kushina was nearly knocked unconscious by a haymaker from the Susano'o. She groggily pulled herself out of the trench she'd dug in the ground, snarling with mindless, heartfelt anger.

SEE? Kurama's mocking voice shook her brain. THIS IS HOW IT ALWAYS GOES. NEXT, YOU WILL BEG ME FOR HELP.

"Fuck you!" Kushina immediately shouted on instinct, and felt a flash of guilt at the hurt look that appeared for just an instant on Mikoto's face. "No, not you!" she said, throwing herself back into the fight and just confusing Mikoto more.

WHY NOT HER? Kurama asked gleefully. HAS SHE NOT BETRAYED YOU? EVERYTHING SHE IS DOING, SHE DOES FOR YOU, SHE CLAIMS. AND YET SHE DRAWS YOUR BLOOD, DENIES YOUR WISHES? IS THAT NOT-

"Kurama, if you wanna be an asshole, you can be an asshole, y'know!" Kushina said, dancing past another blow from the Susano'o and throwing Mikoto back with a thunderous combo of chains that shattered the Susano'o's armor but not its ribs. She tried to dash past, but the construct was there again, catching her by the leg and flinging her back. "I can't stop that! But if you wanna offer to help, just help!"

That caught the Fox off guard: for a couple seconds, there was blessed silence in her head, just the sound of her hammering heart.

RIDICULOUS. Kurama sounded genuinely offended.

"Really?" Kushina asked. "Then why don't you just shut up? If you're going to help, help; if you're going to watch, watch! It's just distracting when you're pulling your 'woe is me' shit in my head!" She threw a Water Dragon at the Susano'o, just hoping to distract Mikoto for a second, but the sword split it and the flat of the blade nearly caught her in the side; she barely managed to flip over it. How the hell could she see so clearly with so much blood in her eyes?!

THIS IS AN EDUCATIONAL MOMENT FOR YOU, Kurama said, and Kushina couldn't help but laugh.

"Or maybe for you, huh?!" She shattered the other side of the armor, and Mikoto let out a cry of pain that broke her heart. "Do you think everything's gonna turn out alright if Minato gets his way? The Jinchuriki are gonna be next on the chopping block, y'know! The way things are, when I'm gone, you're gonna be in deep shit, one way or another!"

THEN I WOULD KILL HIM AS WELL, Kurama said without hesitation. Kushina laughed, finding the idea of anything killing her husband ridiculous. Even Nagato hadn't managed it. But that wasn't what she said. What said instead was-

"So you'd just repeat your mistakes?"

To that, Kurama had no answer.

Kushina charged forward once more, but the Susano'o did something she'd never seen before: it dropped its sword, which disappeared in a wash of chakra, and made hand signs, running through a couple familiar ones with blinding speed.

Then, it vanished; all of Mikoto's chakra did, drawn down into her body and shoved away instantly, compressed into an impossibly small and invisible space behind her right eye.

Oh shit, Kushina had time to think, before the Susano'o snapped back into existence. Mikoto screamed, and a wall of fire burst out the Susano'o, a hundred feet tall and twice as wide, that rushed towards Kushina in a completely undodgeable explosion.

Not deadly, probably, but it would hurt a lot. Kushina curled herself into a ball, surrounding herself in chains.

As she did, she couldn't help but keep speaking, her voice directed inward.

We beat Nagato together, she said. Even if it were just for a second, we could beat her too. We could stop her and Minato from making the same mistake, again and again.

Isn't that what you really want?

She could feel, see, Kurama staring at her, glaring down from over the shattered seal. He hesitated as the firestorm swept over them, burning Kushina's skin and catching her hair alight. But he could feel what she felt, and the burning pain made him speak.

WHAT I REALLY WANT IS TO BE RIGHT, Kurama said, the truth pulled from his sneering lips. He had no choice; in this unblemished place that their chakra had started to share, lying was impossible. IF I'M NOT…

If you're not, then so much of your existence will have been wrong, yeah, Kushina acknowledged. Because you did have a choice. This was never your destiny; it was just the path you chose. And even now, after everything you've done, you've got a choice to turn onto a different one.

Kurama narrowed his eyes, but even dying wouldn't have stopped Kushina from speaking the rest of the words in her heart.

And that's painful. Way more painful than this: I know that. I feel the same way, looking at you like you were just a mindless demon for so long. It may not have felt like much to you, but a couple decades if a lot for us humans. I'm sure you get that. Everyone steers away from pain; no one sane wants to run headlong into it.

But isn't it better to suffer that pain and actually be right than it would be to get one over me just because I said you were wrong?

Isn't that what your father would want? What your siblings would want?

What you would want?

Kurama was quiet as the firestorm raged; time was slow in the world that only the two of them shared.

AND YET, IT'S AS I HAVE SAID, he said. It didn't seem possible for him to be quiet, but it was the most subdued Kushina had ever heard. YOU SEEK MY POWER. AS YOU DID AGAINST THE KAGUYA, AS YOU DID AGAINST NAGATO, AND ONCE MORE NOW. DREADED ACROSS THE WORLD AS I AM…

I want you to help me, Kushina said, quiet as he couldn't be. I don't want to use you; I'm asking for you to help me keep my best friend and my husband from making a terrible mistake. It's true that your power infects everything, Kurama; it makes every decision you make dangerous. It's the same for ninja. It's the same for Minato. But that doesn't mean that everything is a transaction.

I've got nothing to offer because I've already given you everything, but I'm calling out to you, just like your siblings did, like Fuu did: help me.

Will you refuse?

Kurama shifted his head. Then, carefully, he reached out. Kushina did as well, and her hand wrapped around the tip of his claw.

They shook hands, woman and Beast.

IT WILL BE A TERRIBLE THING TO MAKE ME REGRET THIS, Kurama said dourly. Kushina smiled.

"Then I'll do my best not to."

Golden fire raced across her body once more.

Kushina burst through the wall of fire, extinguishing the flames with the speed of her passage, and smashed through Mikoto's Susano'o. But rather than charge right into Mikoto and crush her, she slowed with impossible finesse at the last moment and gathered her friend up in both arms, bearing her down to the ground.

"What?!" Mikoto coughed out, closing her right eye entirely and leaving her left a slit. Kushina could feel the Benzaiten playing over her, trying to eat away at Kurama's impossibly huge chakra. She shook her head.

"Mikoto, stop." More blood ran from Mikoto's slit eye, glowing in Kushina's golden light. "You'll just burst it again."

"I can't-!" Mikoto was panting, pinned down and completely overwhelmed. The Susano'o fell apart, losing cohesion and crashing to the ground in semi-solid pieces. "Kushina-!"

She let out a cry of agony, her eye slamming shut as her whole body jolted with pain. Real tears accompanied the blood, smearing down her cheeks. "I can't lose you again!"

Kushina reached down, cupping Mikoto's face and burning away her blood tears as she started weeping. She'd lost, and the reality of it was completely overwhelming.

"You won't," she said, sounding like surety itself, but Mikoto just cried harder.

"I will!" she wept. "I know how the whole world sees you: how I saw you! So long as the Villages exist, and ninja exist, someone will always try to take you!" She covered her face, hiding her shame and speaking out between bloodied fingers. "Minato can't always keep you safe! I can't always keep you safe! When Fugaku was gone, you were the only one I had left, and still I…!"

Mikoto broke down completely, exhausted and defeated, and Kushina pulled her up into a hug, pressing against her as she violently shook.

"I don't need anyone to look out for me," Kushina said, which just made Mikoto's shuddering more intense. "You gotta accept that, y'know?" She pulled back with a smile. "I'll be there for you, Mikoto. I promise. I'm not gonna leave you." She stood up. "In the long run, I mean. Right now, I'm gonna go see what the boys are up to."

Mikoto grasped desperately at her, but Kushina took her hand with infinite care, squeezed it, and then set it aside. "So for a bit, just lie the fuck down, would you? We'll get Naruto or someone to take a look at you when everything's done."

Mikoto lay on the ground weeping, and though it felt terrible Kushina left her behind, circling the fortress.

She found even more of a wasteland on the other side; the great walls of the samurai had been torn down, and the mountain was devastated, just as torn to pieces as the distant summits had been by the battle involving the Bijuu. Obito and Minato were at the center of it, fighting with such fervor and speed that even she could barely follow. They flashed from strike to strike, a blur of combat that defied imagination.

Kushina prepared to leap down between the two of them and bring an end to things, hopefully with as few broken bones as possible.

WAIT.

"Wait?" Kushina asked, baffled by the sudden interruption. She sensed that Kurama had focused, drawn out of his contemplation by the clash. "What? Why?"

YOU HAVE ASKED SOMETHING OF ME; I WOULD ASK THIS OF YOU, Kurama rumbled. I WISH TO SEE WHO WINS. WITHOUT INTERFERENCE.

"... huh?" Kushina sputtered, and for the first time ever Kurama chuckled. It wasn't an unpleasant sound, and she found herself smiling at it. The Tailed Beast had recovered a part of himself long lost.

ALL MISTAKES ARE REPEATED, he said. THEY HAVE RECREATED AN ANCIENT CONFLICT, THOUGH I WAS LOATHE TO RECOGNIZE IT.

'THERE WAS NO VICTORY.'

"Do you mean Indra and Asura?" Kushina asked after a moment, and she felt Kurama's assent. "But, didn't that…?"

IT DID, he confirmed, and Kushina saw an ethereal vision; two young men dying in each other's arms, souls contorted in hatred. For a second, they wore Minato and Obito's faces. NINJUTSU IS ALL THAT REMAINS OF NINSHU, Kurama said, and Kushina finally understood his meaning, and what he was watching for. THAT IS THE NEW REALITY. AND IF THAT MUST BE ACCEPTED, LET US SEE IF IT CAN INHERIT THE ORIGINAL INTENT.

He settled, observing the battle with intense interest, and Kushina felt compelled to do the same, clinging to the side of the Fortress and knowing in her heart that this was the final conflict; her son was safe, wherever he was, and all other fighters had fled or been spirited away.

WE WILL WITNESS THE VICTOR, AND THAT WILL HELP ME CHOOSE MY NEW PATH.

There came a moment, between a missed punch and a deflected kick, where Obito realized that he was losing the fight.

Well, he thought to himself. That's not good.

He was the younger man, the stronger man. Strictly speaking, for a duel like this he had the superior technique. He had the more just cause. He'd won the first stage of the battle, their perverse race for the Kage. But his sensei had always been both smarter and cleverer than him, and today…

Minato just wanted to win more.

The Hokage had thrown away all reservation and hesitation. Obito had thought he'd managed the same, but compared to Minato he was still pulling his punches. Minato went after him like only a professional murderer could, every attack a potential finishing blow, and Obito's experience and the Kamui just barely saved him time and time again. Every time he struck back, he experienced a fraction of the frustration he had put so many people through: Minato slipped away, his instincts or the Hiraishin carrying him past the attack every single time.

They were both getting tired, tired enough that stalling or killing the Kage would be impossible for them if this went on much longer. That was a win condition for Obito, as far as he was concerned. He could have just left. That was actually possible now. Dip back into the Kamui, run far away, and come back for a second round after talking some sense into everyone.

But negotiating with the Kage would be impossible so long as Minato was out there with murder in his heart. And more than that…

Obito didn't want to run away.

He didn't want to give an inch, not to anyone, not ever again.

There wasn't a concrete moment of realization. It dawned gradually as Obito's punches grew sharper, his kicks more vicious, his movements surer. Minato started to draw back, and his face, usually expressionless in a fight, tightened imperceptibly in surprise and concern.

Obito didn't want to ever lose again, and if that was the case he had to want to win more than the man who'd decided he'd happily kill the world. He stopped thinking about the future, or the consequences of the fight, or whether his team was alright. He focused entirely on the present moment, feeling only his and Minato's body and seeing only his opponent. Not his sensei, not the Hokage; just a man he had to beat into submission.

Overruled by instinct, Obito deactivated the Kamui entirely, and his Sharingan as well. The invisible light that bathed the world vanished.

"Oh?" Minato muttered, and pressed the advantage. He didn't give Obito a chance to breathe as he struggled to read the fight without his Eternal eyes.

Doing something so foolish in the middle of a fight was like forcing his heart to stop, but the second it was done and Obito watched the world with ordinary eyes he realized why his heart had guided him into something his mind would never have accepted.

Precognition had betrayed him. Minato's every move was made to baffle it; in the course of the brief fight, the man had already become a master at battling the Sharingan.

Non-linear movements masked by the Hiraishin and contradictory chakra impulses beneath the skin were invisible to Obito now, leaving him fighting like a normal man. There was no immediate turnaround: he had made himself lesser, and he struggled. With the Kamui deactivated, Minato landed several brutal blows: he caught Obito in the temple and nearly snapped his arm with a kick, knocking him to one knee with a lightning exchange of blows. In just twenty seconds, the fight was nearly brought to an end, the Hokage standing the presumptive victor. Obito tasted blood, his legs shaking.

"That wasn't quite-" Minato started to say, and then Obito lashed out with a low kick that the Hokage effortlessly leapt over. He transitioned into an elbow strike, meaning to catch Minato in mid-air, and just to his expectations, the Hiraishin instantly transported him out of range.

The Flying Thunder God could place Minato anywhere within a four foot radius; over the course of the fight, Obito had not once been able to predict it with his Sharingan. The surge of chakra was nearly invisible, and Minato did not look at or away from his intended destination. He disappeared and reappeared in the same instant and without a pattern, sometimes seeking blind spots and sometimes not, never using the same trick twice in a row except for when it seemed inevitable that he wouldn't, in which case he would.

But with his Sharingan deactivated, Obito kicked out and caught Minato right in the gut the instant he reappeared. The tremendous blow doubled the Hokage over and knocked all the air from his lungs.

Minato gagged, the first sound of pain he'd made the whole fight, and teleported again. Once more, Obito predicted him without sight. He felt empty but for the desire to win, hollowed out into a vessel of violence. It was both terrible and wonderful, and for the moment Obito let it carry him away.

He knew, maybe before Minato did, that the Hokage would teleport into his blind spot, taking advantage of his extended leg to place himself somewhere where Obito couldn't immediately counterattack. And he chose that point perfectly, appearing beside Obito and already lashing out with a skull-shaking chop that would send Obito crashing down to the ground, half-conscious.

Which was why Obito threw himself sideways with such force that the ground exploded under him, body-slamming Minato like they were two roughhousing teenagers. Another grunt of pain, and Minato teleported once more before he could hit the ground, appearing above Obito and ready to stamp down on his chest with both feet and crush his ribs. He was frustrated now, moving impatiently. He wanted the fight to end before he took any more damage.

For the third and final time, Obito caught him mid-teleport, practically reading the Yellow Flash's mind. Their chakra was connected, they both realized, tied together like two strings. Minato had closed himself to it on instinct: the intense way he fought meant there had been no choice. But Obito had opened himself entirely, accepting the connection without doubt or fear.

When Minato reappeared, Obito's foot was already just centimeters away from his jaw, and about to break the sound barrier.

Obito could have sworn his sensei's eyes slid down at a glacial pace to glance at the incoming foot, and then ground back to look at him. He'd never made eye contact while the Sharingan was active, but in that timeless moment he looked Obito in the eyes, both astonished and prideful.

Wow, Obito could have sworn he heard Minato say. How the hell did you manage that?
Obito kicked Minato in the face so hard that despite chakra reinforcement making it more than capable of smashing clear through solid stone, his foot damn near broke. There was a crack and a shockwave that raised dust and rolled loose debris for a hundred feet around; something small and white went flying. Minato hit the ground and rolled away, a low groan of pain steadily escalating into a pitched shout as Obito rose unsteadily to his feet. The Hokage rolled around on the ground, clutching his head and shouting, his words slurred.

"Damn!" he grunted, and then started laughing, flopping on his back and staring up at the sky. "Shit!" One hand came up, clutching at his bloody jaw. "Obito, you knocked out my damn tooth!"

Obito had never heard Minato swear in his entire life, but he didn't let that throw him off. He strode over to his sensei and loomed over him, trying not to show the weakness he felt in his core. Minato stared up at him, poking at his jaw and probing the new hole in his smile with his tongue. Obito had indeed knocked out his damn tooth, one of the incisors. It was fragmented and bleeding tremendously, and Minato seemed even groggier than him.

"You've got a concussion too," Obito observed, and Minato laughed again, a bit weaker this time.

"And I've got a concussion too," he said, trying to prop one arm to push himself up and failing completely. His arm collapsed, and Minato fell back to the ground, seeming barely able to control his limbs. "Never tried teleporting with one before-"

"I wouldn't recommend it, sensei," Obito said, feeling his moment of untouchable and thoughtless violence fade away, hopefully forever. Every blow he'd taken ached, and he sighed, pressing two fingers against his temple and wondering if Minato was in the same boat. His arms and legs were shaking, and he was coated in sweat and blood.

"So what?" Minato said, turning his head to the side with a grin. "Are you telling me to give up? Didn't Jiraiya ever tell you what being a ninja was about?"

"I'm telling you that if you don't, I'm gonna start stomping on your head until you're too stupid to walk," Obito said flatly, which Minato seemed to find hilarious. "And I think Kushina would be mad at me for messing up your pretty face if I did that, so maybe think about your wife before you do anything else."

Minato seemed to take that to heart, falling silent and closing his eyes as he took stock of the situation. Obito stood there in silence, hoping he wouldn't have to make good on his promise.

"Damn," Minato said again, making his decision.

"Had some sense knocked into you?" Obito asked, crouching down next to his teacher. Minato shrugged, his eyes still closed. He was breathing regularly, twitching his fingers; little indications he was giving Obito that he wasn't trying to enter Sage Mode.

The fight was over.

"I guess so," Minato said faintly, sounding hardly awake. "But this kinda works too, even if it's not what I wanted."

"Whadya mean?" Obito asked, shifting from foot to foot as he tried to work out the soreness spreading through his whole body, and Minato let out a cough that was probably supposed to be a laugh.

"Well," he said, "now the whole world's seen you fighting, Obito. And to defend the Kage too."

Obito stopped shifting.

"Sensei," he said, "you better be joking."

"I'm not."

"I might step on your head anyway then."

Minato opened his eyes, focusing on Obito. There was a bit of blood in one of them, coloring the whites. "No matter which one of us won, we'd remake the world in our image, Obito," he said, sounding deadly serious. Obito sighed, and Minato smiled. "Me, the Fourth Hokage, finally seizing everything like everyone feared. Or you, the noble demon putting down the mad Hokage. You've completed the circle Madara created all those decades ago." He closed his eyes again, seeming at peace. "They both make for good stories. Easy to accept, and easy to tell. Win win, Right?"

Obito stood up, not sure if he should be impressed or frustrated that Minato couldn't even make going mad with power simple.

"I don't like either of those stories, sensei," he said, and Minato frowned. "I'd rather tell my own."

"And what story is that gonna be, Obito?" Minato asked, peering up at him with one bloody eye and never sounding more like Jiraiya's student.

"I'm still working on it," Obito said confidently. "So for now, just lie there and try not to fall asleep. I'm gonna resolve everything."

"Everything?" Minato said with a hint of humor, and Obito grinned down at him.

"As much as I can. Trust me, Minato."

"If that's the way it is," Minato said with a faint smile. "Can you get me to Kushina? I think I need a nice lap to pass out in."

"No passing out," Kushina said, and Obito leapt back with a cry of shock. She'd appeared from nowhere and without a sound, clad in golden chakra once more.

"Kushina?!" he asked in surprise, and she gave him a mean grin. "Where… were you just watching?"

"Yup," she shamelessly admitted.

"You didn't help?!" Obito whined, and Kushina laughed.

"Kurama didn't want to. And besides, you had it, right?" She carefully picked up Minato in both arms, and he slumped into her chest, looking safe and content. "Looks like you're the winner, Obito. Congratulations."

"I'm not thrilled about it," Obito admitted, for which Kushina gave him another laugh.

"The heavy duty of the conqueror, huh?" she said sarcastically. "Well, you're the last man standing, so you don't have a choice. Let's go check on the kids, and then we can figure out what to do with the Kage."

"Quickly," Obito agreed. "I don't wanna leave Rin in there too much longer. Things have got to be fraught."

They both looked up towards the Cannon teetering atop the damaged Fortress, knowing it was the first place to check, and climbed the Fortress walls without effort, moving deliberately as they took in the battlefield. The Samurai were starting to come together, realizing the battle was over, but many were missing: Jiraiya's toads had devoured quite a few of them. Obito realized he'd lost track of Mifune in the chaos. In the distance, the Sanbi loomed over where the other Jinchuriki had been left, perhaps participating in an unheard conversation.

Obito hadn't been sure what to expect at the top of the Fortress, so he'd kept an open mind. But even that quiet acceptance hadn't prepared him for Naruto, Sasuke, Hinata, and Karin quietly sitting in a circle around a silently crying Sakura. Not just silent, he realized after a second: asleep. Asleep, but still crying, which he hadn't known was possible. She was lying in Naruto's lap as he gently stroked her hair, shuddering and shaking as tears ran from her puffy closed eyes.

"Sensei," Sasuke muttered, looking up from the circle. He was holding Hinata's hand, the one that was still attached. The other wasn't, lying in Hinata's lap like a pale spider. Her eyes were closed, the Byakugan gone. The stump at the end of her arm wasn't bleeding, but she was obviously concentrating on managing the pain. "Sounds like it's over?" His exhausted eyes slid over to Kushina at Obito's side, and the barely conscious Hokage in her arms.

"Yeah," Obito said, not sure what else to say. "What the hell happened here?"

"The Shadow was in Sakura," Hinata said, her voice shaking. "She cut off my hand." Sasuke squeezed her remaining hand, and HInata shivered and blew out a breath. "Naruto and Karin helped."

"She…" Karin paused. "Rather, the Shadow was going to fire the Cannon. It would have killed everyone, I think. I don't know why."

A rush of cold nearly knocked Obito to his knees. "What happened to it?"

"Sakura killed it," Naruto said, sounding the calmest of everyone there. He didn't stop cradling her as he spoke. "I don't know how. It covered her whole body, started running her around like a Nara jutsu. But she broke free, and…" There, he hesitated, but only for a second. "Stabbed herself."

Obito had noticed the hole in Sakura's vest, but with no wound below it he'd hoped for the best. He remembered the pain he'd felt in his own heart.

"And that killed it?" Kushina asked, and Naruto blinked, seeming to realize his parents' state. He looked over his father and then at his mother, obviously asking if he should do something. Kushina shook her head, and repeated her question.

"It didn't," Naruto said. "At least, I don't think so. Maybe Sasuke and Hinata could explain better."

Sasuke nodded. "Sakura dropped," he said, trying to sound dispassionate and failing. "Black Zetsu couldn't control her while she was dying, I guess. It tried to leave her, but it was stuck. I think she was holding onto it." He glanced at Hinata for confirmation, and she nodded.

"She was," Hinata said. "Something happened between Sakura and the Shadow; their chakra melded together, but there was something in Sakura's heart; it was set loose when she stabbed herself, like a poison. The Shadow…" she struggled to find the right word. "Drowned. Or was crushed. It wasn't until Sakura woke up and Naruto repaired her heart that it made sense. She said she'd killed it; she must have harnessed that chakra to do it."
Obito blinked, speechless.

'She does have a little foreign chakra in her though, a spot on her heart.'

"You know what it was, Sensei?" Sasuke asked, and Obito let out something between a laugh and a sigh of relief.

"I've got an idea," he said, and to Sasuke's obvious frustration didn't elaborate. "But she's okay?"

"She's been crying the whole time," Naruto said. "We didn't want to leave her, especially with whatever was going on down below. You won, huh?"

"I won," Obito confirmed. As he did, Kushina gently set down Minato, patting his cheek as he protested. "I'm gonna retrieve the other Kage. We'll figure everything else out after."

Kushina came to Naruto's side, bending down and wrapping her arms around him. He leaned in to her, too exhausted to feign protest.

"You did incredible," Kushina said, and Obito nodded. "Well done."

"Definitely," Obito agreed with a tired smile. "I'm proud of all of you."

"Can't take all the credit," Sasuke said, still holding Hinata. "It's probably got something to do with our teacher."

"Do you think she'll be okay?" Naruto asked his mother, and she hugged him harder, patting Sakura's head.

"It'll take time. She'll need you," she said. Naruto nodded. "If you wanna be part of the Summit, let us know. You earned it. Obito's gonna deal with the Kage; I'm going to go check on Mikoto, and the Jinchuriki and Tailed Beasts. Mikoto might need some help too: she pushed herself pretty far." She stood up, looking at Obito. "Unless you think you need backup?"

"I should be fine," Obito said, turning back to his sensei. "Minato, where do you want to be?"
"If someone fixes me up, I promise to behave," he said with a weak laugh. "But probably out of sight for the time being. Wherever is best."

"Alright," Obito said. "Naruto, heal him if you want. I'll take care of the rest."
Obito descended the Fortress, and prepared to open the Kamui. But before he could, he was interrupted.

"Obito."

Jiraiya had found him, and he wasn't alone; his one-time teacher was accompanied by Mifune, the samurai general. The samurai was tired and wary, but seemed to have avoided the worst of the chaos. The three of them meeting amidst the wasteland surrounding the Fortress felt fated.

Jiraiya looked tired. His makeup had been smeared by blood and tears.

"Hey, what's up?" Obito said, sounding just as exhausted as he felt. "Lord Mifune. Sorry for all the trouble."

The samurai raised an eyebrow. "Well, I suppose I appreciate the apology, Obito Uchiha," he said. "The Toad Sage has done the kindness of preserving many of my subordinates; he tells me the fighting has come to an end."

"Well, hopefully. We'll see," Obito said. He tapped his temple. "I had to capture most of the Kage, for their own safety. I'm about to release them." He paused. "Jiraiya, Yahiko…?"
"He's gone," Jiraiya said, and offered nothing more.

"I'm sorry."

"Not your fault." Jiraiya paused. "What's your plan here, Obito? Is your war over?"
"Like I said, we're gonna find out," Obito said, focusing. His Mangekyo spiralled out once more, and the two older men looked at each other.

"Obito, I'm not sure-" Jiraiya started to say, but Obito cut him off.

"You've done enough, don't you think, Jiraiya?" he said. "More than anyone could ever be expected to. I understand if you want to get involved, but… don't. Let me handle this. For now, how about you watch, and offer some wisdom when you can?"

Jiraiya stopped, watching Obito with an unreadable expression. He nodded, and sat down. Obito turned to Mifune, noting that the general seemed surprised to be acknowledged at this point. His Fortress had been decimated, his authority undermined to the point of destruction. But this was still his country.

"Since you're here, general, may I have your permission to release all these troublemakers back onto your property?" Obito asked, and Mifune scoffed. Still, Obito had caught the flash of a world-weary smile.

"It would be difficult to conclude the Summit without the Kage," Mifune said drily. "Do what you will."

Obito reached into the Kamui, and found that his range wasn't wide enough. He could feel everyone inside, spread out and wary of one another; Rin's suicidal ploy with Nagato had worked, and now all were watching and waiting for the conclusion, aware of their powerlessness within his private world. To draw one out at a time could be dangerous: it would break the statemate, even for just a second, and all his life had been proof of the danger of broken stalemates.

So he summoned the Susano'o, intensifying the strength and reach of his Kamui tenfold, and ejected everyone inside at once.

They all appeared in the same position as they'd had within, about twenty feet between each of them. Rin, Nagato, and Konan at the center; Kurotsuchi and Onoki huddled to the west, the Tsuchikage's chest still covered in dried blood; Mei and her guards resolute in the east, the most intact group; Darui and Karui guarding an unconscious Omoi to the north.

"Welcome back, everyone," Obito said. Nagato was still unconscious. Squatting next to him, Rin made eye contact with Obito and smiled. "Sorry for the inconvenience."

"Is the Yellow Flash dead?" Mei asked. Obito shook his head.

"No. But he is taken care of."

"Alive is not taken care of," Onoki rasped out, his cut throat breaking up his words. "If you have released us, Obito Uchiha, it is time for us to leave. We'll settle this matter another day. In full." His granddaughter slowly nodded, doubt flickering across her face, but Onoki was blind to it.

"The Summit's not over," Obito said, and both the Raikage and Mizukage nodded, though he was pretty sure not for the same. "There's still a lot to discuss. The Cannon is still intact."

"Destroy it then, as was your original intent," Konan said. She'd realized who wasn't there, Obito thought, but wasn't letting it affect her. Not outwardly at least. She slowly stood up, and Rin did as well, disarming the bomb that Nagato had been used as. Now that Obito was there, it wasn't necessary. "There's been enough fighting."

"But not enough talking," Obito said, trying to project the confidence of someone who'd done the impossible and defeated the Yellow Flash. "This Summit was necessary: things can't continue as they have. There needs to be a discussion."

"There was a discussion," Darui said, gesturing at the widespread destruction. "It was… fruitful. Continuing it could leave us all dead. Perhaps it would be best to quit while you are ahead, Obito."

They really did want to just turn around and walk away. Obito couldn't believe it.

"Don't be foolish, Raikage," Mei said, and Obito was stupid enough to feel relieved until she kept talking. "Nagato is still alive too. If the Yellow Flash has been dealt with, we must convince Obito to let us kill him." She pinned Obito with a grim smile. "It's only his influence that has kept him alive. To spare him would be to doom us all."

"True," Darui admitted, and Onoki echoed agreement. "If you want to continue this Summit, Obito, at the very least the Amekage must be killed. His reckless ambitions precipitated all of this."

The other Kage said similar things, but Obito didn't hear them. He only had eyes for Rin, who was looking around the group of men and women demanding an execution. When she returned her attention to him, words were unnecessary; Obito felt he could read her mind.

It would be the sane thing to do. Nagato was dangerous beyond belief. But you've gotta make the decision, Obito. You can't let anyone tell you what to do. The only reason any of these dumbasses are alive is because of you and me. That doesn't make you their master, but this is your chance to speak your mind. So do it!

Obito smiled, and got down on his hands and knees. The demands of the Kage died out as he pressed his forehead to the ground, bowing to them all.

"How many times should we make the same mistake before we learn our lesson?" he said, looking back up at them all. "We have an unprecedented opportunity here, everyone. Please; I'm begging you not to throw it away."

"Just what are you proposing, Obito?" Mei asked with a laugh. "You think you can come here, destroy everything, and then beg everyone to pretend nothing happened? That we can meet as if we're equals, when that's just been shown to be a humiliating lie?"

"Pretty much," Obito said blithely, shocking everyone silent. "It's not perfect; the Kazekage's dead, and I still gotta gather up the minor leaders. But it's time we all act like adults. My students," he emphatically pointed up towards the Cannon, noting how nervous that revelation made everyone, "just did something incredible. If it weren't for them, none of this would have happened. And more than that, they saved all your damn lives; there was something up there, older and crueler than any of us could dream, and it came within a heartbeat of firing the Cannon and killing everyone here."

"Ridiculous," Onoki said, and Obito nodded.

"Yes. And yet, true!" he said, and he got the feeling Onoki believed him. "It's a whole thing: we can go into it, if you'd like. I don't think now is the time for any of us to be keeping secrets, painful as ninja find that. But the point is, if they could do that, you can't tell me with a straight face that we can't do something as simple as talking to one another." He slowly stood back up, arms wide. "I'm not going to let them inherit the kind of world we've all made; they deserve better."

"Lord Tsuchikage…"

They all turned, so wrapped up in the tension of the moment that even the greatest ninja in the world hadn't noticed the new arrival. Mifune had, Obito realized, but hadn't said anything. Yui Tono staggered out of a nearby trench, clutching her truncated arm with a grim expression.

"Yui," Onoki said. "Glad you're alive."

"You should listen," Yui said, not acknowledging her Kage's gratitude or his bitter look. "Namikaze's son… Obito Uchiha's student… Naruto was the one to…" She floundered. Yui Tono, Obito thought, was someone who was used to speaking cruelty; the right words didn't immediately come to her, and maybe never would. "Look at what happened to me," she finally decided. "I lost some of what I'd regained. The same thing will happen to us all, if we walk away."

It would only take one, Obito thought. If a single Kage made the decision to stay, the rest would be forced to. They couldn't afford to leave their fellows to collude without them.

And Onoki was the one to break.

"Fine," he said with a sigh, crossing his arms. "Fine. If you wish to continue this farce of a Summit, Obito, I will remain."

Mei blinked, running new calculations on the situation before Obito's eyes. "If the Tsuchikage is to participate," she said almost immediately, "the Hidden Mist won't be excluded."

Obito looked at Darui, who sighed. "It would be hypocritical," he said after a moment, "to have come here without invitation… and depart when the true business is discussed."

Konan was the last. "I will speak for Nagato, for the moment," she said. "I understand awakening him would be perceived as dangerous; it would be dangerous. For now, I will represent Rain."

"Awesome," Obito said with a wide smile. Rin detached herself from Nagato's side and approached him, and he pulled her into a deep hug without a hint of decorum, feeling her squeeze him back as he closed his eyes, overwhelmed by relief and gratitude.

"Do you want me to stay?" she whispered to him, inaudible to anyone else.

"Please do, I'm freaking out," he whispered back, and she chuckled into his shoulder.

"Mifune," Obito said, pulling away from the hug but not letting go. "Will you be our arbiter?"
"If that will bring a measure of peace, yes," Mifune said. "But the Hidden Leaf requires a representative as well."

Obito and Rin shared a glance. Jiraiya, who so far had remained silent and watched the proceedings like a statue, cleared his throat.

"Despite everything, he's still not cocky enough to do it himself," he said, drawing everyone's attention to him. "But the Kage is meant to be the one who can put the village on their back." He smiled. "Obito, that's you."

"Okay, but you can see how that would look bad, right?" Obito said. Jiraiya laughed, and Rin too.

"Who cares? I doubt Minato does," he said, turning and moving back towards the ruins of the Fortress. "You should get started. I'm going to go find your hat."

Obito nervously laughed and sat down, and the Kage and their guards followed him.