Everyone listened in stunned silence, as if a new world had just been unveiled before them.
"Incredible! I'm going to write a book titled *The Untold Story Between Onoki and the Jinchuriki of the Four-Tails* when I return!"
"Wait a second, Seiki-sama wants us to spread the word about how evil Iwagakure is!"
"Isn't that already proof enough of their wickedness?"
"It actually makes sense now. Maybe I'll pick up some of Jiraiya-sama's books to read later."
Although Seiki's words didn't fully dispel their hatred, they did manage to calm the crowd from their frenzy.
Each person is part of a network, and pain spreads through its connections. If they died, those who cared about them would also feel sorrow and suffering.
After thinking this through, it became hard for them to make reckless decisions again—especially after Seiki further clarified his reasoning, successfully redirecting their hatred.
"No wonder Seiki-sama is so brilliant—he always thinks several steps ahead of us!"
"We were definitely too reckless earlier, failing to understand Seiki-sama's true intentions!"
"Seiki-sama truly understands the Will of Fire. His words carry great wisdom."
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As for Seiki, he stopped the commotion and then stepped back, leaving others to handle the aftermath.
As to whether things might spiral into something strange later on, that was no longer his concern.
...
Two days later, Seiki returned to Konoha, a place he hadn't seen in a while.
Due to concerns that Iwagakure might break the agreement, not all troops were withdrawn from the Western Front. After discussion, Danzo remained at the camp to maintain order, while Seiki briefly returned to the village to rest before heading to the Eastern Front battlefield.
Upon returning, Seiki first reported to The Third about Satori.
"Seiki-sama!"
"Please inform him I'm here."
"Yes, please wait a moment!"
His reception this time was completely different.
Even the guards stationed outside the Hokage building looked at him with deep reverence.
The name Seiki Shimaseki—now associated with heroism—was deeply etched in people's hearts.
Soon, Seiki was invited inside the Hokage building.
As soon as he entered, The Third smiled and said, "Seiki, thanks to you, the unrest at the Western camp has been calmed."
Seiki replied with slight embarrassment, "I was worried Hokage-sama might scold me for misleading them."
Waving his hand with a chuckle, The Third said, "Hatred must be channeled properly. What you did was right."
[I hope they don't go too far...] Seiki muttered inwardly before moving on to the main topic. "Hokage-sama, after freezing that monster for several days, I used the Spirit Transformation Technique to destroy its soul when it weakened. But I'd like your guidance on what to do with the Wish-Granting Casket."
As he spoke, Seiki took out two scrolls and summoned both the casket and the ice coffin.
Despite the spacious office, the large objects took up so much space that the two men were forced to stand near the corners.
However, The Third didn't seem to mind. He simply stared at the ice coffin in amazement. "So this monster is actually dead!"
He didn't question anything but instead sighed, "Its death is at least a proper farewell to all those ninja who lost their lives to it."
"As for the Wish-Granting Casket, such a dangerous existence should be sealed away permanently!"
"Yes, I understand!" Seiki resealed both items and placed the scroll on the table.
"Hokage-sama, do you have any other instructions?"
"You must be tired. Go home and rest early... By the way, Asuma has been waiting for your return these days."
After reporting about Satori, Seiki had taken only a few steps outside the Hokage building when he saw Asuma and others waiting ahead, their expressions serious.
"What's going on? Why are all of you wearing such faces?"
Asuma sighed, "Obito was killed in action at the Cloud Village battlefield."
Seiki's expression turned solemn. "What exactly happened?"
Asuma explained, "During the battle at the Cloud Village, Obito's team was ambushed by enemies. Kakashi's left eye was slashed during the fight. To protect Kakashi, Obito took a fatal wound straight through his heart. He died in battle after leaving his eye to Kakashi."
Upon hearing this, Seiki scanned the crowd and noticed Kakashi and Rin looking particularly gloomy.
Especially noticeable was Kakashi's crimson left eye, which stood out strikingly.
Witnessing this scene, Seiki felt a wave of confusion—could this really be mere coincidence, or was it something far more deliberate?
[The Battle of Kannabi Bridge] hadn't even taken place yet. In fact, Minato's team had always been active on the Cloud Village battlefield. Under those circumstances, why did Obito's fate still mirror the original path so closely?
If it had just been Obito's death in battle, Seiki wouldn't have found anything unusual.
After all, Obito's strength had never been particularly great; dying in large-scale warfare was quite normal.
But this eerily similar trajectory made him uncertain again. Unlike his original counterpart, Kakashi in this timeline had steadily grown under Seiki's influence, undoubtedly becoming far stronger than before.
Even if Kakashi had messed up while using Chidori, it shouldn't have been easy for someone to pierce his eye—unless, of course, it was part of some dark scheme.
"Or perhaps, that event in the original timeline wasn't an accident at all. The so-called [Battle of Kannabi Bridge] might have actually been a carefully designed scenario orchestrated by Black Zetsu, whose purpose was to deliver Obito—who already had half his body damaged—right into Madara's hands."
Thinking along those lines made sense—how many coincidences would it take in this world for someone like Obito, with such untapped potential, to end up exactly where Madara needed him?
Yet one question remained: how could Black Zetsu secretly transport someone who "died" on the Cloud Village battlefield to Madara beneath Grass Country without raising suspicion?
"Seiki, Seiki..."
Hearing Asuma calling him snapped Seiki out of his thoughts.
Seeing Seiki's silence, Asuma patted his shoulder and said, "Don't feel too bad. Obito was always a guy who liked to smile. I'm sure he wouldn't want us moping around."
Kurenai added beside him, "We heard the news and decided to wait for you before paying a visit to Obito's home—we thought it would be better if we all went together to offer our condolences. After all, only his grandmother is left."
After a moment of quiet contemplation, Seiki nodded. "You're right. We should definitely pay our respects to the elder."
Throughout their journey, the atmosphere remained heavy.
Death during war was indeed common, but because of Seiki, this was the first time they experienced losing a close friend.
The team couldn't help but look at Seiki with gratitude and admiration. If it weren't for Seiki, some of them might have already become people mourned by others.
In this silent atmosphere, Seiki turned to Kakashi and asked, "Was Obito's body brought back?"
Upon hearing Seiki's question, Kakashi bowed his head in pain. "Because time was pressing, Rin and I hastily buried Obito and left. When we went back with Minato-sensei later, the grave had already been dug up… Dammit! It must've been those scumbags from Cloud Village taking their frustration out on Obito's corpse because they couldn't catch us!"
A flicker of sharpness flashed through Seiki's eyes. Hearing this, he was nearly certain—it was definitely Xiaobai causing trouble again!
"Although surprising, from a broader perspective, it's historically inevitable. There are only so many ninja in the entire shinobi world, and even fewer who meet Black Zetsu's requirements. Under Black Zetsu's selection process, history had ultimately chosen Obito."
Seiki weighed the pros and cons of this sudden twist.
From a pragmatic standpoint, Obito's experience wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
After becoming corrupted, his true potential could be fully unlocked.
As for Seiki, as long as Rin survived, pulling Obito back when needed was no problem—and through him, he could inherit Madara's power.
Therefore, the key to this matter lay in protecting Rin's life—keeping her safe while also hiding this secret from Black Zetsu.
Otherwise, every time he saved Rin, Black Zetsu would orchestrate another incident—wouldn't that push Obito straight toward awakening the Rinnegan?
Returning to the issue itself, this was precisely the most difficult part of the whole plan.
With his strength, Seiki needed to be extremely cautious once targeted by Black Zetsu. If the target shifted to Rin, her chance of escaping Black Zetsu's schemes would approach zero.
After all, one stands in the light, the other moves in the shadows.
Thinking this far, Seiki found the answer he wanted—"One stands in the light, the other moves in the shadows… Then let Rin step out of the spotlight and into the shadows."
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