"Obito! Is that man really Obito Uchiha?!" The Konoha ninja who knew the former Uchiha dead-last were all shocked! They simply couldn't imagine it!
One year before the Uchiha Massacre timeline—
Because a mirror suddenly appeared connecting them to the future 'Fourth Great Ninja War,' the Uchiha Police Force, the Third Hokage, and the ANBU all gathered in this Konoha Ninja Academy classroom.
ANBU Kakashi walked forward several steps. "Obito!" He could see traces of Obito in the Fourth War boss's features, but those cold eyes made him afraid to acknowledge him.
"How false you are, Kakashi." Looking at the ANBU Kakashi from the past radiating an aura of dejection, Obito Uchiha from the Fourth Great Ninja War timeline closed his eyes.
When he opened them again, they still held eyes full of hatred toward the entire world. He reached out his hand toward ANBU Kakashi. "But soon, Kakashi."
ANBU Kakashi: "Obito, you..."
Fourth War Obito: "You're in pain right now, aren't you? But soon you won't have to suffer anymore. I'll destroy this world, then create a brand new world—a world where you don't have to suffer anymore, a world where you don't have to live falsely anymore, Kakashi."
Fugaku Uchiha, Kakashi Hatake, Hiruzen Sarutobi...
Including those who arrived later—Asuma Sarutobi, Kurenai Yuhi, Hayate Gekko, Might Guy, Genma Shiranui...
These ninja whose understanding of Obito still remained at labels like "dead-last," "Hokage dream," "kind and passionate," "beloved by old ladies"—they all stood frozen in shock!
Looking through the mirror to the other side, at one of the big bosses of the future Fourth Great Ninja War.
None of them could imagine!!
That boy who shouted every day about becoming Hokage, who was clearly a dead-last but never gave up...
Was the same person as this man, crazy enough to want to destroy the entire world?!!
"Obito Uchiha! Do you know what you're saying?!!" Members of the Uchiha Police Force roared. They would never allow anyone to tarnish the Uchiha clan's reputation!
Fourth War Obito: "Say whatever you want. It doesn't matter to me anymore."
The world-weary emotions flowing between his brows made ANBU Kakashi's heart tremble. "Obito, could it be you..."
"He already knows about Rin's situation." Kakashi from the Fourth Great Ninja War timeline came to the mirror wall, taking all the blame upon himself: "I'm very sorry, Lord Third, Uchiha Clan Head. It's all because of me..."
"I told you! It's not your problem! Don't think so highly of yourself, Kakashi!!" Obito shouted in exasperation. "It's this world that's wrong! Anyone living in this world will eventually turn into garbage! You, me—in the end, everyone becomes fake counterfeits! Uzumaki Naruto is just a bit younger than us! Sooner or later, he'll become just like us too!"
"Hmph." Madara Uchiha scoffed coldly. "You've become impatient."
Fugaku Uchiha: "What exactly are you trying to do?! Obito!!"
Suppressing his turbulent emotions, Fourth War Sasuke told his father through that mirror connecting the two worlds: "Obito Uchiha wants to destroy the peace that the previous Hokage and my brother have always protected. He's attempting to use genjutsu to create a false world, then drag everyone into that illusory world and control it with his own consciousness."
Pre-Uchiha Massacre timeline—
Control the entire world with his own consciousness?!
Danzo Shimura, Homura Mitokado, and Koharu Utatane, who had just entered, happened to hear all this.
Koharu Utatane angrily struck the ground with her cane, condemning Obito's arrogance.
"Do you want to turn yourself into a god?!" Homura Mitokado roared furiously.
Danzo Shimura was even more direct—a wind blade already attacked toward Obito Uchiha and Madara Uchiha.
Neither Madara Uchiha nor Obito Uchiha dodged or evaded. They didn't think anything of Danzo Shimura or his attack.
The wind blade struck the mirror without leaving even a single scratch.
"!!!"
Such an attack! Had absolutely no effect?!
The cunning Danzo pondered how to more quickly sever the connection between the two sides.
"Regardless of anything else..." Inside the Konoha Ninja Academy, a new voice appeared.
A man wearing a deerskin jacket with a scar on his face, his arm resting on the windowsill.
Beside him were the heads of the Ino-Shika-Cho formation—Choza Akimichi, head of the Akimichi clan, and Inoichi Yamanaka, head of the Yamanaka clan.
"Ah, it's Shikaku." The Konoha higher-ups in the classroom called out the newcomer's name. "And Inoichi and Choza too."
On the other side, Fourth Great Ninja War timeline—
Seeing her father through the mirror wall, Ino Yamanaka from the Fourth Great Ninja War timeline couldn't hold back her tears anymore.
Just a short while ago...
To crush the morale of the Allied Shinobi Forces...
Madara Uchiha and Obito Uchiha controlled the Ten-Tails and launched an attack on the Allied Shinobi Forces' headquarters...
Her father, Inoichi Yamanaka, Shikamaru's father Shikaku Nara, and the seniors at the Allied Forces headquarters!
As ninja, before sacrificing themselves, they left behind their final words...
—Entrusting the burden of the future to them, the sparks of the new generation, in this critical moment!
"Being able to see my daughter grow up so splendidly, even if I die now, I'll have no regrets! Hahaha!" Inoichi Yamanaka was truly a man who didn't understand his daughter's heart. The joke he opened with stabbed straight into Ino's heart.
The emotions she'd desperately suppressed due to the war suddenly exploded. Ino burst into loud sobs and crouched on the ground, which terrified Inoichi Yamanaka. He hurriedly sought help from his old friend Shikaku.
How clever was Nara Shikaku! He was Konoha's Jonin Commander!
He only needed to combine the situation on the other side to guess: "It seems we on that side have already died in this great war. Right, Shikamaru?"
"Dad..." Nara Shikamaru felt no better than Ino inside, but unable to shed tears easily, he could only forcibly suppress all that sadness in his heart.
Little Shikamaru and little Ino in the Ninja Academy looked at their respective fathers in surprise, then stared wide-eyed at their future selves in the mirror.
"!!!!" The Konoha ninja hearing this news were all shocked.
Even their Jonin Commander had sacrificed himself, and they even had to reanimate the long-deceased previous Hokage to participate in battle. One could imagine how terrifying this war was and how dire the current war situation must be.
Inoichi was slightly shocked but quickly accepted it.
"I'm sorry, but we on that side must have sacrificed ourselves for you and this world. Besides not seeing you become a bride, we probably have no other regrets."
Inoichi Yamanaka would've been better off staying quiet—saying this made Ino cry even harder.
Hurriedly apologizing to his future daughter, saying he was a man clumsy with words, Inoichi Yamanaka was at a loss, hoping Shikamaru and Choji on that side could help console Ino.
But before that...