The End
Kakashi followed Obito’s brat through the trees. This kid had WAY too much energy. Naruto was chattering about his last interaction with Orochimaru and Kabuto, apparently, he had grown four tails and leveled a forest before Obito had shown up and calmed Naruto down. It was a wonder that Sasuke had survived their little skirmish at the valley of the end.
A tight ball of stress had taken up residence in Kakashi’s chest. It had been there ever since Obito laid down on Tsunade’s operating table. Kakashi had barely remembered to breathe throughout Obito’s procedure and afterward. He hadn’t expect the transplant to nearly knock Obito out, but here they were. Obito had been slipping in and out of consciousness afterward. Thrashing around on the bed as his chakra pathways adjusted to the new eye. He’d looked at Obito with his sharingan eye and it had been like a miniature star was in Obito’s left eye socket, the chakra pathways surrounding it had had to work overtime to adjust to the nature of the eye. But even Kakashi could tell that the transplant would be successful. The eye made sense in Obito’s ocular structure, much more so than Nagato’s. Which made no sense.
Obito had been asleep and still tossing and turning because of the new rinnegan when Tsunade had returned to the hospital room, her face grim. She had picked up Obito’s charts and grimaced as she checked up on him.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing overly concerning. But we do really need our Hokage right now.” She said absently as she opened the rinnegan eye and looked around. Nodding when she saw that the blood vessels appeared healthy with the new eye.
“What’s going on?” Kakashi asked.
“We just received reports that Kabuto and several dead shinobi are closing in on the village.”
Shock coursed through Kakashi, and his heart sped up. Obito had told him about a jutsu that could raise the dead. “How does this happen? Lady Tsunade?”
“My great Uncle created this jutsu for our village to use in wartime if we didn’t have enough military strength. It’s quite useful, as it allows one to summon endless dead shinobi, in prime condition, and control them. However, in the hands of an enemy it’s not good. The only way to stop it is to make the caster rescind the jutsu or seal the undead away.” Tsunade said grimly.
Both of them looked down at Obito’s prone form. “What about putting the reanimations under a genjutsu?”
“Our strongest genjutsu user is right here. I don’t think anyone else is strong enough to overcome the reanimation jutsu.”
Kakashi rubbed his forehead. “Did Kabuto find out about Obito’s procedure?” Could that be why he was able to time his attack perfectly.
“No. Only the five of us knew about it. You’re the only weak link among us, and I doubt you would have brought the rinnegan here, and given it to Obito if you intended to betray us.” Tsunade crossed her arms. “Well it’s no matter. Chain of command puts me in charge if Obito is unconscious during an emergency. I’ll summon sealing teams.”
As she stepped out of the room Kakashi stood. “Is Naruto going out to fight?”
“Yes. We can’t spare his power. According to Uncle’s notes if you hit the undead with a big enough blast, they’ll disintegrate and as they reanimate we’ll have an opening to seal them away. We need our heavy hitters.”
“I promised Obito that I would protect his son. I’d like to go with Naruto and make sure nothing happens to him.” Kakashi asked. “Please, Lady Tsunade. I promise I mean Naruto no harm.”
Tsunade considered him. “Alright. You can accompany Naruto. But I’m going to assign people to watch you. Make one move against my god-child and I’ll have you captured. And I’ll feed you to my slugs.”
After a quick goodbye and asking Bull to watch over Obito, Kakashi had headed out with Obito’s little brat. It was hard to imagine the Nine Tails was sealed away within this kid, because he seemed just happy and hyperactive. But that had to be Obito’s influence. Furthermore, the kid had gone full Nine Tails when he found his father’s murdered body. So, there was more to him than what appeared.
“What’s up Old man Kakashi?”
That’s another thing. The kid kept calling him an old man. Never mind that Obito was actually older than Kakashi. “Please stop calling me old man. We are about to enter a combat situation, please pay attention to your surroundings.”
“Alright alright.” Naruto grumbled.
Kakashi had explained the plan twice, Naruto was going to hit as many of the reanimations with rasengans as he could, with Kakashi offering backup and covering him, meanwhile the sealing team would seal away as many of the reanimations as they could. Tsunade and her squad would be focused on stopping Kabuto. Now if only the kid would be able to focus on the task at hand…
“Any idea why Kabuto would attack the village?” Kakashi asked as they continued passing through the forests.
“My guess is that it’s revenge for Sasuke killing Orochimaru.” Naruto stroked one of his whisker cheeks and nodded. “That’s the only thing that comes to mind.”
That was an interesting proposition. But it still didn’t make a lot of sense… Sasuke hadn’t been a part of the village for years. And all things considered, Sasuke seemed to have a much bigger issue with the village than Orochimaru. Especially considering what Sasuke had said to Obito a few days ago. Kakashi had no idea that Obito had ignored Sasuke in favor of Naruto. But that would surely have upset many other shinobi in Sasuke’s position.
Naruto and Kakashi arrived at the designated combat spot and spied the reanimated shinobi. They were casually headed through a field and walking quite normally. Kakashi would have thought that they would be stumbling around like zombies.
He spotted the seven ninja swordsman of the Hidden Mist, several deceased ANBU members, some Uchiha surprisingly, and quite a few shinobi from other villages. Itachi was among the Uchiha who had been reanimated so at least Kakashi would get to try out his Chidori and kamui against him this time. Shisui was next to him, along with another Uchiha who had curly hair and red armor. He wasn’t someone Kakashi recognized.
“Naruto.” Kakashi whispered. “See Itachi over there? And the guys with him? Whatever you do, do NOT look into their eyes. You’re finished if you do.”
Naruto gulped. Finally appearing a little nervous. “I wish Dad was here. He always breaks me out of genjutus.”
“I can do the same.” Kakashi promised. “However, the Nine Tails can do it faster than either Obito or I.”
Naruto turned with wide eyes. “The Nine Tails? Really?”
“Yes. Every jinchuriki can be broken from genjutsu immediately, by their tailed beast. The Eight Tails and Two Tails are quite adept with it. I guess the Nine Tails hasn’t bothered?” Kakashi raised an eyebrow.
Naruto looked sheepish. “The Nine Tails doesn’t like me much. Besides, my Dad or the Pervy Sage has always been there to break me out of genjutsu.” Kakashi felt a little bad for the kid. No doubt his fight against Pein/Nagato had been one of his hardest, especially considering he hadn’t had his father there to protect him if things went south. Naruto turned back to the field. The shinobi were still heading their way. “Should we head in?”
Kakashi tapped the earpiece in his ear. “We wait until Lady Tsunade’s signal.”
Next to them one of Naruto’s teammates landed, Sai along with Tenzo. Tenzo had been assigned to watch Kakashi on Tsunade’s orders, obviously the sannin had not had time to review Tenzo’s history, as he was a former teammate of Kakashi. But it was a moot point as Kakashi wasn’t planning on letting any harm befall Obito’s brat, and to a lesser extent, the village.
“The sealing team is in position. Naruto’s squad this is your signal.” Tsunade’s voice spoke into their earpieces.
“Alright!” Naruto pumped a fist into the air and then created dozens of shadow clones, all who headed onto the field. Kakashi sighed, flipped up his eyepatch and followed after the kid.
The rest of the squad followed behind them.
~~
The fight went well. Tenzo was able to subdue the reanimations while Naruto blasted them with rasengans and the sealing team sealing them away shortly. Gai’s team had shown up to offer support against the reanimated seven ninja swordsman, and the reanimated Uchiha appeared to have retreated for the time being. For a second Kakashi thought they might be able to solve the situation before Obito woke up from his rinnegan nap.
Then, right as the last of the seven ninja swordsmen had been sealed away, Itachi Uchiha and his Susanoo struck. Before the sword struck Naruto, trees shot out of the earth below the teen and sent Itachi flying. Naruto sat wide eyed on the ground, staring up at the Susanoo, likely he had never seen one and Itachi’s blood red one was striking.
Kakashi was at Naruto’s side in an instant, and a click later Tenzo right there next to him. “Naruto, get to safety. Kakashi and I will handle this.” Tenzo said firmly.
“No way Captain Yamato! I’m not abandoning my teammates.” Naruto jumped up and stood next to them holding one of his fists out.
“This isn’t a game! The Susanoo is a perfect defense. There’s no way to counter. Now get yourself out of here and gather enough reinforcements so we can figure out what to do.” Kakashi didn’t know where this lecture was coming from, but the thought of seeing sadness in Obito’s eyes was spurring him on.
“My Susanoo isn’t perfect.” Itachi called from his spot in the blood red humanoid figure. “I’m vulnerable to ground based attacks!”
Tenzo turned to Kakashi “That’s a trap right?” He asked.
Something in Itachi’s face made Kakashi consider. “Let’s give it a try.”
Tree roots shot out of the ground at Itachi’s feet, wrapping around his ankle and dragging him out of the Susanoo. “Holy shit, it worked!” Tenzo whispered.
Naruto ran forward and slammed a rasengan into Itachi’s chest, but as he fell downward from the attack he began to gag. Concern swept through Kakashi, and he hurried to the kid’s side. He was gagging and choking, and then a fucking bird crawled out of his mouth. A black raven which had a sharingan in its eye. The bird made eye contact with Itachi, and the other man straightened up.
“Sorry Kakashi and Tenzo.” He pressed his hands together and gave a little bow. “I was under Kabuto’s control, but the eye I gave Naruto just freed me.”
“What?”
“I gave Naruto some of my power in the past. Shisui’s eye, set to trigger anyone with my family’s mangekyo sharingan pattern into protecting the village. It was meant to put Sasuke in a genjutsu, but it is very well that it was me instead.” He turned to see the rest of the battlefield. “I will go and see about freeing Shisui and Kagami from Kabuto’s control. As for you, Kabuto is currently hiding in one of Sasori’s puppets to the east.” Then Itachi hurried away.
Tenzo relayed the information about Kabuto’s whereabouts to Tsunade, who gave their team the go ahead to pursue. Her team wouldn’t be far behind.
After they crested a hill, sure enough they found a giant puppet sitting in the middle of a clearing. It was undoubtedly one of Sasori’s masterpieces. Sasori himself was inside a smaller puppet, and controlling several more that were flying through the air.
“If Sakura was able to beat this guy then I definitely will!” Naruto rolled up a sleeve.
“Sakura’s intelligence is greater than yours, and she had the assistance of Sasori’s grandmother. You have three former ANBU members, none of which are puppet specialists.” Sai finally piped up. At least he had recognized Kakashi as former ANBU.
“Maa, Naruto has helpful friends like you. I’m sure we’ll handle this.” Kakashi gave Sai a thumbs up. For some reason that didn’t seem to quell Sai’s unease.
But before anyone could come up with a plan, Naruto formed a rasengan and headed toward the Sasori puppet. Kakashi face palmed and headed after the kid. What an idiot! Hadn’t Obito taught him not to charge in without a plan or backup?
The Sasori pupped noticed Naruto, sending several puppets to intercept. “It’s nice of you to bring the Nine Tails right to me. But I’m still going to destroy the village.”
That… wasn’t Sasori. “Kabuto?” Kakashi asked as he used wire to snag the two puppets and crash them into the ground.
“Indeed. It’s too bad that Itachi broke free of my control, he was my insurance in case the Hokage showed up. Speaking of which, where is Obito? I have some questions for him.” Sasori turned his head to the side as several more puppets erupted from the larger one which held Kabuto.
“The Hokage doesn’t need to bother himself with little pests like you.” Kakashi answered as he easily dispatched each puppet. Kabuto would have to try harder if he wanted to take Kakashi down.
Sasori’s reanimated body considered Kakashi. “It appears that the leader of the Akatsuki has had a change of heart. No matter, I’ll just have to change my approach.” The man turned towards where Naruto was struggling with more puppets, and sent out several thin chakra strings. They easily wrapped around the kid, and started dragging him towards Sasori/Kabuto.
Shit. Only Kakashi and his partially blind sharingan could see the chakra threads, everyone else was just targeting the puppets. But Kakashi wasn’t going to make it to Naruto in time to cut him out—
The air above Naruto swirled and chakra blades hurled out of the kamui dimension, severing the threads and freeing Naruto. Obito himself jumping to Naruto’s side and blowing a massive fireball, burning the puppets to a crisp. He definitely still had a flair for dramatic entrances.
“When will you morons realize how stupid it is to attack an Uchiha with WOODEN puppets?!” Obito yelled at Sasori. Beside Obito Naruto was looking at his father with stars in his eyes.
Sasori growled and started weaving more signs, summoning one of his surely fireproof puppets. But before he could complete the jutsu Kakashi slapped a seal on his back. It was a specialty seal he’d had created when Sasori joined the Akatsuki. It stopped his organic heart, rendering all his puppets useless. The only drawback is that Kakashi had to get close to him, normally he would use the kamui to do so, but he needed to conserve chakra in order to face whatever Kabuto planned next. Once the puppet fell lifelessly to the ground Sai hurried over and began the sealing process.
Kakashi joined Obito and Naruto, his eyes immediately narrowing in on the rinnegan. “Are you alright Obito? Do you feel okay?”
Obito grinned and gave Kakashi a thumbs up. “I feel great! My chakra just had to adjust to the rinnegan, but now that it is I’m ready to go! Now, what the hell does Kabuto want?”
“I think he wants revenge for Sasuke killing Orochimaru!” Naruto said excitedly.
“Any other guesses?” Obito asked the rest of them. Everyone else shook their head. “Alright. Well, lets go ask him ourselves. He’s inside this big puppet right? I’ll drag him out with the kamui.”
“There’s no need for that!” Tsunade called. She and the rest of her team entered the clearing. “I have a favor to return to Kabuto.” And with that she punched the puppet, causing it to immediately fall apart.
Inside the wreckage Kabuto stood with several scrolls and some candles. He scowled at them. But then his eyes widened when they fell on Obito. “Oh wow. Not only did you bring me the Nine Tails, but you also brought me a rinnegan. This is perfect!”
Kakashi stepped in front of Obito. “What the hell are you talking about? You’re surrounded. You’re done Kabuto. Give it up and undo the reanimation jutsu.”
“Not quite. Reinforcements just arrived!”
A shadow passed over them, and when they looked up Naruto’s jaw dropped at the purple Susanoo. “Sasuke?!” Naruto called. The Susanoo landed a few meters away, and grabbed Kabuto. “Why are you working with Sasuke? Didn’t he kill Orochimaru?!”
Kabuto laughed. “This shinobi world killed Orochimaru. Sasuke is just the result of this world’s injustices. You all walk around and preach about peace and justice, using the innovations created by Lord Orochimaru, yet you cast him aside because he didn’t fit in with your ideals. That’s why I intend to fix the shinobi world. And I intend to do so by finishing the Akatsuki’s work! All I need is the Nine Tails chakra, and that rinnegan in Obito’s eye.”
Kakashi raised a kunai, but remained in front of Obito. “Like we would let that happen.” He yelled.
“Wow Old Man Kakashi, you really care about my Dad!” Naruto laughed. “But Dad can take care of himself. Besides, even if Kabuto catches both of us, he won’t have the Three Tails. Dad and me sealed it away.”
Both Kakashi and Obito blushed. “Naruto is right Kakashi, you really don’t have to worry about me.” He set a hand on Kakashi’s shoulder. “Let’s focus on protecting Naruto.”
Kakashi nodded. “Got it.”
“I have a plan for the Three Tails! But you won’t like it.” Kabuto had the audacity to laugh, but he sat down behind Sasuke’s Susanoo and started weaving the hand signs for the reanimation jutsu.
Naruto ran towards Sasuke, “Sasuke! You bastard! Why are you with Kabuto? Don’t you know that he just wants to kill everyone! This isn’t you Sasuke!”
“You don’t know me anymore Naruto. I’m not some dumb kid who is content to just stay in the village. I need to avenge my brother, and all of my brethren. Staring with the traitor you call a father.” Sasuke’s Susanoo took a fighting stance.
Kakashi felt his stomach plummet at the look of the other kid’s Susanoo. But before Sasuke fully formulated his attack plan, Kabuto finished his reanimation jutsu and a small coffin rose up from the ground. The lid cracked, and as it fell to the ground Kakashi’s heart stopped.
Inside was Rin’s lifeless corpse. She was wearing the exact same outfit she had worn when she died. Her eyes were closed, and fissures appeared all over her body. Kabuto was a monster – how could he—
“Auntie Rin.” Naruto gasped as Obito held a hand to his mouth and gagged.
Sasuke turned to look down at what Kabuto had summoned. “What’s so special about a dead kunoichi?” He asked.
“This particular kunoichi was a teammate of Obito Uchiha’s. And when she died she was the jinchuriki of the Three Tails. Summon her, and you summon it and its chakra. Now all I need to do is capture Naruto and Obito, and I can change this world for the better.” Kabuto’s grin was frightening.
Rin straightened up and opened her eyes. She took a step outside of the little coffin. Her eyes took in the battlefield and the Leaf Shinobi which surrounded her. “Obito? Kakashi?” She asked. Her face puzzled. She looked around some more. “Where am I?”
“You’re going to be okay Auntie Rin!” Naruto called. Rin’s eyes widened when she spotted Naruto. “Oh wow.” She murmured. “Obito, he looks so much like Sensei.”
Obito wiped his eyes and tried to gather himself. He had just seen Rin in the afterlife, he knew she was there waiting for him. How dare Kabuto disturb her in this way. Kabuto was going to pay for this.
“What a nice reunion.” Kabuto laughed. “But I think it’s time for things to get a little more exciting! Don’t you think?” He stepped forward and slid a kunai with a tag into the back of Rin’s head. Her entire demeanor changed, and she slumped forward.
Naruto grabbed Obito’s arm. “Dad, your Sharingan can save her. Just put her under a genjutsu, that’s all it takes.” Obito nodded and turned to Kakashi, “send her into the kamui dimension, I’ll free her in there.”
Kakashi concentrated chakra in his left eye and sent the reanimated Rin spiraling into the other dimension. Obito swirled away shortly after. While they waited Tsunade’s team moved behind to offer them reinforcements. However, this fight would have to rely on Obito and Naruto in order to take on Sasuke’s perfect Susanoo.
While they waited for Obito and Rin to return, Naruto and Yamato executed a pretty good water and wind combo attack which knocked Sasuke’s Susanoo about a mile away. Tsunade’s team moved in and started attacking Kabuto, even as he summoned even more reanimated shinobi. They would need to figure out how to stop the jutsu, and it was doubly difficult since they could not kill Kabuto.
The air next to Kakashi and the original Naruto swirled and Obito and Rin stepped out of the kamui dimension. Rin smiled as she made eye contact with Kakashi. “It’s so nice to see you two working together. I’ve missed you both very much.”
Kakashi felt his tears welling up in Obito’s eye. “Rin…”. He whispered.
She took Kakashi’s hand. “I’m truly sorry for what I did Kakashi. I didn’t mean to burden you with so much guilt. For that I apologize.”
Obito placed his hand on top of both of theirs. He smiled and both his Sharingan and Rinnegan eye crinkled. “Today we fight together again. As comrades once again.”
Naruto stepped up to their little trio. “Hey, Obito-brat.” His voice was completely different, deeper, darker and older. His eyes were no longer blue, but were a rich red that almost glowed. This was the Nine Tails. Obito gasped, “where is Naruto?” He asked frantically as he set his hands on the jinchuriki’s shoulders.
“Naruto is fine. We just switched places for a moment. Anyway, I need you to keep those other two busy while I talk to Isobu.”
Obito’s eyebrows knitted together. “Isobu? What is that?”
Instead of answering, the Nine Tails turned Naruto’s head away and scoffed. “Always the same with you Shinobi. I thought you would be different because of how you treated my jinchuriki, but you’re no better than the rest of them.”
“Isobu is the Three Tails isn’t it?” Rin answered as she stepped forward. “Don’t get mad at Obito for not knowing your names, no one has told him.” She said kindly.
The Nine Tails leveled another glare at Obito before taking Rin’s hand and taking a few steps away. “Take care of things here, we need some time to confer.” The Tailed Beast ordered.
“Can you handle Sasuke?” Kakashi asked with worry coloring his tone. “That perfect Susanoo is really something else.”
Obito chuckled. “The hardest part is not killing him. I can take him down no problem, but I don’t want to kill him before he and Naruto get to have a conversation. So I can’t go all out.”
Sasuke’s Susanoo flew back towards them, now that it had freed itself from where Tenzo and Naruto had blasted it. Tsunade and her team were doing a great job at keeping Kabuto and the reanimations busy, so that left Sasuke to Obito. Piece of cake.
“What are you going to do now Obito? My power has far exceeded yours!” Sasuke screamed from within the Susanoo once it was within yelling distance. “You, who abandoned our clan in its time of need! You who chose the Senju over the Uchiha!”
Obito sighed and rubbed at his temple. “How many times do I have to explain? YOUR brother drugged me that night. And Naruto is NOT a Senju. There AREN’T any Senju left!”
“Heh whatever. This is Indra’s arrow, it won’t miss. And your kamui can’t make two people invincible.” Sasuke said as his Susanoo leveled it’s bow and arrow at them. Kakashi felt his heart stop as the arrow left the bow and headed right in their direction.
Obito simply lifted his right hand out towards the arrow, and as the arrow should have been obliterating them it disintegrated. Kakashi felt his heartbeat return to normal. Obito had absorbed the arrow because it was ninjutsu based. His rinnegan transplant was successful after all!
“I have a jutsu of my own I want to try out.” Kakashi could hear the grin in Obito’s voice. “I haven’t used it in actual combat, because I thought it would be unfair for my enemies to face it and my Mangekyo Sharingan, but since you have the same eyes as me I think it’s only fair.”
Obito’s hands quickly weaved through a complicated series of earth and water signs, and the jutsu was familiar, Kakashi had seen it before… Obito placed both hands into the ground before him and shouted, “Wood Style: Deep Forest Emergence.” Hundreds of trees sprouted instantly from the ground, completely changing the landscape. Sasuke’s Susanoo was quickly overrun and dragged to the ground. Completely covered in the new forest. Not even Tenzo was that good!
Kakashi was pretty sure his jaw hit the floor. “You can use wood style?!” he turned wildly to Obito.
Obito flashed him a grin, both of his eyes crinkling at the corners causing Kakashi’s heart to skip a beat. “I’ve been able to use wood style for years. I just haven’t bothered because I thought it would be overkill.”
That… actually explained a lot about Obito’s battle performances. If only he hadn’t been so over-confident when Pein/Nagato attacked, but then again if things hadn’t happened the way that they had then Kakashi would still be deep in his hole of despair instead of fighting by Obito’s side. Kakashi hadn’t been this happy in years, probably not since he had been with Obito.
Wow. Good thing most of the Akatsuki were dead. Kakuzu would have had a fit if he found out that Kakashi gave Obito the Rinnegan even though Obito had a Mangekyo Sharingan and Wood style.
Sasuke used the Amaterasu to burn away the trees, and new ones weren’t fast enough to regrow on top of the Susanoo.
“Watch this Kakashi!” Obito was like a kid at this point. His hands flew through another set of earth and water signs, before “Wood Style: Wood Clone Jutsu.” Several wood clones of Obito blossomed out of the newly formed trees.
“Hey Sasuke! Since you’re fighting these clones I’ll leave the decision up to you, do you want these clones to use kamui or not?” Obito called.
Sasuke bristled again. “Clones can’t use the Sharingan moron!” He yelled back.
“Wood clones can!” Obito corrected.
Holy shit. Kakashi looked at Obito with fresh eyes.
After a few moments and no answer from Sasuke, Obito piped back up, “they’ll use it then!”
The clones jumped into action and Sasuke was suddenly very busy.
“That should get rid of most of his chakra.” Obito clapped his hands together and turned to look at how things were progressing with Tsunade’s team and Kabuto. “Hmm. Looks like they haven’t figured out how to undo the reanimation jutsu. Kabuto’s little reanimated minions are keeping them too busy. I guess I can help out.”
“That won’t be necessary. I believe I can help.” Obtio and Kakashi both turned to Rin. Only the voice was not hers, and one of her eyes was closed. The other eye held the same pupil as the Three Tails, which Obito remembered from when he had sealed the beast away.
“Isobu?” Obito asked politely. “How can you help us?”
“Out of all the Tailed Beasts, I am strongest with genjutsu. I know your Sharingan can free us reanimations from the jutsu caster’s control, but you can’t possibly use it on everyone. However, I can send out a mist which will trick the reanimations into fighting each other. Once they turn on themselves they will be easy work to seal away, and you can figure out how to undo the jutsu. You just need to order your shinobi to fall back so that they don’t get caught in my mist.”
Obito nodded. And sent the orders to Tsunade’s team to fall back. “Kurama told me that with that eye you have power similar to our father, the Sage of Six Paths, so I want to ask you to summon Shukaku here.” Isobu added.
“Shukaku the One Tail?” Obito asked.
“Yes. Like I am the best with genjutsu, Shukaku is the strongest when it comes to sealing. He will quickly seal all of the reanimations in his sand.”
Obito nodded again. “Alright, give me just a moment.” He began to gather chakra in order to summon the Gedo Statue.
“Here.” Isobu said and held out a hand. “You have used a lot of chakra thus far, I’ll give you some of mine. Take my hand.”
Obito reached out and took Rin’s hand. It was a little eerie to see her same smile as he did so. Once her smaller hand had taken his, he felt the Three Tail’s chakra sweep through him. The surge of power was monumental, Obito could not imagine what Naruto felt when he used the Nine Tails chakra.
Isobu let out a little giggle. “It’s funny, I never really cared for humans all that much. We even had human brothers long ago. Kurama loved them dearly, just as he loved our father. It’s strange to see how much he has grown to hate your kind, when he once loved you all. But your little brat over there has really grown on him.” Isobu winked and stepped forward in Rin’s body, and began the tailed beast transformation that Naruto had done before.
Soon the entirety of the Three Tails stood on the field. As he had promised, mist began to pour out of him and blanket the surrounding areas.
As this happened, Obito summoned the Gedo Statue. Not quite sure how to do so, but just feeling it out with the Rinnegan. After a few tries it was successful and the monster statue erupted from the ground behind him. Obito could sense the other Tailed Beast’s chakra within the structure and he wondered…
“That’s the body of the Ten Tails.” The Nine Tails said from Obito’s side. “You humans really are stupid if you thought this would actually bring peace. If all of my brother’s and sisters were sealed away in that thing the world ends as we know it.”
Obito’s eyes widened. The Ten Tails… All the Tailed Beasts… Holy shit. This had been Madara’s plan all along! Somehow, even with Obito not acting according to plan the whole thing had come to fruition anyway. Kakashi clearly didn’t know anything about the Eye of the Moon plan, so someone else had to be controlling things from the background, but who?
Obito gasped. If Kakashi hadn’t given him this Rinnegan, then there would have been no feasible way to stop the plan. He placed his hand over his heart, where tattered bits of the sealing tag remained. If Pein hadn’t killed him then, he might have brought about the end of the world with Nagato’s Rinnegan.
“Aare you okay Obito?” Kakashi asked as he set a hand on Obito’s other side.
“I’m fine.” Obito answered. “Just trying to figure out how to let only the One Tail out of this thing instead of all of them.”
Kakashi nodded. “If you accidentally summon the others we’ll handle it. It’ll be no problem.” He placed his hand on Obito’s shoulder. “I know you can do it, Obito.”
Obito smiled and nodded. He then gathered his chakra and pressed his hands together, sending his chakra into the Gedo Statue, feeling where the One Tail was and wrenching it out. The statue opened its mouth and sand fell out, but as the sand reached the ground it formed into Shukaku.
“Now what the hell is this?” Shukaku yelled as he looked around.
“I’ll explain. Kurama and I just need you to help seal away these undead shinobi.” Isobu called.
Shukaku laughed again. “Of course Kurama needs my help! Stupid fox.”
Naruto giggled, for once himself this time. “Aren’t the Tailed Beasts funny Dad?”
“I don’t know about that. But they do sure have big personalities.” Obito chuckled as they watched Shukaku gleefully snap up undead humans in his sand traps. Meanwhile Sasuke was struggling to battle all of Obito’s clones, especially since they could each teleport and phase through his attacks.
Kakashi watched everything unfold with wonder in his eyes. Obito was so powerful… But he was still the same person he had been all those years ago. He was amazing. Using wood style. Sustaining all those wood clones. Summoning the Gedo Statue with no training. Freeing a jinchuriki from the reanimation jutsu. Freeing the One Tail from the seal that the Akatsuki had needed three days to complete in a matter of minutes. And he wasn’t even sweating. He was still joking around with Naruto.
Obito had always been big. Taller than Kakashi, with a big loud personality. Yes a little rough around the edges, wanting to fight instead of make compromises. But at his core, Obito had always had such a big heart. Big enough to fit an entire village of flawed people. All his friends at the academy. A jinchuriki which struck fear into the hearts of others. A clan that hadn’t cared about him until he unlocked the Sharingan. The Tailed Beast responsible for taking Rin’s life. And even his teammate who had lost his way along the path of life. There wasn’t anyone else who Kakashi could have trusted with the power of the Rinnegan.
Suddenly, Sasuke managed to catch the last of Obito’s clones in the Amaterasu. “I’m ready for your next trick Obito!” He yelled. “Your stalling tactic won’t work! Because I have Itachi’s eyes! Like you, I have the eternal Mangekyo Sharingan!” And with that Sasuke let out a truly concerning maniacal laugh.
“Oh fuck. Kabuto gave him Itachi’s eyes. I have to go handle this Kakashi. You’ll have to figure out how to stop the reanimation jutsu.” Obito snarled.
“Wait! Don’t-“ Kakashi started, reflexively reaching out to Obito.
“I have complete faith in you!” Quicker than Kakashi could react, Obito leaned over and pressed a kiss to Kakashi’s masked cheek. “You got this!” He gave a thumbs up and ran to meet Sasuke with Naruto in pursuit.
Kakashi’s eyes were wide and his heart was racing. Obito-
Obito still believed in him. Even with all the mistakes Kakashi had made. Well Kakashi wasn’t going to let Obito down. He would figure out the way to undo the jutsu!
He took a strategic place to watch Kabuto. The kid was still summoning dead people, even with Isobu’s mist and Shukaku’s sand making quick work of the reanimated shinobi. Hmm.. How could Kakashi counter this kind of jutsu…
A hand landed on his shoulder. “Sorry we’re late, Kakashi.” Kakashi turned and saw the reanimated Itachi, Shisui and the other Uchiha, apparently Kagami.
Kagami grinned. “It took us a little while to figure out how to break this thing. But then I figured out a way. Sensei is going to lose it when he finds out that all it takes is a Sharingan to break the jutsu. Leave the rest to us!”
Kakashi blinked but nevertheless let the Uchiha head into the battlefield. He went to meet Obito and Naruto and offer whatever support he could in the face of the mangekyo sharingan.
Naruto and Obito both stood at the feet of Sasuke’s perfect Susanoo. “It would be nice if you could use the Susanoo.” The Nine Tails remarked from Naruto’s face.
Obito turned to look at his son and the glowing red eyes. Naruto’s trademark whisker scars were also deeper and darker. “I can use Susanoo.” He responded. “Everyone with the Mangekyo Sharingan can.”
The Nine Tails raised an eyebrow. “Why haven’t you then?”
“I haven’t needed it. Because I have kamui. The Susanoo is a little overkill.”
“Well we need it now. If we want to take that other Uchiha brat down without killing him. Naruto and I are going to do the Perfect Tailed Beast transformation. Once we do, cloak us in your Susanoo. We’ll both be able to take Sasuke down quickly after that.” Nine Tails instructed.
“But, won’t that hurt Naruto?”
Nine Tails huffed. “I’ll make a deal with you brat. I’ll help you take down Sasuke and keep your baby brat safe. In return I want you to do me a favor once this ordeal is over. Got it?”
Obito nodded. “Understood.”
Orange chakra leaked out of Naruto, and all around the two of them the chakra took the form of the Nine Tails. Naruto’s eyes were still red, but his smile was his own and he brought his hands together excitedly. Obito grinned despite himself and concentrated his own chakra into the Susanoo. He had used this skill sparingly over the years, but as he focused his own light blue chakra surrounded the chakra of the fox, taking the form of armor.
In the other Susanoo Sasuke’s face fell. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing…
Kakashi stopped too. Staring at the sight before him. He also couldn’t believe his eyes. Obito could use the Susanoo after all? It was beautiful.
After trading a few devastating blows, Sasuke dropped his sword and retracted the Susanoo. Falling to the ground. “I give up.” His tone was resigned. “You two are far more powerful than me, and this fight is useless to continue.”
Sand encircled Sasuke where he kneeled on the ground. Obito and Naruto turned to look at Shukaku. “Look! I’m not letting this kid out of my sight until he’s actually in your custody!” The Tanuki huffed.
Obito then looked over to Kabuto, who surprisingly was also kneeling on the ground. Three Uchiha surrounded him. As Obito watched, Kabuto’s hands went through a series of hand signs, at the conclusion of which all of the reanimated shinobi began to glow. Even the ones who had been sealed. The reanimation jutsu was undone!
The Three Tails shrunk down to Rin, who floated to where Obito was. She reached out and placed a hand on Obito’s cheek. “I will always be watching over you Obito. But please, don’t hurry to meet me just yet. Someday, all three of us will be together.”
Then she floated over to Kakashi. “Please take care of Obito and Naruto.” She smiled at him. And as she spoke, she placed the palm of her left hand over Kakashi’s eye, err, Obito’s eye. Kakashi felt her chakra seep into his optic nerves, and when she removed her hand his vision in that eye was restored. The headache that had been forming all day was also gone. She waved farewell and floated away, before dispersing in a series of paper shreds.
The Nine Tails and Obito’s Susanoo dispersed and once Obito landed on the ground he turned to Naruto, who wore the Nine Tails face. “Your favor? Nine Tails?” Obito asked.
“Heh. Call me Kurama. Especially since you’re my jinchuriki’s daddy.” Kurama huffed. Then he grew more serious. “I want you to let my brothers and sisters free.”
Obito blinked. “The other tailed beasts? But why? Without them you don’t have to worry about someone harnessing their power.”
“You don’t have siblings, so you don’t understand how nice it is to have bragging rights for saving everyone. But since Naruto is your family, surely you understand why I would want my family to be free instead of trapped within the dead husk of the Ten Tails.” Kurama reasoned. “Afterward, you are going to call a Five Kage summit and let the others know that the Tailed Beasts aren’t interested in serving as weapons for you humans. We want our freedom, and if you truly believe in peace then you’ll respect that.”
Obito blinked. “What about Naruto? If you leave him, he dies. And you promised that you wouldn’t hurt him.”
“Don’t worry about him. I’m not planning on going anywhere. This kid and you are going to need me to look out for you during your antics.” Kurama said as he looked away with a mild look of embarrassment.
Oh wow. Isobu wasn’t kidding… Naruto had made an impression on Kurama. Very well.
“Alright. I’ll free everyone.” Obito said cheerfully. He reached into the Gedo Statue and wrenched all of their chakra free. And before them stood all of the sealed beasts.
“Kurama made a deal with me. You are all hereby freed. However, I expect you to live peacefully alongside humans. No destroying villages or killing people for fun. Got it?” Obito asked the beasts. They all smiled and agreed.
Once Kabuto and Sasuke were taken into custody, Obito sagged into Kakashi’s side. “That was eventful.” He complained.
Naruto had run off to talk to Ibiki about Sasuke, and Tsunade had already headed back to the village. Leaving Kakashi and Obito behind.
Obito sent the Gedo Statue back to its prison on the moon and started walking back to the village.
“Wouldn’t kamui be faster?” Kakashi asked as he walked next to Obito.
“For sure. However, we haven’t gotten a lot of time to talk ever since you returned. I thought we could take a walk back to the village and discuss some things. Like what role you want in the village now that you’re back.”
“I told you what I want. I want to be by your side Obito.” Kakashi answered. “However you want me. Your assistant, Naruto’s babysitter, or even as your bodyguard. Not that you need it. I just want to be with you.”
Obito blushed a little bit and scratched at the scarred side of his face. “You should be careful with your words Bakashi, or else you’ll make an unsuspecting Hokage think you’re in love with him.”
Kakashi stopped and turned to face Obito. “Obito, you are my whole world. I hope you know that. You have been for years. My biggest regret was not joining you earlier.”
This time Obito’s blush was even darker. “We have a lot of history, and a lot of things to work through. But how about this, let’s start anew.” His smile was bright as he held out his hand. “My name is Obito Uchiha, I’m a father, a Hokage, and I’m very happy to have my best friend back.”
Kakashi smiled back and took Obito’s hand. “I’m Kakashi Hatake. I am a proud Shinobi from the Hidden Leaf Village, I’ve made some mistakes over the course of my life, but I’m ready to do the right thing. I’m ready to be home.”
They walked back together, hand in hand.
~ Epilogue ~
“Are you listening to me Bakashi?”
Kakahi looked up from his novel. Shizune had outdone herself with this work…
“Of course Sweetheart. I listen to everything you say.” Kakashi said with his sweetest grin visible from beneath the mask.
Obito pouted. “It sure didn’t look like it! I think it’s a pretty big deal when your grandson blows up the Academy for the second time!”
This made Kakashi frown. “Why is Boruto my grandson when he commits property damage, but your grandson when he was able to do the fireball jutsu last year?”
Obito got a little snippy at that, “because! He obviously got his destructive tendencies from you! You’re the one who was a terrorist for years! That influence is definitely why Boruto defaced the Hokage monument last week.”
Kakashi laughed at that. “He really only defaced Naruto’s monument. All he did to yours was paint your Rinnegan onto your left eye.”
“It was still embarrassing!” Obito blustered.
“Well, I probably should remind you that Himawari is coming over today. She wants you to work with her on her Sharingan.” Kakashi reminded his spouse.
Obito clapped a hand on his forehead. “When are we going to tell her that the Byakugan is NOT the same thing as the Sharingan?!”
“You haven’t told her, because you’re petty and like knowing that you’re her favorite grandfather. And I haven’t told her because I love you enough to go along with your plan.” Kakashi closed his book and stood up. He pulled his mask down and kissed Obito’s scarred cheek. “Although if you ask me, you’ll still be her favorite even if you tell her that the Byakugan and Sharingan are different things.”
Obito still blushed when Kakashi told him he loved him, even all these years later. In these moments it was hard to remember that Obito was the strongest person alive, a former Hokage. And not just Kakashi’s husband.
“What perverted things are you thinking right now Bakashi?!”
“Just thinking about how much you mean to me.” Kakashi smiled as he put his book away. Far out of Himawari’s reach once she reached their house. “How much you and our family mean to me.”