Diarmuid soon vanished from Jiraiya's line of sight.
After a long silence, Jiraiya shook his head. "To die for meddling in others' business, eventually?"
"Jiraiya-boy, I actually think his advice was sound. It's better if you don't stick your nose into everything," Fukasaku remarked after a moment of thought.
"I agree," Shima added.
Jiraiya didn't respond directly, but shifted the topic: "The Daimyo of the Land of Earth has been killed by Diarmuid. This will inevitably impact the entire landscape of the war. It looks like I can't keep wandering around out here; I need to return to Konoha immediately and hand over all intelligence regarding Diarmuid to the old man."
The Toad Sages clearly had no interest in the internal politics of the shinobi villages. After a few more words with Jiraiya, the three toads dispelled the Summoning Jutsu and returned to Mount Myoboku.
On the other side, following the coded signals left by Kakuzu along the way, Diarmuid quickly caught up with him and Sasori.
"Handled?" Kakuzu asked as Diarmuid descended from the sky, sounding entirely unsurprised.
"Just catching up with an old acquaintance," Diarmuid replied calmly, offering no further explanation.
Neither Kakuzu nor Sasori pressed for details.
The three continued their journey for a while before Kakuzu spoke up, "You two head back first. I'm going to a nearby Exchange Point to turn in this mission."
"Fine," Diarmuid nodded. Sasori remained silent.
However, after taking a few steps, Kakuzu seemed to remember something. "You asked me to keep an eye on the war for you. Speaking of which, on the day we arrived at the Daimyo Castle of the Land of Earth, something did happen."
"What was it?" Diarmuid asked.
"It seems Konoha shinobi were attacking Kannabi Bridge," Kakuzu reported.
"The Yellow Flash? Namikaze Minato?" Diarmuid asked immediately.
"No, it wasn't him," Kakuzu shook his head. "If it were the famous Yellow Flash, the intelligence would be much more precise. They wouldn't have used a vague summary like 'it seems Konoha shinobi.'"
"Perhaps a vanguard unit then," Diarmuid murmured, then nodded. "I see. Thanks."
"It's nothing," Kakuzu replied casually before disappearing.
Sasori asked with a hint of curiosity, "Are you interested in Kannabi Bridge? Or rather, are you interested in that Yellow Flash?"
"Both, I suppose... Honestly, I'm not sure if 'interest' is the right word. I'm just curious," Diarmuid smiled.
"Is that so?" Sasori didn't push further, instead shifting the topic. "So, what were you doing in the Daimyo Castle these past three days?"
"Drinking at the pleasure quarters..." Diarmuid answered, but then his expression froze. He cursed under his breath, "Dammit, that bastard Jiraiya completely threw off my rhythm!"
"What?" Sasori asked, confused.
"I had my eye on a certain courtesan. I planned to kidnap her and take her with me after killing the Daimyo. But Jiraiya's interference made me forget all about it!" Diarmuid grumbled.
Sasori: "..."
Kidnapping a courtesan? Can you, Diarmuid, act like a decent human being for once?
Diarmuid glanced back toward the Daimyo Castle, looking slightly hesitant. Shiramu Ameri... she was truly a top-tier beauty. He was a bit tempted.
But after reconsidering, Diarmuid shook his head. "Forget it. Next time. If I run into her again... I'll take her."
With that, Diarmuid turned. "Let's go."
Sasori shrugged and followed Diarmuid's lead.
…
At the same time, at Kannabi Bridge, Minato had arrived. Curiously, he was not accompanied by Kakashi or the other members of Team Minato.
Just as Diarmuid suspected, the force that had initiated the assault on the bridge was actually a Konoha vanguard unit, meant to scout the situation for Minato.
Meanwhile, in a partially collapsed cavern not far from the bridge:
Kakashi, having lost an eye, knelt in agony before a massive fallen boulder. Rin stood by, her face masked in grief as she looked beneath the rock.
A figure was trapped there, half his body crushed.
It was Uchiha Obito.
Previously, due to special circumstances, Minato had been forced to rush ahead to Kannabi Bridge. As the remaining Jonin, Kakashi had taken command of the team to continue the mission. During that time, disaster struck.
Rin had been captured by Iwagakure shinobi. Initially, out of commitment to the mission and the memory of his late father, Kakashi intended to abandon Rin to prioritize the support mission.
Obito, naturally, could never accept such a choice.
"In the ninja world, those who break the rules are scum, that's true... but those who abandon their friends are worse than scum!"
"To me, the White Fang was a true hero!"
Those two sentences had pierced straight into Kakashi's heart.
Kakashi's cold, world-weary shell at such a young age wasn't without cause. He was lost, caught between conflicting paths. He valued his comrades, yet because of that very sentiment, his beloved father had been hounded to suicide by the village's rumors. The legendary White Fang had died branded as "scum."
He didn't know what was right.
Until that moment, hearing Obito's words, he realized he had always known, he just hadn't been strong enough to stand by it. His hesitation was born of his father's tragedy; it was his long-standing nightmare.
But in that moment, Obito gave him resolve. Yes, those who don't cherish their comrades are worse than scum!
Watching Obito's lonely back as he walked away, Kakashi finally chose to follow.
And then, everything that would change the world occurred.
Though Kakashi held the rank of Jonin, he was still young. In the clash with the Iwagakure ninja, his left eye was slashed into blindness. In that desperate situation, Obito felt the weight of his own powerlessness. He spoke constantly of protecting his friends, yet in the end, he was the one holding them back.
In a state of fury and self-disappointment, Obito unexpectedly awakened the two-tomoe Sharingan.
With the Sharingan's aid, he and Kakashi managed to repel the Iwagakure ninja. However, as the enemy retreated, they used a Earth Release jutsu to collapse the cavern, intending to bury all three of them.
They could have escaped together.
But with one eye blinded, Kakashi had a blind spot in his vision, causing him to miss a massive falling boulder. In that split second, Obito didn't hesitate, he chose to save Kakashi.
Kakashi was shoved clear. Obito, however, was pinned beneath the rock.
"Obito..." Kakashi looked at the crushed boy, his heart in pieces as he tried to dig him out.
"Don't waste your strength, Kakashi. I can feel it... I'm finished," Obito stopped him. Outside, enemies still lingered.
"Speaking of which, I never got to give you a gift for your promotion to Jonin. I thought about it for a long, long time... and now, I finally know what to give you," Obito said, his voice drifting like a final testament.
"Don't worry, it's not some useless trinket. I want to give you my Sharingan, Kakashi. No matter what the people in the village say, in my eyes, you are an amazing Jonin. This is my heart's wish; please, take it. Rin... please use your medical ninjutsu to transplant my Sharingan into Kakashi... I will become your eye, and see the future for you, Kakashi..."
Even as he lay dying under the stone, half of Obito's face wore a faint smile.
Kakashi wept, consumed by pain. "Obito..."
Though Rin was equally devastated, she was a shinobi. Controlling her grief, she transplanted the uncrushed Sharingan into Kakashi's empty socket.
Closing his hollow eye, Obito whispered, "Kakashi, I'm leaving Rin to you... you must... you must protect her... This time, I'll be watching over you both."
"Wait for me!" Kakashi closed his new Sharingan, tears streaming down his face.
He didn't linger. He charged out of the collapsing cave. There was still an enemy outside!
On this day, two heroes of the Sharingan were born.
The first was named Uchiha Obito. The second was named Hatake Kakashi.
With the help of the Sharingan and his Chidori, Kakashi successfully killed the Iwagakure ninja outside. However, the enemy's pursuit squad arrived shortly after. Forced by circumstances, Kakashi had to retreat with Rin, leaving Obito buried in the secondary collapse of the cave.
Alone against the pursuit squad, Kakashi began the path that would make his name shake the shinobi world.
He didn't know when he lost consciousness in the battle. He only knew that Rin was the person Obito gave his life to protect, and for him, it was a sacred duty.
At that moment, Kakashi fought to the death and refused to retreat.
When he finally regained consciousness, the first thing he saw was the starlit night sky.
The first words he heard were Minato's gentle inquiry: "Are you awake, Kakashi?"
"Sensei..." Kakashi was stunned for a moment, then sat up abruptly. He saw Rin sitting nearby, clutching her knees and weeping as she stared at the bright moon.
"Obito... where is Obito?" Kakashi asked, as if unable to accept reality.
A flash of sorrow crossed Minato's gentle eyes. He opened his mouth but found no words, simply reaching out to gently stroke Kakashi's head.
In the next moment, Kakashi's face was wet with tears as he sobbed silently.
By a twist of fate, perhaps because Kakashi, Obito, and Rin had appeared, many of the Iwagakure ninja who were supposed to reinforce Kannabi Bridge had been intercepted by them.
Minato completed the mission smoothly. Behind that success, the actions of Kakashi and his team had played a significant role.
The only unbearable tragedy was that a member of Team Minato had left them forever.
Uchiha Obito.
A few days later, news of two major events swept across the entire battlefield.
The Daimyo of the Land of Earth had been forcibly assassinated inside the Daimyo Castle by an organization called Yorozuya! His head had been severed and taken!
Iwagakure suffered a major military defeat at Kannabi Bridge; the Iwagakure combat forces within the Land of Rain had lost their stable logistical support.
The death of the nation's titular head and the fall of a strategic military point, this sequence of blows left the entire Iwagakure in a state of mourning and despair.
Third Tsuchikage Onoki's ambition to defeat Konoha in this war had ultimately come to naught. Now, anyone with eyes could see that the outcome of the war was clear.
This time, Konoha gained two heroes of the Sharingan. This time, a notorious terrorist organization appeared in the shinobi world.