In the Pure Land—
The moment everyone heard the announcement—
"Target Kinkaku and Ginkaku confirmed deceased. Rewards have been automatically delivered to the Pure Land."
—Hashirama, Madara, and the others immediately became interested.
[Hashirama Senju: Huh? Kinkaku and Ginkaku are already dead? Tobirama, did you know that?]
[Tobirama Senju: …I'm the one who killed them.]
[Hashirama Senju: Oh? So you took them with you in the end?]
[Tobirama Senju: Yes, Big Brother.]
[Hashirama Senju: See? That's exactly what I thought! There's no way the dignified Second Hokage could really be taken down by two nobodies!]
[Tobirama Senju: …Big Brother, could you please talk a little less?]
[Madara Uchiha: Since those two are in the Pure Land, we can test whether the ranking is telling the truth. Let's see if those pills are really as powerful as they claim.]
[Izuna Uchiha: Big Brother is right! Let's go find Kinkaku and Ginkaku and take the pills from them!]
[Madara Uchiha: Not take. They'll hand them over willingly. Understand?]
[Izuna Uchiha: Understood, Big Brother!]
[Tobirama Senju: The Uchiha truly are a clan of evil!]
[Madara Uchiha: Do you want to dance too?]
[Tobirama Senju: …]
[Hashirama Senju: Tobirama, you can't say things like that. Don't condemn everyone with one sentence!]
[Tobirama Senju: Big Brother, whose side are you even on?!]
…
It did not take long for Kinkaku and Ginkaku to be found.
After all, traitors who had betrayed their own village, murdered their leader, and tried to plunge the world back into war were naturally despised by everyone in the Pure Land. No one looked at them with anything but contempt.
In the end, under the overwhelming pressure of Madara and Izuna—
the two brothers trembled and very "willingly" handed over the Breakthrough Pills.
…
One pill ended up in Madara's hands.
The other was given to Hashirama.
The two swallowed them without hesitation.
The moment the pills took effect, both of them felt a tremendous surge of chakra gather within their bodies.
For a brief instant, it felt as though they had obtained godlike power—
the kind of strength that could move mountains and split seas with a single jutsu.
But the feeling disappeared just as quickly as it came.
A few seconds later, both of them returned to normal.
[Tobirama Senju: Big Brother, how did it feel?]
[Hashirama Senju: The effect is real. But it came fast and vanished just as fast. The increase in chakra is already gone…]
[Madara Uchiha: Hashirama! So the pill's effect really is genuine!]
[Hashirama Senju: That's right, Madara. But the effect in my body has already faded. What about yours?]
[Madara Uchiha: Mine's gone too.]
[Madara Uchiha: My guess is that because we're only souls in the Pure Land, the pill only let us experience what tenfold chakra feels like for a moment before the effect dispersed.]
[Hashirama Senju: Madara makes a good point!]
[Izuna Uchiha: Big Brother! Then doesn't that mean all the rewards from this ranking are real?]
[Madara Uchiha: Exactly, Izuna.]
The moment those words were spoken, everyone in the Pure Land began thinking their own thoughts.
[Kushina Uzumaki: I wonder… could this ranking have a reward that brings the dead back to life? I want to see our son again… properly this time…]
[Minato Namikaze: Don't worry, Kushina. There has to be something like that.]
As he spoke, Minato clenched his fist.
The truth was, he was not entirely certain either.
But with how miraculous this ranking was—
surely something capable of reviving the dead had to exist.
…
Just then, the floating ranking trembled once more.
A brilliant white light flashed, and a new name slowly appeared.
[Sinister Ranking — Rank 8: Obito Uchiha]
The next instant, a new scene unfolded before everyone's eyes.
[Inside a sealed chamber, the cry of a newborn suddenly rang out.]
[A blond-haired baby had just been born.]
[Hearing the child's cry, a blond man smiled with joy. "From today onward… I'm a father."]
[On the delivery bed, a red-haired woman also smiled in relief.]
[But then pain suddenly twisted across her face.]
["The seal inside me… the Nine-Tails…"]
[The blond man rushed to her side at once and formed a hand seal.]
["I need to force the Nine-Tails back under control."]
Then—
[An orange-masked man suddenly appeared inside the chamber and snatched the infant away.]
[In a cold voice, he said, "Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze—step away from the jinchūriki."]
[The moment he finished speaking, he hurled the baby high into the air.]
[If the child hit the ground, death would be certain.]
["Naruto!" the red-haired woman screamed.]
[That child was her son.]
…
In the Pure Land—
Minato stared at the scene before him, fury blazing in his eyes.
Beside him, Kushina stood frozen, her gaze fixed on the image as if she had forgotten how to breathe.
This was a scene they could never forget.
The day they were separated from their child forever.
The night of the Nine-Tails' attack.
Minato and Kushina both looked at the masked man, then slowly lifted their eyes toward the enormous golden words in the sky—
Sinister Ranking — Rank 8: Obito Uchiha
Their eyes filled with disbelief.
Even now—
a small part of them still wanted to believe—
that the masked man was not really Obito.
After all—
Obito had died during the Kannabi Bridge mission.
Hadn't he?
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