After sealing Nohara Rin's body into a scroll, Uchiha Kai quietly stowed it away inside his ninja pouch.
The technique he used wasn't especially advanced—standard storage fūinjutsu known to many mid- to high-level shinobi. It was commonly used to seal tools, scrolls, and sometimes even weapons within one's body for quick retrieval.
But it had its limitations.
This sealing method could not preserve living beings—only lifeless matter. And Nohara Rin… was dead.
Her heart had been pierced by Kakashi's Chidori. The wound, charged with Lightning Release chakra, caused irreversible damage. Kai vaguely remembered something about a seal placed on her heart—something triggered if she tried to return to the village. Whether or not the seal remained intact now, it no longer mattered.
"The Three-Tails' chakra…" Kai muttered to himself. "I need to study it. And Rin—"
He paused.
"—her body must be preserved. Maybe even restored."
Fastening his pouch shut, Kai fell silent. Obito didn't leave with us. Maybe... he stayed behind to give Rin a proper burial?
Or maybe, Kai thought darkly, Obito stayed behind because Rin's death broke him.
In any case, the preservation of Rin's body might serve another purpose someday. Obito's love for her was absolute, and Rin was his only remaining emotional tether. Kai knew the future was uncertain, but if Obito ever became a threat—if—then this might be his only leverage.
There's a technique in Sunagakure, isn't there? Something about puppet body preservation... maybe it could help.
Just as Kai finished stowing the scroll, a soft sound came from nearby.
He turned quickly. Sure enough—Kakashi was stirring.
Kai's eyes narrowed. There wasn't time to explain. He formed a hand seal. A moment later, a roaring Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu erupted from the earth, consuming the surrounding battlefield in searing flames.
The rain didn't stop the blaze. On the contrary, the steam and flickering light made the scene even more surreal.
There would be no sign of Rin's body. No grave. No trail. Just scorched earth and a smoldering lie.
The official story would be that the bodies were incinerated. A necessary measure in hostile territory.
Kakashi stirred again, coughing.
"…Kai?" he rasped weakly. His left hand reached to his temple, while the right gripped his ninja blade out of instinct.
"Yeah," Kai replied, removing his mask and walking toward him. "It's me. Sorry I was late."
Kakashi blinked, his Sharingan slowly focusing on Kai's face. His grip loosened. "Did you… get them all?" Then, after a pause: "…Rin… I… I—"
"No need to say it," Kai interrupted gently. "I saw everything."
He looked toward the flames, his voice lowering.
"She had a tailed beast inside her, Kakashi. The Mist Village was using her as a ticking time bomb to destroy Konoha from within. They wanted her to lose control after re-entering the village."
Kakashi stared, trembling.
"She knew it too," Kai said quietly. "She chose that end, Kakashi. You gave her what she asked for."
"But I killed her!" Kakashi suddenly broke down, sobbing. "It was me… I—!"
"You're a fool if you think that." Kai's tone turned sharp. "You think this is about you? That this is something you can fix with guilt and tears?"
He crouched, grabbed Kakashi by the flak vest, and pulled him close. "I've lost more than you can imagine. If I crumbled every time a comrade died, I wouldn't be standing here. What do you think those who sacrificed themselves for us would feel, seeing you like this?"
Kakashi didn't resist. His head hung.
"A shinobi's strength isn't just in ninjutsu or bladework," Kai continued. "It's the strength to endure. To carry the grief and still move forward."
He released Kakashi and stood.
"Obito gave you his eye so you could see a future he couldn't. Rin gave her life to protect the village. You owe it to both of them to keep moving forward."
"I… I understand." Kakashi's voice was barely audible.
"Good. Now, can you still summon your ninken?"
"Yes."
"Do it. I'll need one to deliver something back to the village."
Kakashi hesitated. "What are you going to do now? Is this about… Kirigakure?"
Kai looked toward the horizon, where the mist hung over bloodied hills.
"It's my responsibility now. You're in no shape for another mission. As your team captain, I'm ordering you to return to Aya and Kenta. Get treatment. Rest."
"Understood." Kakashi said no more.
Meanwhile, in the cavernous underground lair beneath the Mountains' Graveyard…
An old man sat with a young one, both locked in a genjutsu space where time seemed to stand still.
"You want to cast genjutsu on the entire world?" Obito repeated Madara's words incredulously. "How?"
"By reflecting my Sharingan off the moon," Madara explained calmly. "Through that, I can project the Infinite Tsukuyomi onto every living being on the planet."
Obito was silent.
"To understand it, you must first understand the origin of chakra," Madara continued, gesturing toward a mural that appeared in the illusion.
A monstrous creature with ten tails loomed above the earth, its single eye watching everything. Below it stood a sage-like figure wielding a staff.
"The Sage of Six Paths fought the Ten Tails, then sealed it inside himself. Afterward, he split its power into the nine tailed beasts you know."
"But… that's myth," Obito protested.
"Every myth has truth," Madara said. "After our battle at the Valley of the End, I implanted Hashirama's cells into my body. Eventually, the fusion of Uchiha and Senju awakened the Rinnegan."
Before Obito's eyes, an image formed—Madara as an old man, opening the Rinnegan for the first time.
"Those eyes aren't with me now," Madara admitted. "I entrusted them elsewhere."
"The Gedo Statue you've seen—that's the Ten Tails' husk. I used it and Hashirama's cells to create the White Zetsu."
Obito stared at his own right arm, which pulsed faintly with Senju cells. He understood.
"I've prepared everything," Madara said, placing his hand on White Zetsu. A dark chakra spread, transforming it into a humanoid vessel.
He summoned a black rod from the Gedo Statue's mouth. "Take this. It holds part of my will. Use it when the time comes."
Madara turned away. His breath grew shallow. Without warning, he tore out the life support tube from his back.
He slumped onto the stone bench.
"I'll die now, but my plan will live on. You, Obito… from this moment, you are Madara Uchiha."
Obito's eyes gleamed with dangerous resolve.
"Yes. I am… Madara Uchiha."
As Obito and Black Zetsu left, Madara exhaled deeply.
"Everything is set. Obito will walk the path I prepared."
He closed his eyes.
Hashirama… I'm coming.