"You must have noticed it by now, right? The cursed seal on your heart. If you could guess it was Madara's doing, then you should also know what kind of safeguards he put in place."
Yun casually caught a drifting leaf between his fingers. With a twist of wind-nature chakra, the leaf split in two.
'If only this space could be entered anytime instead of just during transactions, it would make the perfect training ground.'
Obito stood silently, mulling over Yun's words. 'If it really was Madara…'
Yun continued:
"The cursed seal embedded in your puppet body restricts you in certain ways. For example… removing it from within. Or… committing suicide."
"Honestly, it's both pitiable and despicable, being unable to even control your own life and death."
Obito cut him off with a wave:
"I don't need your judgment. The contract was only to exchange the method to remove the seal!"
Yun shook his head slightly: "Sometimes I think the Second Hokage of Konoha wasn't just spouting nonsense. The Uchiha clan, thanks to the conditions under which the Sharingan awakens, really does tend to produce a lot of nutcases."
"Removing the cursed seal is simple, gamble your life. The seal may restrain your own actions, but it doesn't stop others from acting on you."
Yun glanced at Obito, then at Rin's memorial stone nearby.
"Tell me, is there still anyone in this world… that you can trust?"
The question hung in the air as Obito stared at the stone.
Trust?
To bare his heart, literally, and let another lay hands on it?
Did he still have that kind of faith in anyone?
Zetsu? That idiot and Madara's will? He'd be a fool to trust them.
Nagato and Konan? He dragged them both down into hell with him. How could there be trust?
Even in the battle against Uzumaki Kuu, he'd been on guard the whole time.
Obito looked again at Rin's memorial.
'Rin… if it were you…'
'Since falling into hell, even Minato-sensei and Kakashi had become my enemies.'
'And Rin… she was gone.'
'Do I still he have anyone left to trust? Could I trust anyone at all?'
Yun's voice cut in again:
"How sad… I always believed that humans were social creatures. But burying yourself underground, seeing the world as a living hell, you're clearly sick."
"No one can exist alone in the dark for too long. Not even those few who try, they're all complete lunatics."
In his memory:
Pain claimed to be a god every day and wanted the world to feel pain.
Obito himself raged on about destroying the world, dreaming of a reality where everyone's wishes came true and people quietly died in their sleep.
Madara spent years in the shadows, laughing maniacally about "saving" the world by making everyone go to sleep. Well, sure, dreams have everything.
Danzo firmly believed that if he became Hokage, Konoha would unify the ninja world. Who knew where that old dog got such confidence?
…....
Yun looked at Obito and asked:
"So now that you know the method, what will you do?"
Obito turned his head, avoiding Rin's monument. He looked at Yun and said darkly:
"You don't need to worry about what I'll do. This world was dead to me long ago; it doesn't have anyone left I can trust. So what?"
"It's just a bet with my life. That old man's only afraid I'll go against his plan. When he shows up again, I'll make sure he understands the consequences."
Yun chuckled:
"That old man was once terrifying in his youth, one of the so-called Twin Heroes of the Ninja World. A true powerhouse of his time."
"By the way, something's always puzzled me: Rin died far from Konoha. So how did her body make it back?"
Obito smirked mockingly:
"What, are you offering me a chip now?"
Yun looked a bit awkward. Madara's medium was indeed important.
Hashirama's Sage Body, Madara's Rennigan. Nagato's side was getting too complicated. Dead people might be easier to deal with now.
"You've always believed that Konoha was the best place for Rin, haven't you? If someone had taken her body away, wouldn't the Rin now in the Pure Land be upset?"
Obito's face darkened:
"Uzumaki Ku… next time we meet, I will kill you!"
Yun exhaled and spread his hands:
"That's only if you can. If you don't change… don't be surprised if I'm the one who kills you."
No reply came from Obito for a long time.
The scene began to shift.
The transaction had ended…
In a dark cave, Obito slowly came to his senses, shaking his head.
"Zetsu… have I been here this whole time?"
White Zetsu beside him nodded:
"Yup, you've been here the whole time. Why? Don't tell me you snuck off to take a dump?"
"Obito! You pooped without telling me?! I still want to know what the urge feels like!"
Ignoring Zetsu's nonsense, Obito unwrapped the bandages from his right arm, the one fused with Hashirama cells.
There, embedded in the arm, was an eye slowly opening. The tomoe within spun, linking together into a new pattern.
Fugaku's Mangekyō Sharingan.
"The truth behind Rin's death… If this is the point, then let's use it to see the full picture."
With that thought, the Mangekyō spun rapidly. Massive chakra surged forth. Even with Hashirama cells, Obito felt like he was being hollowed out.
The ability activated, A blur of visions flashed past, too fast and indistinct to recognize.
Until finally, one scene appeared clearly in his mind:
Madara, with a Rinnegan in one eye, stood in the Kamui dimension. With one hand, he clutched someone's throat.
It was Him.
"I placed a cursed seal in your body. Naturally, you cannot commit suicide. You are one of my most important pieces."
"You?"
"Yes, you. And funnily enough, you all tried to erase the seal in exactly the same way. What an interesting bit of fate."
"Rin?"
"Correct. I was the one who planned to make that little girl the Three-Tails' jinchūriki and have her rampage inside Konoha."
…
The scene faded from his mind, but Obito's fists were already clenched tightly.
It was Madara!
The cursed seal inside him, the truth behind Rin's death, all of it was Madara!!!
How utterly foolish…
Heh… just like he manipulated Nagato, Madara had used the exact same method to manipulate him.
To plunge someone into hell, you only need to take away what they love most.
As if it was all coincidence?
No. Everything was part of Madara's plan to make Obito obey.
'MADARA!!!'