"Nothing..."

Obito put down the scroll in disappointment.

Right now, Obito was inside Amegakure, trying to find information about the former members of Akatsuki.

Among Akatsuki’s members, some had defected due to their deep disappointment in Hanzō after the war and later joined Akatsuki because they resonated with its ideology.

Originally, Obito planned to find information about these individuals first.

But he soon realized that without anyone helping him, it was extremely difficult to locate the right individuals from among so many records.

Fortunately, Obito possessed the Mangekyō Sharingan, and more importantly, his ability was Kamui, which made all of Amegakure’s defenses meaningless to him. Otherwise, it would have been even more troublesome.

Still, these past few days weren’t a total waste, he discovered that Nagato had left Amegakure.

Because of his legs, Nagato rarely left the village, only when something required his direct involvement.

For instance, during Akatsuki’s early recruitment, Nagato had gone out personally to bring in new members.

Combining that with the intel Nagasawa had previously provided, Obito concluded that Nagato was now in the Land of Fields (Ta no Kuni).

"What a pain."

Obito looked at the scrolls packed on the shelves and couldn’t help feeling a headache.

These contained all the documents since Amegakure’s founding. Even with shadow clones, it was difficult to sort through.

And when a clone dispelled, the accumulated fatigue would hit him, weakening his overall condition.

"Guess I’ll just use genjutsu."

After thinking it through, Obito decided to use his trump card.

As long as he could control someone high-ranking and have them order their subordinates to retrieve the information, it’d be far more efficient than wandering blindly.

Although it wasn’t exactly ethical, Obito felt it was justified.

He wasn’t trying to hurt anyone, just looking for documents.

Unlike how he had manipulated Yagura, this time it was harmless.

Obito, who was now quite proactive, used the intel he’d gathered while hiding in Amegakure to cast a genjutsu using his Mangekyō on a mid-to-high-ranking official, and had that person assign others to search the records.

With the help of official personnel, the speed drastically increased, he got the information he needed the same day.

Among that group of Akatsuki members, seven had been former Amegakure shinobi. They defected due to Hanzō, and later joined Akatsuki.

But as Obito went to look for them one by one, he was once again faced with the cruelty of the world.

"That family? They all left a few years ago,"

an old man sunbathing at his doorstep responded to Obito’s question.

"I heard their son was a ninja too, but I don’t think he ever came back."

Obito stood there frozen. A full minute passed before he responded and thanked the old man,

"Got it. Thank you."

He left the unfamiliar village and went to the next listed address.

Yes, this wasn’t the first.

The first one had also died, possibly even earlier.

Based on his judgment, it likely happened during the Third Great Ninja War.

As he went on, Obito found no success.

Whether it was due to Amegakure’s tragic history or something else, most of the families of those seven had been wiped out during the war.

"War..."

Walking on the muddy road, Obito couldn’t help but sigh.

War had brought too much suffering, he himself was a victim of war.

During the Third Great Ninja War, Konoha was surrounded by four great nations, and Obito was on the front lines against Iwagakure.

On one mission, his team was ambushed. Rin was captured, and Kakashi, influenced by the trauma of his father’s disgrace, initially wanted to abandon Rin and complete the mission instead.

Obito furiously argued with him, ultimately convincing Kakashi to join him in rescuing her.

It was during that mission that Obito awakened the Sharingan, triggered by Kakashi losing his left eye while protecting him.

Overcome with emotion, Obito’s eye activated into a two-tomoe Sharingan on the spot.

Together, they managed to rescue Rin from a cave, but the enemy Iwagakure shinobi collapsed the cave.

Obito was crushed by a massive boulder, pinned under it.

Outside, the enemy was attacking.

Inside, he was trapped.

Obito smiled and told Kakashi and Rin to leave him and escape.

Because Kakashi had lost an eye protecting him, Obito asked Rin to transplant his Sharingan into Kakashi’s left eye socket, as a gift for Kakashi’s promotion to jōnin.

At the time, Obito was prepared to die.

With the enemy outside and his body crushed, there was no hope of survival.

But life is unpredictable, he was saved by Madara.

Though as Nagasawa would say later, rather than being saved by Madara, it was because of Madara that he ended up in that situation.

"Thankfully, Nagasawa-senpai exists in this era.

I absolutely cannot let this hard-earned peace be destroyed!"

Obito felt a deeper sense of duty.

By the time he reached the last family, he no longer had any expectations.

Come to think of it, if someone had a whole, happy family, why would they defect to Akatsuki?

Akatsuki wasn’t some well-funded organization with benefits.

It was more like a full-blown illegal syndicate.

But unexpectedly, the last house offered a pleasant surprise.

A villager told him there was still a child from that family alive.

Obito smiled and thanked the villager, recalling the intel,

"Yoshida Takashi, Chūnin..."

"One survived? That must’ve been hard."

Obito sighed.

The Land of Rain was poor due to years of war.

Surviving alone in such a place was no small feat.

Perhaps he had good neighbors helping out, that might explain it.

Obito knocked on the door.

After waiting a while with no response, he used Kamui to phase into the house.

It was sparsely furnished. Everything looked old and worn.

He wasn’t sure if it had always been like this or if things were sold for money.

Not finding anyone inside, Obito went back outside and wandered around the village, hoping to run into the child.

"Why don’t you be the bad guy, Yoshida? Your dad was a rogue ninja, right? Perfect casting!"

Obito suddenly heard a childish voice.

Based on the content, it seemed they were playing a ninja game.

What caught his attention was the name, Yoshida.

He looked around and quickly found five or six kids gathered.

"Yeah! Only you can be the villain!"

another child shouted.

A black-haired boy called Yoshida turned red in the face.

"Why do I always have to be the bad guy? I wanna be a ninja too!"

"Rogue ninjas are still ninjas,"

said the tallest, chubby kid with a round face.

"Then why don’t you be the rogue ninja?"

Yoshida shot back.

The chubby kid was stunned for a moment before muttering,

"If you’re not gonna play, fine. We’ll play without you."

He clearly didn’t want to be the bad guy.

Rogue ninjas got beaten. Regular ninjas got respect.

Usually, Yoshida would relent, but not today.

"Fine. You guys play. I’m going home."

The black-haired boy turned and walked away.

The chubby kid didn’t expect that, he tried to stop him but held back.

He had just said "Fine, don’t play," so calling him back would be humiliating.

"We’ll play without him. Let’s draw lots to see who’s the villain."

the chubby kid shouted louder on purpose.

But Yoshida didn’t look back.

Obito quietly followed the boy, who returned to the house Obito had just visited.

The boy skillfully opened the door and muttered,

"Always making me the rogue ninja... So what if my dad was one? That’s not my fault..."

Obito silently watched, not making a sound.

He suspected the kids were actually friends, but when the news about Yoshida Takashi’s defection spread, they used it to enhance their play.

Children don’t overthink.

Their careless words can be extremely hurtful, even over trivial things.

Obito deeply understood this.

He used to be that stubborn, self-important kid.

Thinking he was special, until reality slapped him down.

Then he’d blurt out words he didn’t even believe himself.

Looking back now, he couldn’t help but laugh at how ridiculous he was. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

After a while, when the boy closed the door, Obito knocked again.

"Who is it?"

came the young voice.

The door opened quickly, but seeing it wasn’t who he’d hoped for, the boy’s expression fell.

He had hoped his friends had come to apologize.

"Who are you?"

The boy eyed Obito cautiously.

He wasn’t from the village.

Obito had used a Transformation Jutsu to make himself look ordinary, if he wore his mask, he’d seem shady for sure.

"Is this the home of Yoshida Takashi?"

Obito asked instead of answering.

"You know that man?"

The boy’s expression changed upon hearing that name.

Obito nodded.

"I was once his friend. I’m a ninja from Amegakure."

A lie, of course, but an official title helps open doors.

When the boy heard "Amegakure ninja," he reflexively tried to shut the door, but Obito stopped him.

"If you’re here to arrest him, he’s not here. He hasn’t been home in years."

"I’m not here to arrest him."

Obito reassured him, then asked,

"You’re his son?"

The boy hesitated, then nodded.

"What’s your name?"

"Yoshida Ichirō."

A very common name, Ichirō, meaning firstborn.

"He’s really not here. If you don’t believe me, you can come in and see."

Obito stepped inside silently.

Since he’d already been here earlier, he didn’t look around.

Instead, he said to Ichirō,

"If he’s not back yet... you need to prepare yourself.

He may never return."

"He once told me, after leaving Amegakure, he’d either come home or do something very dangerous."

And just like that, Obito weaved a story of brotherhood.

"Who cares about that man?

Let him die. He probably forgot he had a son. Forgot this was his home."

Ichirō tried to sound indifferent.

But his tightly clenched fists betrayed his true feelings.

Even though his father vanished years ago, of course he had once fantasized,

A ninja father returning home, taking him out for delicious food, scolding those who always made him be the villain in their games.

Of course he had.

It was once his dream.

But dreams change with time.

His father never came back.

Instead, news of his defection reached the village.

Eventually, Ichirō gave up.

That man wasn’t coming back.

Obito saw it all and said,

"I once promised Yoshida,

if he died, I’d look after his family."

Looking around the room, Obito continued,

"You don’t seem to be doing well.

I’ll give you two choices."

"I’ve saved some money over the years.

If you want, I can give you enough to live a peaceful life forever."

"Or, if you’re not content with this life, I can teach you how to become a ninja."

A lifetime of comfort...

or the path of a ninja?

The choice was his.