Naruto Dream Fulfillment Master!

Chapter 398 Sakumo Hatake and Yahiko Arrive

Minato's return alone, coupled with Rin's subsequent speculation, plunged the atmosphere in the audience into despair once again.

The nascent hope was extinguished in an instant, and a heavy gloom seemed to hang over everyone's hearts.

Naruto's face paled, his fists clenched so tightly they cracked, and he murmured, "Kakashi-sensei... he still couldn't be saved?"

"Damn it! I can't even find Dad... Where did those Iwa ninja hide Kakashi-sensei!?"

More than his anger, Naruto was worried about the safety of young Kakashi.

"If what Rin speculated is true... Kakashi-sensei was taken directly back to Iwagakure..."

Karin adjusted her glasses and continued in a low voice, "Then the rescue would be far too difficult. To go deep into the heart of one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages and bring them out from under heavy guard would be incredibly difficult, even for the Yellow Flash..."

She didn't finish her sentence, but the meaning was already clear.

Sakura excelled in history and geography, and her analysis was very insightful: "Iwagakure is surrounded by mountains and is known for its strong defenses. The Third Tsuchikage, Onoki, is also stationed there. It is definitely not a place you can come and go as you please."

"In every Shinobi World War, Iwagakure has always been the one to provoke trouble, and its methods have always been tough and aggressive. If they capture Kakashi, they may use his special status to conduct political negotiations or exchange intelligence, or even... use him as a bargaining chip to blackmail Konoha."

Sakura's reasoned analysis only added to the heaviness in everyone's hearts.

Everyone's expressions grew increasingly grim.

This means that Kakashi's personal safety is not only in danger, but he may also be drawn into a higher-level political struggle.

Realizing this, everyone felt as if a huge rock had been pressed down on their hearts, making even their breathing heavier.

Kakashi, who had remained silent, looked grave and did not speak.

His thoughts were exactly the same as Obito's; he also believed that the young Kakashi was not simply kidnapped by an ordinary Iwa ninja.

There is probably more to the story than meets the eye.

While everyone's attention was focused on Kakashi's safety, Sasuke frowned slightly, his thoughts drifting in another direction.

"Obito's ability... I remember that masked man who called himself Uchiha Madara, his Mangekyou Sharingan ability seemed to be a space-time technique that leaned towards evasion."

Sasuke tried hard to recall the scene of his previous fight with the masked man.

The opponent's ability to make their body ethereal and immune to all physical attacks is a bizarre and impressive ability.

"But in this dream, Obito used..." Sasuke recalled the scene of Obito's fierce attack.

That attack blasted the ambushing enemy into dust, clearly demonstrating an extremely powerful offensive capability.

This discovery shook Sasuke's speculation about the masked man's true identity.

So, does this mean... I was really wrong?

Obito... doesn't seem to be that masked man after all?

If Obito isn't him, then who is the masked man?

What is Obito's identity in our world?

……

on the screen.

Lin's shocked expression was clearly visible.

Her almond-shaped eyes widened, her small mouth slightly open, and her face was filled with disbelief.

Seeing this, Obito was smug, his smile even more uncontrollable than an AK.

[Ding! Emotional fluctuations from Uchiha Obito have been detected! Emotional value +500!]

Yes! That's the expression!

Obito shouted excitedly in his heart.

Lin, look carefully!

I'm no longer that loser who needed Kakashi's protection!

However, Obito's smugness lasted only a few seconds before reality dealt him a heavy blow.

Rin suddenly stepped forward, grabbed his arm, and exclaimed urgently, "Obito! What time is it? Kakashi is still missing! You...you're still bragging!"

"Bragging?!" Obito was dumbfounded, his face flushing red. He shouted urgently, "I'm not bragging! I really did it all! Last night I personally blasted that bastard Oishi to pieces, and I was the one who did the work at Kirigakure!"

[Ding! Emotional fluctuations from Uchiha Obito have been detected! Emotional value +600!]

After saying this, Obito immediately turned to look at Minato, his eyes filled with eagerness and longing.

However, Minato's gaze remained calm, yet it clearly revealed disbelief.

Given his understanding of his disciple's abilities, such doubts were perfectly normal.

Minato knew Obito's usual level very well, and he found it hard to imagine Obito defeating someone instantly.

Even the teacher didn't believe it...

Obito felt a chill in his heart, all his strength suddenly dissipated, and a deep sense of powerlessness welled up inside him.

Why does nobody believe me?

Okay, so none of you believe me, right?

Obito gritted his teeth, feeling annoyed.

"Then I'll prove it to you!"

He snorted coldly and didn't bother to explain any further.

The next instant, Obito suddenly raised his head, and his dark eyes underwent a startling change.

His originally dark pupils were instantly replaced by scarlet, and what appeared in his scarlet eyes was not the slowly rotating three-tomoe jade, but a completely new, complex and eerie pattern.

It was clearly the signature pattern of the Mangekyou Sharingan!

At the same time, a cold aura of chakra quietly spread out from Obito.

"Obito, your eyes... what is this?" Rin was startled by the sudden change and stared at the unfamiliar and terrifying patterns in Obito's eyes with suspicion.

She didn't understand the power of the Mangekyou Sharingan, only that Obito's pupils at this moment had an added touch of evil and danger compared to ordinary Sharingan.

Unlike Rin's helplessness, Minato's pupils suddenly contracted the moment he saw the pattern in Obito's eyes.

"This...this is the Mangekyou Sharingan?!" Even he, who was usually so composed, couldn't hide the shock in his voice.

As an elite Jonin of Konoha, and both an opponent and friend of Fugaku Uchiha, Minato's understanding of the Uchiha clan far surpassed that of others.

He had not only heard of the existence of the Mangekyou Sharingan before, but had also learned some secret rumors about the conditions for awakening the Mangekyou Sharingan from Fugaku.

Only by experiencing extreme pain and loss, under immense emotional stimulation, is there a very small chance of it being activated.

Obito...

When and why did this usually carefree and optimistic student awaken the Mangekyou Sharingan?!

Could it be that Obito experienced some unimaginable pain and loss without his knowledge?

But... what could it be?

Is it the mission in Kirigakure?

still is……

Countless questions surged forth, causing even the usually composed Minato to momentarily lose his composure.

After a brief moment of distraction, Minato asked in a deep voice, "Obito... when did you awaken these eyes?"

"When did you awaken?" Obito opened his mouth, but was momentarily speechless.

He darted around, subtly avoiding Minato-sensei's sharp gaze, and mumbled somewhat vaguely, "Uh... I don't know, it's just... I awakened inexplicably, maybe it's because I have a special talent?"

Obito, without batting an eye, attributed the reason to his own talent.

Before he could finish speaking, in order to avoid Minato continuing to ask him a question he couldn't answer, and also to completely prove that he wasn't bragging, Obito decided to let the facts speak for themselves.

He casually picked up an old ceramic cup from the low table beside his bed, his gaze suddenly sharpened, and the patterns of his Mangekyou Sharingan began to rotate slightly.

A distorted spatial fluctuation instantly locked onto the ceramic cup in his palm.

The next moment, the ceramic cup was suddenly enveloped, squeezed, and twisted by a spiral-shaped spatial ripple!

In the blink of an eye, the once intact cup turned into a small pile of powder finer than sand, which slipped through the dirt between his fingers.

Perhaps it was the solemn and quiet atmosphere inside the tent that made Obito particularly focused, or perhaps the demonstration consumed very little of his eye power, allowing him to perceive more subtle changes.

In short, in the instant he unleashed "Kamui," Obito caught many details he hadn't noticed before.

He clearly sensed that his kaleidoscope ability in the dream was indeed, in essence, a activation of the power of his own unique Kamui dimension.

What alarmed him even more was that the principle behind this ability was surprisingly simple.

Instead of using some kind of complex energy to decompose or dissolve objects, he directly forcibly embedded a part of the Divine Might Space into reality, creating spatial compression in the area in front of his palm!

In other words, the cup wasn't broken down by chakra, but rather crushed into powder by the highly compressed space!

So that's how it is... Obito was secretly shocked.

No wonder this move is so terrifying and impossible to defend against.

This is not an ordinary energy attack at all; it is a direct crushing of one space into another!

This discovery gave him a deeper understanding of the nature of his Mangekyou Sharingan abilities.

[Ding! Emotional fluctuations from Uchiha Obito have been detected! Emotional value +400!]

!!!

Minato's pupils suddenly contracted.

As a master of space-time ninjutsu, he clearly detected that familiar spatial fluctuation.

It was exactly the same as the remaining traces he sensed at the scene of Kakashi's disappearance!

"It really was you who did it..." Minato murmured, a complex and unreadable expression on his face.

He finally had to believe that his seemingly ordinary disciple had unknowingly mastered such a dangerous and powerful force.

"Obito...you..." Rin opened her mouth, but her voice choked in her throat.

She stared incredulously at the pile of ceramic cups turned to dust at Obito's feet, then looked up at Obito's eerie pupils, completely stunned and speechless.

It turns out that what Obito said was true!

He was indeed protecting everyone in secret, and he was using a powerful force that she had never seen before and could hardly comprehend.

Shocked, a sense of shame welled up in Lin's heart.

She actually thought Obito was bragging...

"Now you believe me!"

Seeing the shocked expressions on the two people's faces, especially Rin's expression turning from shock to guilt, Obito finally felt a great release of the pent-up anger in his heart.

A sense of triumph washed over him, causing him to raise his chin slightly, a smug gleam in his eyes.

At this moment, his body was still weak, and his legs were a little limp, but he was extremely excited.

Minato nodded, accepting the fact.

But then his brows furrowed even more, revealing helplessness and deeper contemplation: "I see... I originally thought that some ninja who had mastered space-time ninjutsu was secretly watching you, and that he might even be the one who kidnapped Kakashi. That's why my Flying Thunder God Kunai was detected, and why Kakashi seemed to have vanished into thin air, leaving no trace..."

"But if you're the one who can use space-time ninjutsu... then Kakashi's disappearance becomes even stranger, unless..."

Before he could finish speaking, the heavy tent flap was suddenly flung open, and a blast of cold wind rushed in!

Two figures, one after the other, strode in, looking travel-worn.

The man walking in front was tall and upright, with features that were seven or eight parts similar to Kakashi's, but with more resolute and strong lines, and a compelling sharpness between his brows.

The newcomer was none other than Sakumo Hatake, the White Fang of Konoha, Kakashi's father, the refugee rescuer, a top candidate for the Fourth Hokage, and the leader of the Akatsuki organization.

Half a step to his side followed an orange-haired youth with a resolute face.

This person was none other than Yahiko.

Both men were dressed in combat gear, each carrying a short sword on their backs. Their faces showed signs of travel fatigue, indicating that they had rushed from Konoha overnight after receiving the news.

Upon seeing this, Minato's expression turned serious, and he quickly stepped forward, saying in a deep voice, "Sakumo-senpai, you've arrived?"

Sakumo Hatake's gaze swept quickly over the people in the tent, lingering for a moment on Obito's pale face before landing on Minato.

He cut to the chase and asked, "Minato, I've heard about the situation. What exactly happened with Kakashi? Tell me everything you know."

Standing next to Sakumo, Yahiko unusually suppressed his usual smile, his brows furrowed, and his expression more solemn than ever before.

Kakashi is not only a partner and friend of Minato's team, but also the son of Sakumo-sensei.

Yahiko held the man who gave them a new life and a purpose in the utmost respect from the bottom of his heart.

Therefore, Kakashi's disappearance also filled Yahiko with worry.

Minato met Sakumo Hatake's imposing gaze, slowly nodded, and said in a deep voice, "Yes, Sakumo-senpai, during last night's reconnaissance mission, Kakashi... was kidnapped by an Iwagakure ninja."

As he spoke, he handed Kakashi's abandoned ninja tool bag and the short sword to Hatake Sakumo.

Shuo Mao stretched out his calloused hand and steadily took it.

He didn't ask any questions immediately, but instead lowered his eyes and stared at the two items in his hands, examining them repeatedly.

"Yes, it's definitely Kakashi's stuff," Sakumo confirmed, then decisively cut to the chase, "Now, do you have any leads?"

Minato felt Sakumo's piercing gaze and slowly shook his head.

His face was etched with exhaustion and somberness from working through the night to no avail.

"No traces were found near the scene, on the ground or in the surrounding trees. The enemy cleaned up the mess perfectly. Kakashi... just vanished into thin air."

"After searching the vicinity without success, I immediately infiltrated the nearest Iwagakure stronghold, but I found no signs of Kakashi being imprisoned. Although the Iwagakure ninja inside the stronghold were on guard, their overall condition was no different from usual, and they did not show any signs of having just captured an important enemy."

Minato's gaze sharpened slightly, and he said in a deep voice, "However, the Iwa ninja who kidnapped Kakashi mentioned Kakashi's identity before leaving: 'The son of Konoha's White Fang, the leader of Akatsuki'..."

He glanced at Rin, who was also looking tense, and shared her earlier speculation: "Rin speculates that Iwagakure's target is likely to use Kakashi's identity to negotiate with you, or as a bargaining chip in negotiations with Konoha. Therefore, they may transfer Kakashi immediately after succeeding, or even send him back to Iwagakure directly."

Sakumo listened in silence, his fingers unconsciously stroking the scabbard of the short sword.

Being taken back to Iwagakure? A bargaining chip in negotiations?

This speculation does sound reasonable and is consistent with Iwagakure's usual bandit-like style.

But... is that really all there is to it?

What is the explanation for the almost eerily clean handling of the scene?

Just to avoid being tracked?

Does Iwagakure have such a master?

Could the traces have fooled Minato's eyes?

Sakumo narrowed his eyes, his gaze slowly sweeping over Minato, Obito, and Rin, finally settling on the short sword he was gripping tightly in his hand.

"Where is the scene?"

"Take me there, I want to see it for myself."