Naruto: Promotion is my Ninja Way

It was true!

Hatake Kakashi had countless questions burning in his mind that he desperately wanted to ask, but he simply didn't know how to begin or where to start.

Tsunade urged Naraku with her eyes, silently signaling him to quickly explain in complete detail what had happened during his supposedly simple reconnaissance mission.

You caused so many major incidents!

"Let me think about where I should start this story."

Naraku pinched his chin thoughtfully, and suddenly his eyes lit up with realization. "Oh right, let's begin from when the old man from the Third Generation originally sent me out on a different mission. I encountered Obito once during that assignment, but even after our battle—where I nearly beat him to death—I still had no idea who he really was."

"The Third Generation old man?"

"Nearly beaten to death?"

Tsunade and Kakashi focused on completely different aspects of Naraku's statement.

Tsunade felt puzzled that there was even involvement from the Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen in this complex situation.

As for Kakashi, he was deeply worried about the disturbing revelation that Naraku had almost killed his best friend.

"Oh, that incident was related to a Wood Style attack, which I reported to the Third Generation at the time. We blamed Danzo for the whole thing. We all thought he was behind the mysterious Wood Style user, but now it seems that Danzo was completely wrongly accused."

Why is there also a Wood Style incident involved!

Tsunade looked thoroughly confused by these new revelations, then slammed her hand on the desk with frustration. "Give me a much more detailed description! Don't omit any of the key points this time!"

"Alright, alright!"

Naraku had no choice but to start from the very beginning and tell them everything about how he had been suddenly attacked by Obito while carrying out what should have been a routine mission.

"That's basically the whole story from our first encounter. Although Obito didn't die during that initial battle, he was seriously injured and left for dead. I genuinely thought he had perished from his wounds. Who could have known that I would encounter him again in the Land of Water this time?"

There was really nothing to hide about these past events.

"A mysterious individual who knows Wood Style techniques!"

Tsunade seemed to be contemplating something significant. Ever since her grandfather Senju Hashirama had dominated the entire shinobi world with his Wood Style ninjutsu and earned the title of God of Shinobi, the covetousness and desire for Wood Style abilities among later generations had never stopped.

Even Konohagakure Village had attempted to recreate and copy Wood Style techniques, but the casualties and losses had been far too great, forcing them to abandon the project. However, they had eventually succeeded in creating Tenzo, a shinobi capable of using Wood Style!

So Tsunade wasn't surprised at all to hear from Naraku that there was a dangerous individual who possessed knowledge of Wood Style ninjutsu.

"Why doesn't Obito come back to the village?"

Kakashi's voice was trembling as he spoke, unable to comprehend why Obito would attack Naraku, and completely unable to understand why his former teammate hadn't returned to Konoha after all these years.

"Why doesn't he come back?"

Naraku spread his hands with a gesture of uncertainty. "Perhaps it's because of Nohara Rin's tragic and accidental death that he became deeply disappointed with Konoha, with you, and with the Fourth Hokage."

Kakashi remained silent for a long time, as this revelation dealt him an even more severe psychological blow than anything else.

He had to live with the knowledge that Nohara Rin had died by his own hands, although Rin had specifically asked Kakashi to kill her so that the Three-Tails sealed within her body at that time wouldn't be able to run wild and destroy Konoha.

But regardless of the circumstances, she was indeed dead by his actions!

Kakashi whispered in a dazed, broken voice, "So that's how it is. Obito is blaming me for failing to protect Rin!"

"It's all my fault!"

Seeing that Kakashi was about to suffer a complete emotional collapse in the next moment, Tsunade felt a painful headache developing. However, she knew that this kind of personal trauma could only be worked through by the individual himself—no matter what others said, external words would prove useless.

"So, the long-dead hero of Konoha, Uchiha Obito, has suddenly returned from the grave, and that's the shocking news you wanted to share with us?"

"Ah? No, not exactly."

Naraku shook his head and continued with a more serious expression. "This information is just an appetizer to set the stage. I was talking about what happened in the past. What I really want to discuss is the much more serious problem of encountering Obito in the Land of Water during this recent mission."

"The Land of Water?!"

Kakashi looked up suddenly with renewed attention. Could it be that Obito had been staying in the very isolated and closed Land of Water all this time, which would explain why it was so difficult for the outside world to obtain any news about him?

"Keep talking—I'm listening carefully!"

Tsunade motioned for Naraku to continue his explanation.

"Actually, I just need to add some crucial details." Naraku said thoughtfully. "The rest of the content is already described in my official mission report, but I'll explain it again for clarity."

Over the next several minutes, Naraku told both of them the complete details of his mission, placing special emphasis on all the information he had gathered about Uchiha Obito.

"There's actually such a terrifying ability that can make someone completely immune to all physical damage for ten entire minutes. What an absolutely terrifying power this represents."

Tsunade felt genuinely horrified when she heard about Obito's Kamui ability. With such an overwhelming defensive technique, ordinary shinobi would definitely be no match for Obito in combat!

"In fact, if you can attack Obito continuously for the full ten minutes without stopping, you can eventually break through this ability!"

"That's exactly my point." Tsunade shook her head grimly. "But how many people in the world could actually accomplish such a feat?"

Even if you understood the specific weaknesses and limitations of your opponent's pupil techniques, you might not possess the strength or stamina necessary to exploit those weaknesses effectively.

Naraku also understood that very few people could attack Obito continuously for ten minutes like he had done, which was what made Obito too afraid to release his hollow state.

"Kakashi!"

"Hmm?"

Kakashi looked up with a blank expression, still lost in contemplation about the shocking news Naraku had just delivered and hadn't fully processed everything yet.

"You possess one of Obito's Mangekyou Sharingan eyes. Don't you have any insights or understanding about such a powerful space-time ability?"

"That's right, Kakashi still has Obito's Mangekyou Sharingan."

Tsunade looked with surprise at Kakashi's Sharingan, which was currently hidden behind his forehead protector. This could potentially serve as a very effective countermeasure against Obito.

Naraku knocked on the table to draw their attention and reminded them of something even more significant. "Also, don't forget that Obito used powerful genjutsu to control the Fourth Mizukage Yagura for many years. This represents no small matter for international politics."

"Yes, you're absolutely right."

Tsunade pinched her temples in obvious pain, feeling extremely worried about the broader implications.

"Now I finally understand why you said it wouldn't be a big problem for you to kill the Fourth Mizukage. Yes, if Obito had been controlling Yagura Karatachi for so many years, then Kirigakure was essentially being manipulated by an enemy."

"Good heavens, they're all originally from our Konoha..."

Kakashi remained silent, perhaps because he understood exactly why Obito would do such things.

The death of Nohara Rin had been caused by Kirigakure's deliberate attempt to manipulate the Three-Tails Isobu to go berserk within Konoha's borders.

Although Obito also blamed Kakashi for what happened, he also knew precisely what role Kirigakure had played in Rin's tragic death.

Now that he had gained control over the Fourth Mizukage, it was easy to imagine what kind of revenge he would seek.

"You both look worried, but there's nothing to be afraid of." Naraku smiled instead of showing concern. "I've already killed Obito!"

"What?!"

"What did you say?!"

Both Tsunade and Kakashi widened their eyes in complete shock and stared at Naraku with utter disbelief.

What did he mean by "killed"?

Was it really what they thought he meant?

Tsunade felt concerned, but Kakashi was so terrified that he nearly fainted on the spot.

He had finally received the miraculous news that his best friend wasn't actually dead, only to learn in the blink of an eye that he had been killed after all. This emotional whiplash was far too intense to handle.

Naraku saw that his joke had gone far enough, so he clarified: "Although I'm absolutely certain that I killed Obito with a single sword strike—after all, his head was completely severed from his body—he had apparently set up Izanagi in advance as a contingency, so he should still be alive."

Tsunade and Kakashi both released loud gasps of relief that nearly left them stumbling.

"I'll settle accounts with you later for that cruel joke." Tsunade pointed at Naraku accusingly and asked with obvious anger, "First, explain to me exactly what Izanagi is!"

Kakashi also looked at Naraku intently, hoping he would provide a clear explanation.

If Obito's head had been separated from his body, how could he possibly come back to life?

Naraku shrugged and began briefly explaining the origins and specific conditions required for using Izanagi.

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