Chapter 252: The Man Who Came Back Broken

Kakashi rarely had episodes. Usually, it only happened after seeing Danzo. A short spiral of madness, then it would pass. If he were truly unstable all the time, he would have been finished long ago.

So when Obito arrived through Kamui and found Kakashi, he was completely normal. Too normal. He was sitting with Suigetsu and Pakkun, cooking wild rabbit and mushrooms they had gathered from the mountains. The broth simmered gently as Kakashi took a sip.

Then he looked up. A face appeared in front of him. A very asymmetrical face. For a moment, Kakashi seriously considered the possibility that his hallucinations had gotten worse again. So he calmly said it out loud, as if reporting a problem. "I'm having a hallucination, Suigetsu. Please note it down."

Suigetsu paused mid-sip. "...I think I'm hallucinating too. Pakkun, you write it."

Pakkun tilted his head, stared at Obito for a long moment, then decided the only logical test was to bite him.

"OW, WHAT THE HELL!!! THAT HURTS!!! KAKASHI YOU BASTARD, YOU HAVEN'T SEEN ME IN FOREVER AND YOU SEND A DOG TO BITE ME?!" Obito's scream echoed through the forest.

Kakashi kept drinking soup. No reaction. Pakkun was immediately kicked away by Obito.

Only then did Kakashi finally pause. He slowly looked up again. "...Obito." His voice was low. Careful. Like he was testing reality.

Obito was furious. "You idiot! You let your dog bite me and you threw soup at me! I came all the way here for you!"

Kakashi, still unsure if this was real, tried another test. He lifted his bowl, and poured the hot soup directly onto Obito's face.

"AAAAAAH! IT'S HOT!!! IT'S REALLY HOT!!!"

Now Kakashi froze. The bowl slipped from his hand and fell. "...Obito." This time, his voice was different. Real.

Obito was still screaming, half burned, half furious. "ARE YOU CRAZY?!"

Kakashi stared at his own hand. Then at Obito. He reached out. Obito instinctively stepped back, but a sharp, clean strike landed on his face. Silence.

Pakkun nodded from the side. "That one's real."

Suigetsu sighed. "...Yeah. That's definitely real."

Obito blinked. Then slowly, something familiar returned. A crescent-eye smile.

"Yo, crybaby. Long time no see." Warm. Bright. The same voice that once anchored Obito's entire existence.

Obito's expression broke. Tears spilled instantly. He crashed forward and grabbed Kakashi. "I missed you, idiot... marry me."

Kakashi laughed softly. "Idiot... you're still crying like a kid."

For a brief moment, everything felt unchanged. But it wasn't. Obito felt it immediately. Something was wrong. The touch. Kakashi's arm. It was not flesh. It was artificial, cold, rigid.

Obito's expression changed instantly. "What happened to your arm?"

Kakashi scratched his head awkwardly. "Ah... small accident. Nothing serious."

But Obito wasn't listening. He grabbed Kakashi's arm tightly. "...This is not nothing."

Kakashi smiled, softer now. "...I'm glad you're back." Then, as if nothing was wrong at all, he continued, "More importantly, you're all intact, right? No missing limbs? Both eyes? Good. That's good..."

Obito wiped his tears violently. "Let's go home." Kamui. Space twisted. Before anyone could react, Suigetsu and Pakkun were dragged along. And the world shattered.

They landed. Not in a home. But in ruins. A broken village soaked in rain and stench. Decay. Blood. Silence. Kakashi and the others fell out of Kamui mid-air, barely stabilized. Obito caught Kakashi before he hit the ground.

The sentence he had started was cut in half by space itself. "W, wait, I, there's still something to do!" Half of him remained in the forest. Half of him stood in hell.

And in that hell stood red clouds on black cloaks. The Akatsuki had returned. So had war survivors. So had everything that should not have existed anymore.

People stared at Kakashi. Then they stepped back. One step. Two. Like fear had memory. Whispers died. Then silence spread. A path opened. Straight toward Nagato.

Obito frowned. "...What's wrong with everyone?"

Suigetsu felt it too. Even Pakkun suddenly bit Kakashi again.

"HEY! PAKKUN, DID YOU GET RABIES?!" Obito shouted.

But Suigetsu moved too. He grabbed Kakashi by the hair. "HEY! KAKASHI! SNAP OUT OF IT! IT'S OVER!"

Kakashi's breathing changed. Fast. Unstable. His eyes stopped focusing. All he could smell was blood, decay, death.

Something inside his mind cracked. He began trembling. "No... no no no no..." Words spilled out uncontrollably. "Kill Tsuchikage... no, don't kill Raikage... not odd numbers... not odd numbers..."

People froze. Even Obito stopped. Kakashi collapsed to the ground. Tears fell uncontrollably. "I'm sorry... I'm sorry... I'll do it right... I'll kill Tsuchikage... I'll fix it..." He wasn't speaking to anyone anymore. He was speaking to something only he could see. A system of violence. A broken command. A war that never ended in his head.

Obito's face twisted. Then snapped. "...KONOHA..."

His rage erupted like a storm. "I'LL KILL EVERY LAST ONE OF YOU!!!"