Chapter 253: The World That Turned Into War

Obito stepped forward. His destination was Konoha. Kamui space was already half-activated. Everyone knew exactly what he intended to do next. And the first to stand in his way was Itachi.

He appeared directly in front of Obito, kunai and steel wire snapping into place, binding his movement and forcibly interrupting the Kamui activation. “Wait, Obito. Things aren’t clear yet. If you go there now, all you’ll do is destroy Konoha!”

Obito’s eyes were already bloodshot. He yanked his arms hard and broke free of the binding wires. “I’m going to destroy Konoha!!! Itachi, get out of my way!”

He wasn’t speaking out of anger anymore. He had already lost reason. This wasn’t a threat. He truly intended to erase Konoha in the simplest, most brutal way possible.

Itachi didn’t hesitate. BOOM! The complete form of Susanoo erupted around him, blocking Obito’s path. “We don’t even know what’s happening right now. We just returned. We don’t understand the Fourth or Fifth Shinobi Wars. Acting now will only make things worse.”

“You want to fight me?!” Obito’s voice cracked with rage.

The ground responded. Countless massive trees erupted upward under his control, surging toward Itachi’s Susanoo like a living forest of destruction. “Anyone who stands in my way, dies!”

“Then I’ll stop you here!” Itachi did not step back even an inch.

The pressure of their chakra alone was overwhelming. Suigetsu couldn’t even speak. His body felt like it was melting under the pressure, forced to hide behind the cloaked figures. The wind alone made standing impossible.

Zaraki Kita stepped forward and raised a barrier using lightning chakra, shielding the weaker ones. Konan waved her hand, BOOM! Half her body turned into paper, reinforcing the barrier and isolating everyone from the dust storm and rising forest. Sakura, in the chaos, managed to retrieve Kakashi’s unconscious body, along with Pakkun, who was nearly blown away.

On the battlefield, Obito’s blue and Itachi’s golden Susanoo advanced toward each other. Everyone could already imagine what would happen when they collided. It would flatten everything. One strike might be enough to erase the entire area.

Nagato sighed. He understood Obito’s anger. But Itachi was right. He stepped forward, standing directly between both forces, one hand raised toward Obito, the other toward Itachi.

“Shinra Tensei.” BOOM! Both Obito and the massive forest he controlled were blown hundreds of meters away. At the same time, Itachi’s Susanoo was also sent flying, smashing through the remaining ruined buildings. Neither could stop the momentum. They were still sliding backward through the air, unable to regain control.

Then Nagato followed up. “Bansho Ten’in.” A massive gravitational force pulled both of them back. They were dragged forward and placed on either side of him. “Until the situation is clear, no one is allowed to act independently.” He looked at them calmly. “And if you can’t control yourselves, I’ll take that power away from you.”

For a moment, Nagato’s tone was gentle. But neither Obito nor Itachi moved again.

When the pressure faded, they landed on the ground. Obito glanced coldly at Itachi and walked toward the unconscious Kakashi. “If you dare report anything to Konoha, Sasuke dies.”

Itachi didn’t even flinch. In the past, he would have taken that seriously. But now, after seeing the ruined village, after seeing Kakashi, he understood something. There were things that had to be faced. And solved. He shook his head. “I am not a slave to blind loyalty. Nor am I foolish.”

Elsewhere, Wood Release formed a temporary shelter for the survivors. The truth came out in fragments, from Suigetsu, Karin, and Shigure. Karin and Shigure had been imprisoned in the village and only knew what Suigetsu occasionally reported. A world already drowning in war.

Suigetsu himself only knew who was fighting whom. The rest of his attention had always been on Kakashi. Once a legendary shinobi, respected across the world. Now, a “mad dog” said to be the source of all disasters. The contrast was almost unbearable.

“I only know that guy threatened Kakashi with the lives of the villagers,” Suigetsu said. “He forced him into dirty work. But whether the Fifth Shinobi War was truly started by Kakashi, that part might not be wrong. I don’t really understand what happened in the Fourth War either. One day, everything just started collapsing.”

Silence followed. Konan felt a faint guilt. It had been her miscalculation. She thought leaving the village would mean it would be safe. But it hadn’t been.

Suigetsu suddenly added, “Oh yeah, and Sasuke’s a real bastard. I don’t even feel like insulting him, it feels like it would dirty my mouth.”

Itachi froze slightly. Before he could respond, Shigure continued, “On the day the village fell, the Sixth Hokage said Kakashi had known the Allied Forces were coming in advance. I understand why he wanted to let him go, but I don’t understand why he said that in public.”

“That was to cut off his escape route,” Suigetsu said with a shrug. “Your brother did it.”

Everyone turned. Suigetsu continued casually. “Sasuke called Kakashi out the night before the invasion. Gave him fake intel. Told him they’d attack three days later so he could escape. But they attacked the next day. And then he publicly accused him anyway. He never planned to let him go.”

Sakura’s eyes widened. “What poison?”

“‘Jofuku Flower,’” Suigetsu said. “I don’t know much about it. Only Danzo had the antidote.”

“A controlled poison used on important targets,” Shigure added. “Only the caster has the cure.”

Sakura went silent. Even Pakkun couldn’t explain it. Only one person here could understand everything fully. Orochimaru. So Obito brought him.

Orochimaru scanned the room slowly. His gaze passed over restored bodies, Konan’s blind eyes, Zaraki Kita’s steady condition, and Kakashi sleeping quietly on the ground. His first words were vague, “So, you actually came back.”

No one responded. Nagato spoke directly. “Explain the Fourth and Fifth Shinobi Wars.”

Orochimaru did. The Fourth War wasn’t truly a war against Akatsuki. It was a power struggle between the great nations, a chain reaction of ambition. Each nation using Akatsuki as justification. The Land of Fire first, then Earth, then Water overseas. It spread like wildfire, and the world fell into chaos.

Orochimaru had once believed there was still hope in humanity, that peace might exist beyond war. But reality shattered that belief. Everything he once tried to preserve became a playground for power-hungry rulers. So he withdrew.

The Fourth War ended. But peace did not come. Not even a year later, the Fifth War began. Kakashi. The “mad dog.” The source of endless escalation. From localized conflict to world war again. Even the Land of Iron was dragged in.

And every time he appeared, he changed sides. Killed allies. Killed enemies. Killed whoever stood in front of him. Even Jiraiya was not spared.

At this point, Orochimaru concluded, “There is no logic left. Kakashi is not someone you can analyze normally.”

Silence. Then Obito finally looked at Kakashi. He was sleeping peacefully, holding a Pakkun-shaped pillow, his artificial arm resting beside him, muttering nonsense in his sleep. “Take it off.”

Obito exhaled slowly. Then laughed bitterly. He remembered. Kakashi had always been like this. Even back when the world was stable. Even when they were enemies. Even now, when the world had fallen apart. And somehow, that was the only thing that hadn’t changed.

Obito looked at him quietly. At least you’re still you. Even after everything, you’re still the Kakashi who called me crybaby. And for the first time in a long time, that realization didn’t hurt. It softened something inside him instead.