Item A: Kakashi-senpai.
A figure flashed through Itachi's mind—he had once seen that Sharingan during his time in the Anbu.
As far as he knew, the eye Kakashi now bore was given to him by his teammate, Uchiha Obito. The Uchiha clan once pressured Kakashi to return it, but the Third Hokage intervened, and the issue was eventually settled.
Yet Kakashi never sullied the name of the Sharingan. With that eye, he earned the moniker "Copy Ninja" across the ninja world.
> "I don't know the answer to this one… anyone else?"
Deidara spoke up. He had no choice—he was born too late, and before joining Akatsuki, he'd been a bit of an otaku. He hadn't paid much attention to the older events of the ninja world.
Out of the five names listed, he only recognized Madara Uchiha and Jue.
Thinking of Jue, Deidara sighed slightly.
> "Jue… why are you in everything?"
He was on the list of the ninja world's elite. He'd appeared in the analysis of the first question, and now again in the third.
> "This question can't be about you, right?"
The words were casual, but the implication was sharp.
Uchiha Obito turned toward Jue, but was ignored completely.
Pain thought it over—he didn't know the answer anyway. Letting Jue answer was convenient.
> "Jue, what do you think the correct answer is?"
Black Zetsu hesitated. He hadn't expected this spotlight to come so soon.
White Zetsu looked at him with sympathy. Of course Black Zetsu knew the right answer—but what could he say?
If he gave the wrong answer on purpose, others would just deduce the truth.
And then what?
White Zetsu curiously watched his counterpart.
> "During the Third Great Ninja War, I was there. I saw it with my own eyes—Konoha's Kakashi Hatake used lightning-style ninjutsu to kill Rin Nohara."
> "So, I believe the answer is A: Kakashi Hatake."
Black Zetsu originally wanted to mention that he and Madara were both present, but after a moment's thought, he decided not to bring up Madara.
> "So, the answer is A."
Pain nodded and was just about to submit the answer when a voice interrupted.
> "Wait. The correct answer should be B or C."
> "Oh?" Pain's eyelids twitched slightly.
> Finally ready to drop the act?
Just as Pain was about to answer, the interruption drew a scowl.
> Damn it. Madara Uchiha, are you blind?!
Jue had chosen Kakashi so the blame could be redirected to "Madara Uchiha" (Option C). But now Obito had disrupted the plan completely.
> "Oh? Isn't this 'Madara'? What's the matter—you have something to say?"
Kakuzu's voice carried a mocking tone. He had once fought the First Hokage, and he knew the strength of true legends. Madara Uchiha, a rival of Hashirama, couldn't possibly be the person in front of them.
Obito ignored Kakuzu. Right now, his focus was entirely on the answer to the question.
> "I was there… when Kakashi killed Rin."
His voice trembled with pain.
> "He's just a puppet. The true murderer in this situation… is someone else!"
Itachi stared coldly and suddenly asked:
> "Are you preparing for a full reveal, Uchiha Obito?"
> "What?!"
So Obito had really been there?!
Kakashi's face darkened. That couldn't be right.
Back then, Obito had been crushed by rocks inside a cave. Half his body was mangled—there was no way he could've healed and arrived at another battlefield so soon.
It didn't add up.
Kakashi's mind raced. Something crucial was missing.
Something… that could make the impossible possible.
Wait.
The mangekyō Sharingan.
That space—
Could it be a teleportation ability?
Chakra surged to Kakashi's Sharingan eye. The scarlet three-tomoe pattern slowly morphed into something more intricate.
As his chakra reached a critical threshold, the air in front of him twisted—and in the blink of an eye, Kakashi vanished into the void.
A second later, he reappeared, gasping and clenching his fists.
> "He's alive… so why didn't he reveal himself?!"
> "Why?!"
---
> "Jue is one of us. Compared to you, we trust him more."
Pain's voice was cold and abyssal, his Rinnegan eyes like voids.
> "I don't care if you're Madara Uchiha or Obito—but if you answer incorrectly and we lose the final video… can you bear the full wrath of Akatsuki?"
Everyone turned toward Pain, stunned. No one expected their leader to speak so directly.
Konan, who understood him best, gave him a strange look.
Pain was forcing this person… to reveal the truth.
And based on his reaction—it was working.
Obito was no fool. In fact, he was brilliant—he had led Akatsuki while deceiving nearly everyone.
Hearing Pain's words, he instantly understood.
He trembled slightly. A youthful face appeared in his mind.
> "Obito, you must become Hokage…"
> That was our promise.
> "Rin…"
Tears welled up in Obito's eye.
Ever since Rin's death, he'd lost faith in the world. Everything he had done since then… was to create a world where Rin could live.
And now, one of these people was her true killer.
He couldn't let the opportunity pass.
> "If you need a reason—will my identity suffice?!"
Obito tore off his mask, revealing a shocking face.
His left side was young and handsome, but the right was grotesque—full of scars, twisted flesh like it had been stitched together.
> "No… it can't be!"
Even though he'd had his suspicions, Kakashi was still stunned.
He stared wide-eyed at Obito's right eye.
It was a Mangekyō Sharingan.
And it had the exact same pattern… as his own left eye.
---
> "Oh?"
Pain smiled faintly and looked away from Obito's disfigured face.
> "Then go ahead—answer the question."
At the back of the crowd, Jiraiya's eyes widened in shock as he saw Obito's face.
He'd read the mission report from Minato.
Uchiha Obito had been crushed during the mission. At the time, Kakashi had lost an eye—and Obito gave him his left Sharingan as a gift to celebrate his promotion to Jonin.
But now—
Uchiha Obito stood before them.
Alive.