[Item B: Uchiha Itachi was originally a Konoha ninja who was deceived and killed his entire clan in order to protect his younger brother, Uchiha Sasuke. He joined the Akatsuki organization to investigate the fake Uchiha Madara, Uchiha Obito, and was actually a Konoha spy.]
[Item C: Six Paths — Pain's betrayal before the Fourth Ninja World War.]
[Item D: Uchiha Obito's betrayal in the Fourth Ninja World War.]
Silence!
Silence!
Whether it was the crowd within the examination space or the people in the outside world, the entire ninja world fell into a deathly stillness.
They had thought that after being ravaged by the previous question's analysis, they would at least be mentally prepared to face the next question with laughter and calm.
But...
They had overestimated themselves.
As they looked at the analysis on the screen, countless people were left utterly dumbfounded.
Forget about the Akatsuki leader being a traitor. Forget about Madara and Obito being at odds despite their so-called camaraderie. Just the revelation about Uchiha Itachi was enough to leave everyone stiff with shock.
He slaughtered the entire Uchiha clan for the sake of one Uchiha Sasuke?
He even killed his own parents—just to protect his little brother?
What the hell?
"He—tui!"
At the gates of Konoha Village, a group of civilians spat on the ground in disgust.
Their identities and positions didn't allow them to openly criticize spies from their village, but their actions said it all.
According to their logic, the most dutiful son in the entire ninja world wasn't Black Zetsu—it was Uchiha Itachi.
That's real filial piety!
...
"This... this..."
Uchiha Itachi stared blankly at the words 'was deceived', as if struck in the head and chest by giant hammers weighing thousands of tons.
In truth, when he learned he was collaborating with Uchiha Obito and not Uchiha Madara, he already had a sense of foreboding.
Now, that feeling had turned into a terrifying reality.
But he couldn't figure out what had gone wrong.
Or rather—where he had been deceived.
He was the double agent for both Konoha and the Uchiha. As the eldest son of the clan, no important Uchiha information was ever hidden from him.
If even he was deceived by Uchiha...
Then doesn't that mean...
There was another secret behind the Uchiha Clan's destruction?
Itachi's heart sank like a stone into the abyss.
...
"He... did it to protect me?"
In the hospital, Uchiha Sasuke—who had just woken up—stared quietly at the screen.
His head throbbed violently, and the whites of his eyes were laced with red veins.
"You've got to be kidding. What kind of joke is this?"
Uchiha Sasuke let out a dry laugh, refusing to believe it. Absolutely not.
But there was a quiet voice whispering inside him:
This is the truth.
"This is impossible! Impossible!"
"Ahhh!!"
Sasuke screamed in anguish, clutching his head before falling backward unconscious.
...
"It turns out... I was the one who betrayed."
The pupil power of Pain's Rinnegan erupted, evaporating the tears on his face as he laughed bitterly at himself.
He, too, didn't want to believe he would betray the cause.
But if the exam space said it—there must be a reason.
Behind him, Konan turned her cold gaze toward the deep-in-thought Jiraiya.
While everyone in Akatsuki was still digesting the information...
The parsing vanished at some point.
And a new question had appeared in the sky above the space.
---
[Question 3: Among the following individuals, who is the real murderer of Rin Nohara?]
A: Hatake Kakashi
B: Black Zetsu
C: Uchiha Madara
D: Namikaze Minato
---
No!
Within the crowd, Black Zetsu's body trembled as soon as he saw the question. He immediately felt a sharp, piercing gaze from his side.
He didn't need to turn around to know whose gaze it was.
Resisting the urge to look, the leaves on his head folded shut in anxiety, and he remained silent.
He never imagined the examination space would bring his business into this!
"They must not answer this question correctly!"
Obito must not see the analysis!
Black Zetsu panicked. With everything he knew about Obito, if Obito found out Rin's death was orchestrated by him and Madara...
Obito would go insane.
Not that Zetsu was afraid of Obito. After all, Obito was just one pawn of many. A pawn of a pawn, to be exact.
It might seem like Obito was the center of darkness, but in reality—he was nothing.
Still, Zetsu feared that Obito might go crazy in this space and drag him down with him.
He looked up toward the sky, as if trying to pierce the fog and glimpse the scenery above.
Unfortunately... he couldn't.
...
Rin!
Rin!
RIN!
Uchiha Obito clenched his fingers tightly around his mask, suppressing the violent rage boiling inside him.
After the revelations of the previous questions, how could he not see it coming?
There's more to Rin's death.
Kakashi saw Obito. He saw Rin die by Kakashi's own hand.
But now the exam space was asking for the real murderer.
The real murderer...
Kakashi might have pulled the blade—but at best, he was merely the executioner.
As for Minato... he couldn't be the answer.
So that left only two choices—B and C!
Huff... huff... huff...
In a flash of insight, Obito figured it out.
He stared at Zetsu with burning fury.
He knew it—Zetsu knew something.
...
"Who's Rin Nohara?"
Deidara blinked in confusion. This question was a bit beyond his intellectual range.
"A Konoha kunoichi who died during the Third Ninja World War. She was one of Namikaze Minato's disciples," Jiraiya replied.
A group of people turned to look at him.
"Namikaze Minato?"
Sasori asked, confirming something. That name was very familiar.
The fastest man in the ninja world—The Yellow Flash, Namikaze Minato!
There wasn't a single shinobi who survived the Third Ninja World War who didn't know that name.
He was so feared that the other nations gave standing orders:
Upon encountering Namikaze Minato, abandon the mission. No punishment will follow.
That's the kind of dominance Minato held during that time.
"So... this girl was the Fourth Hokage's disciple?"
Konan's cold voice echoed. The weight of her words made everyone start to realize just how important this Nohara Rin really was.
"Yeah," Jiraiya sighed, not bothering to hide anything. "She, Kakashi, and Obito were all under Minato."
...
"Rin..."
At the gates of Konoha, an Anbu assigned to security stiffened the moment he saw the question.
It felt like a cold, dead hand was caressing his spine—from his tailbone to the nape of his neck.
All the blood in his body seemed to freeze.
He staggered, his vision going dark, but managed to regain his balance before collapsing.
...
"Hahaha... so the Fourth Hokage's name is Namikaze Minato."
A bright voice rang out.
Everyone at the village entrance turned toward the source—and their expressions twisted into a mix of confusion, disgust, and pity.
It was him.
Naruto Uzumaki.
There was loathing. There was resentment. But also... a bit of sympathy.
"So that's the Fourth Hokage, huh? Never even heard of him before."
Naruto strode forward with confidence. Normally, he didn't like crowds. After all, most of the village shunned him for some unknown reason.
But now... things were different.
He was the biggest surprise in the entire ninja world.
Even the examination space had acknowledged it.
If it recognized him—how could the villagers not?
"I'm the man who's going to be Hokage!"