You Can’t Protect Her

From Shen Mo’s perspective as a bystander, Obito was both pitiful and hateful.

Pitiful because, like every weak person secretly in love with a goddess, he could only watch sadly as she drew closer and closer to the strong. He represented all ordinary people who lacked power yet refused to accept their weakness.

Hateful because he did not merely resent his powerless self; he even came to resent others, resent the entire world because of it.

However—

Shen Mo did not care whether he was pitiful or hateful.

The world had never been simply black and white. In the eyes of a thousand people, there would be a thousand colors.

In a situation like this, he only needed to safeguard his own interests.

However.

Shen Mo glanced at Rin. He knew perfectly well that Obito’s wish could not be fulfilled. A girl like Rin, even if she learned of the world’s cruelty, could never turn dark. Even if Obito killed their teacher and destroyed the village, she would probably forgive him with a smile through her tears.

Since it could not be fulfilled.

Then there was no need to fulfill it.

Having made his decision, Shen Mo felt much more at ease. In the end, opening chests to chase girls had never been reliable. At most, one bottle of Permanent Love Potion would solve it. How many jars could that possibly sell?

So, when he realized that the four of them had somehow wandered into an empty area.

Shen Mo suddenly stopped walking.

"Let’s call it a day."

"We’re not looking around anymore?" Rin sounded a little disappointed.

"I’d quite like to keep looking around, but someone has come for you." Shen Mo wore a mysterious smile as he turned toward a certain corner.

There, a man wearing a mask and a Black Cloud with Red cloak slowly emerged from distorted space.

Obito’s single eye stared cautiously at Shen Mo.

Only at that moment.

Did he suddenly realize that this man and the female companion beside him were not ordinary passersby at all.

He was clearly the mysterious man mentioned in the Intelligence Series.

Obito had followed them all this way and had not noticed?

How was that possible!

"Someone from the Akatsuki Organization?"

Kakashi immediately shielded Rin behind him, gripping a Kunai as he warily watched the man before them.

That outfit, that mask.

Could it be—

The mastermind his teacher had mentioned at yesterday’s meeting, the one responsible for his and his wife’s deaths?

"This is your own fate."

Shen Mo left only those words behind. His profound gaze gave Kakashi one last look before he vanished with Ikaros.

They arrived high in the sky and entered spectator mode.

Ikaros seemed to think for a moment, then held out her hands toward Shen Mo.

"Master, chips."

"Ikaros…"

Even Shen Mo was stunned.

So his Angel girl had been led astray by him?

Still, he took out some chips and gave Hikari a plate of dried fish as well.

Their disappearance pushed Kakashi’s sense of danger to its peak.

Most crucially.

The man before them was not even a member!?

Even if Kakashi wanted to use the Stage of Fate to protect Rin, it would not work.

At that moment, Obito was staring at the place where Shen Mo had vanished.

He realized.

Kisame Hoshigaki’s evaluation of this man had not been exaggerated in the slightest.

He was unfathomable.

But the other party did not seem willing to interfere.

After a moment of silence, that single eye shifted toward Kakashi.

More precisely.

It was staring at Rin!

"You can’t protect her." A hoarse voice came from beneath the mask.

Kakashi’s pupils abruptly contracted.

Sure enough, this man had come for Rin!

In an instant, countless thoughts flashed through his mind. Shen Mo had once said that Rin carried endless bloodshed and cruel war upon her. Today, he had also said that without becoming a member, there were fates more painful than death.

Without a doubt.

Those two almost prophetic statements were both connected to the masked man before them!

"I don’t understand." Kakashi protected Rin tightly with one arm. "Rin is only an ordinary ninja. What exactly do you want?"

This was also what he could not understand.

If the other party had targeted Rin because she had been resurrected, there should have been matters more worthy of attention than Rin’s resurrection now.

The Fourth Hokage’s resurrection.

A merchant from the New World.

With so many things happening, why was this man still focused on Rin?

"You don’t need to understand."

Obito stared at that face, nearly unable to suppress his fury. But when he looked at Rin, he still restrained himself.

He said in a hoarse voice:

"You only need to know that you can’t protect her."

The moment those words fell, his figure shot toward Kakashi at high speed.

"Watch out!" Kakashi wrapped an arm around Rin’s waist and rapidly retreated. "Rin, hold on tight."

"Mm!"

Rin answered heavily, wrapping her arms around Kakashi from behind and pressing her head against him.

She knew perfectly well that her strength would not be of any help.

Not becoming a burden to Kakashi was the greatest help she could offer.

Obito watched that scene.

His fury continued to rise.

He had clearly failed to save Rin and had even let her die by his own hand. Why could Kakashi still act as though he would definitely protect her?

He raised both hands and rapidly formed seals.

Wood Style: Silent Killing Bind Technique!

Branches burst straight from the ground and shot toward Kakashi and Rin.

"What—!?"

Kakashi cried out in alarm.

This was the First Hokage’s Wood Release Ninjutsu!

A Kekkei Genkai!

Even if this man was Uchiha Madara, how could he use the First Hokage’s Wood Release Ninjutsu?

At that moment.

Shen Mo, high in the sky, curiously turned to look at Ikaros.

"What do you think? Can you analyze this kind of Ninjutsu?"

Obito’s body contained a large number of transplanted Hashirama Senju cells.

That was why he could use Wood Release.

According to this world’s setting, Wood Release was an escape technique formed from the combination of Water-nature Chakra and Earth-nature Chakra. Yet its origin lay in the power of the Divine Tree, something ordinary people could never master.

Ikaros’s pupils had already bloomed with bright light.

Mysterious formations appeared deep within her eyes.

Original Scripture: Analysis.

It analyzed not only the circulation of Chakra, but also the power of Hashirama’s cells.

It was clear that this was even more difficult than Shen Mo had imagined.

But what if the system was added as well?

He opened the system. Completely mastering Wood Release as a skill required only a little over three million Trading Points, but assisting Ikaros in analyzing the nature of its power required over four million Trading Points.

Obtaining power and analyzing it were different concepts?

Shen Mo seemed to understand. Sure enough, there were not that many bargains to be had.

He directly placed a custom purchase order.

In an instant, a vast amount of difficult-to-analyze information flooded into Ikaros’s mind.

The Water and Earth Chakra within her body formed a new power under the effect of certain rules.

It was not merely Wood Release.

It was a power belonging to the essence of life itself.

In Shen Mo’s perception.

Ikaros suddenly gained an aura she had never possessed before, as though she had transformed from a doll with a soul into a living person of flesh and blood.