"Why did I fail?" Obito found it difficult to accept this reality.
If, in the beginning, he suspected that Nagasawa might have used some kind of Genjutsu on him, but now he believed that this was Nagasawa's experience in a parallel world.
First of all, Nagasawa could do whatever he wanted with Obito, including killing him at the moment, and he didn't need to use such an obvious lie or go through the trouble of using a Genjutsu to do whatever he wanted to him.
Secondly, Obito's strength had significantly declined without the Mangekyo Sharingan. Even if he was self-centered, he wouldn't think that Nagasawa simply wanted Obito to join him.
Moreover, everything he saw was too real. Each person had their unique fighting style, different Ninjutsu, and varied expressions. The aura emanating from the powerful individuals made him feel like he was actually on the battlefield. He also felt the sense of familiarity with the Ten Tails Jinchuriki, which proved it was himself.
At this moment, Obito believed in the existence of parallel worlds. He believed that Nagasawa had defeated his future self, who would become the Ten Tails Jinchuriki, in a "future world."
Because of this, he was confused.
If his future was destined to fail, what was the meaning of his existence? What were all the efforts he made for the Eye of the Moon Plan?
"Your failure was inevitable, even if I hadn't gone to that world," Nagasawa slowed down and said.
"Why do you say that? If it weren't for you stepping in, their power alone wouldn't have been enough to defeat me," Obito couldn't help but retort.
The Obito who became the Ten Tails Jinchuriki in the memory was absurdly powerful, tearing apart even the Four Crimson Ray Formation simultaneously cast by the four Hokages. First Hokage's Wood Release couldn't do anything to him, and the attacks of the Second, Third, and Fourth Hokages were like a breeze, causing him no harm.
"Do you still not understand? Moreover, it's just because at first, they didn't know that Senjutsu could harm someone in Six Paths Sage Mode. You should have noticed that the future you had the chance to kill Naruto and the others, but you hesitated deep down," Nagasawa sharply pointed out Obito's issue.
It wasn't that Naruto was so good at persuasion; it was a problem with Obito himself.
This was why Obito was initially affected by the backlash of the Ten Tails, while Madara didn't and instantly achieved the perfect Six Paths Sage Mode.
Because Madara 's conviction was unshakable.
In comparison, there was still a part of Obito who wanted to become Hokage.
"So, even if I hadn't stepped in, in the end, you would still be defeated by Naruto, Sasuke, and the other Hokages," Nagasawa stated the facts.
Obito remained silent, pondering what Nagasawa had said. His attention once again shifted to the changing situation.
He saw himself, as a helpless loser, lying on the ground, looking exceptionally miserable.
The Allied Shinobi Forces shouted to kill him and end the war.
This was normal; after all, he had killed so many members of the Allied Shinobi Forces, and being killed was the most normal thing.
A young man with black hair, holding kunai, rushed towards him.
Through the shouts during the battle, Obito recognized him—a guy named Sasuke Uchiha, with the Mangekyo Sharingan, a very powerful Shinobi.
Then, Kakashi emerged from the Kamui dimension, blocking Sasuke, who intended to kill Obito.
"Kakashi, I didn't expect you to..." Obito had mixed feelings. He didn't expect Kakashi would still protect him despite how he turned out.
"This guy is once my friend. Let me handle him," Kakashi said to Sasuke.
Obito, who was moved at first, realized he still disliked Kakashi, the arrogant guy.
Just when he thought his future self was about to be killed by Kakashi, as the kunai was about to pierce Obito's body, a golden light flashed, and Minato appeared beside them, stopping Kakashi's arm.
Obito could clearly see Kakashi's expression of confusion and astonishment and Minato's sadness and regret.
He didn't expect that, at this moment, the one saving him would be Minato.
According to Nagasawa, although there were many similarities between parallel worlds, there would also be differences.
In the world Nagasawa visited, 'Nagasawa' didn't exist, so his plan to attack Konoha succeeded. As a result, Kushina died, Konoha suffered heavy damage, and even Minato died. Only their child, Naruto, survived, living a lonely life.
It was safe to say that Obito was the cause of the tragedy that befell Minato's family, and Minato would probably want to skin him alive.
However, in the memory, Minato did not blame Obito. Instead, he expressed his feelings and mentioned sensing the will to become Hokage in Obito's heart. Then, he talked about the time when the four of them carried out missions together.
"Obito, do you remember? You and Kakashi were both so immature back then. Getting injured during missions was common. Rin was having it rough healing you guys. If she saw you two killing each other now, she would probably be sad."
'Minato-sensei...' Obito had mixed feelings when Minato talked about the past. The Obito now felt it more intensely than the Obito during the Fourth Great Shinobi World War.
Because the things Minato mentioned were experiences from a few years ago for the current Obito.
Until today, Obito thought he had no heart left. When Rin died, the heart of Obito Uchiha, who wanted to become Hokage, died as well—or so he thought.
But now, he realized that he still had a heart. He was moved by Minato's words and felt nostalgic when Minato talked about the past.
The more Obito listened to Minato, the more he felt ashamed.
Clearly, it was he who had strayed down the wrong path and made mistakes. However, Minato blamed himself, feeling like an inadequate teacher who failed to protect his disciples in time. If he had recognized Obito when they reunited, things wouldn't have come to this point.
Obito didn't have much sentiment when it came to Naruto. After all, for the current Obito, Naruto was just a completely unfamiliar stranger.
Then, Obito saw his future-self use the Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique to revive the deceased Allied Shinobi Forces.
Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique, Obito was not unfamiliar with this technique.
Madara's plan was to use Nagato's Rinnegan to perform the Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique to resurrect him before using the Rinnegan for the Eye of the Moon Plan.
However, just as Obito was about to cast Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique, a pair of black hands stopped him.
"Zetsu... That guy is indeed a problem," Obito frowned as he saw himself being controlled by Black Zetsu and ended up resurrecting Madara instead of the Allied Shinobi Forces.
Next, Madara went on a rampage as the new Ten-Tails Jinchuriki. However, to reach his peak and defeat Nagasawa, Madara tempted Obito, hoping that Obito would join him in the fight.
Obito witnessed his future self's choices, feigning to agree, and then attacked Madara after approaching him. Using black rods, Obito pierced through Madara's body and extracted a portion of the Tailed Beasts' Chakra.
Despite that, Madara survived as he was just on a whole another level.
Since Nagasawa didn't reach the end of this battle, he didn't show the complete process. He only let Obito witness how Obito got beaten up before closing the memory.
"How does it feel?" Nagasawa asked, looking into Obito's eyes.
Obito wanted to say it was just a Genjutsu, but he knew it wasn't. Obito took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, saying, "I feel like I'm dreaming."
Yes, that was Obito's genuine feeling at this moment.
In just one night, he had experienced too much.
He originally planned to cause trouble for Konoha before leaving, but he unexpectedly encountered a Mangekyō Sharingan user.
During the confrontation with Shisui, he thought that he could at least injure Shisui.
Unexpectedly, Nagasawa appeared suddenly and directly plucked out his Sharingan. Nagasawa not only knew he was in the Land of Water but also knew he was Obito Uchiha. Nagasawa knew about Obito Uchiha, the Eye of the Moon Plan, and, bizarrely, this information came from another world.
Moreover, Obito learned the upsetting truth: everything he experienced was not because this world was cursed but because Madara had targeted him. Obito was just a puppet manipulated by Madara.
If Madara wasn't already dead, Obito might have taken Nagasawa to beat up the elderly Madara right now.
"Do you want to continue watching? There's one more, even though the results are all failures, the process is somewhat different," Nagasawa asked.
Obito thought for a moment and then nodded.
Although watching his future self being brutally beaten up felt somewhat awkward, he wanted to face himself and truly understand who he was.
Once again, Nagasawa placed his glowing Chakra-infused hand on Obito.
With the experience from the first time, Obito became more proficient. Soon, a familiar underground facility appeared before his eyes.
Obito initially expected it to be the same as before. However, upon closer inspection, while there were still five Hokages, this time Nagasawa didn't transform into the Second Hokage. This time, he kept his appearance, dressed in the Hokage's attire.
"I am the Fourth Hokage," Nagasawa introduced himself in the footage.
Obito secretky questioned this. If he remembered correctly, Nagasawa was supposed to be a Hokage Assistant, right? When did he become the Fourth Hokage? If he was the Fourth Hokage, then what happened to Minato?
Confused, Obito looked at Nagasawa. Did this guy plan to seize the Hokage's seat from Minato?
Nagasawa remained calm and said, "Don't think too much about it. It's just for convenience to blend in."
Then, Nagasawa silently fast forwarded the memory to the battlefield.
This time, unlike the previous memory, Nagasawa didn't assist the Hokages in fighting the Ten-Tails. Instead, he confronted Madara alone and thoroughly beat him up.
Watching Madara being pummeled by the colossal creature created by Nagasawa's Inorganic Reanimation, Obito felt a sense of satisfaction.
No matter how strong Madara Uchiha was or how cunning his plans were, in the end, he was just like Obito—helplessly beaten up by Nagasawa.
Obito once again understood the concept of parallel worlds, where the result was similar but the process differed. Nagasawa seemed even stronger this time, leading to a quicker resolution of the battle.
Possibly due to the previous experience, Nagasawa deliberately used flames to protect Obito, who was using Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique, ensuring the successful resurrection of the Allied Shinobi Forces. However, due to Black Zetsu's interference, Madara still managed to come back to life, while Naruto and Sasuke remained heavily injured.
As Obito observed the Six Paths version of himself making similar choices to the previous world, he found himself lost in contemplation.
However, what happened next surprised Obito. Black Zetsu stabbed Madara on the back and took away his heart.
Moreover, through some unknown means, Black Zetsu incapacitated Madara.
"Madara, you're just a fool. You treated Obito as your puppet, yet you failed to realize you were just a puppet yourself. Everything you did was the result of my involvement," Black Zetsu mocked Madara and revealed the truth.
Although Obito originally intended to belittle Madara for his arrogance in the previous memory, he found himself unable to speak. This world seemed like a circle.
In order to make Nagato completely give up on this world and use him, Obito killed all the members of the Akatsuki who wanted to rescue Yahiko. In the end, Obito used Nagato like a pawn.
Although this process was also Madara's idea, considering Nagato had Madara's Rinnegan, it was ultimately Obito's own doing. He controlled Nagato, while he himself was controlled by Madara. Everything, including the so-called curse on this world, was orchestrated by Madara. He was merely a puppet for Madara.
But even that Madara was just a puppet of Black Zetsu, whose sole purpose was to resurrect Kaguya Ōtsutsuki.
Seeing this, Obito felt that there was no need to continue watching. Nagasawa closed the memory at this point.
At this moment, Obito's expression was extremely complex, challenging to describe in words. After all, he now knew the truth.
"Now, what are your thoughts?" Nagasawa asked Obito.
If Obito still didn't snap out of it, then it seemed the only options left were Nagasawa's iron fist of love.