V.1-C.41│Growth I│

Obito was invited back to the camp for Kumogakure, but it wasn't some camp that was mean to be hidden or anything, and it was all right for such information to be disclosed to him.

Obito knew that his actions were probably going to be watched closely, but he also realized that this was a chance for him to stop some of the fighting.

He also knew that he probably shouldn't deny this request, given that he was now under the scrutiny as the one that should be becoming the Fourth Raikage during this period of time.

'Yeah, but what the hell am I going to tell everyone else!?' Obito thought to himself, even realizing that he could escape anytime he wanted via Kamui, it would still be a problem to those that cared for him.

He needed a solution, and while shadow clones might be a good way to cover for himself, given that they don't even really dissipate unless harmed, or their chakra runs out, it was dangerous. 'But if I could save some more lives...' Obito thought to himself as he looked at the people that invited him.

It was a request by Hikari, the jonin instructor for the team of kunoichi he knows of from his previous life.

Obito knows that he can't just up and stop the entire war, but what he does know is that he should be able to prevent people throwing their lives away if he makes good enough decisions, or says the right words, or anything else really.

While trying to think of a solution to his current problem, Obito was awoken from his thoughts by Hikari. "Tobi? What is your decision?" She asked, for some reason wanting him to come with their small squad.

A had already left, as he was an important component to the war going on right now. Instead, there was only team Hikari left behind to deal with him, and he knows that he could leave whenever he wanted.

He was just thankful that they hadn't tried to do anything more against him, given that they could do a whole lot more than simply being suspicious of him.

Obito also knew that using shadow clones to interact with his loved ones was not exactly the best action as well. He would consider using Kamui more, that is if he doesn't run the risk of going blind. 'For now, I think I can use shadow clones, but not forever...' He thought to himself, before he would answer. "Ok. I shall come with you."

"Great!" Yugito smiled as she said this, before going forward and easily linking arms with him. "Come on now, let's go." She smilingly said, while Hikari seemed to sigh as the other two looked Yugito weirdly.

It makes sense but at the same time doesn't, but given that Obito doesn't know anything about Yugito, other than her being the Two Tail's jinchuriki, he guesses that he has some time to learn. "Wait, I have to do something first." Obito said, stopping them before they would leave.

"What is it?" Hikari asked.

"Hold up, wait here. I'll be right back!" Obito turned around before heading in another direction, leaving them confused.

Stopping just far enough, Obito summoned a shadow clone, and the clone knowing what he is to do, went off and towards the Konoha encampment, the clones eyes having taken on the Sharingan look once again.

'That does make me wonder, does the negatives of my Mangekyo transfer from my clone onto myself? If it doesn't, does that mean I have a way to get around said abilities weakness...' Obito also then thought of the clone dispelling itself as soon as using the ability.

It not only takes some chakra, but it also causes enough strain to dispel the clone.

Then again, using a clone, a shadow clone, accumulates experience or knowledge or exhaustion, which is the yin half of ones chakra, meaning that it would transfer all that back to the original user of the technique when it's dispersed.

Using that logic, if 100 shadow clones of Obito uses Kamui, even if it were to be just once, when they are all released, Obito would gain 100 times the amount of the Mangekyo Sharingan's usage in an instant.

'Ok, yeah. That makes sense. Damn, and here I thought that I had a way to get over my current issue.' Obito thought a bit dejectedly, but he still had some way to go to not worry about that just yet.

Or he had to worry about it right now, which would certainly force him to hurry up with coming up with a solution.

He also thought of the idea behind the Mangekyo Sharingan and the nature of how one is harmed in using its abilities. It is chakra that is used, and shadow clones do transfer stuff correlated to the yin half of said chakra, but it doesn't do so for anything physical.

Naturally, one would think that the Mangekyo's abilities mainly cause physical damage and blindness, which affects the yang side more so than yin, but one can't forget that yin and yang are intrinsically connected.

The thing is, he can use Kamui with his clones, but the damage would still transfer back onto himself, and due to the nature of the shadow clones, the main clone technique that he has access to, they would disperse after using said ability.

That said, Obito more than ever found himself wanting the ability to teleport around, which did make him wonder about something that wouldn't currently harm him. 'Right, the Hiraishin seal...' A technique that was used by a few.

Only those with a large amount of chakra reserves should use it as well, and good in Sealing knowledge.

[]

She knew how she felt, and she felt it was wrong. All wrong.

All wrong in her actions, her words. She felt... as if she trying everything she could to pull herself out of the situation she had gotten herself in, and she didn't know how or what she would do once she was even done.

She considered his words, Obito's words about how he wouldn't support her decision. Her decision that would most assuredly be the end of all life on this planet, a planet that held so much meaning and so little at the same time, for herself.

Kaguya was once truly a good and caring person. Despite displaying an apathetic personality, she longed for peace and eventually fell in love with the man known as Tenji, who shared a similar dream, even though she never openly displayed her feelings for him.

She knows now that maybe her love for the man known as Tenji was... fleeting and not permanent. It was something that was also flawed, given her own goals, that while similar to Tenji, was also different.

Tenji was an emperor of the Land of Ancestors. At the time of his first encounter with Kaguya, his land was at war with the Land of That over disputed land ownership.

Unlike his followers and the residents of the Land of That, Tenji desired for peace and tried to avoid direct confrontation with his opponents in order to avoid a war being waged, and wanted peaceful negotiations and alliances with them.

When he met Kaguya, he was surprised to learn she came 'from the stars,' but he took an immediate interest in her once she told him that she desired for peace, just like him. He allowed her to continue living on his land and fell in love with her.

They became lovers and he visited with her every day, and rumor's of their relationship reached the Land of That. His devotion to Kaguya's cause for peace caused him to threaten his own followers with death if they dared to threaten peace with the Land of That.

After Suzaku, the minister of the Land of That, tried to kidnap Kaguya and she killed many of his soldiers in self-defense, Tenji was horrified of Kaguya's god-like powers and ultimately decided to betray his lover in order to prevent a war from breaking out.

However, as the two sides attempt to capture Kaguya, she ate the fruit of the God Tree and, with her new powers, casts the Infinite Tsukuyomi. As Tenji fell victim to the genjutsu, he asked Kaguya what she was, unaware that she was pregnant with his children.

Unlike what one would believe, Kaguya no longer held hatred for the man known as Tenji, especially since he wasn't someone she loved deeply. Or as deeply as she tried to do.

No, now she felt nothing more than apathy for the man. The pathetic man that had betrayed her trust. Betrayed her love, all simply because she defended herself.

Even back then, her love for him had faded in the instant it took for him to betray her. Some hatred lingered at first, but that was soon replaced by other things. His actions against her aside, he didn't hold the same love she held for him.

Then again, how could she say that she loved him the same way that she wished to be loved? Not when she had other things she wanted to do. Things that he couldn't possibly understand. He was just not right for her.

It was clear.

Putting that aside, she also cared deeply for her hand-maiden Aino, even though she never openly displayed emotions to her either until just before Aino's death. However, she was also treacherous and ruthless towards those she did not care about, as she betrayed fellow clansman Isshiki.

After obtaining the ability to manipulate powerful chakra from the God Tree's fruit, Kaguya had grown despotic and developed both a god-complex and messiah-complex, believing that chakra rightfully belonged to her alone and that only she could protect and unite the world.

Kaguya tried to love humans for the sake of peace, but her distrust in them proved far too great as she came to believe all they did was fight and destroy the world.

Kaguya ultimately caved into corruption from her power and lost faith in humanity's ability to do what is right. As a result of her losing faith in humanity, Kaguya opted to use her great and terrible power to submit everyone to her will.

Kaguya also displays a degree of affection, as she appears to care very deeply about the Earth, viewing it as a nursery that she does not want humanity itself to damage any further.

Although she had affection for her lover, Tenji, it was not strong enough to stop her from trapping him in the Infinite Tsukuyomi when he betrayed her for his own pursuit of peace.

That's why, it shouldn't come to great of a surprise when Kaguya had forgone her affection for Obito and instead turned towards self-loathing instead.

'But I would've...' Kaguya stopped her thoughts there, comparing her moments with Obito to Tenji, realizing that maybe she had gone to far. Obito had helped her after all, helping her to regain some of her chakra that she so sought.

'I guess this is a start...' The chakra that Kaguya wanted for herself was only a small part of the Eight Tail's, but it was enough for her to recreate the properties of said Tailed Beast. It also gave back to her some of her original powers and abilities, but that doesn't mean she could use them.

Not while she is sealed within Obito.

While she couldn't exactly use the abilities those Tailed Beasts, which were once a part of herself, abilities, she could fashion the chakra she now has access to to help Obito if he so desired. Much like a jinchuriki, he would be able to manifest some of her own powers, like already has.

His ability to absorb chakra wasn't just something he gained out of nowhere, no, he had gained it because she is sealed within him.

As she was going over herself, she knew that to properly reform the rest of her powers and abilities, she would need more than just a piece of her chakra.

This is when Obito had come to her, staying true to his words in that he would come back to visit her. It was probably made easier by the fact that she had grown stronger, which is what is connected to the seal.

She didn't look at him though. Kaguya was embarrassed, for he had seen things from her that she would not think otherwise to show others.

"Kaguya." Obito's voice was heard, but she preferred not to look at him, exactly because of her own feelings, and wished not to admit she is in the wrong.

It was also silly of her to believe that he would drop whatever he believed in, simply just because she asked for it. She hadn't even spent much interreacting with him, as she actually doesn't know a thing about him. "Kaguya..." He voiced again, but she remained stalwart in her decision to not face him.

Who said communication was an easy thing? Clearly for her, it was something she disliked to do, instead preferring to give him the cold shoulder, even if she knows that she is in the wrong here.

"Kaguya...?" Obito's voice was now closer, but also questioning in tone as he said her name, her name with no honorifics. Something that she would've likely disliked, if it had come from someone else that she didn't already consider to be close to her.

"Why are you here?" Kaguya finally replied.

"I said that I would come back."

"I know that." She also knew that he would come, especially after her little desperation that had leaked into her voice. She didn't want to admit it, but she feared the return of her fellow clan members.

"Can we talk, you know, face to face?" Obito seemed to rubbing the back of his head as he said this, or at least that is what Kaguya imagined him to be doing.

Kaguya decided that she would grace him with her beauty. He had said that he appreciates the way she looks, even if it was when he was dying in his previous life. "What is it?" She got straight to the point.

"Did it help?" He asked.

"The chakra... my chakra... it does help." She admitted. "I want more, need more. Do you not understand? What I have told you... should tell you more than enough that I need it. My chakra."

"I do understand, but that doesn't mean your actions are the right way." Obito replied as he shook his head.

"Then you are foolish." Kaguya said as she looked into his eyes.

"Maybe." Obito replied with a smile on his face, which may or may not have made her feel strange. A feeling that while not unfamiliar with, was strange to experience in the many years of her seclusion.

"..." There was some silence as the two just stared at each other, before Kaguya finally decided to do something. "... I'm sorry."

"Huh?"

"I said, I'm sorry. You haven't betrayed me." Kaguya replied to his confusion, before she got off of the ground and went towards him. She decided to at least feel his touch again, embracing him into a hug, as she noted that he was taller.

"I'm sorry if I came off like I was betraying you. That wasn't my intention." Obito replied as he tentatively hugged her back, something that brought warmth into her chest.

"I know." Kaguya replied, allowing herself to enjoy this small moment. "You... can you help me still? I can promise... promise that I will try another way." She still wanted to do most of her things, her goals, just differently.

"..." There was no reply from Obito at first, which made her worry about his decision. "I can... I can help you. This is the planet I live on anyway, and I would need to face them sooner or later as well." Obito gave her a confirmation that he would help her.

"... Thank you." Kaguya left some other words unsaid, thinking that it may be appropriate to say another time.