Konoha's Third Training Ground.
It was a clearing surrounded by trees, with three wooden training posts standing in a row.
The moment Minato Namikaze vanished from the hidden cavern, his figure reappeared here in a flash of golden light.
And in the very next instant, a complex sealing array flared to life on the ground before him—followed by the sudden appearance of a cloaked man wearing a tiger-striped mask.
Uchiha Obito had been drawn straight into the trap.
When their gazes met—teacher and student—the clearing fell into a deep, heavy silence.
Only then did Obito truly understand: he had triggered a seal laid down in advance by Minato.
The Fourth Hokage had known.
Not only had his presence in the village been discovered—Minato's choice of location for the trap made it clear he had already guessed Obito's true identity.
He looked at the tall, handsome man before him—his former teacher, the most brilliant shinobi of their generation—and his scarlet eyes flickered through shock, solemnity, resignation… and finally, madness.
"Impressive as ever, Lord Fourth," Obito said with a hoarse laugh.
"When did you notice I was there?"
There was no need for pretense between men like them. Obito, after years of training and manipulation under the shadows, was no longer the naïve dead-last he once had been.
He knew perfectly well what situation he was in now.
Rather than flee in denial, it was better to face Minato head-on—and perhaps, wring some information from him in return.
He had thought himself hidden perfectly. With White Zetsu's assistance and his own Kamui, he had moved freely through Konoha without a trace.
Yet somehow, Minato Namikaze had still sensed him—had even guessed who he really was—and set a trap at Rin's grave of all places.
In this game between master and student, Obito had lost completely.
But he didn't understand how he had lost. He needed to know why.
Even a genius like him could never have imagined that within Konoha, there existed another set of eyes that could see through everything—a "Heaven's Eye."
Minato, however, did not answer Obito's question directly. His gaze calmly swept across the familiar clearing.
"This is Training Ground Number Three," he said quietly.
"Every time I come here, I remember the days when our team trained together… you, Kakashi, and Rin."
"I chose this place for our meeting, Obito—" his tone softened, "—do you still like it?"
He spoke the name aloud—Obito.
The moment Obito had appeared, Minato had already been sure.
After all, Hyuga Satoru's earlier intelligence had planted the seed of suspicion in his and Kushina's minds long ago.
And really, who else but Obito would have appeared before Rin's grave to trigger the seal?
Aside from Kakashi and the two of them, there was no one else who would go there.
"So it really is you…" Minato's voice was gentle, almost relieved.
"It's really you, Obito. Thank goodness—you're alive."
His words caught Obito completely off guard.
He could feel the sincerity—the genuine happiness in Minato's heart—and that only made the emotions raging inside him even more chaotic.
Clutching at his chest, Obito lowered his head and gave a strained, bitter laugh.
"No," he said coldly. "You're wrong."
"Uchiha Obito is dead."
"The one standing before you now is—Uchiha's avenger!"
He pulled the mask back over his face. The three tomoe of his Sharingan spun rapidly, glinting with hostility.
"Sharp as ever, Lord Fourth," he sneered.
"But tell me—why weren't you this sharp back then?"
"You, of all people—so strong, so brilliant—and yet you couldn't even protect Rin!"
There was venom in his voice. Obito's hatred toward Minato ran deep.
Yes, it was Kakashi's hand that had pierced Rin's heart—but compared to Kakashi's weakness, Obito despised Minato's strength even more.
The Yellow Flash of Konoha.
The man who became Hokage—yet couldn't save one innocent girl.
That day, Obito's faith had shattered.
He had lost not only Rin, but also his belief in the "Hokage" he once admired.
So this is what a Hokage really is?
He had thought then. Nothing but another powerless man who lets people die.
"Obito…" Minato's voice was low, heavy with regret.
The pain Obito carried—Minato understood it all too well. But Obito couldn't imagine the burden that had rested on his shoulders at that time.
For Obito, it had been about Rin and Kakashi.
For Minato, it had been about the entire war—the countless lives of Konoha's shinobi hanging in the balance.
Yes, if Minato had gone to the Mist frontlines himself, Rin might have survived.
But then—would the other battlefields have won?
Minato was never arrogant, but he knew the weight of his existence in that war.
And so, he did not refute Obito's accusation. He could not.
"Heh…" Obito let out a derisive laugh. "There's no point talking about it now."
"Fourth Hokage," he said, his voice cold and resolute, "I will create a world where Rin still lives."
"I'll reclaim everything I've lost—" his chakra surged, "—and no one will stop me!"
As he spoke, the space around him began to twist. The swirling void of Kamui enveloped his body, dragging him away.
In mere seconds, Uchiha Obito vanished before Minato's eyes.
Their confrontation had been brief, but Obito had realized one thing: he would gain nothing by lingering.
With someone like Minato, the longer they spoke, the more he risked revealing.
Yes, his identity had been exposed—but that didn't matter. This was only the beginning.
What truly mattered was that everything he had experienced—the powers of the Mangekyo Sharingan, the truth of the Moon's Eye Plan—was beyond even Minato's imagination.
No matter what the Fourth Hokage tried, he would never be able to stop the grand design set in motion by Uchiha Madara.
And before that happened—Obito vowed—he would prove himself the stronger of the two.
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