The sun sank toward the horizon.
After a long day of training, Hyuga Satoru rinsed off quickly and returned to his room in silence.
October 10th.
Glancing at the calendar on the wall, Satoru sat cross-legged on the tatami floor, closing his eyes to recover his strength and chakra.
Whether his earlier preparations would truly prove useful, he didn't know—but tonight would decide more than most nights.
This was a matter of life and death, and he dared not lower his guard.
At the same time, the entire Village Hidden in the Leaves was under the tightest lockdown in years.
In the Hokage's office, the Third Hokage sat quietly behind his desk.
Though it was long past "closing time," Hiruzen Sarutobi made no move to leave.
He was waiting—waiting for good news from Kushina's side.
Elsewhere, Uchiha Fugaku, who had been tasked by the Third and Fourth Hokage to track down Uchiha Obito, was also busy through the night.
Even at dinnertime, he still had not returned home.
Their investigation hadn't yet yielded Obito himself, but the trails he'd left behind were undeniable—especially within the Uchiha clan's own territory.
Time and again, traces of his chakra and presence appeared near Naka Shrine, the clan's ancient sanctuary.
Within that shrine lay the fabled Stone Tablet, said to have been passed down from the Sage of Six Paths himself.
The stronger one's Sharingan, the more of its secrets could be read.
Realizing Obito had visited that place frequently, Fugaku's earlier suspicion hardened into certainty.
Only someone who had awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan could have left such powerful traces.
The thought made his muscles tighten.
He took personal command of the search, so focused that he even skipped dinner.
At home, his wife Mikoto—the very picture of a gentle, dutiful wife—noticed his absence and quietly packed a bento for him.
After preparing dinner for her eldest son Itachi, she handed baby Sasuke to him to watch over while she went out to deliver the meal herself.
She had full faith in Itachi.
Her eldest son was a genius, precocious beyond his years.
When it came to caring for Sasuke, he sometimes did even better than she could.
The moon rose.
On the wooden veranda, Uchiha Itachi sat with Sasuke in his arms, gently patting his baby brother's back as he gazed up at the bright silver disk above.
"…"
Perhaps it was his clan's preternatural sensitivity, or simply the intuition of a prodigy—but Itachi could feel it.
Something terrible was about to happen.
"Whatever happens," he murmured softly, eyes firm as steel, "I'll protect you, Sasuke."
Inside a hidden cavern outside the village, the air was thick with tension—and with Kushina Uzumaki's cries of agony.
"Ahhh! It hurts so much—!"
Her scream reverberated through the stone chamber like rolling thunder.
At that moment, she wanted nothing more than to drag her two best friends here and demand why they had ever told her 'childbirth doesn't hurt at all!'
Her voice even pierced through the thick stone walls; the ANBU guards posted outside could hear her clearly.
Inside, Hyuga Hizashi and his cousin Hyuga Daiki exchanged brief glances at the intensity of her cries, but quickly returned to their duties.
With their Byakugan activated, the two stood at opposite sides of the chamber, watching everything within and without.
Several ANBU operatives were stationed at the stone gate, standing ready to guard the entrance.
"Um…"
"I've never seen Kushina-sensei in this much pain before. Is she really going to be okay?"
Standing beside the bed, Minato Namikaze—the Fourth Hokage—looked helplessly at his wife's pale, sweat-drenched face.
Though he was the Hokage, this was his first time accompanying childbirth, and he couldn't hide his anxiety.
"N-no problem!" replied Biwa Jikoku, the midwife-nin with years of experience, forcing a grin.
"You just focus on that Nine-Tails seal!"
"But…"
"This looks—"
"Lord Fourth," she interrupted, "if men had to do this, the world would've gone extinct ages ago. Women are strong. Now stop fidgeting!"
Minato could only force a weak smile.
In truth, Biwako herself was sweating bullets, her nerves as taut as steel wires.
Just then, the seal on Kushina's abdomen trembled violently.
"Such powerful resistance… the Nine-Tails is trying to break free!"
Minato's expression hardened as he poured more chakra into the sealing formula.
"Hang on, Kushina!"
"Come on, Naruto!"
He prayed silently as he worked, heart pounding.
Outside the cave—
A distortion in space rippled silently.
From that darkness stepped a man in a tiger-striped mask—Uchiha Obito.
Without a sound, he appeared behind one ANBU, his hand passing through the man's body before swallowing him into the warped void of Kamui.
Then he materialized before another, crushed the man's throat with one swift motion, and dropped him like a ragdoll.
In less than ten seconds, all four guards lay dead.
Obito straightened slowly, eyes glowing scarlet through the mask, and turned toward the stone cavern.
His body shimmered, blurred—and vanished into the air itself.
Inside the birthing chamber—
"Daiki!"
Hizashi's sudden shout sliced through the tense air as his body flashed forward, positioning himself beside Minato.
"On it!"
Daiki was already moving. He whipped a kunai from his pouch, dashing toward the entrance.
Though the attack outside had been silent, nothing escaped the Byakugan's gaze.
"What's going on?" Minato called, hands still locked in seals.
"An intruder, Lord Fourth!" Hizashi's tone was sharp.
"A masked man—tiger pattern, young male!"
Minato froze for half a heartbeat.
That description…
"Obito!"
Before the word was fully out, Kushina let out another piercing scream—and then, a baby's cry filled the chamber.
Biwa Jikoku's face lit up.
"Hot water, quickly!" she called out, her voice trembling with excitement.
Minato's heart leapt.
"I—I'm a father!"
For an instant, all fear and duty were forgotten.
He was overcome by pure, dizzy joy.
"Lord Fourth!!!"
Hizashi's roar snapped him back to reality.
In the same instant, Hizashi vaulted upward, unleashing a Gentle Fist: Air Palm past Biwako's shoulder.
The blast cracked the stone floor, missing its mark by mere inches—for a masked figure had already emerged silently behind the two medical-nin, hands reaching for their throats.
But Hizashi's Byakugan had seen through him.
Even as the attack phased harmlessly through the intruder's body, the Hyuga struck again, closing the distance with lightning speed.
"Hyuga Clan…"
"Pointless!"
The man's distorted voice echoed as Hizashi's blow passed clean through his intangible form.
Obito's body rippled like a mirage as he stepped forward—solidifying just long enough to snatch the newborn from Biwako's trembling hands.
The air filled with Kushina's exhausted gasp—and the cry of her son,
Naruto,
was cut short.
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