Right before Namikaze Minato's eyes, Obito flung the infant Naruto into the air. Beneath the mask, a triumphant grin spread across his face—his plan had succeeded.
"Now… step away from the jinchuriki!"
Obito muttered inwardly, eyes cold and devoid of mercy. The flames of vengeance had already devoured his heart. Even facing Kushina, the woman who had once been his mentor's wife, there wasn't a trace of warmth in his gaze.
No one could truly understand why Obito's revenge was aimed at the Fourth Hokage and his wife. In his eyes, Minato—the Hokage—had failed to save Rin's life. That was reason enough for retribution.
Now, he wanted Minato to experience that same agony—to fail to save his own child, to fail to protect his wife. Only then could Minato understand his pain.
"Naruto!"
Seeing his newborn son hurled skyward, Minato didn't have the luxury of calm thought. He was a father—how could he ever abandon his child?
In the blink of an eye, Minato vanished in a flash, reappearing above Obito and catching Naruto in his arms.
Obito merely glanced up and smirked, paying Minato no mind. Instead, he darted straight toward Kushina.
The instant Minato caught Naruto, a faint burnt smell reached his nose. Alarmed, he pulled back the swaddling cloth—only to see it covered in explosive tags, several of which were already burning halfway through.
"!!"
Minato's reflexes were lightning-fast. Tearing off the blankets, he gathered Naruto and activated the Flying Thunder God Technique, vanishing from the cave in a flash of light.
He had no other choice. The combined force of that many explosive tags would be devastating. In such a confined space, the blast wave alone could easily kill a newborn.
And while Minato was a master of the Flying Thunder God and Rasengan, his defensive jutsu were few—and weak.
In less than a breath's time, the scenery shifted completely. He reappeared in one of Konoha's secure safehouses—a location he had prepared before Kushina's delivery.
Clutching Naruto, Minato leapt out of the house. The next instant, a massive explosion ripped through it. Wooden debris whistled through the air, deadlier than kunai. A splinter pierced Minato's leg—but he didn't stop.
Once clear of the blast, he activated the Flying Thunder God again, flashing into another prearranged safehouse within the village.
The wooden walls here were lined with kunai engraved with his teleportation seals.
There was a soft bed in the room. Minato laid the crying infant gently upon it and drew a blanket over him.
"Naruto…"
"Damn it… I fell for Obito's diversion. His real target—was Kushina!"
Though everything had happened in seconds, Minato's analytical mind quickly pieced together Obito's plan.
Inside that cave, the only person with a bond to Obito—besides Minato himself—was Kushina.
He attacked during childbirth for one reason only—
"The Nine-Tails!"
Minato's face hardened. Locking onto Kushina's chakra, he vanished once more.
Back in the cave.
The moment Minato disappeared with Naruto, Obito's lips curved. Everything was proceeding exactly as planned.
He didn't care about the child's life. His real goal was to extract the Nine-Tails from Kushina—and then use his Mangekyo Sharingan to control it. With the Nine-Tails' power, he could weaken Konoha and advance Madara's Eye of the Moon Plan.
As soon as Minato teleported away, Obito lunged toward Kushina.
But just as his hand was about to seize her, a blur moved faster than his eyes could track.
Hyuga Hizashi!
In that critical instant, Hizashi struck downward with a fierce palm aimed straight at Obito's back.
"You've interfered one time too many!"
"Then I'll erase you first!"
Irritation flashed through Obito's tone. He twisted his body midair, letting the right half of his body take the hit while his hand clamped around Hizashi's wrist.
The next moment, the Kamui's space vortex swirled open in Obito's Sharingan, trying to drag Hizashi into another dimension.
But Hizashi's mind was utterly calm. At that instant, his thoughts flashed back to a conversation he'd had with his nephew, Hyuga Satoru, just days earlier.
"The masked man's power is terrifying—but not flawless."
"His ability can be divided into two forms: absorbing others into his dimension, and phasing himself into it."
"The first allows him to suck any target he touches into his space, their life and body under his complete control."
"The second renders his own body intangible—physical attacks pass through him harmlessly."
"Both seem invincible, but there's one weakness."
"He cannot attack and remain intangible at the same time. To grab or attack someone, he must be solid. That is your opening."
Those words echoed vividly in Hizashi's mind, though in reality, not even a heartbeat had passed.
Feeling the pull of the vortex, Hizashi knew—this was his chance.
"Don't underestimate the Hyuga Clan!"
"Bastard!"
With a roar, chakra erupted from every tenketsu across his body. The surging chakra formed a radiant barrier around him, colliding directly with the pull of Obito's space.
His chakra made contact with Obito's real body.
Eight Trigrams Palm: Rotation!
Hizashi spun with explosive force, his chakra wall countering the suction while striking Obito full-on.
BOOM!
The blow landed cleanly. Obito was flung backward, slamming into the cave ceiling, his Kamui abruptly disrupted.
It was the Hyuga Main Family's secret art—Rotation (Kaiten).
Hyuga Satoru hadn't just provided intelligence; he'd also refined Hizashi's technique to its utmost potential.
Obito crashed to the ground. Hizashi stopped spinning, stepping calmly to Kushina's side and shielding her with his body.
At the cave's entrance, the ANBU and Hyuga Daiki advanced to surround Obito.
In an instant, the tide of battle had turned.
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