Namikaze Minato reached the battlefield in almost no time. Before the Nine-Tails could wreak further havoc inside Konoha, he had already teleported the beast to the outskirts of the village.
Afraid of missing the best opportunity to reseal the tailed beast, Minato didn't hesitate for even a second. The moment the Nine-Tails was relocated, he flashed back to Konoha—bringing with him Kushina, the infant Naruto, and a contingent of Hyuga elites—directly onto the battlefield.
Even the young Hyuga Satoru, and Naruto, still swaddled in cloth, were now standing before the rampaging Nine-Tails.
The beast stood less than a hundred meters away, its terrifying chakra saturating the air. Every Hyuga within range felt the crushing weight of its presence, their throats tightening as they swallowed hard.
But within moments, resolve replaced fear. Without a word, the Hyuga formed a defensive ring, placing Hyuga Hiashi, Satoru, and Kushina with Naruto at the very center.
Even in the face of a tailed beast, the Hyuga did not retreat.
Satoru gazed at the raging Nine-Tails, which had just thrown Gamabunta aside, then turned back toward Kushina and Naruto. A spark of understanding flashed in his eyes.
So that was why Minato had brought Naruto here too. It wasn't just sentimentality.
He didn't fully trust the information Satoru had provided him—no matter how logical it sounded. If resealing the beast into Kushina failed, if she still couldn't survive after all… then there would need to be a new jinchuriki.
And who better than his own son, Naruto—an Uzumaki by blood?
Minato was cautious to the core. Even Satoru couldn't say for certain whether resealing the Nine-Tails would truly save Kushina. Reality didn't always follow prediction, and Minato's prudence was his way of minimizing the risk.
"Kushina… can you hold the Nine-Tails for me, even for a short while?"
Gamabunta had been thrown aside but quickly rejoined the fight. Knowing he needed more power to restrain such a monster, Minato summoned two more mighty toads from Mount Myoboku—Gamaken and Gamahiro—to aid in battle.
Their arrival stabilized the fight somewhat, but Minato knew it was only temporary. The might of a tailed beast was far beyond what even these great toads could withstand.
"Mm!"
Kushina nodded firmly despite her frail state. She had just given birth and had the Nine-Tails forcibly torn from her body, yet she still gathered her remaining strength.
Without hesitation, she unleashed golden chains from her body—Adamantine Sealing Chains—which shot across the battlefield toward the Nine-Tails.
Still engaged with the three toads, the beast didn't notice the chains until it was too late. In an instant, the bindings coiled around its limbs and tails, pinning its enormous body to the ground.
"Next…"
Minato's eyes darkened as he watched the trapped beast, its pupils still gleaming with the scarlet Sharingan. Just as he began to sense for Obito's location—
—a ripple of warped space appeared within the Hyuga's defensive formation.
"What a hassle…"
Uchiha Obito emerged from the ground right beside Kushina, reaching straight for her.
Minato hadn't even needed to search—Obito had come to him.
Though he'd faced resistance in executing his plan, Obito had still succeeded in releasing the tailed beast. Doing so right under the nose of the Fourth Hokage and an entire Hyuga strike unit had only made him more confident in his Kamui.
Now, surrounded by even more elite shinobi, Obito still struck without hesitation, aiming to eliminate the weakened Kushina once and for all.
But the moment he appeared, every Hyuga present sensed the intrusion. Dozens of Byakugan turned upon him simultaneously, their cold, penetrating gazes creating a pressure so intense that even Obito's movements faltered for a split second.
The Hyuga…
A clan renowned alongside the Uchiha themselves. Even Obito, confident as he was, felt the weight of so many eyes fixed on him.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Two sharp whooshes merged into one as both Minato and Hiashi disappeared from their spots.
At the instant Obito appeared, Satoru pressed a hand against Hiashi's leg, channeling chakra. In the same heartbeat, both Hiashi and Minato flashed into position beside Kushina—attacking Obito together.
There were now two users of the Flying Thunder God Technique on the battlefield.
Satoru might have been young and physically weak, but using the Flying Thunder God to assist Hiashi was well within his abilities.
Besides, compared to the overwhelming might of the Nine-Tails, Obito's threat felt more like a tactical challenge than sheer terror.
The difference between a "mechanics monster" and a "stats monster" was… palpable.
"!!"
Obito clearly hadn't expected such a fast response—especially from Hiashi. Seeing a man who looked exactly like Hizashi, only faster, made Obito's eyes widen in brief surprise.
The next instant, Minato and Hiashi's attacks passed harmlessly through Obito's intangible body.
Even so, Obito didn't retreat.
As the two missed, a Flying Thunder God kunai shot back from behind him, whistling through the air. Obito, trying to grab Kushina, tilted his body just slightly—and phased through both her and the attack before vanishing back into the ground.
He moved like a ghost—untouchable. No weapon or ninjutsu could harm him.
Even the elite Hyuga couldn't help but tense at the display of such a terrifying ability.
"Hiashi, taijutsu won't work on him while he's intangible," Minato warned calmly. "If I'm right, he has to become solid in order to attack. That's when we strike."
It wasn't Minato's first time facing Obito. Even after only a few brief encounters, his analytical mind had already deduced most of Kamui's mechanics.
Unlike Satoru, whose "heavenly eye" granted him knowledge directly, Minato's battle intuition and intelligence were earned through sheer skill.
"Yes, understood!"
"I'll support you!"
Hiashi bowed his head slightly, activating his Byakugan to scan the ground below. He quickly located Obito's chakra signature.
With so many Hyuga present, Obito became far more cautious—but not enough to abandon his plan.
"Fourth Hokage—below you!"
Hiashi's warning came the moment a pair of hands shot up from the ground, reaching for Minato's ankle.
Minato leapt lightly, dodging the grab while intentionally leaving an opening.
Obito burst up from the earth, this time wielding a chain in both hands.
Seeing Minato suspended midair with nowhere to land, Obito's eyes gleamed—his chance!
He lunged upward, the chain clinking sharply as it whipped behind him.
"Hm?!"
Hearing the sound, Hiashi immediately launched a Vacuum Palm toward him, but it passed right through Obito's intangible form.
Meanwhile, Minato—still airborne—flicked his wrist, throwing another marked kunai.
Thunk—!
"Fourth Hokage," Obito sneered, "this time, you lose."
The kunai passed straight through his head. Staring up at the trapped, midair Minato, Obito's eyes glinted with triumph.
"Rasengan!"
But before he could react, Minato's figure vanished.
A split-second later, his voice rang out behind Obito—followed by a crushing impact.
The violent burst of chakra drove Obito into the ground, blasting rock and dust in all directions.
The Hyuga immediately tightened their defensive formation around Kushina, shielding her and the infant from the debris.
When the dust cleared, Obito's right side was mangled—completely shattered by the direct hit.
"Flying Thunder God: Second Stage…"
Minato murmured, eyes sharp and steady.
...
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