Minato Namikaze swept his gaze across the battlefield, and for a brief moment, he froze.
What he saw was far beyond anything he had anticipated.
The first thing that caught his attention was not Uzumaki Kushina, nor the masked man who had abducted her.
It was the Nine-Tailed Fox.
Its sheer size dominated the scene, making it impossible to ignore.
"This is… the Nine-Tails. The Nine-Tails is out!"
Minato instinctively tensed, his body ready to act, but almost immediately, something felt off.
Something was wrong.
The Nine-Tails was lying on the ground… asleep.
A strange silence hung in the air.
Minato's gaze shifted, landing on the two figures locked in confrontation beside the massive beast. His brows furrowed slightly.
The masked man was expected.
But the other one…
Who was he?
And why were they facing each other like enemies?
Questions flashed through Minato's mind, but he did not linger on them. After a quick assessment, he immediately began searching for Kushina.
He found her soon enough.
She lay weakly against a rock, her life force fading.
"Kushina!"
Minato's heart clenched. Without hesitation, he used the Body Flicker Technique and appeared beside her in an instant.
He gently lifted her into his arms.
"Minato…"
Her voice was faint, barely audible. Though still alive, she was hanging by a thread.
"Don't speak," Minato said softly, though the pain in his voice was impossible to hide.
Without wasting another second, he activated the Flying Thunder God Technique.
Swish.
The battlefield vanished.
In the next moment, Minato appeared inside the Konoha Hospital, still holding Kushina as he rushed forward.
"Hokage-sama! Kushina-sama!"
The staff was immediately thrown into chaos.
Minato did not wait.
He handed Kushina directly to a nearby medical ninja assistant, his expression firm despite the turmoil in his heart.
"Kushina has been critically injured. The Nine-Tails has been extracted. Do everything you can to save her. I'm counting on you."
Before anyone could respond, he disappeared again.
Swish.
This time, he reappeared in the Hokage's office.
The door burst open.
"Minato?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked up from his documents, pipe still in hand. The sudden intrusion immediately put him on edge.
Today was Kushina's delivery.
For Minato to be here…
Something had gone terribly wrong.
"Hokage, someone interfered. The Nine-Tails has been released. It's at the delivery site outside the village."
Hiruzen's expression changed instantly.
"What? So it really happened…"
His brows tightened deeply. The gravity of the situation was clear.
The Nine-Tails was not just any tailed beast. It was the strongest among them. If left unchecked, it could devastate the entire village.
Before Hiruzen could respond, Minato vanished again.
There was no time.
…
Outside Konoha, near the former delivery site.
The ground trembled with the force of battle.
Clang!
Steel met steel as two figures clashed relentlessly.
Obito Uchiha and Ryūjin moved at blinding speed, their kunai colliding in rapid succession, sparks flashing with each impact.
Clang!
In one fierce exchange, their blades locked.
At that moment, Obito's body became solid.
"Amaterasu."
Ryūjin's Mangekyō Sharingan flared.
Black flames erupted instantly, igniting across Obito's body.
This was the same technique that had once pushed Obito to the brink during their battle in the Hidden Rain Village.
But this time, Obito remained calm.
"Shinra Tensei."
A powerful repulsive force burst outward.
Hum!
The black flames were blown away instantly, dispersed before they could take hold.
Amaterasu, once a deadly threat, was neutralized in an instant.
"Kamui."
Ryūjin did not hesitate.
Taking advantage of the brief moment after the repulsion, he activated long-range Kamui.
The space around Obito distorted.
But Obito had already anticipated it.
The instant he sensed the spatial fluctuation, his body shifted into intangibility.
The distortion passed harmlessly through him.
Long-range Kamui required a moment to fully manifest. Even at Ryūjin's level, it could not match the instantaneous nature of Amaterasu.
And Obito had learned his lesson.
He would not be caught by the same attack twice.
A faint smirk appeared on Obito's face.
"Those tricks of yours won't work on me anymore."
Ryūjin raised an eyebrow, completely unfazed.
"Yeah? And who said those are all I've got?"
Obito's expression stiffened slightly.
He knew Ryūjin too well.
Every encounter had ended the same way, Ryūjin revealing something unexpected, something beyond reason.
Even now, Obito could not say with certainty how many abilities Ryūjin truly possessed.
Still, he refused to show weakness.
"No matter what you have, it won't change anything."
His voice turned cold.
With Kamui and the Rinnegan at his disposal, he had absolute confidence.
If Tobi were not severely weakened, he would not even need to take this seriously.
Swish.
A figure appeared on the battlefield.
It was Minato Namikaze.
The Yellow Flash had returned.
===
Sorry for the late update.
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