The moment Obito vanished, Minato Namikaze appeared on the scene.
Looking at the chaos—debris scattered everywhere and the heavy toll on the Anbu ninjas—his face was grim.
But now wasn't the time for comfort. Minato summoned the highest-ranking surviving Anbu ninja and asked what had just happened.
After the Anbu recounted everything about Obito Uchiha's appearance and actions, Minato used his Flying Thunder God Technique and vanished from the spot.
Clearly, he was off to chase Obito.
Unfortunately, even with Konoha's barrier that could detect spatial fluctuations, pinpointing Obito's exact location was nearly impossible.
Plus, Obito didn't always rely on his Kamui to move, leaving very few traces behind.
On top of that, the barrier team needed time to relay Obito's approximate location to Minato.
The result? Despite Minato's reputation as the fastest ninja in the world, he couldn't catch Obito.
The two played a game of cat and mouse, chasing and evading for nearly two hours.
During that time, Obito raided several of Konoha's secret bases, trying to track down Kushina Uzumaki's hiding place.
But Konoha's secrecy measures were no joke.
Even with Black Zetsu's help, Obito couldn't find her final location.
Left with no choice, he urged Zetsu to hurry up and locate the target while continuing to lead Minato on a wild goose chase.
Of course, stirring up chaos along the way was a must.
For someone with Mangekyō Sharingan, that was hardly a challenge.
After all, genjutsu at the Mangekyō level wasn't something ordinary ninjas could resist.
While the two were locked in their game of wits, Seimei had already arrived at Kushina's side.
He was currently hidden within the dimensional space created by his Ama-no-Mikado technique, quietly waiting for Naruto's birth.
And, of course, for Obito to show up.
Why wait for Obito specifically? Simple. As a Konoha ninja, Seimei had no fundamental conflict with the village.
Sure, he could sneakily siphon off some of the Nine-Tails' chakra without issue, but taking the initiative to forcibly extract the Nine-Tails from Kushina—risking her death—was a line he wouldn't cross.
After all, a guy's gotta have principles.
Otherwise, he'd just end up a powerful monster.
More importantly, Seimei was certain Obito would eventually find this place.
With that thought, Seimei carefully sensed the state of the Nine-Tails.
He could clearly feel that as Kushina's delivery progressed, the seal holding the Nine-Tails was growing weaker.
It was obvious that the moment Naruto was born, the Nine-Tails would seize its brief chance to break free.
At that point, Kushina would be too weak to suppress the Nine-Tails at its full strength.
The Nine-Tails was bound to make a move.
And when it did, its chakra would definitely leak out.
Given how sensitive Obito and Zetsu were to its chakra, they'd undoubtedly track it here.
That would be Seimei's chance to fish in troubled waters and make his move.
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Time ticked by, second by second.
Seimei stood still, like a statue, waiting patiently.
At one moment, he suddenly activated his Byakugan, looking toward Kushina, and murmured, "It's time!"
"Wahhh!"
Almost the instant he spoke, a loud baby's cry echoed from the room.
That cry belonged to none other than Naruto.
Funny enough, the other protagonist of this generation in the ninja world—Sasuke—had been born a week early.
And now, Naruto was born a week ahead of schedule too.
What can you say?
Destined bonds, right? Even their birth dates seemed to align.
Still, Seimei was only briefly surprised before brushing it off.
As the reincarnations of Indra and Asura's chakra, no matter how bizarre things got with those two, Seimei wouldn't bat an eye.
For now, his main concern was when Obito would show up.
Just as he'd predicted, the moment Naruto was born, the seal on Kushina hit its weakest point.
And the Nine-Tails didn't waste the opportunity.
In an instant, a far more intense chakra burst erupted—stronger than anything from the past hour—spreading the Nine-Tails' unique aura in all directions.
There was no way Obito and Zetsu could miss it.
Seeing this, Genma Shiranui, Raido Namiashi, and Iwashi Tatami—the three Hokage guards Minato had specifically left behind—immediately activated their backup plan.
A barrier of light appeared, instantly enveloping Kushina at the center of the room, containing the Nine-Tails' chakra that was pouring out.
But the Nine-Tails was dead set on breaking free this time, and its chakra was so powerful that the barrier was already trembling, on the verge of collapse.
The three guards' faces were grim as they turned to Kushina for help.
Thanks to their efforts, Kushina finally caught her breath.
She forced herself to sit up, cross-legged, and formed hand signs to activate the seal on her abdomen, slowly drawing the Nine-Tails' chakra back into the sealing space.
"ROAR!"
Feeling the seal tighten again after so long, the Nine-Tails let out a furious roar and resisted with all its might.
And so, a weakened Kushina and a still-sealed Nine-Tails were locked in a tug-of-war.
But the Uzumaki clan's resilience was no joke. Hidden in the shadows, Seimei could clearly sense that as time passed, Kushina's condition was rapidly improving.
If left undisturbed, it wouldn't take long for her to reseal the Nine-Tails completely.
That was probably why Minato had the confidence to leave only Genma, Raido, and Iwashi to assist her.
Unfortunately, things don't always go as planned—good things fall apart, and bad things come true.
Minato had hoped no one would interfere with Kushina, but before she could fully reseal the Nine-Tails, Obito teleported in.
"Who's there?" Genma shouted, spotting the figure that had appeared out of nowhere.
A burst of chakra shot from his mouth, guiding the senbon he always held between his teeth straight toward Obito's neck.
But the gap in their strength was too wide. Obito didn't even glance at him, simply leaning back slightly to dodge the attack.
Seeing this, the other two moved to strike, but under Obito's Genjutsu: Sharingan, they froze in place instantly.
Obito didn't stop. With a quick flash, he closed in on Kushina.
Along the way, he formed hand signs based on the knowledge left by Madara Uchiha, preparing the summoning technique for the Nine-Tails. All he needed was to touch Kushina's body to extract the beast.
But just as his hand was about to reach her, a figure appeared out of nowhere, blocking his path.
Obito looked closely and saw none other than Minato Namikaze.
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