Chapter 22: Minato vs Obito
Just then, a gloomy voice echoed through the area. The speaker was none other than Danzo, who had just arrived at the Uchiha district, flanked by a large number of Root operatives.
"Lord Danzo, what is the meaning of this?" Uchiha Fugaku stepped forward from the crowd, his expression grim. "The Uchiha Clan serves as the Konoha Military Police, responsible for protecting the village. Why are you blocking our way now?"
"Until now, only Uchiha Madara has been able to control the Nine-Tails with the Sharingan," Danzo said coldly. "And now, with the Nine-Tails suddenly attacking the village, this could very well be part of a massive conspiracy—one potentially involving the entire Uchiha clan. None of you are permitted to leave tonight."
His words ignited outrage among the Uchiha. One by one, voices of protest rose from the crowd, some even cursing openly.
Fugaku raised a hand to calm the clan down, then asked, "And did the Third and Fourth Hokage approve of your actions?"
"The Fourth isn't in the village right now," Danzo replied calmly. "And the Third has already given his consent."
Fugaku's brows furrowed tightly. He hadn't expected even the Third Hokage to be this wary of the Uchiha.
Not far behind Fugaku stood Yusuke, silently contemplating:
So this is the real reason why, during the Nine-Tails' rampage in the original timeline, neither the Uchiha clan nor the Root forces were seen in battle?
From his perspective, the Third had always valued Minato highly—not only did he personally mentor him, but once Minato became Hokage, the Third supported him in solidifying his position.
Perhaps even the Third never imagined Minato would fall in this battle. Otherwise, he'd never have allowed both the Root and the Uchiha to sit on the sidelines and waste so much combat power.
But Yusuke had no intention of abiding by Danzo's restrictions. After creating a Fire Clone to act as a decoy, he slipped away unnoticed, heading toward the Nine-Tails' location. Since the Uchiha were under lockdown, he couldn't reveal his identity. Donning a white cloak and a demon mask, he concealed himself near the battlefield, waiting for the right moment.
By now, many Konoha shinobi were already engaging the Nine-Tails, but its overwhelming chakra and vitality made their efforts nearly useless. Countless ninja fell to its claws without leaving a scratch on the beast.
Annoyed by their interference, the Nine-Tails opened its jaws and released a Tailed Beast Bomb, obliterating buildings in its path as it hurtled toward the Hokage Rock outside the village.
Suddenly, a massive sealing formula appeared in the air before the monument. The Tailed Beast Bomb disappeared into it, leaving the Hokage Rock untouched.
A second later, a brilliant light erupted in the distance—it turned out that someone had redirected the Tailed Beast Bomb via space-time ninjutsu, teleporting it far from the village to a large lake.
That someone was none other than the newly arrived Fourth Hokage—Minato Namikaze!
Seeing the Hokage Rock still intact, the Third Hokage—rushing toward the Nine-Tails—breathed a deep sigh of relief.
"Minato... you truly are reliable."
Just as Minato was about to head to the center of the village to confront the Nine-Tails, he suddenly sensed a spatial fluctuation behind him. He quickly drew a kunai and spun around to strike.
To his surprise, the kunai passed right through the head of the masked man—cloaked in black—who had attacked him earlier that night.
"Your opponent is me," the masked man said, as Minato's kunai phased through his head. In that instant, Obito deactivated his intangibility and grabbed Minato's wrist.
"This ends now."
Obito activated Kamui, attempting to pull Minato into his pocket dimension. But in a split-second reaction, Minato used Flying Thunder God to teleport away to a previously marked location.
"Tch... He got away. Quick reflexes," Obito muttered, using his own space-time ability to chase after Minato again.
With a loud thud, Minato landed awkwardly in a grassy field, having teleported in a hurry without adjusting his posture. He quickly got up and began analyzing his opponent's technique.
Before he could form a clear strategy, another space-time vortex swirled open in front of him—Obito had arrived.
So, he's also a user of space-time ninjutsu... This won't be easy, Minato thought, narrowing his eyes at the masked man standing before him.
At that moment, Minato noticed a single Sharingan eye visible beneath the opponent's mask. Recalling how Uchiha Madara once controlled the Nine-Tails with the Sharingan, Minato cautiously probed,
"Madara once had the power to control the Nine-Tails with his Sharingan, but he's long dead. Just who are you?"
"Who am I? Who knows…" the masked man replied indifferently.
"Then what's your purpose in attacking the Leaf Village?"
"Purpose?" The masked man paused. He reached into his cloak and pulled out a long iron chain. Each end of the chain was fixed with a clasp, which he locked onto both his wrists.
"My purpose… is peace in the shinobi world!"
Before his words had even faded, he lunged at Minato with incredible speed. The iron chain followed behind him, looping in an arc—a trap meant to ensnare anyone who passed by him.
Seeing the attack, Minato immediately countered, wielding his special Flying Thunder God kunai.
As Minato expected, the kunai passed straight through the opponent's body—his physical attacks useless against someone existing in another space-time dimension.
As Minato phased through the enemy, the masked man deactivated his intangibility. The iron loop behind him snapped shut, aiming to trap Minato from behind.
But just before the trap could ensnare him, Minato activated his Body Flicker Technique and escaped.
Though it was only a brief exchange, Minato—renowned as a tactical genius—had already deduced the nature and limitations of the masked man's abilities based on subtle clues from their previous skirmishes. He now had a plan.
Without hesitation, Minato spun around and charged at the masked man once more. At just the right distance, he hurled his Flying Thunder God kunai toward him.
The kunai passed gradually through the masked man's head as he phased again. At the same moment, Minato closed the gap—now less than two feet between them.
In his right hand, Minato formed a Rasengan and thrust it forward. But the masked man was quicker. Just as the kunai completely phased through him, his right hand touched Minato's left shoulder.
"I win," the masked man muttered coldly, deactivating his intangibility and attempting to pull Minato into his space-time dimension using Kamui.
But just as he thought victory was his, Minato's figure vanished in an instant.
He had used the second stage of the Flying Thunder God technique to teleport to the kunai's location—now behind the masked man.
"Damn it!" the masked man cursed.
With a thunderous crash, Minato's Rasengan slammed down onto the unphased enemy, dealing a massive blow. The masked man was smashed into the ground, a crater forming beneath from the sheer force. Debris exploded outward in all directions, obscuring the scene with smoke.
What the masked man didn't realize was that Minato had also planted a Flying Thunder God seal on his back during the strike.
As the smoke cleared, a crater about four or five meters in diameter appeared on the ground. The masked man reappeared nearby on a hill using Body Flicker. Half of his body, struck by the Rasengan, was badly damaged. White, viscous material dripped from beneath his cloak, and his left arm had been torn off completely.
"As expected of the Yellow Flash... truly a—"
Before he could finish, Minato suddenly reappeared in front of him, using the Flying Thunder God mark.
The masked man couldn't react fast enough. Minato's kunai pierced his chest. In that brief moment, the masked man looked into the once-gentle eyes of his teacher—now filled only with unrelenting resolve.
Minato pressed his left palm to the man's chest. Seals began to swirl and spread across his torso.
"Contract Seal," Minato declared.
"You're severing my bond with the Nine-Tails?" the masked man said grimly.
"The Nine-Tails is no longer yours to control," Minato responded coldly.
At that moment, the Sharingan mark vanished from the Nine-Tails' eyes, reverting to its natural fox pupils.
Now freed from the masked man's control, the Nine-Tails grew even more furious. It reared its head and let out a terrifying roar that shook the skies.
"Run! The Nine-Tails is going berserk!"
"We can't hurt it! If this keeps up, we'll all die for nothing!"
Villagers and low-ranking shinobi fled desperately in the opposite direction. The enraged Nine-Tails rampaged harder, demolishing buildings and tearing apart anything in its path. During the chaos, Iruka's parents sacrificed themselves to protect their son.
At that moment, the Third Hokage finally arrived, leading the ANBU Black Ops.
"Summoning Jutsu: Enma, the Monkey King!"
The Third summoned Enma, who transformed into the Nyoi Bo (Adamantine Staff). Seizing the staff, the Third pinpointed a direction close to the village outskirts and roared:
"Extend, Enma!"
The staff shot forward, stretching over a thousand meters, and managed to forcefully push the Nine-Tails out of the village. But the beast's massive size meant that even this maneuver destroyed countless buildings along the way, leaving a trail of ruins behind.
Gazing at the still-raging Nine-Tails, the Third Hokage grew anxious.
"Minato… where are you?"
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