"Whoosh—"
Minato flew back. He'd already settled Naruto and Kushina somewhere safe.
He just wanted to hurry back and figure out why the First and Second Hokage had appeared here. And what exactly was Kai's identity?
But when he arrived, he discovered the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, was already on the scene—and apparently getting "scolded" by Tobirama?!
Minato didn't feel it was his place to interrupt.
He could only quietly approach and listen in silence.
"Monkey, I understand what happened with Kagami. But since the Nine-Tails went berserk, why didn't you allow the Uchiha Clan's shinobi to join the defense? You should know their Sharingan has special effects against Tailed Beasts."
"Well..."
Sarutobi hesitated. This wasn't his decision alone.
It was a collective decision by Konoha's leadership. They all believed it was better not to let the Uchiha intercept the Nine-Tails, in case they secretly controlled it...
But at this moment, given Sarutobi's personality, there was no way he'd throw Danzō and the others under the bus. He could only bite the bullet and say:
"The Nine-Tails was being controlled by a Sharingan. I was worried the Uchiha might—"
Tobirama didn't even let Sarutobi finish his explanation before roaring:
"Are you an idiot?! Even if an Uchiha shinobi did control the Nine-Tails, could the situation possibly get any WORSE?!"
"Uh..."
Sarutobi froze, gradually coming to a realization.
Whether or not it was a Konoha Uchiha controlling the Nine-Tails, letting them intercept it wouldn't have made things worse.
The Nine-Tails was already being controlled anyway.
Hell, they might've even been able to burn through a few hawkish Uchiha shinobi in the process, weakening the Uchiha's overall strength...
How did I overlook this point?!
Dammit, did I just become a complete dumbass?!
Watching the elderly Sarutobi space out, Tobirama's frown deepened with dissatisfaction.
Thirty-four years ago, Sarutobi had been brave as hell—fearless even in the face of certain death.
So how did he become so timid and overcautious now?
How did things turn out like this?
People do tend to have more reservations as they age, and it's easy to lose that initial courage. But as Hokage, shouldn't he at least have that much resolve and boldness?!
"I... made an error in judgment!"
Facing Tobirama, Sarutobi could only honestly admit his mistake.
"But who exactly controlled the Nine-Tails? To control the Nine-Tails, even with a Sharingan, would require incredibly powerful ocular abilities..."
Minato immediately responded.
"A mysterious man wearing a tiger-striped mask. He definitely had a Sharingan."
"And he was incredibly strong and mysterious, possessing a unique space-time ability."
"He killed several of the Third's direct ANBU, penetrated the highest-level classified barrier, knew the Nine-Tails seal would weaken during the Jinchūriki's childbirth, could break the Eight Trigrams Seal and control the Nine-Tails, and wasn't even blocked by the village's grand barrier—he could enter and exit freely..."
This time, without having performed Shiki Fūjin (Reaper Death Seal), Minato could finally share intel about Obito with Konoha.
Hearing this, Sarutobi Hiruzen was shocked.
"Impossible! How could such a shinobi exist?!"
A shinobi who satisfied any two of those conditions would be extremely rare, let alone all of them.
Someone like that was basically impossible!
Just the fact that he could freely pass through Konoha's grand barrier proved he wasn't from another village—this was too bizarre!
"It's possible! As far as I know, there is someone in history who could satisfy all these conditions!"
"Minato, are you saying Uchiha Madara?"
"Yes. He's the only one who fits all the criteria."
"Even more impossible! He—he's long dead! The First and Second Hokage both know..."
Sarutobi refused to believe it. He knew all too well how powerful and terrifying Madara was.
"That's not Madara!"
"If it were Madara, without me here, he wouldn't need to borrow the Nine-Tails' power to destroy the village."
Hashirama spoke up, settling the matter with finality.
No one in the world understood Madara better than he did. With just one glance earlier, Hashirama could definitively say Obito was absolutely not Madara.
If it really were Madara, Minato wouldn't have been able to defeat him...
"Big Brother's right on this point. That person isn't Madara. Most likely, it's some Uchiha shinobi—and probably very young..."
Tobirama was equally certain. He was the second person who understood Madara best.
In some aspects, he understood Madara even better than Big Brother. Just look at all the forbidden jutsu he'd developed specifically to counter the Uchiha—that said it all.
"How could that be? What kind of young Uchiha could possess so much classified information? Have that level of strength?"
Sarutobi was shocked once again.
He even began to suspect—was it Fugaku, the clan head, who'd secretly cultivated this as a hidden trump card?!
"No need to guess. That person is Uchiha Obito."
Kai couldn't be bothered with all this beating around the bush and hiding information. He straight-up exposed Obito's dirty laundry.
He wanted to use the Fourth Hokage Minato to directly unify [Timeline #4: Fourth Hokage Era World]. He wasn't here to wipe Obito's ass.
Hell, just knowing all the intel about the Akatsuki organization—
Minato alone might be able to completely wipe out the current-stage Akatsuki!
"My student Obito?!"
"Yes."
Both Minato and Sarutobi were utterly flabbergasted, internally screaming how is that possible?!
Hashirama and Tobirama, on the other hand, had never met Obito and had no idea who he was.
"Impossible! Obito died in battle!"
"Did you find his body?"
Minato went silent. After the Battle of Kannabi Bridge, they really had gone searching for Obito's body.
But they'd discovered the battlefield had been scorched by raging flames, leaving only an unidentifiable charred corpse. Considering it might have been Rock ninja venting their rage, Konoha hadn't paid it much mind.
They'd just collected the charred remains and buried them as tombstones.
Looking back now, there were definitely places where someone could've tampered with things.
"But that masked man's build was vastly different from Obito's. They don't seem like the same person."
"Besides, Obito has no reason to attack me..."
After Madara's modifications and the enhancement of Hashirama cells, Obito's voice, physique, strength, and appearance had all drastically changed.
Unless Minato was given X-ray vision, how could he possibly recognize Obito?!
Moreover—
Minato simply couldn't imagine that Obito, who'd heroically died in battle, would suddenly turn traitor and attack him and Kushina.
"I've told you the truth. How you verify it is your business. I'm not some treasure chest that answers every question."
Kai replied coldly. Maintaining the aloof image of a god was still necessary.
It would make it easier to keep Minato in line later.
"Understood. I'll find a way to verify it!"
Minato didn't dwell on it. Kai and the others had just saved him and his wife—they had no reason to lie to him.
Since he was still alive, he could slowly investigate the truth later.
…
"Hmph! These evil Uchiha are truly troublesome!"
Tobirama snorted coldly once more, still harboring his dislike for the Uchiha.
Hashirama frowned and barked, "Tobirama!"
At this, Tobirama immediately changed the subject and questioned Minato again:
"Fourth Hokage, where are your ANBU?"
They'd observed everything, yet never once saw any ANBU support for the Fourth Hokage Minato. How did the dignified Fourth Hokage end up like a one-man army?! (TL/N: Literally "bare-rod commander"—Chinese idiom for a leader with no subordinates. Basically calling Minato a lonely boss with no backup.)
"I only recently succeeded to the Hokage position. My direct ANBU are still being assembled..."
Minato scratched his head somewhat sheepishly.
That was one reason, but not the main one. Clearly, the intelligent Minato knew what he could say and what he shouldn't.
Tobirama turned his head and stared deeply at Sarutobi, already guessing what had happened.
There's no way a Hokage takes office without even having a single batch of usable ANBU personnel at his disposal.
Sure, the Third Shinobi World War had just ended here, and all the villages had suffered heavy casualties.
But it shouldn't be to the point where they couldn't even scrape together a few elite ANBU squads.
When intercepting the Nine-Tails earlier, Sarutobi's ANBU shinobi had thrown themselves at it in wave after wave...
"Sarutobi, afterwards, transfer a batch of ANBU shinobi for the Fourth Hokage to use."
"Yes!"
Sarutobi immediately agreed without daring to hesitate.
Forget him—even if Danzō were standing here—
Facing Tobirama, all he could do was wait to get his ass kicked. He wouldn't dare say a single word in protest.
…