"Clap!"
"Secret Scroll: Clone Body."
Yun brought his palms together.
A puff of smoke bloomed beside him on the riverbed—yet the figure inside it refused to fully take shape, wavering like a mirage.
Yun's mouth curved upward.
As expected, a rule-evolved Secret Scroll had more uses than the simple tooltip of "one extra life."
Of course, an extra life was still the most important function.
From today onward, as long as he and the clone didn't die on the same day, then once midnight passed—and the scroll refreshed—the revival would trigger.
And right now…
Inside the smoke on the riverbed, a tall youth gradually emerged—around one meter eighty. Red hair, an oddly "three-dimensional" Yahiko-like face, just slightly off.
…
A red-haired Yahiko?
Uzumaki Yahiko?
No.
The clone's name was—
Kū.
It felt like running two minds at once. In the very next moment, Kū moved—gliding over the riverbed and heading off into the distance.
Yun surfaced and climbed onto the bank.
With his current status—an unknown nobody—no one should be spending real effort watching him. Releasing a clone at the riverbed was simply "better than nothing."
Still…
White Zetsu were everywhere in this world.
And the Third Hokage had a habit of peeking into places he shouldn't when he had nothing better to do.
Hopefully there wouldn't be any "coincidences."
Yun had already left Flying Thunder God formulas in hidden corners at both the Nara clan grounds and the Tatsumi shelter.
If the Nine-Tails still got released tonight—even if the probability was low—he needed contingencies.
By the time he returned home from the back mountain, it was already noon.
His mother and Izumi were back too, and the family headed to the market together, laughing and chatting as if nothing in the world was wrong.
…
Night fell.
Under the lantern glow, Konoha was still noisy and alive.
On the Hokage Rock, Kū narrowed his eyes.
A figure flickered in the distance, passing like a distortion—yet the barrier set up long in advance seemed to do absolutely nothing to stop him.
Because of the risk of a Nine-Tails rampage during childbirth, Kushina's delivery had been moved outside the village—to a mountain cave. Barriers were layered over the area to prevent accidents.
Even so, a thread of the Nine-Tails' chakra still managed to seep through, faintly staining the air.
"So they're extracting the Nine-Tails' chakra in advance, sealing it, then releasing it slowly with fūinjutsu?"
Kū murmured, chin propped on his hand.
"Then the real delivery site must have its sealing strengthened even further. Not a trace of chakra leaking…"
He clicked his tongue softly.
"Impressive."
Kū sat cross-legged, waiting.
If things got loud, he'd go stir trouble.
If things stayed quiet… he'd leave a formula behind and go back to sleep.
…
"Ahhh—!"
"It hurts!"
"Minato! Minato—!"
Inside the cave, Kushina's screams echoed off stone.
Minato stood by her side, gripping her hand, his face drawn with worry.
Hidden in the shadows, Kakashi watched in a daze.
Why did two men acting out a "husband-and-wife" routine look so natural?
Two award-winning actors.
Ten minutes later, Shisui—currently transformed into Kushina on the bed—had nearly gone hoarse from all the screaming.
And still… the enemy hadn't appeared.
Time was running out.
Once the baby was truly born at the real delivery site, the Nine-Tails' chakra surge would be impossible to fully conceal.
At that moment, the enemy would definitely realize this cave was a decoy.
Wait—
Shisui's eyes sharpened.
That's exactly it.
Because the seal weakens during childbirth and the Nine-Tails' chakra spikes…
the enemy was waiting for that exact moment.
So—
Shisui and Minato exchanged a glance over the "bed."
Both were smart.
Both understood instantly.
And at that very same time…
Obito, slipping inside through intangibility, was starting to get irritated.
The Nine-Tails' chakra had been leaking for a while now.
Why wasn't the brat out yet?
Uzumaki sealing techniques were famous across the shinobi world. The Uzumaki bloodline was the best possible vessel for a tailed beast.
And once the baby was born, Minato would have another restraint—a newborn with no ability to resist.
"Born! She's delivered!"
Biwa—Fugaku in transformation—cried out with the two female medic-nin.
But strangely—
there was no baby's cry.
Minato snapped, voice full of panic. "Why isn't he crying? What's wrong with Naruto?"
Fugaku reacted smoothly, on instinct. "You have to give him a couple taps. Don't worry."
He lifted the baby upside down and flicked the soles of the newborn's feet.
"If he swallowed amniotic fluid, this helps him cough it out."
Minato looked grateful.
On the bed, Shisui knew his part was basically done. If he screamed any more, his throat would be ruined.
Then—
he came.
A silent shadow appeared at Fugaku's side, a kunai flashing straight for the throat.
"Shhk!"
Fugaku used Body Flicker to evade—eyes wide with tension.
But in that split second of movement, the baby bundle was snatched away.
The masked man held it in one hand, a kunai in the other.
"I didn't expect the Third Hokage's wife to have such fast shunshin," he said mockingly.
"But now…"
He lifted the baby bundle.
And stabbed down.
Inside the mask, Obito's Mangekyō writhed with madness as he stared at the man who had once been his teacher.
Experience the pain of losing love, Sensei.
This time… you're late again.
"PFF—!"
Smoke erupted.
The "baby" vanished.
In its place lay a single kunai.
Its dark blade reflected the masked man's own image—like a sneer.
A trap?
How—
For a heartbeat, Obito froze, then snapped his gaze toward Minato.
"How did you know?"
Minato's eyes were heavy as he faced his former student.
He didn't meet the Sharingan directly—his wariness was clear—but when his gaze flicked to the bandaged arm, something like pity surfaced.
"I have many things I want to ask you," Minato said quietly.
"But I doubt you'll answer honestly."
"Some things are my responsibility."
"So… I'll capture you first. Then we'll talk."
Flying Thunder God ignited.
The formulas already set inside the cave made Minato feel omnipresent—appearing from any angle, any direction.
"Shhk!"
A kunai passed through Obito's head as if through mist.
Obito didn't even flinch. He looked amused.
"What makes you think…"
"…you can catch me?"
Minato's arm had just phased through—
and in that instant Obito became solid, twisting around and driving a kunai down without hesitation.
"Shhk!"
Minato vanished again, reappearing to the side.
His heart steadied.
The shadow's intel was correct.
Obito tilted his head slightly, then looked at Shisui still lying on the bed.
"If the baby's fake…"
"…then the Nine-Tails jinchūriki must be fake too."
He laughed.
"You're still playing dead. Do you think I'm stupid enough to touch you?"
Shisui sat up awkwardly, scratching his head.
"I didn't think you were stupid," he said honestly. "It's just… that performance a minute ago was pure social death. I needed a second to recover."
Obito snorted. "It was convincing."
"If the Fourth assigned you here, you must be decent."
He glanced at the "Kushina" on the bed.
"Third?"
"Sorry, Uchiha-senpai," Shisui said cheerfully, "you guessed wrong."
And then—
"PFF—!"
Smoke dispersed as the transformation released.
A pair of Sharingan emerged, sharp as crosshairs in the fog.
Kotoamatsukami.
Before Obito could react, before he could even raise a defense—
the "seed" had already been planted.