"Who are you?!" Minato Namikaze's question was ice-cold.
The masked man remained motionless. Seeing this, the Anbu did not press their attack, maintaining their positions around Kushina.
"What are you standing around for? Get Kushina out of here!" Tsunade barked. She handed the still-crying Naruto to a nearby medical ninja and glared at the team. Led by Shizune, the medical ninjas quickly gathered the weak and emotionally overwhelmed Kushina, escorting her out of the room.
Thanks to her husband's prior warnings and the chilling look in the intruder's eyes, Kushina had already guessed the truth: the man behind the mask was indeed Obito.
Backed into a corner by Tsunade and Minato, Obito didn't seem to care that his target was slipping away. Instead, he stared grimly at the Fourth Hokage and the Sannin. Compared to a weakened Kushina, these two were far more dangerous threats.
Minato looked at Obito, his expression a complex web of emotions. "I considered the possibility that it might be you today, but I never truly believed you would actually come," Minato said, a hint of genuine pain in his voice.
In truth, ever since the intruder had scouted the village, Minato knew deep down that things had reached a point of no return. But actually having to face his own student with intent to kill left him feeling incredibly heavy.
Tsunade shed her restrictive white lab coat, revealing her shinobi attire underneath. She spoke with cool indifference: "Stop the nonsense. Since he chose to strike, there's no turning back. Isn't that right, Obito Uchiha, Rogue Ninja of Konoha?"
Facing his former teacher and Tsunade, Obito remained silent. He reached out and produced a heavy iron chain. There was nothing left to say to Minato; his only focus now was transforming this hellish reality into a perfect world.
A few moments later, Tsunade swung a fist that connected with the rock wall, leaving a massive, jagged crater. She frowned and withdrew her hand in frustration; Obito, who had been entangled with them for three minutes, had already vanished without a trace.
Throughout the skirmish, Obito had used his Kamui to phase through every attack, taking no substantial damage before making a composed retreat.
Minato stepped forward and picked up a white substance from the ground, letting out a heavy sigh. The fragment was covered in a special seal—the one he had managed to place on Obito when his Rasengan seemingly connected. However, before he could use the mark to track him, the white material had sloughed off Obito's body.
That white "outer shell" was a protective device Obito used specifically to counter the Flying Raijin's marking system.
Minato looked at the white scrap in his hand and shook his head. "That man's eyes are far too bizarre. Catching him will be incredibly difficult." He knew that unless Kakashi assisted, combining their shared ocular link might be the only way to find an opening.
Watching the entire scene unfold through the surveillance monitors, Hiruko hummed thoughtfully. If I can capture Obito and study the Kamui dimension thoroughly, many projects could finally move forward.
Spatial theory was vast. Theoretically, the Flying Raijin was the natural counter to the Mangekyo, but for technology to suppress Kamui, one would need to master space as a foundation—perhaps even develop artificial spatial tech. Hiruko's eyes glowed with greed as he stared at the screen; those eyes were a power he desperately coveted.
As they walked out of the cave, Tsunade asked, "He fought us for exactly three minutes. Is it possible his ability has a limit?"
"This is the second time," Minato noted. "The last encounter also lasted just over three minutes before things changed."
There had been two major clashes between Obito and Konoha now: the infiltration to scout the Nine-Tails and this assassination attempt. Both times, he withdrew after three minutes. This suggested a specific constraint—perhaps a time limit on his intangibility or a massive chakra drain.
"It's possible," Minato nodded. "Maintaining the Mangekyo Sharingan is a heavy burden for any Uchiha. Even with First Hokage cells, he can't squander chakra indefinitely."
Tsunade followed up, "Do you think three minutes is his absolute limit, or was he just playing it safe?"
Minato pondered for a moment. "It depends on whether he was pushed to the brink last time. He was certainly beaten half to death in our previous fight. But he's not as naive as he used to be. The old Obito couldn't hide his limits, but this version... nothing is certain."
Talking, the two emerged from the cave. They were met by twenty Anbu members and Jiraiya, who was currently in Sage Mode, standing guard over Kushina and Naruto. Seeing Minato and Tsunade emerge, the tension in the air finally broke.
Beside Jiraiya, Shizune's shoulders slumped in relief. She rushed to Tsunade's side, delighted to see her master uninjured.
Tsunade laughed heartily. "Everything is fine! You really should have more faith in my strength." She was perfectly confident in her own prowess.
Minato stood behind her, watching Kushina hold Naruto, and felt a wave of warmth. Meanwhile, Hiruko watched from a distance, lamenting that he hadn't even had the chance to intervene. He realized his speed was still lagging compared to these top-tier shinobi. I really need to find a way to get my hands on the Flying Raijin, he mused.
Elsewhere, Obito glanced at the Black and White Zetsu out of the corner of his eye, his expression unreadable. His clash with Minato and Tsunade wasn't just to test them; it was to feed them false information about his limits. He didn't trust the Zetsu; he wouldn't even tell them exactly how long he could maintain his intangibility. Whether Black or White, they were Madara's creatures, not his.
"Where is Kakashi right now?" Obito asked, his tone shifting.
"I need more power," a cold light flashed in his eye. "One Mangekyo isn't enough. I need the pair. I will control the coming era with absolute strength."
He decided to have White Zetsu begin tracking Kakashi immediately. That second eye was the key to achieving Double Kamui. If he were to truly dominate the shinobi world, it had to start there.
Kakashi, of course, had no idea his old friend was coming for him.
The day after Obito's intrusion, the winds of the Fourth Shinobi World War began to howl. The clouds of war were gathering over the entire world. Mobilization had begun, and everyone was frantically stockpiling supplies.
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