Naruto was born successfully, but just as Namikaze Minato prepared to strengthen the seal on Uzumaki Miyuki's abdomen, horrifying screams filled the room. Sarutobi Biwako and the Anbu kunoichi collapsed to the ground, their lives instantly extinguished.
Minato's eyes widened in shock as he stared at their lifeless bodies. "Lady Biwako! Taji!"
Behind their fallen forms stood a masked figure in a black cloak. It was Uchiha Obito, though Minato didn't recognize him. In his right hand, he held the crying newborn Naruto, while his left hand hovered threateningly over the baby.
Using Uchiha Madara's deep voice, Obito threatened, "Fourth Hokage Namikaze Minato! Step away from the Jinchūriki! Or this child's life will end in one minute!"
Minato's face grew serious as he assessed the mysterious intruder. Outside, the sounds of battle continued, yet there was no sign of the protective barrier being breached. How had this masked man penetrated their defenses?
Miyuki's worry for her newborn son caused her chakra to become unstable. The Nine-Tails' chakra began leaking from her body as the seal weakened further.
The Nine-Tails itself was struggling within Miyuki. Since the beginning, it had been trying its best to control how its chakra affected her. But with the seal loosening, there was nothing it could do to prevent its massive chakra from escaping.
Minato glanced at the deteriorating seal pattern on Miyuki's abdomen.
A kunai appeared in Obito's left hand. "Move away from the Jinchūriki now! Don't you care about your son's life?"
"Wait, please!" Minato raised his hands cautiously. "Calm down!"
"You should tell that to yourself, Namikaze Minato," Obito replied coldly. "I am perfectly calm."
Without warning, Obito tossed Naruto into the air.
Miyuki's heart nearly stopped. "Naruto!" she cried out.
The kunai in Obito's hand lunged toward the falling infant.
Minato's eyes flashed with fierce determination. Using the Body Flicker Technique, he caught Naruto before he could fall.
"As expected of the Yellow Flash," Obito sneered. "Even your basic Body Flicker is impressively fast. But what about now?"
Obito formed the tiger hand seal.
Minato heard a sizzling sound and noticed three paper bombs attached to Naruto's swaddling cloth.
"Minato! Naruto!" Miyuki screamed in terror.
Minato remained calm. While carefully removing Naruto's blanket, he used the Flying Thunder God Technique to teleport to an empty safehouse, preventing the explosion from harming Miyuki.
After discarding the booby-trapped swaddling cloth, Minato rushed out of the house with Naruto in his arms.
The explosion destroyed the safehouse behind them.
Minato slid across the ground, shielding Naruto with his body. Looking down at his still crying son, he exhaled with relief. "Thank goodness you're safe, Naruto."
Suddenly, Minato felt a sharp pain in his ankle. Only then did he notice a wooden splinter had pierced through it.
He pulled out the fragment with a grimace, his expression turning grave. The masked man's true target was clearly Miyuki. He had deliberately separated Minato from her.
Using the Flying Thunder God Technique again, Minato returned home and placed the now-sleeping Naruto in his crib.
"You'll be safe here, Naruto," he whispered. "Wait just a moment while I go save your mother."
Meanwhile, Obito had used his Kamui to transport the weakened Miyuki into his pocket dimension, then brought her to a remote forest surrounded by stone pillars.
Releasing her from his dimensional space, Obito bound Miyuki with a sealing technique.
Miyuki, breathing heavily, looked up at him. "What are you... planning to do?"
"Extract the Nine-Tails from your body and destroy Konoha!" Obito declared.
Miyuki's eyes widened in horror. "What did you say?"
"The Flying Thunder God Technique allows teleportation from one marked space to another. That's Minato's specialty. I see he placed his mark within your seal. Usually, you have him by your side to protect you, but now I've separated you from him. And because of childbirth, the Nine-Tails' seal has weakened considerably. I've been waiting for this opportunity for a long time!"
Inside Miyuki's body, the Nine-Tails remembered what Sora had once warned: "Perhaps in two or three years, the current Jinchūriki will face a crisis."
The Nine-Tails immediately understood that this was the crisis Sora had predicted.
"This man is from the Uchiha clan and wants to control me!" the Nine-Tails realized.
It quickly attempted to leave a portion of its chakra within Miyuki's body, but it was too late.
Obito had already ensnared the Nine-Tails with his Sharingan's genjutsu.
Forming hand seals, Obito called out, "Tailed Beast Seal: Release!"
Within Miyuki's body, the chakra chains binding the Nine-Tails began to dissolve. The wooden stakes that had pinned down the beast were pulled out one by one.
The seal on Miyuki's abdomen transformed into a swirling black hole. The Eight Trigrams Seal had completely failed.
"Now, come forth! Nine-Tails!" Obito commanded.
A stream of red chakra emerged from Miyuki's body, forming the massive silhouette of the Nine-Tails. The chakra solidified into physical form as the beast dropped to the ground.
Under Obito's control, the Nine-Tails threw back its head and released a deafening roar.
Miyuki collapsed onto the stone, nearly lifeless.
Obito's eyes gleamed with murderous intent. "Excellent! Now, let's proceed to Konoha."
As he turned to leave, Miyuki summoned her remaining strength to lift herself slightly. "Stop... please stop..."
"The Uzumaki clan truly is remarkable," Obito noted. "Even after having a tailed beast extracted, you still cling to life. I'll give you a proper sendoff. After all..."
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
Obito exhaled a massive fireball aimed directly at Miyuki.
In that moment, Miyuki's left eye transformed, taking on the appearance of the Sora Mangekyō Sharingan.
Just before the fireball could strike her, it dissipated instantly.
Obito's eyes narrowed in surprise. "A transfer seal... However, your ocular technique can't defend against physical attacks. I'll let the Nine-Tails finish you off as its former Jinchūriki."
The Nine-Tails raised its massive claws and swung down toward Miyuki.
At the critical moment, Minato appeared using the Flying Thunder God mark on Miyuki's abdomen. He swept her up and teleported away just before the Nine-Tails' attack connected.
"The Yellow Flash finally arrives," Obito muttered sarcastically. "But he's still too late."
Miyuki's breathing was shallow, her face pale with exhaustion. "Naruto... is Naruto okay?"
Minato nodded reassuringly. "Yes, Naruto is safe. I left him in a secure place."
Miyuki sighed with relief. "That's good... Minato, you must stop that man and the Nine-Tails quickly. They're planning to... destroy Konoha completely..."
Minato gazed at Obito with deadly intent in his eyes. But instead of attacking, he held Miyuki close and vanished once more using the Flying Thunder God Technique.
Obito snorted dismissively. "Running away again... No matter. Come, Nine-Tails. Konoha awaits us."
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