On the Verge of Breaking Out
Far from Konoha, Kakuzu and Kisame Hoshigaki were growing increasingly frustrated.
They knew full well the opponent before them was only Chi Yu's Shadow Clone, yet they could not deal with it effectively.
After all, this clone carried half of Chi Yu's chakra and could freely use his ninjutsu.
The Shadow Clone was currently exchanging techniques with both of them at once.
Ordinarily, Kakuzu and Kisame could coordinate to overwhelm a clone. But this one was different—Chi Yu's Shadow Clone also wielded Observation Haki, predicting their movements.
This made it anything but simple.
Neither held the illusion they could defeat Chi Yu himself. His technique, Thunderclap and Flash – Godspeed, still lingered in their memories, sending shivers down their spines.
But being unable to handle even his clone was humiliating.
"How much chakra does this guy have?" Kisame thought grimly, watching the clone unleash one jutsu after another. "A Shadow Clone shouldn't be able to keep fighting endlessly like this…"
The two couldn't even close the distance.
---
Konoha
Within the village, under Hiruzen Sarutobi's command, shinobi rushed to evacuate civilians and organize a counterattack against the rampaging Nine-Tails.
Chi Yu, watching from a distance, couldn't help but sneer.
"Shuriken and kunai against the Nine-Tails? Are these people joking? How do such weaklings even qualify as ninja? The standards for shinobi are pathetically low."
Several leaf-nin leapt bravely toward the massive beast, pelting it with kunai and shuriken laced with explosive tags.
The detonations popped against the Nine-Tails' enormous body, barely leaving scorch marks. The fox merely roared, sending a shockwave that blasted the attackers away.
Those struck by its swipes fell like broken dolls—bones shattered, lives hanging by a thread.
Chi Yu's eyes narrowed as he turned toward the Hokage Rock.
"He's finally here."
On the stone visage of his own monument, Minato Namikaze appeared.
Chi Yu smirked faintly. He had saved Miyuki Uzumaki from immediate death when the Nine-Tails first broke free, but her ordeal was far from over.
Minato's expression hardened as he looked down at the beast tearing through his village.
"Bearing the name of Hokage… protecting my family and this village… that is my duty. I won't let you rampage any further!"
The Nine-Tails turned its malevolent gaze on him, snarling.
Minato muttered, "So, it's noticed me…"
The fox's maw opened wide, gathering a massive Tailed Beast Ball.
Quickly weaving hand seals, Minato declared:
"You won't destroy this place!"
The black sphere launched toward him, gouging a deep trench across the ground.
Just as the attack was about to detonate, it froze midair—bound within an intricate sealing formula.
Minato hurled a marked kunai.
"Flying Thunder God: Guiding Thunder!"
In an instant, the sphere vanished, reappearing miles outside Konoha—where it detonated with apocalyptic force, flattening a distant mountain.
The Fourth Hokage exhaled. A miscalculation of location could have devastated the village itself.
From below, Hiruzen and the others realized who had diverted the blast.
But before Minato could even consider regrouping, a hand reached silently from behind him.
Sensing danger, Minato whipped his kunai backward—only for the blade to pass harmlessly through his attacker's head. His wrist was caught instead.
A cold voice spoke:
"Your opponent is me… and this ends here."
Uchiha Obito had activated Kamui, intent on dragging Minato into the void of his space-time dimension.
But Minato vanished in a flash, reappearing at another of his markers.
Behind the mask, Obito scowled.
"He slipped away… His speed is troublesome. Next time, I'll absorb him the moment I touch him."
Minato reappeared near the small hut where he had earlier hidden Naruto. His mind raced.
"My attacks phase through him… but he can also materialize at will, and tries to suck me into another dimension. What kind of ninjutsu is this?"
The air distorted again. Obito emerged.
"Where do you think you're running, Minato Namikaze?"
Minato's gaze sharpened. This ability explained how the enemy had bypassed Konoha's barrier, broken the seal at the moment of childbirth, and subdued the Nine-Tails.
Only one person had ever wielded such overwhelming power.
"Madara Uchiha? No… that's impossible. He's long been dead."
Obito sneered.
"Who can say? Perhaps not."
Minato snapped coldly:
"Who you are doesn't matter. Why target Konoha?"
Obito answered in an eerie tone:
"Whim. Or perhaps… the start of a plan. For both war and peace."
Chains materialized in his hand, clinking against the ground.
Minato's body tensed. This opponent wasn't just any intruder. He controlled the Nine-Tails, possessed space-time ninjutsu beyond even the Flying Thunder God, and held dangerous ambitions.
If Minato retreated to the village, Obito would follow, worsening the chaos. Hiruzen would have to defend Konoha. Minato would handle this threat here.
Obito fastened the shackles onto his arms, voice icy:
"Now that the Nine-Tails is free… you have no hope."
The two charged.
Master and former student—destined to clash in the shadows of Konoha's darkest night.
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