Facing Obito, who stood still, unable to move, yet still determined.
Minato was still in doubt. Should he kill or not that young man who had once been his student in that body?
The life of the young man before him could be considered quite cruel. From what Minato remembered, Obito only had him — someone Minato believed had already died.
He lost his beloved. A sad story, but in a world of war, something unfortunately common. That did not lessen, however, the suffering of that young man.
Turning his gaze to his kunai, Minato knew he needed to decide: kill him, thus avoiding many problems. Minato knew Obito was not the true problem — at least not completely —, but his death would certainly delay Black Zetsu's plans.
Or he could imprison him, try to make Obito abandon that life. But would it be easy? Could he do it?
What would Minato do? Kill his student or try to make him return to who he was before — or at least prevent him from continuing to try to kill him?
"Why am I thinking about this? He's not here anymore. I'm the one who needs to make the decisions." Minato tightened his grip on the kunai as he thought. There was a chance Obito no longer wanted to kill him or harm others.
However, Minato would have to convince him, something he didn't think he could manage. Everything he had said before, Obito didn't even seem to have considered; he had only laughed and exposed his distorted view of the world.
Could he change him like Naruto would in the future? Maybe. But Minato didn't know how to make the speech Naruto would, nor did he remember what Naruto had said to Obito, the Ten-Tails' jinchūriki, in the Fourth War, to make him switch sides.
Minato could imprison Obito for many years and try to convince him to change, or wait for Naruto to grow up — but would that Naruto have the same talk-no-jutsu ability as in the anime?
Minato didn't know, and he also wasn't comfortable betting on something so uncertain.
Taking one last deep breath, his kunai pierced Obito's chest. Blood flowed, dripping into his hand. Minato looked up, and before he could think of anything, he felt his body weaken.
His mind went blank; nothing else passed through it. His chakra vanished, while his vision began to tremble. Minato felt a searing pain.
Trying to remain standing, he managed only for a few seconds. He dropped to his knees on the ground, using his hands to keep from falling face-first.
Vrom!
Minato thought he had gone insane. He had the impression of hearing the sound of a car, but that couldn't be happening. He even laughed at himself; perhaps the lack of chakra was causing hallucinations.
Or maybe it was blood loss. He had already been using ice to try to stop the wound, but who knew?
He blinked several times, trying to stay awake. On the last blink, he heard the sounds of many cars passing, while tall buildings appeared beneath a constant rain. The night in the city was beautiful, with the lights illuminating everything around.
Raindrops ran down Minato's face and fell onto the asphalt. Looking to the side, he saw several people gathered, watching something on the ground.
Forcing his body, Minato managed to stand and began walking toward what the people were observing. With each step, his heart tightened more.
"So familiar… I've been here before." Minato murmured, looking at the cloudy sky, the lights beginning to blur in his vision.
"So heavy… my body is slow…"
Dragging his feet through the water on the asphalt, Minato drew closer and closer to the center of the crowd.
"Don't fall asleep! The ambulance is on the way!"
A female voice said, muffled by the sound of the rain.
"I've heard that voice before…"
Minato was getting closer. His gaze returned to the city lights.
"They look so beautiful tonight… different from how they usually do."
It was the last comment Minato made. Finally, he saw what everyone was watching.
On the ground lay a young man, his eyes unfocused, staring at the dark sky and the bright lights, struggling to stay alive.
A faint groan escaped that young man's throat, as if he were trying to say something.
"What is happening…? Was I put under a genjutsu? Was there someone else? Did Black Zetsu do something? I have to get out of here!"
Minato thought, beginning to grow agitated, imagining countless possibilities.
"Whoever did this, I have to leave!"
Minato pinched himself, but nothing happened. He didn't plan on giving up, so he pinched his wounded arm. A sharp, thin pain ran through his body, but even so, he didn't leave that place.
"I wanted… to see her… at least… one last time…" the young man murmured, his voice failing.
"What?!"
Minato turned his attention back to the young man, who took his final breath.
"What did he say? Did you hear it?" one man asked another.
"No, he spoke too quietly. What a shame… the young man didn't make it." the other replied, while checking if he was still alive.
"I believe he didn't want to die." commented the first man, making the other laugh.
"Who wants to die? He must have had important things to him… things he now won't be able to do."
"I… had… no! I still have! I can't die!"
That whole world — or whatever Minato was seeing — collapsed.
Minato was back. He was standing and began to walk. He took a few steps before his vision blurred again.
"In the end, I'll have the same fate I had… And in this life, will I not be able to live long enough to protect and stay with the people I love?"
They were Minato's last thoughts, as his vision was swallowed by darkness.
Before being taken completely, he saw strands of red hair.
"Damn… I really fell in love."