Outside Konoha Village – The Birth Cave
A warm glow from the candles flickered against the rock walls as Uzumaki Kushina endured the pain of childbirth. Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage, stood nearby, tense but focused. In his arms was a newborn—Naruto Uzumaki.
But the joy of the moment was cut short. Without warning, a masked man in a black cloak—Uchiha Obito, under the guise of Madara—appeared from the shadows. His voice was low and calm, yet laced with menace.
"Step away from the Jinchūriki," the masked man said coldly, holding a kunai to baby Naruto's head. "Or your son dies."
Minato's body tensed. In an instant, his mind calculated dozens of strategies.
'How did he get past the barrier team? This cave is surrounded by Uzumaki seals—only someone with intimate knowledge of our techniques... or space-time ninjutsu could breach it.'
Behind him, Kushina gasped. Her seal, weakened from childbirth, glowed ominously. Black ink-like markings spread across her abdomen—the containment of the Nine-Tails was crumbling.
"Minato…!" Kushina's voice cracked with pain.
Minato narrowed his eyes. He had no time to hesitate.
Suddenly, the masked man tossed Naruto into the air. Minato, reacting instantly, vanished in a golden flash—Flying Thunder God Technique—and caught Naruto mid-air.
But—
Boom!
A hidden explosive tag embedded in Naruto's swaddling ignited. Just as the explosion erupted, Minato used another Flying Thunder God mark, teleporting outside the cave. Flames roared behind him, but both he and Naruto survived.
Minato hit the dirt hard, shielding his child. He checked Naruto—crying, but unharmed.
"Thank goodness…"
But when Minato looked up again, his blood ran cold.
"He separated us…"
He had been forced away from Kushina—just as the masked man planned.
Inside the Cave – Kushina's Captivity
Bound to the stone pillars by chains of sealing formulae, Kushina's chakra was flickering violently. In front of her stood the masked man.
"I've waited a long time for this moment," Obito said quietly. "Minato left his mark on your seal, but with him gone, I can finish this."
Kushina bit her lip. "Who… are you?!"
"Just a ghost of the Uchiha," he replied. His Mangekyō Sharingan spun slowly.
With a single glance, Obito activated the ancient Uchiha Genjutsu that enslaved tailed beasts. Kushina's mind was invaded. In her mental space, the massive Nine-Tailed Fox snarled within its cage.
"You… again?" the beast growled, sensing the Uchiha's chakra.
Obito gave no reply. His Sharingan pierced through the fox's will.
Chains shattered. The sealing formula snapped.
Outside, a vortex of red chakra exploded outward as Kurama, the Nine-Tails, erupted from Kushina's body with a roar that split the night sky.
Minato returned to the destroyed cave too late—the Nine-Tails was already gone. He immediately tracked the masked man, sensing his chakra and Flying Thunder God mark.
The two clashed in a field near Konoha. Minato, calm and precise, faced Obito's Kamui—a space-time jutsu that allowed him to become intangible. But in a brilliant maneuver, Minato used a Flying Thunder God kunai marked earlier to bypass Obito's intangibility and strike him with a Rasengan, severing his connection to the Nine-Tails.
"You're… not Madara," Minato said as Obito's mask cracked.
Obito vanished into a vortex, defeated but not destroyed.
Attack on Konoha Begins
Kurama appeared within Konoha's walls and began its rampage.
Konoha's elite—including Sarutobi Hiruzen, despite being retired—rallied to defend the village. Hyuga Hiashi, as clan head, helped coordinate the defense but did not personally fight Obito, nor did any Hyuga clan members.
The Uchiha clan, despite being in charge of the police, were deliberately excluded from the front lines—a key plot point later tied to their resentment.
Minato's Final Sacrifice
Minato returned to Kushina and Naruto. Together, Minato and Kushina decided to reseal the Nine-Tails—half into Minato, half into Naruto—using the Dead Demon Consuming Seal.
Kushina begged to use the last of her life to protect Naruto. Both parents died that night, entrusting their child to the future.