"A space-time ninjutsu that places the user in a different dimension and manifests them externally as a projection."
"And the immense ocular power of the Mangekyō Sharingan can clearly see through—and even replicate—all my jutsu and attack movements, except for the Flying Thunder God."
Minato Namikaze stared solemnly at the Uchiha Obito standing before him. Though a storm of fury surged within, his sharp battle instincts remained razor-sharp and undisturbed.
With Kamui, Obito was inherently invincible in direct combat.
Unless it was a genjutsu as overwhelming as Uchiha Shisui's Kotoamatsukami, almost no one could pin down this evasive master.
But tonight, Obito wasn't here to hide in Kamui dimension forever. Driven by his bottomless hatred, he would strike. He had to strike—to kill Minato Namikaze and relieve even a fraction of that seething wrath inside.
Their clash happened in a flash of lightning. Kamui's intangibility was practically a cheat, but Minato remained calm. He hurled a kunai inscribed with his Flying Thunder God formula.
A black blur ripped through the night sky, piercing Obito's forehead—yet it caused no damage, as if it had struck nothing but air.
"Die…"
Obito's lone red eye gleamed with excitement. As Minato's attack missed, Obito countered in a blink, reaching for Minato's sleeve with his hand, almost touching the fabric.
It all happened in a split second.
Just as Obito thought he had seized an incredible timing, Minato Namikaze suddenly vanished from before him.
The next instant, a surge of chakra erupted behind him—just like at Higashimatsuyama. Utilizing the Flying Thunder God's unmatched mobility, Minato appeared at his rear, a Rasengan spinning in his hand, and struck without hesitation.
I predicted the timing of the timing you thought you predicted!
Boom!
But contrary to expectation, there was no scene of Obito's body being smashed into the ground like at Higashimatsuyama. His form was still intangible!
"Hmph."
A sneer curled behind Obito's mask.
The scene at Higashimatsuyama—where his intangibility had been completely outplayed by the Flying Thunder God—seemed to replay before Obito's eyes. But this time, the Obito of the present seized that moment and cast aside the self from two years ago.
I'm no longer the me from two years ago, Sensei!
Still intangible, Obito watched as Minato's Rasengan hit nothing but the ground.
And in that split second, Obito formed a wooden spear in his palm, reversed his grip, and thrust viciously toward Minato's back.
"Die, Minato Namikaze!"
But again, the expected image of Minato being impaled did not appear. Just as Obito's wooden spear came down, Minato vanished like a ghost, reappearing just behind and to Obito's side, his gaze icy cold.
Shlick!
A golden flash pierced through Obito's right chest—his eye widened in disbelief.
Impossible!
"Flying Thunder God wasn't my invention—it was created by the Second Hokage," Minato said coldly. "In his scrolls, there's a special technique called the Flying Thunder God Slash. I fused it with my own dual-layer Flying Thunder God, and created this move."
"Swift Wind Instant Kill Black Arrow: Second Form!"
I predicted your prediction of my prediction's prediction. The ultimate form of timing.
Minato Namikaze, the Master of Timing—no more nesting dolls!
Half of Obito's right side was nearly severed; his right arm detached completely. The shredded black cloak revealed a gaping wound in his chest. But instead of blood, thick white goo—like rubber—oozed from it.
And the broken parts were rapidly regenerating before Minato's eyes.
He almost forgot—this bastard's a bio-modified freak!
"You really are the Yellow Flash," Obito's voice was low and menacing. His Sharingan glared at Minato. Thanks to the regenerative power of White Zetsu and Tobi, his wounds began closing at terrifying speed.
Obito quickly formed hand seals. The ground around him churned violently, as if a monstrous creature were about to erupt.
If he couldn't win with space-time ninjutsu, then—
Try ninjutsu instead!
You mastered the Second Hokage's Flying Thunder God to perfection… Let's see how you handle the First Hokage's Wood Release!
"Wood Style: Deep Forest Emergence!"
Massive trees burst from the ground, spiraling upward and surging toward Minato.
The battle at Higashimatsuyama had shown Obito the weakness of Flying Thunder God.
Although the Flying Thunder God Jutsu was powerful, its point-to-point space-time mobility combined with Minato Namikaze's sharp reflexes made him one of the top-tier ninja in the Shinobi World. However, at Higashimatsuyama, when faced with Yuki Yoru's overwhelming Ice Style, even Minato found himself at a disadvantage.
Large-scale, restrictive AOE techniques could effectively limit Minato Namikaze's movement. If Yuki Yoru's Ice Style could do it, then his Wood Style could certainly do the same.
"Die, Minato Namika—Ugh!"
A kunai stabbed into his body.
Obito's voice was cut short. He looked down in shock. Minato stood before him, kunai buried deep—not in the Zetsu-fused right side…
…but in his left.
The heart.
Blood spilled uncontrollably from his mouth, hidden by the mask. But the weakening surge through his body filled him with dread.
"So that moment earlier… you marked me with Flying Thunder God?"
Obito instantly realized the truth.
But it was too late.
A sharp pain tore through his chest—and from the point where the kunai had struck, sealing marks flared outward in all directions.
Sealing jutsu!
Obito's heart sank. In the instant the seal activated, his connection to the Nine-Tails was severed.
"Contract Seal…"
Obito nearly ground his teeth to dust. His voice was thick with fury and despair.
He had come so far, planned every step meticulously—and still lost?!
"Now the Nine-Tails is no longer yours to control."
With the contract seal complete, Minato coldly made hand seals again.
When dealing with space-time users, aside from countering with similar jutsu, the best strategy…
Is sealing!
Thanks to his Uzumaki wife, Minato had learned sealing arts to an elite level. He could seal even chakra constructs like the Ryūmyaku—so sealing Obito was no problem.
At this crucial moment, a dazed Obito couldn't react in time—but Tobi seized control of Obito's body and shoved him out of Minato's sealing range.
"That was close!"
Obito, finally snapping back, quickly retreated and activated Kamui, dodging all follow-up attacks.
His internal injuries were severe, the Nine-Tails' control gone.
This mission was a total failure!
Weakened to the core, with his heart pierced—if not for White Zetsu and Tobi, he'd be dead by now.
Obito clenched his fists, eyes burning. Tobi whispered beside him:
"Withdraw for now. Even without your control, the Nine-Tails will continue destroying Konoha."
"There will be a next time. But for now, focus on your injuries."
"…Bastard…"
Obito's Mangekyō Sharingan glowed crimson as he stared hatefully at Minato. He took a long breath, said nothing more, and vanished into Kamui.
Minato's gaze remained cold as he watched Obito retreat. He didn't pursue—he'd already tried, but when Obito wasn't attacking, he couldn't be touched.
And now, the priority was…
The Nine-Tails.
Minato vanished again in a flash. Behind the treetops, two figures silently watched the whole battle.
Though they stood so close to the battlefield, neither Minato nor Obito sensed them.
Under the cold moonlight, even though both were wearing highly conspicuous white haori, their figures seemed to have completely merged with the surrounding environment.
"Well, that master-student duel was something, huh?" Yoru said, turning to Shisui. "If it were you facing Minato and Obito, what odds would you give yourself?"
"Seventy-thirty," Shisui said softly. "Three minutes. Obito dies seven times. As for Minato… with his Flying Thunder God and reflexes, I might not catch him in time."
"…Fair enough."
Obito's Kamui meant nothing against Shisui's Rinnegan and ultimate genjutsu.
He had long since shown his dominance on the battlefield of Amegakure. Without Tobi, Obito would already have been fertilizer.
"Shinigami research, the evolution of Hueco Mundo, the birth of Quincy, and Kirigakure's internal politics…" Shisui looked at Yoru curiously. "You didn't come all the way to Konoha just to see this fight, did you?"
"Of course not. That was just the opening act."
Yoru shrugged. "The one I'm about to meet—that's the real deal."
"…An enemy?"
"Kind of. More like a fellow professional."
A fellow death god…
Shisui's pupils shrank beneath his mask. "You mean—the Shinigami?"
"Yep, that guy."
The Naruto world had its own afterlife, the Pure Land. It also had its own Shinigami. But unlike Bleach's Shinigami, Naruto's Shinigami seemed more like an AI than a true deity.
It wasn't as powerful as Hagoromo Otsutsuki, the Sage of Six Paths, who watched from the Pure Land.
Nevertheless, Yoru was still prepared to make contact with it. After all, they were peers in a sense—and everything he had done so far, from his Shinigami transformation to his research into Hollows and Quincy, was, in a way, encroaching on that entity's domain.
Time to introduce himself. Test its strength.
And maybe…
See if this Shinigami could connect him to the Sage of Six Paths.
"Summoning a Shinigami isn't easy. As far as I know, only the Reaper Death Seal can do that," Shisui said gravely. "You think someone's going to use it?"
"Why not? How else can they stop the Nine-Tails?"
"That fox may be free of Obito's control, but it's never been on friendly terms with Konoha. You could say they're mortal enemies," Yoru replied, eyes narrowing.
They both watched the chaos unfolding in Konoha, where the raging Nine-Tails battled wave after wave of shinobi.
"From the moment Uchiha Madara enslaved it, the Nine-Tails has been chained, controlled, and used like a battery by Jinchūriki… That's been its reality for decades. Now that it's free, what do you think it'll do to a weakened Konoha?"
"…Fair point. But even if Hiruzen dies, it won't change much."
"Ehehe… Don't be so sure about that
...
Inside Konoha.
Hiruzen Sarutobi and others were still relentlessly attacking the Nine-Tails. Though the beast had broken free from Obito's control, just as Yuki Yoru had predicted, the hatred it held toward Konoha—built from decades of being enslaved, controlled, and sealed—had already reached its boiling point.
Now, freed from all bindings, the Nine-Tails was unleashing its rage in full.
The battle only intensified. The scale of destruction widened with every blow.
The only silver lining was that, aside from the shelter near the Hokage Rock, nearly the entire village had already been devastated by the Nine-Tails. No matter how fierce the battle got now, there wasn't much left to destroy.
"This distance is too far—I can't perform the Reaper Death Seal like this… Where the hell is the Fourth?!"
Hiruzen flipped mid-air, narrowly dodging a tail swipe, eyes scanning the battlefield while cursing under his breath.
"You all—intensify your attacks! Draw the Nine-Tails' attention! Buy me enough time to prepare the jutsu!"
His order was swift, and the ANBU at his side instantly obeyed, attacking from multiple angles.
To draw the Nine-Tails' attention now was practically a death sentence.
Yet not one shinobi hesitated.
Even knowing they would die—they charged forward!
The Nine-Tails fought with cunning and brutality. Its intelligence was no less than a human's, and its battle instincts far surpassed any ninja.
Still, it thought:
Time for me to use my big brain and big power.
"ROAAAR!!"
One paw swiped away a squad of elite ANBU. Its tails swept sideways, flinging Hiruzen—along with Enma in staff form—into the air.
Then, the greatest of all Tailed Beasts lifted its head, pure destructive chakra surging in its maw.
A massive black sphere of chakra—the Tailed Beast Bomb—formed and expanded, radiating a paralyzing pressure.
ROOOAAAR!
With a furious roar, the Nine-Tails gathered the Tailed Beast Bomb in its mouth. The next moment, that terrifying energy was unleashed, obliterating everything in its path.
"Damn it!!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi's face was filled with despair. He had lost count of how many times he had felt this today.
Countless shinobi instinctively shut their eyes, awaiting the end. In their minds, death was already certain.
But the expected pain never came.
The monstrous Tailed Beast Bomb—and the Nine-Tails—vanished.
"…A… Again? We dodged death again?"
Hiruzen stared, wide-eyed, at the sky that still pulsed with oppressive chakra—but was now eerily empty.
His mind was a tangled storm of relief and dread.
"…Minato… I'm counting on you."
—
BOOM!!
The terrifying Tailed Beast Bomb once again illuminated the world, but unfortunately, yielded no results.
The Nine-Tails, furious at the missed attack, growled and searched the battlefield.
The terrain ahead was devastated. Half a mountain had been obliterated by that single blast.
Its nine tails lashed violently. It scanned the area, trying to find the one who had just warped it away.
"They're here…"
Hozuki Gengetsu slowly rose to his feet, watching Minato appear before him with Kushina and baby Naruto in his arms—and not far behind, the fearsome Nine-Tails radiating killing intent.
"Thank you for your help," Minato said, giving Gengetsu a weary nod before turning to Kushina, his eyes full of exhaustion.
He had redirected two Tailed Beast Bombs, fought Obito, and now warped the entire Nine-Tails.
In under an hour, he had nearly drained every last drop of chakra from his body.
And that's after a quick detour to Mount Myōboku for some natural energy—an indication of just how much chakra he'd burned tonight.
Kushina was no better.
The forceful separation from the Nine-Tails had gravely injured her. Only the Uzumaki clan's monstrous vitality kept her alive.
"Minato… I can hold on a bit longer. But the rest…"
Kushina bit her lip, her voice trembling.
Even as she spoke, she gathered the last of her chakra.
From her body, golden chains burst forth—Adamantine Sealing Chains, the Uzumaki clan's secret art—wrapping around the Nine-Tails like writhing golden dragons, locking it in place.
The Nine-Tails howled and struggled, but these chains were made to suppress tailed beasts—its resistance was futile.
"Kushina, you—"
"I'm fine."
Kushina's voice was soft. She looked tenderly at the worn-out Minato and handed him baby Naruto.
"Minato, I'll try to reseal the Nine-Tails. The seal won't last long, but it should give you… enough time to end this."
Once a jinchūriki dies, the tailed beast is destroyed with them. Kushina was clearly prepared to die with the Nine-Tails to end the night's catastrophe.
"Just… just promise me you'll take care of Naruto, Minato."
She looked at her son, eyes brimming with love and sorrow. And then, with resolve, turned back to her husband, cupping his cheek.
"Thank you, Minato. For everything you've done for me. I'm so lucky… Lucky to have met you. I really… really… love you."
ROOAAAR!!
The Nine-Tails roared and thrashed.
"I already watched you two flirt all day in the seal. Now out here in the open, you're STILL at it?!"
"And at the cost of MY life?!"
Though Tailed Beasts can't truly die, if they disperse, their consciousness vanishes—it's no different from death. The Nine-Tails refused to accept such an end.
Minato clenched his fists as Kushina's words tore at his heart.
Kushina smiled gently. With trembling hands, she caressed his face.
"I'm so happy… to be loved by you… and to have little Naruto… Just imagining the three of us living happily as a family, fills my heart with joy…"
"But…"
Even with that blissful smile, tears blurred her vision.
"If I have one regret… it's that I won't get to see Naruto grow up…"
"I already have so much… but I still want more. Am I… too greedy?"
Minato watched Kushina, tears slipping silently down his cheeks. Countless thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant.
And then—
He made a decision.
He looked at her.
He knew Kushina's plan was the best solution.
But he could not let it happen.
He could not watch her die before him and live on alone!