Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage, was also Uchiha Obito's teacher.
The two had a brief exchange on the night of the Nine-Tails' attack. At that time, Obito, having successfully controlled the Nine-Tails, was swelled with arrogance, believing himself to be invincible. He had brazenly challenged Minato one-on-one. He originally thought that with his phasing ability, he could easily defeat Minato. But he never expected to be so thoroughly beaten by Minato's two-step Flying Thunder God Technique that he couldn't even take care of himself. In the end, not only did he fail to kill the Hokage, but the Nine-Tails was sealed away. It was a complete and utter loss.
And for Minato, the mysterious masked man had appeared on the night of the Nine-Tails' attack and tried to kill him. If not for the masked man, he and Uzumaki Kushina might not have had to die. Naruto wouldn't have had to endure such a painful childhood. He certainly wouldn't have defected from Konoha and walked a path of opposition against the entire ninja world.
Therefore, he and the masked man were mortal enemies.
When enemies meet, their eyes burn with a particular fire.
In that instant, both of them were filled with the intent to kill.
Shion and the others stepped aside, crossing their arms and watching the scene with a smile.
"To be able to sneak into the Seireitei so quietly, you must have some skill. But you've walked a narrow path, young man," Shion said with a cold laugh. "Lord Naruto said to give you a proper welcome."
As she spoke, Shion puffed out her chest proudly. From her words, it was not difficult to guess that Uzumaki Naruto had long since been aware of Uchiha Obito's infiltration. This surprised Obito, making him re-evaluate Naruto's strength. He knew that his infiltration skills were so good that even the Fourth Hokage had difficulty detecting him. He was sure he had been extremely careful, but he never expected to be seen through by Naruto.
It seems Uzumaki Naruto is even more dangerous than the reports describe, Obito thought, his guard rising. But since when did the ninja world have so many mysterious Kage-level powerhouses?
"Oh my, the ninja world really does hold many secrets," Orochimaru couldn't help but sigh. "I wonder if his body has any research value."
"To have made an enemy of Minato-kun on the night of the Nine-Tails' attack, it seems he has some skill."
"He has the eyes of the Uchiha, and he dares to dream of controlling this world," Minato said coldly. He recalled the words Uchiha Obito had left behind as he retreated: "I am the one who will unite the world! I have plenty of means." His ambition was no smaller than Naruto's, but his strength…
"Oh? It's a Sharingan?" Orochimaru's interest was immediately piqued. He extended his scarlet tongue and licked his red lips, a perverted light gleaming in his eyes.
"You two can fight all you want, just don't destroy the Seireitei," Haku said, drawing his Zanpakuto, a layer of frost gradually condensing on it. The boiling Reiatsu was astonishing.
Obito already had the thought of escaping. He knew that one Minato was already very troublesome. And now there were several other ninja who seemed to be no weaker than him.
I, Uchiha Obito, never fight meaningless battles.
However, before he could make a move, he saw Minato draw the Zanpakuto from his waist.
"Condense, Meta-Sphere."
To Obito's wary gaze, the Zanpakuto turned into a red light and vanished from sight. A red point of light appeared at the top of the temple, and then a red protective barrier suddenly fell, enveloping Obito, Minato, Haku, and the others. The surrounding air was filled with red points of light, the ground beneath their feet was a mess of rocks, and the sky was also shrouded in red, much like an apocalyptic scene.
Within this domain, Obito felt his chakra being suppressed. Even mobilizing it took a great deal of effort.
"Welcome to the Meta-Sphere."
Minato smiled at Obito.
"Any battle that takes place in this space will not affect the outside world, so no one will disturb us."
"Of course, you won't be able to escape either."
As Obito's face turned extremely ugly, Minato showed a warm smile.
"I failed to be a proper host during the night of the Nine-Tails' attack. This time, please enjoy yourself."
Even the warmest and kindest people have a little devil hidden inside them. Minato was once the Fourth Hokage; naturally, he had a cunning side.
"Also using an incantation to release the sword's ability… it seems this is what you call evolution." Seeing Haku and the others standing by, Obito felt a little more at ease.
"It seems only souls can unlock this form. How surprising," Obito said, sorting through the relevant information in his mind. It wasn't hard to guess. The source of all this should be Naruto.
He had suffered a loss on the night of the Nine-Tails' attack because he didn't understand Minato's trump card. Now, he was confident that he had mastered Minato's attack patterns. Defeating him wouldn't be difficult. As for this so-called Meta-Sphere… Obito didn't even put it in his eyes.
Could this jutsu really restrict Kamui? Impossible! Kamui is a Mangekyo Sharingan jutsu!
"I'll test out this sword's ability first. I can leave whenever I want anyway," Obito thought to himself, taking a fighting stance.
Swish. Minato was the first to move, throwing a kunai at Obito. The kunai was marked with the Flying Thunder God formula. This was Minato's favorite opening move. By arranging the landing points of the kunai, he could make the subsequent battle even more unpredictable.
To the surprise of the others, Obito didn't dodge, but met it head-on. The sharp kunai pierced Obito's body, but strangely, it passed through as if he were transparent.
In the next moment, Minato instantly appeared behind Obito where the kunai was, a Rasengan slamming down.
This scene was so familiar. He vaguely remembered suffering a loss to the second stage of the Flying Thunder God technique over a decade ago.
"Fourth, do you really think I'd fall for the same trick twice?" Obito mocked, the Mangekyo under his mask suddenly spinning.
"Kamui." Obito's figure vanished, reappearing behind Minato. His right hand reached for Minato's back. In just a short second, his right hand could pass through his back and grab his heart.
"A jutsu that can enter another dimension? But the time it takes is a bit too long, giving people plenty of time to prepare," Minato chuckled. To Obito's shock, Minato's figure also turned into an afterimage and disappeared from in front of him, reappearing ten meters away.
There's no trace of a Flying Thunder God formula, so how can he teleport? Obito looked at Minato with apprehension, his heart pounding.
However, Minato didn't give Obito a chance to react. He directly extended his finger:
"Minato Kido Number 33: Blue Fire Flash, Raging Sky Roar, Second Form."
A Blue Fire Crash shot from Minato's palm, speeding toward Obito's chest. Obito's chest instantly distorted, and the Blue Fire Crash passed through it, landing on the ground far away and exploding with a boom. Thick smoke rose, and a crater several meters wide was blasted out.
Kamui could teleport any object, even body parts, to another dimension, thus achieving the effect of dodging attacks.
However, before Obito could feel proud, he suddenly saw Minato instantly appear in front of him, one hand pressed against his forehead.
"Death Infinity Kido: Black Coffin!"
Voom. A black coffin inscribed with runes materialized out of thin air, enveloping Obito. An aura of death billowed out.
Inside the Black Coffin, Obito felt his chakra stagnate, his body as if stuck in a swamp. As the death aura eroded him, a sharp pain spread throughout his body. This was a pain he had never experienced in the past decade, and he immediately let out a piercing scream.
When the Black Coffin dissipated, Obito was covered in wounds, hot black smoke rising from his body. He stared at Minato, his eyes full of confusion.
From the beginning to the end of this battle, apart from that one kunai, he hadn't seen a single Flying Thunder God formula. But Minato had successfully used the Flying Thunder God technique. This was too incredible.
Could it be that Minato has developed a Flying Thunder God technique that doesn't rely on formulas?
As if seeing through Obito's confusion, Minato grinned. "In here, my Flying Thunder God formulas are everywhere."
As he spoke, the entire space was filled with dense Flying Thunder God formulas. In the next moment, Minato appeared beside Obito and sent him flying with a single punch. He then instantly used the Flying Thunder God to appear above Obito, a Rasengan falling toward the ground.
Boom. With the explosion, rocks flew, and the ground cracked. Obito spat out blood, his eyes wide with disbelief.
It was too fast. The Fourth, who could use the Flying Thunder God without limit, was too terrifying.
"Minato-sensei's use of his Zanpakuto's ability is getting more and more skilled," Orochimaru said with a smile from the side.
"The Zanpakuto directly absorbs the ability of the Flying Thunder God. Within the Meta-Sphere, as long as there is Reiatsu, formulas can be drawn out of thin air, achieving spatial leaps. An ability like this is too terrifying," Haku couldn't help but sigh. "As long as the Meta-Sphere isn't broken, Minato-sensei is practically invincible. An ability like this is truly astonishing. If I were to face Minato-sensei, I believe I would only have a sliver of a chance of victory if I turned this world into an ice sculpture."
"And Minato-sensei's Reiatsu is also terrifying. I think he has already touched upon Bankai," Shion said.
"Minato-sensei's Zanpakuto ability is truly elegant. No matter how many times I see it, it makes my heart flutter," Orochimaru licked his lips, his eyes full of desire. "Perhaps my Shinigamification should be moved up on the agenda."
The few of them chatted as if they were just having a casual conversation, their attitudes relaxed. It was clear they didn't take Obito seriously at all.
The content of their conversation made Obito's heart pound even more.
Reiatsu? Reiatsu autonomously drawing formulas? Bankai? Could it be that the current Minato hasn't even shown his full strength?
He clutched his shoulder and looked at Minato, only to see the latter smiling, his breathing not disordered in the slightest. It was as if the few jutsu he had just used had consumed no energy at all.
"My instant Black Coffin is still far weaker than Naruto's," Minato even sighed.
From the sound of it… Uzumaki Naruto is even stronger?!
Obito swallowed hard, a sense of panic rising in his heart.
Tap. Suddenly, the crisp sound of footsteps echoed in this space. Then, a figure actually broke through the Meta-Sphere and walked in with ease.
When he saw the person's face clearly, Obito couldn't help but cry out, "Uzumaki Naruto!"
In the past decade, Obito had naturally returned to Konoha and seen Naruto's face. With his ability, dodging the Konoha ninja was a piece of cake. What impressed him most was the treatment Naruto had received in his childhood. He was clearly the son of the Fourth Hokage, yet he had to endure a hostility that even adults couldn't bear. After seeing this, Obito's heart was filled with contempt for Konoha. From then on, he had never returned to the village.
To see Naruto again, he never thought he would already be a man with his own force.
Watching Naruto slowly approach, Obito felt his body go rigid. The aura emanating from Naruto was far greater than Minato's. The condensed Reiatsu was like a great mountain pressing down on him. Let alone escaping, even moving his eyeballs was difficult.
It was only in this moment that Obito finally understood. No wonder Naruto could ignite Konoha, kill the Third and Danzo, and defect from the village at the same time. Because his strength had already surpassed that of Konoha's strongest. Even he himself was no match.
It was laughable that he had thought Naruto had only managed to escape from Konoha by using the Nine-Tails.
"Masked man, you planned the night of the Nine-Tails' attack, and you dare to dream of controlling the world? Can you tell me about your dream?" Naruto's lips were curved in a smile as he walked up to Obito, but his eyes were incomparably cold. In a way, Obito was also one of the culprits behind Naruto's tragic childhood.
"As expected of the Uzumaki Naruto who could defect from Konoha and defeat numerous Kage. It seems I still underestimated you." Under the pressure, Obito managed to speak. His eyes still held a trace of confidence. "But if you want to keep me here, it's not enough."
Kamui.
The Mangekyo Sharingan spun wildly, and Obito's figure suddenly distorted. Before he left, he even gave Naruto a mocking laugh.
But in the next moment, things took an unexpected turn.
Naruto simply reached out his hand, and Obito found himself being easily pulled out of the other dimension like a little chick. He was casually thrown to the ground, and a mocking smile touched Naruto's lips.
"To play with space in front of me… it seems our definitions of bravery are worlds apart."
To be precise, Kyoka Suigetsu was not the true ability of Naruto's Zanpakuto. After the events of the Pure Land, the other dimension, and so on, Naruto discovered that he had not yet perfectly unleashed the full potential of his Zanpakuto. From the current perspective, he could use the Shikai and Bankai of Kyoka Suigetsu, and an ability to travel through time and space. Since he could travel through time and space, controlling space was even easier. This was also the reason why he could freely enter the Meta-Sphere and counter Kamui.
Playing with space ninjutsu in front of Naruto was like showing off one's meager skills before an expert.
Naruto was quite curious about Obito. He had learned from the Fourth that Obito had appeared on the night of the Nine-Tails' attack and harbored a dream of controlling the entire ninja world. In a way, his ideal was similar to his own. It was just that his strength was a bit lacking, so he could only play some sneak attack tricks.
"Let me see who you are." Naruto reached out his hand. Obito tried to use Kamui to escape, but no matter how he mobilized his chakra, Kamui was like it was sealed, unable to be used.
"Ah," he roared, his tone filled with panic.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu." He spewed a fireball from his mouth.
However, as everyone knows, fire-style jutsu cannot kill people.
The Great Fireball landed on Naruto, and it was instantly extinguished as if it had fallen into water. Naruto's hand also touched Obito's mask.
The mask was taken off, revealing a familiar face that was terrified, half of it pale.
"Obito? How could it be you?!" The Fourth Hokage at the side suddenly let out a disbelieving and furious voice.