The ninja alliance stared at the dust cloud in the distance, arguing intensely.
"Did we actually succeed?! All our jutsu hit him! ୧⍢⃝୨"
"It's just… I've got a really bad feeling about this!"
"How could we possibly have succeeded? Those Water Release guys drowned out all our Fire Release attacks!! (눈益눈) What a team of idiots, totally dragging us down!!"
"Now's not the time to push responsibility around…"
"Look! The smoke up ahead is clearing!! (꒪⌓꒪)"
With that shout from one of the ninjas, everyone's attention snapped toward Uchiha Obito's position.
The smoke slowly dispersed, and to everyone's shock—the Gracious Deity Gates that had been crushing Obito were gone!
And Obito himself had vanished as well. In his place was a black sphere!
Naruto gaped. "What the hell—did we beat him into an egg???"
Tobirama's brows tightened slightly as he warned, "Be careful. Something's wrong."
The next moment, the little sphere shifted, opening a slit that revealed Obito—his form changing again!
The swelling caused by the Ten Tails' resistance was now gone.
His appearance had become even more imposing. A layer of cloak-like flesh armor covered his body, a pure-black strange staff appeared in his hand, and several floating black orbs hovered behind him.
His once-dull eyes sharpened, now carrying emotion—and resolve.
"Finally… it worked." Obito's voice was hoarse as his body lifted, slowly rising upward…
"I now possess power equal to the Sage of Six Paths!!"
His gaze dropped onto Naruto's group below, filled with contempt—as if he were looking at insects.
"He completely absorbed the Ten Tails?" Tobirama narrowed his eyes seriously.
Minato stared at Obito's drastically changed form, his expression complicated as he called softly,
"Obito…"
In his mind, the masked man with the tiger-striped mask who once attacked Konoha overlapped with the Obito before him…
Minato murmured under his breath, "If only I had recognized you back then… and stopped you in time…"
"Dad, now's not the time to get sentimental." Naruto stood beside him and cut in. "I saw Mom's memories. Obito and Kakashi-sensei were your students, right?"
"Now that your student's done something like this, you—his teacher—should be the one to stop him!"
Minato: "…"
This really… felt weird!
He never expected his own son would lecture him one day! (°ー°〃)
Also—ever since Naruto came out of Kamui space, his aura felt completely different…
"Naruto, you're right." Minato answered with a smile, gripping his Flying Thunder God kunai confidently. "When the Masked Man invaded Konoha, he and I fought. I left a Flying Thunder God mark on him back then…"
"Naruto, come with me!"
"As expected of my dad! ❛‿˂̵✧" Naruto nodded and started forming a Rasenshuriken!
On the other side, Tobirama stared at this airheaded father–son pair and reminded them,
"Fourth, use your Flying Thunder God to bring me along too…"
"And—those jutsu the alliance just used? All completely nullified. I don't know if you noticed…"
"My guess is that those floating black spheres—able to freely change shape—are based on Yin–Yang Release. They can nullify any ninjutsu… (눈‸눈)"
Naruto and Minato nodded together. "Got it!!"
...
High in the sky, red flames ignited on the flesh-horns behind Obito. He said coldly,
"Before I initiate Infinite Tsukuyomi… I'll clean up the battlefield."
As his words fell, the black orbs surrounding him morphed into black rods and shot outward in all directions!
At that moment—
Minato, Tobirama, and Naruto exchanged a glance and vanished on the spot!
The next instant, they appeared behind Obito in a strange flicker of speed!
Naruto roared, "Sage Art: Multi-Release Rasenshuriken!!!"
"Vmm—!!"
The screeching Rasenshuriken smashed directly into Obito's back!
The attack caught Obito completely off guard, slamming him down from the sky!!
"BOOM!!!"
Wind, fire, and lightning chakra exploded, carving out a crater over a thousand meters wide across the battlefield!
In midair, Naruto looked excitedly at his own hands.
"So this is what it feels like to use the Shinju's power? This is awesome! ୧⍢⃝୨"
Minato: "Naruto, nicely done—but that jutsu name of yours needs work… I'll think of a better one for you later! ❛‿˂̵✧"
Just as Minato finished speaking, the six black rods Obito had fired earlier plunged into the ground, forming the six points of a massive formation!
"Fwoosh—!!"
Instantly, a red barrier spread between the rods, connecting into a single structure!
Tobirama froze. "That's… the Four Red Yang Formation?! No wonder he claimed he had power equal to the Sage of Six Paths. To cast the Four Red Yang Formation alone… that is impressive. Σ( ° △ °|||)︴"
Minato: "It has two more corners than the Four Red Yang Formation, so it should be the Six Red Yang Formation."
Tobirama: "…Yes."
...
On the ground.
After Naruto's strike, the flesh on Obito's back had torn open, revealing a severe, bone-deep wound!
Just as Minato was preparing to take Naruto in for the finishing blow, the floating black spheres around Obito shifted again—forming a spherical shield that sealed him inside…
Tobirama glanced at Naruto.
"That… whatever-Release jutsu… can you use it again?"
Naruto: "I'm totally out of chakra. The only thing keeping me going is the Shinju's chakra—and that's almost gone too… （￣﹏￣）"
Soon, the black sphere opened again. Obito's injuries were completely healed…
He lifted his head, looking at Minato in the distance.
"I almost forgot—once a Flying Thunder God mark is placed, it never disappears."
"Obito, give up. Didn't you want to become Hokage when you were young? Why are you trying to fight the entire ninja world now?" Minato tried one last time to reach his former student.
"A teacher who can't even recognize his own student… a husband who couldn't protect his own wife… a father who couldn't take care of his son… you think you are worthy of lecturing me?!!" Obito's voice rose sharply, his expression twisting.
"Hokage? Don't make me laugh!!"
Minato: "…"
Seeing his dad getting verbally smacked, Naruto snapped, "Shut up already!! (ꐦ ಠ 皿 ಠ)"
"You're a traitor who killed your own sensei, destroyed your own village, and tried to wipe out the world—and you think you can talk about my dad?!"
"You never even became Hokage—so who are you to judge a Hokage?!"
"What the hell are you anyway?! (′д｀σ)σ"
Obito: "…"
"You're just buying time with words."
"Very soon… all of you will become dust on the battlefield!!"
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