Naruto was born safely, but Kushina's condition remained critical.
Nine-Tailed Chakra had leaked out in large quantities, clinging to Kushina's body like a persistent disease.
The Tailed Beast Seal was severely damaged, and the remaining incantations raged, frantically climbing to her neck and cheeks, just a step away from complete disintegration.
Minato quickly calmed down, forcefully suppressing the excitement and joy of being a new father, and focused his mind on preparing for the next step.
As soon as he placed his hand on Kushina's stomach, an unexpected change occurred.
"Ugh ah—"
With a scream, Biwako and Taji, who were holding the baby and looking after him, both fell to the ground.
Minato and Kushina immediately looked in the direction of the incident, only to see a black-robed figure wearing a tiger-striped mask standing in the dim candlelight, holding the newborn Naruto in one hand.
"Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze, step away from the Jinchuriki! Otherwise, I will kill your son right now!"
The other hand of the assailant held a Kunai, its tip resting on Naruto's forehead, poised to kill if there was any disagreement.
Minato frowned, frozen in place for a moment, not daring to move rashly.
—How did this person... get through so many layers of Barrier!?
In the few seconds that he hesitated, the situation finally reached an irreversible point.
The seal completely collapsed, and the vast, scorching Nine-Tailed Chakra devoured her body wantonly, forcing Kushina to let out a heartbreaking wail.
"Hmph, old hag... you saved me some trouble."
The black-robed man tossed the baby in his arms high into the air, and Kushina, who still had a bit of consciousness, instinctively told her husband to protect their child.
"Minato! Save Naruto—"
Before she finished speaking, Minato appeared on the stone chamber wall, holding the crying Naruto in his arms.
"As expected of the yellow flash... so fast..."
The black-robed man's tone was full of incomprehensible mockery, and the next second, exploding tags plastered outside the baby's swaddling clothes ignited.
The sheer number of them was enough to level the entire stone chamber, and Kushina, unable to move, would not be spared.
Minato made a decisive move, activating the Flying Thunder God to leave the area, finding a remote house outside the village as a temporary base, and tearing off the swaddling clothes and throwing them away just before the explosion.
Violent flames and shockwaves erupted behind him, and he curled his body, firmly shielding Naruto in front of him, completely disregarding his own body being covered in wounds from the blast.
Getting up from the ground and seeing Naruto unharmed, Minato couldn't help but show a subtle and fleeting smile.
Then he felt a sharp pain in his calf, and with a cold expression, pulled out a splinter of wood embedded in his flesh.
—Using exploding tags to force me to use the Flying Thunder God to leave there...—That guy's target is indeed Kushina.
—I need to hurry.
Activating the Flying Thunder God again, Minato arrived at another safe house outside the village and temporarily placed Naruto on the bed.
"Naruto, wait for me to bring your mother back!"
...Inside the Barrier, watching Minato leave the stone chamber with the Flying Thunder God, Kushina finally breathed a sigh of relief, then fell into pain again as the Nine-Tailed broke free.
So much so that when she was taken out of the Barrier by a mysterious spatial ability, she was powerless to resist, only to be swept away to a nearby, deserted open area.
When the opponent removed his hood, exposing the entire mask to the Gekko, Kushina finally saw his crimson eyes.
"Sharingan... Who exactly are you...?"
Facing this death throe, Obito, who was standing high above overlooking the surroundings, was silent for a moment, then sneered, "Just a phantom."
"The Barrier anomaly... was also your doing..."
"Then you've got the wrong person."
"What...?"
After that, Obito made no further response, nor did he activate the "Unsealing Jutsu."
Thanks to the "anomaly" Kushina mentioned, he didn't need to do anything now; the Nine-Tailed could escape from the sealing space on its own.
The result was exactly as he expected.
The next moment, red-black Chakra continuously surged out from the unconscious Kushina's abdomen, expanding and then solidifying into a truly existing "flesh."
"Roar—!!!"
The ferocious orange giant beast reappeared in the mountains and forests, opening its gaping maw and roaring up at the sky, its massive body almost obscuring the entire night sky.
Its nine giant tails swung heavily behind it like crimson mountain ranges, splitting earth and breaking stones, causing the ground to shake wherever they passed.
Feeling the violent and domineering Chakra filling the air, even with prior mental preparation, Obito couldn't help but be shocked by the power of the strongest Tailed Beast.
—Fortunately, the Sharingan's genjutsu is enough to control this monster.
"Go to Konoha like this."
Obito turned to leave, but a remarkably familiar Chakra signature suddenly appeared beside him.
Along with it came someone's high-pitched, feigned innocent inquiry: "Eh... I remember the plan wasn't like this?"
"As agreed, tonight's operation is my call."
Obito activated his Mangekyo, phasing through the arm that tried to touch him, and said impatiently, "So don't interfere casually."
Jin, caught off guard, embraced empty air, then looked at Obito's merciless departing back, pouting and touching his index fingers together: "Alright, alright, Tobi has grown up, it's inevitable he has his own ideas..."
One second he was still happily acting, the next, his voice returned to a normal young man's tone.
"But Tobi, don't forget, Konoha has someone whose genjutsu level is many times higher than yours."
Hearing this, Obito paused, standing there without speaking, only turning his face to glance at Jin.
The latter, of course, understood what he meant, and whispered with a doting and proud tone: "Don't worry, I just put another layer of genjutsu on the Nine-Tailed, even he can't break it~!"
"...Got it."
Obito replied awkwardly, seemingly not wanting to face Jin's subsequent teasing, and directly used his Mangekyo ability to disappear with the Nine-Tailed.
Just then, a faint but angry shout came from below.
"Wait... wait...!"
"Amazing~"
Jin, of course, knew that Kushina wasn't dead yet, and turned around to sit cross-legged on the cliff edge, hands cupping his chin as he exclaimed, "Even after having a Tailed Beast extracted, she doesn't die immediately. The Uzumaki Clan is truly formidable."
"However, your physique and Chakra reserves should still be far inferior to Mito Uzumaki, right?"
"I'm a little curious about how long you can last."
"Hmph..." Kushina stubbornly held onto her breath, letting out a contemptuous sneer, "Definitely... longer than you... this guy..."
"Oh, are you saying I'll die soon?"
Just as he asked with a smile, Jin felt goosebumps all over his body, and an intense killing intent erupted from above his head, accompanied by an ear-splitting hum and a faint blue light, assailing him.
Just as Minato, holding a Rasengan, was about to smash it into Jin's face, a large expanse of pure Black Flames abruptly appeared around the latter's body.
The Black Flames acted like a soft yet tough barrier, briefly withstanding the terrifying destructive power of the Rasengan.
Jin seized the opportunity to leave his spot, feigning fright as he patted his chest: "So scary~ As expected of the yellow flash, so fast~"
The assassination failed, and Minato decisively used the Flying Thunder God to retreat to Kushina's side, holding her as he continued to fall back and create distance.
"Minato... Naruto... Is Naruto alright?"
Having been together for so many years, Minato knew at first glance that Kushina no longer had the Nine-Tailed inside her.
Thinking of the consequences of a Jinchuriki losing a Tailed Beast, he felt both heartbroken and angry, but when answering his wife's question, his tone remained gentle and calm: "Yes, he's in a safe place right now."
"That's great..."
Knowing that her son was safe, Kushina's strength as a Ninja once again took over, and she gritted her teeth to inform Minato of the information she had just heard.
"There are two enemies... The other one has a Sharingan... He took the Nine-Tailed to... to Konoha... You must stop him..."
At the distant cliff top, Jin brazenly waved his hand twice to indicate he was still there, just as Minato, looking in that direction, met his gaze, and a chill slowly crept up his spine.
—That was a look that wanted to tear the enemy to shreds.