The wind died down.
At the very moment that golden figure appeared, the air atop the Hokage Rock seemed to freeze solid.
Minato Namikaze stood there with his back to the moonlight. The five kanji for 'Fourth Hokage' emblazoned on his white cloak stood out starkly against the darkness of the night.
His gaze was locked onto the masked man from the second he arrived.
Obito's heart gave a sudden, violent throb.
He's here.
He actually showed up.
A twisted sense of joy welled up from deep within his soul. He even entertained a ridiculous, fleeting thought—hoping that Minato could see through this mask, see through these black robes, and call out his name in that gentle voice just like he used to half a year ago.
Obito.
Just once. If only he would say it...
However, those cerulean eyes were a desolate void.
Obito saw no surprise, no doubt, and certainly none of the complex emotions one might expect from a reunion with an old friend.
There was only the icy stare reserved for an intruder.
Beneath the mask, the unconscious curve of Obito's lips slowly stiffened, then collapsed.
The tiny spark in his heart was extinguished in an instant.
A chill spread from his chest to his very fingertips.
So that's how it is.
As expected, I shouldn't have harbored any fantasies about this man.
Perhaps that gentle figure in his memories truly was nothing more than a hallucination he experienced while on the verge of death.
"Heh..."
A low chuckle escaped from behind the mask, dripping with an indescribable sense of mockery.
"As expected of Konoha's Yellow Flash. Your speed is as impressive as ever." Obito's voice returned to its cold, raspy tone. "But tell me, why are you so punctual this time?"
He took a half-step forward and tilted his head, his every movement a blatant provocation.
"I recall a time when someone was late. Late enough... for a heart to be pierced by a comrade's Lightning Blade."
Minato's eyes finally flickered with a hint of emotion.
Yet he remained silent, simply watching the man before him.
"What? Lost for words?" Obito's tone grew increasingly derisive. "Or are you already used to it? Some sacrifices must be made for the sake of the village, right?"
He spread his arms wide, as if embracing the entire village currently plunged into chaos.
"Just like tonight. To protect what you deem important, you don't hesitate to use your own students and subordinates as disposable decoys."
"Who are you, exactly?"
Minato finally spoke. His voice was calm and steady, betraying no emotion.
"Who am I?" Obito laughed even harder. "I am Uchiha Madara. And I am... the Nine-Tails."
He stared intently into Minato's eyes, searching for a trace of panic in that sea of blue.
"Speaking of which, I'm curious. Where is the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki?"
"Where did you hide her? Did you hide her so well that even your most trusted subordinates don't know?"
"For the sake of this village, can you really abandon your wife in some corner while she's about to give birth? You truly are a great man, Lord Fourth Hokage."
Every word Obito spat out was a calculated strike at Minato's pressure points.
He expected to see rage, or at least a tremor of hesitation—the emotions a husband and a teacher should feel.
But he was disappointed once again.
Minato's expression didn't change even at the mention of the 'Nine-Tails Jinchuriki' or his 'wife.'
His composure was unnatural, as if he had walled off all emotion.
Obito thought to himself that since the man was such an elite shinobi and now the Hokage, such traits were only to be expected. But that realization only made the fire in Obito's heart burn hotter.
"You will never find her."
Minato calmly stated the fact.
He reached for the ninja tool pouch at his waist, where several of his custom Flying Thunder God kunai were stowed.
"Before that..."
He lowered his center of gravity, shifting into a combat stance.
"Let me see what kind of skill you possess to think you can attack Konoha alone."
The moment the words left his lips, Minato moved.
Without any visible hand signs, his figure vanished from his original position. In the next heartbeat, he appeared directly behind Obito, thrusting a gleaming custom kunai silently toward his back.
Fast.
Blindingly fast.
It was as if he had bypassed space itself.
Obito didn't even try to dodge, looking as though he had already accepted his fate.
Swish—
The kunai passed through his body without any resistance, striking only air.
Minato's blue pupils constricted slightly.
This sensation...
It felt like a physical body, yet he hadn't hit anything.
"Too slow."
Obito's voice drifted through the air as he slowly turned around, allowing the sharp kunai to remain phased through his chest.
His body was like a phantom.
"Your Flying Thunder God Technique is useless against me."
He reached out, fingers splayed, and lunged for Minato who was within arm's reach.
Minato's reactions were instantaneous. His figure vanished again.
With a flash of gold, he reappeared a dozen meters away next to another kunai he had previously thrown.
He looked at his empty hand, then at the unharmed masked man, his brow furrowing deeply.
"A technique that allows you to phase through everything?"
"You could interpret it that way." Obito's voice carried a hint of playfulness. "A troublesome ability, isn't it? Your speed is ineffective against me."
"I won't know that until I try."
Minato's voice remained cool.
He cupped his hand, palm upward.
"Rasengan!"
A ball of high-speed, rotating blue chakra formed in his palm, emitting a piercing hum.
He didn't use the Flying Thunder God for a surprise attack this time. Instead, clutching the Rasengan, he charged straight ahead.
Obito stood his ground, motionless.
The Sharingan beneath his mask clearly tracked Minato's every move.
Again.
That same indomitable posture.
Just like when he saved me back then.
Unfortunately, this time, the one standing before you is your enemy.
Just as Minato's Rasengan was about to collide with Obito's body, the Mangekyo Sharingan in Obito's right eye spun violently.
Kamui!
The space in front of him began to warp, and a powerful suction force manifested out of thin air.
Minato immediately sensed the danger.
That distorted spatial energy was trying to pull his entire body inside!
He made a split-second decision. Just before being sucked in, he activated the Flying Thunder God once more, his figure vanishing instantly.
The uncontrolled Rasengan slammed into the ground.
BOOM!
The impact blasted a massive crater into the earth, sending stone fragments flying.
Gold light flashed as Minato appeared on a distant, intact section of the Hokage Rock, his expression grave.
'Space-time ninjutsu...' he whispered to himself. 'It's not just phasing; he can absorb and teleport things too. That combination leaves almost no openings.'
"Correct."
Obito's voice rang out abruptly from right behind him.
Minato felt a jolt of alarm as a chill ran up his spine.
When did he—?!
He spun around, only to find that Obito was already standing behind him, wielding a pitch-black chain.
One end of the chain was attached to Obito's wrist, while the other was coiled tightly around Minato's ankle.
"Got you, Yellow Flash."
Obito's voice was inches away.