Obito saw what was happening and made a quick decision.
He canceled his intangibility and took a direct hit from the Third Hokage's staff.
Even so, he forced his way through and managed to touch the corner of Minato Namikaze's cloak.
With a sharp swish, Minato, Kushina, and the masked Obito vanished from the sight of the Third Hokage and Sarutobi Biwako.
"Hiruzen, what should we do now?"
The Third Hokage glanced at the newborn Naruto and replied softly, "From here on… we leave it to our Fourth Hokage."
The Forest of Death—a forbidden zone in Konoha—was vast beyond imagination.
Rumor had it that it was even larger than the entire village itself.
It served as a natural barrier, shielding the village from external threats.
Within its depths were poisonous insects and fierce beasts.
Even Chūnin were normally forbidden from entering it alone.
And now, this place was chosen by the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, as the battlefield.
Deep inside the Forest of Death, Minato stood serious and focused.
One hand supported his wife.
The other gripped a kunai tightly as he stared at Obito.
"Obito, how did you find out Kushina was giving birth today?"
Minato's question completely stunned Obito.
Wait, even like this… you still recognized me?
"I'm not Obito. I'm Uchiha Madara."
"...Fine. I'll pretend you're Uchiha Madara. But can you at least answer my question?"
Minato wasn't being talkative for no reason.
He had to figure this out.
If there was a traitor in the village, he needed to know.
But Obito remained silent.
His emotions were a chaotic mess.
He hadn't expected Minato to recognize him the moment he appeared.
What did that mean?
It meant… in Minato's heart, he still mattered.
Being recognized by Minato caused a flicker of hesitation in Obito's heart.
He wasn't sure anymore—should he really release the Nine Tails?
But then he thought of the Eye of the Moon Plan.
And just like that, he cut off that hesitation completely.
Without any extra nonsense, he swiftly activated the Mangekyō Sharingan, wanting to extract the Nine-Tails while Kushina was still weak.
Seeing that Obito didn't answer his question and instead activated the Mangekyō Sharingan, Minato immediately realized the choice Obito had made.
With a light sigh, he spoke loudly, "He's already made his choice. You can all come out now."
As soon as his words fell, a blindfolded Kakashi and a visibly excited Third-Hokage's Obito appeared in the field.
The sudden appearance of the two gave the Fourth-Hokage's Obito quite a shock.
The blindfolded Kakashi was still manageable. Although he didn't know why that guy had covered his eyes, it was just Kakashi—nothing he couldn't handle.
But the Third-Hokage's Obito appearance was something the Fourth-Hokage's Obito couldn't bear.
What the hell was this guy who looked exactly like him?
Why was he smiling so... lewdly?
He had no choice. Dealing with the Fourth-Hokage's Obito this time was an S-rank mission—the kind Jiraiya would actually pay for.
To resurrect those who died during the Nine-Tails' rampage, he originally needed a massive amount of money.
This time, not only could he earn an S-rank mission reward, but he could also get this timeline's Minato-sensei to gather the necessary organizational materials for the resurrection.
How could he not be excited?
"Sensei, please take Kushina-nee back first. Leave the rest to me."
Wiping the drool that was about to drip from his mouth, the Third-Hokage's Obito suggested Minato take Kushina and retreat for safety.
Before Minato could respond, the blindfolded Kakashi casually said, "I don't think that's necessary. It's just Obito. I can handle him alone. You all can sit back and enjoy the show."
Minato had no idea what this blindfolded Kakashi had gone through to become so arrogant. He opened his mouth but didn't even know what to say.
Instead, it was Kushina who let out a soft chuckle and weakly said to Minato, "Then let's listen to Kakashi. Let's sit back and enjoy the show."
Minato nodded, helping Kushina over to a large tree and resting against it.
"Fine, fine, fine. Kakashi, you're the one who's asking for death—don't blame me for what happens next."
The Fourth Hokage's Obito couldn't help but laugh in anger.
He was no longer the loser Obito from the past.
Right here, right now, he was going to prove to Kakashi that you're no longer my match.
As for that perverted-looking guy with the weird smile, the Fourth Hokage's Obito chose to ignore him completely.
The Third Hokage's Obito, on the other hand, was more than happy to sit back and relax.
An S-rank mission completed without even lifting a finger? Now that was a once-in-a-lifetime kind of deal.
He trotted cheerfully over to stand beside Minato and Kushina, ready to watch the show with his teacher and mistress.
In the arena, the Fourth Hokage's Obito completely threw away any sense of fairness.
Without even waiting for a signal to start, he launched a kunai straight at Kakashi.
While the kunai was still spinning mid-air, Obito followed up immediately with a Grand Fireball Jutsu.
Kakashi, however, didn't even try to dodge or defend.
He just stood there like a complete idiot.
"What's Kakashi doing?"
Neither Kushina nor Minato understood what was going on with blindfolded Kakashi.
But the Third Hokage's Obito knew.
"Relax. Kakashi's already won."
Two Kamui Sharingan against a single Kamui Sharingan.
Calling it a grandfather beating his grandson might sound arrogant, but calling it a father beating his son? That's just facts.
On the battlefield, the massive Grand Fireball actually landed before the kunai, striking Kakashi first.
The Fourth Hokage's Obito still looked confused.
Why didn't Kakashi dodge?
Even while casting the fireball, he had already planned out several follow-up attacks.
But all of them fell apart thanks to Kakashi's total lack of response.
It made the Fourth Hokage's Obito feel deeply uneasy.
"Whatever. He took the full force of the fireball. Even if he's not dead, he's gotta be severely injured. I don't need to waste any more thought on him."
The moment the thought crossed his mind, Fourth Hokage's Obito turned his gaze toward the trio standing off to the side, casually spectating the chaos like they were watching a show.
"You three—"
Just as he opened his mouth to speak, Kakashi — who had taken a direct hit from the Great Fireball just moments ago — suddenly appeared in front of him in a blur.
Kunai in hand, Kakashi began stabbing wildly at Obito's body.
Obito was stunned.
Not only was Kakashi completely unharmed, but there was something… off about him.
Was the guy seriously okay in the head?
I mean, stabbing once or twice is understandable, but you know it's not working — and you still keep jabbing away like a maniac?
Are you doing a bit?
"...What exactly are you doing?"
Still intangible in his Kamui state, Obito wasn't even remotely concerned.
In fact, he had enough peace of mind to chat with Kakashi.
"Nothing much," Kakashi replied as he put away the kunai.
He frowned, troubled.
"I just wanted to see if using extreme speed to stab you could break through your Kamui intangibility."
He sighed.
"Looks like it doesn't work. Tch. How annoying. Why can that guy Guy use taijutsu to break space… and I can't?"
Now Obito wasn't in the mood to talk anymore.
His expression twisted as he quickly pulled away, alarmed.
"How the hell do you know what I can do?" he snapped.
"Take a guess," Kakashi replied with a smirk. "Guess right, and I'll tell you."
"If I've already guessed right, what the hell do I need you to say it for?!"
Obito was completely pissed off now.
In a rage, he formed hand seals at lightning speed.
"Fire Style: Raging Storm Dance!"
A devastating jutsu born from the fusion of his Mangekyō Sharingan and Fire Release — this was one of Obito's true trump cards.
Its power was immense. Its range, terrifying.
Kakashi, standing dead center, was clearly the main target.
Meanwhile, off to the side, Minato and his two companions were now caught in the blast radius.
"Sensei, don't panic," said Kakashi calmly. "Leave it to me."
When Minato tried to pull Kushina away, Third Hokage's Obito immediately stepped forward.
His eyes quickly transformed from normal eyes into the Mangekyo Sharingan.
Under the gaze of his dual Kamui Sharingan, the fire-style jutsu aimed at them was directly absorbed into Kamui's space by Third Hokage's Obito.
"What?"
Fourth Hokage's Obito was watching Kakashi closely, but also paying attention to Minato and the others.
Seeing Third Hokage's Obito reveal his Mangekyo Sharingan and even absorb his fire jutsu, he suddenly found it hard to accept.
Think about it — someone who looks exactly like you, originally thought to be a substitute or a poor copy, actually has Mangekyo Sharingan too, and not just one but two Mangekyo Sharingan eyes.
Anyone in that situation would be confused.
What confused Fourth Hokage's Obito even more was Kakashi.
Kakashi was indeed a bit eccentric.
After seeing Third Hokage's Obito reveal his Sharingan, Kakashi didn't hesitate to remove the black cloth covering his eye after the fire jutsu passed through him.
"How about that, Obito? Take a look at my eyes — surprised or not?"
Fourth Hokage's Obito: ???
****
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