Chapter 97: Obito Strikes Again
Hearing Sasuke's question, the bruised and battered Naruto crossed his arms and laughed heartily toward the sky.
"I'm going to be Hokage one day!"
"A real Hokage has to be able to take a beating!"
But as soon as he said it, even someone as simple as Naruto felt something was off. Sasuke, meanwhile, couldn't believe he had just lost to an idiot like that.
Soon enough, Naruto and Sasuke were back to being friends. Along with Yota, the three of them sat beneath a tree, resting and chatting until dusk began to fall. As the sky darkened, they prepared to return to the village.
That's when Yota and Sasuke noticed something strange. Sasuke's swollen left cheek hadn't healed at all, but Naruto's injuries were almost completely gone.
Even the ANBU members hidden nearby couldn't help but marvel at the power of the Nine-Tails.
"So this is the Nine-Tails' power... Even just a slight leak of its chakra can produce such an effect. No wonder it's the strongest of the Tailed Beasts."
At that moment, the lead ANBU suddenly heard an unfamiliar male voice in his ear.
He froze at first, but quickly realized what was happening.
"Everyone, be alert—we have an enemy!"
But even as he shouted, it was already too late.
"Wood Style: Piercing Stake Jutsu!"
With a heavy thud, a blood-soaked body covered in wooden spikes collapsed in front of Naruto, Sasuke, and Yota.
Before the three children could make sense of what had happened, eight masked figures appeared around them.
Seven wore animal-style ANBU masks. Opposite them stood a man in a swirling orange spiral mask.
"You three, run! We're from the village's ANBU! That man in the orange spiral mask is the enemy!" one ANBU with a fox mask shouted.
At the same time, he pulled out a scroll, quickly unfurled it, and pressed his hand to it after forming a series of seals.
It was a special scroll used to communicate directly with the Third Hokage. Each ANBU assigned to protect Naruto carried one. Once triggered, it would instantly alert the Hokage that the Nine-Tails was in danger.
"Be careful—this guy uses space-time ninjutsu! He can phase through any attack!" warned another ANBU wearing a cat-faced mask.
That particular ninja was Yamato, who had joined the ANBU after leaving the Root organization. Back when he was still under Danzo, he had witnessed Obito's ability firsthand—watching helplessly as Obito phased through his Four Pillar Prison Technique using Kamui.
Thanks to Yamato's warning, the other ANBU became even more cautious.
Space-time ninjutsu was among the most mysterious and difficult types of jutsu in the shinobi world.
This enemy could use both Wood Style and space-time jutsu, and he dared to invade Konoha alone. He clearly wasn't someone to take lightly.
Nearby, Yota also recognized him—this was the masked man from the previous Root attack. Without hesitation, he grabbed Naruto and Sasuke and shouted, "Run!"
Obito let out a cold chuckle.
"I didn't expect anyone here to know my abilities. But it doesn't matter. No one's getting out of here today."
"Wood Style: Four-Pillar Prison!"
Obito quickly formed hand seals and slammed his palms into the ground.
In an instant, hundreds of massive wooden pillars shot up from the earth, forming a giant square-shaped prison that trapped everyone inside.
"Water Style: Severing Wave!"
One ANBU, wearing a rat-faced mask, reacted immediately. After forming seals, he spat out a high-pressure stream of water, slicing toward the thick wooden pillars in an attempt to cut through them.
However, to everyone's disappointment, although the Severing Wave briefly sliced through a row of wooden pillars, the wood regenerated almost instantly—repairing itself as if it had never been damaged.
"Wood Style has exceptional regenerative capabilities," Yamato said grimly. "This technique isn't something that can be broken easily."
While the ANBU members were stalling Obito, the Third Hokage, having received the emergency signal back in the village, reacted immediately. He and several ANBU operatives rushed toward the source of the alert.
"Someone's targeting the Nine-Tails now of all times... But who could it be? And how did they even find out that Naruto is the jinchūriki?"
Concern filled the Third Hokage's heart.
Most of Konoha's forces were currently deployed to the frontlines in wars against the Hidden Cloud or Hidden Mist, leaving the village with little manpower to spare.
It wasn't long before the Third Hokage and his team arrived at the scene of the battle. From a distance, he could clearly see the massive wooden structure—the Four-Pillar Prison Technique.
"Wood Style...? But this level of power is beyond what Yamato can produce."
The Third Hokage's brows furrowed deeply. He quickly deduced that Naruto and the ANBU had been trapped within the wooden prison.
"Summoning Jutsu: Monkey King Enma!"
With a puff of smoke, the Third Hokage summoned the Monkey King, Enma, and commanded him to transform into the Adamantine Staff. Spinning the staff expertly, he gave a command:
"Extend!"
With a mighty swing, the Third Hokage swept the staff overhead, completely destroying the wooden prison's roof—something even the ANBU's Water Severing Wave couldn't manage earlier.
With the roof obliterated, the scene inside the prison became visible: aside from the ANBU member killed at the start, six of the remaining seven had already fallen. Only Yamato remained, barely holding on.
Seeing the prison start to regenerate again, Yamato quickly formed hand seals and activated a technique to rescue himself and the children.
"Wood Style: Ascending Pillars!"
Several thick wooden pillars burst from the ground, lifting Yamato, Naruto, Sasuke, and Yota into the air.
Once they rose above the prison walls, the pillars curved and gently lowered them to the ground outside, ensuring a safe landing.
At that moment, Obito's body dissolved into a swirling space-time vortex and reappeared beside Naruto. Sensing Obito's intent, the Third Hokage immediately struck with the Adamantine Staff from a distance.
To his surprise, the staff passed straight through Obito's body.
Obito knew he'd been too slow. If he didn't deal with the Third Hokage now, he could forget about taking the Nine-Tails jinchūriki.
Since the Hokage's staff had already phased through his intangible form, Obito gave up on grabbing Naruto directly. With a casual step back, he exited the staff's attack range.
The Third Hokage quickly moved to Yamato's side, and Yamato relayed everything he had learned about Obito's abilities during the battle.
After hearing the report, the Hokage's expression darkened. Even for him, Obito's powers were proving exceptionally difficult to counter.
"You took your sweet time during this mission," Obito said coldly, his gaze locking onto Yamato, the only surviving ANBU operative. "It's almost as if you let him live on purpose."
It turned out Obito had momentarily handed control of his body to White Zetsu—Tobi—expecting him to finish the battle quickly. But unexpectedly, Tobi had held back when delivering the final blows.