On a street in Konoha.
Without warning, Fugaku Uchiha unleashed a genjutsu on Heiyan, intending to subdue the suspicious ninja whose origins were unknown.
To his surprise, however, after releasing the technique, Heiyan appeared completely unaffected. He simply stood there, smiling at Fugaku.
What's going on?
As Fugaku was filled with shock and suspicion, Heiyan crossed his arms and began teasing him.
"Fugaku, your genjutsu is too weak. Aren't you going to use the Mangekyou? I'm waiting."
At those words, Fugaku's face paled in shock, disbelief flashing in his eyes.
How does he know I've awakened the Mangekyou?
Fugaku had not told anyone about his Mangekyou Sharingan. As head of the Uchiha clan, it was his ultimate hidden weapon.
Mangekyou? What is that?
Standing nearby, Itachi keenly caught onto this unfamiliar term and memorized it curiously.
Just then, another deafening boom came from nearby, and flames shot into the sky.
The Nine-Tails was growing more chaotic.
"Sorry, but I have to go now. Otherwise, I'll miss all the fun. See you later."
Heiyan glanced toward the Nine-Tails in the distance, waved casually at Fugaku and Itachi, then soared into the air and flew away.
Leaving behind only Fugaku, whose expression kept shifting, and Itachi, deep in thought.
Meanwhile, as the Nine-Tails rampaged through the Hidden Leaf Village.
Whoosh.
A handsome man with bright yellow hair dramatically appeared atop the Hokage Monument, wearing a stylish cape emblazoned with the title "The Fourth Hokage."
Bearing the name of Hokage, protecting my village and its people—this is my duty. I won't let it run wild anymore.
Minato Namikaze murmured softly.
Far away, as if sensing Minato's chakra, the Nine-Tails paused mid-destruction and turned its massive head.
"They say the Nine-Tails can sense hostility. So it really noticed me, huh?"
A frown creased Minato's brow.
Then, the Nine-Tails opened its monstrous jaws wide, charging a pitch-black Tailed Beast Ball before firing it straight at Minato with a shriek, aiming to wipe him and the Hokage Rock behind him off the face of the earth.
"You're not destroying this place!"
Eyes narrowing, Minato swiftly hurled a special kunai while forming the hand seals for the Flying Thunder God Technique, redirecting the Tailed Beast Ball just outside the village in the nick of time.
BOOM!
A giant fireball erupted into the sky, lighting up nearly half the night.
After averting immediate danger, Minato prepared to take the initiative—dealing with the Nine-Tails before it could cause further devastation.
But just as he was about to act, he was suddenly attacked from behind.
"Your opponent is me now. And... it's over."
The masked Obito Uchiha appeared and activated his ocular power, attempting to pull Minato into Kamui's dimension. But Minato reacted instantly—using the Flying Thunder God Technique at the last moment, narrowly escaping the assault.
Thud.
After dodging Kamui, Minato crashed onto the ground a short distance away.
"Fast little bugger. Next time I'll pull you in even quicker."
Obito's eyes gleamed with intensity as he muttered to himself.
At that moment, Minato rose from the ground and stared intently at Obito. He spoke:
"You eliminated the Anbu directly under the Third Hokage, passed through the highest-security barrier, knew Kushina's seal would weaken during her childbirth, infiltrated Konoha without touching the barrier... From what I know, there's only one person who could do all this—the legendary Uchiha Madara. Are you Madara? No, he died a long time ago."
"Who knows?"
Obito gave no confirmation. His voice and tone sounded exactly like Madara's.
As both warriors tested each other, elsewhere,
Heiyan soared into the air, rubbing his chin while observing the Nine-Tails below.
Likewise, the Nine-Tails immediately sensed Heiyan's overwhelming chakra. It quickly raised its head, glaring at Heiyan with blood-red Sharingan eyes.
Then, it repeated its earlier technique, launching another [Tailed Beast Ball]—this time, however, targeting Heiyan instead of Minato.
"The Nine-Tails attacked me first. If I retaliate in self-defense, there shouldn't be a problem," Heiyan mused silently. Then, he stretched out one hand and actually caught the massive black [Tailed Beast Ball]—an orb hundreds of times larger than himself.
Witnessing this unfold, even the Nine-Tails on the ground was momentarily stunned.
The next second.
"Here goes!"
With a mighty heave, Heiyan flung the mountain-sized [Tailed Beast Ball] back along its original trajectory, slamming it hard right onto the Nine-Tails' body.
Boom!
Caught completely off guard, the beast was instantly struck down by its own attack, landing flat on its back, limbs flailing helplessly in the air.
Huh?
Minato Namikaze and Obito Uchiha heard the commotion and turned around, shocked to see the Nine-Tails lying defeated on the ground.
Equally astonished were the Konoha ninjas inside the village.
Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen and the other Leaf ninja, upon witnessing someone humiliating and pummeling the Nine-Tails so easily, lifted their gazes in horror toward the white-robed figure hovering above.
"Who is that guy?"
This question formed in countless minds simultaneously. However, influenced by the world's power, Heiyan's figure suddenly became blurry, as if blurred out like a censored image, making him indistinguishable.
Heiyan also sensed the backlash effect from the space-time rule-based power. At this point, spatial currents surged toward him like ocean tides, squeezing his body until it gradually turned transparent—forcing him back toward the space-time gate.
Therefore, Heiyan had no choice but to withdraw. After glancing once more at the Nine-Tails, he turned and left.
Buzzzzz.
Nearby an open lot not far from the Hokage Rock, space rippled with vortex-like waves, and Heiyan appeared at that location. Glancing at Minato and Obito, he smiled and said:
"Looks like I didn't miss the action."
Minato tensed immediately.
With just one look, he discerned the stranger's space-warping ability mirrored Madara's exactly—clearly indicating he was an ally of Madara's. One-on-one, Minato already had little chance of victory; defeating two opponents at once was even less feasible.
Things were turning really dangerous now.
In fact, underneath his mask, Obito's expression was even grimmer than Minato's.
He recognized it right away — Heiyan had used Kamui. That was unbelievable.
After all, his Mangekyou Dojutsu ability "Kamui" was a uniquely special power that even Madara Uchiha admired. How could someone else possibly use it?
Yet the fact lay right before him, leaving no room for disbelief.
This mysterious man with white hair and a white-robed figure first casually deflected the Nine-Tails' Tailed Beast Ball, then proceeded to unleash Kamui. These two feats alone were enough for Obito to set aside Minato and now consider this man the greatest threat.
Seeing both of them staring at him, Heiyan shook his head and crossed his arms, leaning against a tree behind him.
"Don't get the wrong idea. I'm just here passing by and enjoying the show. Please continue; I promise I won't interfere."
He said with a smirk, clearly eager to watch what would unfold.
When neither moved yet, Heiyan helplessly added, "If you two still won't throw a punch, guess I'll just have to knock some sense into you."
As soon as he finished speaking, he pulled out a kunai, threw it forward, and under Minato's and Obito's watchful eyes, the kunai soared more than twenty meters through the air before planting itself into a tree trunk.
The next instant,
[Heiyan] formed a hand seal and teleported directly in front of the kunai, pulling it out from the tree.
[Flying Thunder God Technique]?!
Both Minato and Obito, witnessing this scene, grew even more astonished.
This person not only wielded Obito's Kamui, but also mastered Minato's Flying Thunder God technique — just who exactly was he?
Although neither could guess Heiyan's true identity, they at least confirmed one thing:
Heiyan was neither an ally of Obito nor a supporter of Minato — simply a strange and enigmatic powerful shinobi.
So once again, Minato and Obito locked eyes in midair.
"For me, a one-on-one match is an opportunity. Regardless of circumstances, I need to defeat this Uchiha Madara first."
Minato thought inwardly, gripping tightly onto the Flying Thunder God Kunai in his hand.
Obito, likewise, raised the chains in his grasp, his gaze sharp.
The next instant —
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Both launched themselves simultaneously, rushing toward each other and igniting a fierce battle.
Before long, Heiyan personally witnessed the classic scene from the anime: Minato deceived Obito using the Flying Thunder God — Second Step, then struck him down with a Rasengan, seriously injuring him.
Next, Minato pressed his advantage, activating the Contract Seal to successfully separate Obito from the Nine-Tails.
In this teacher-versus-student duel, the student ultimately received a hard lesson from his mentor.
"Truly worthy of being the Fourth Hokage. But I'm destined to rule the world. I've got plenty of ways to do it. The Nine-Tails will be mine either way."
Clutching his wounded left arm, Obito left a few threatening words before resolutely activating Kamui and vanishing.
"Still have a few words for that brat. Later."
Heiyan spoke shortly afterward, also unleashing Kamui and disappearing on the spot.
"That brat?"
The choice of words caught Minato's attention.
His mind raced rapidly, quickly deducing two possibilities.
The first possibility was that Heiyan, based on his appearance, was a young man in his early twenties. If so, then the masked figure before him would be even younger, proving that he wasn't Madara Uchiha.
The second possibility: the masked figure truly was Madara Uchiha, while Heiyan was an ancient monster who had lived for many years but kept his youthful look with an age-defying technique or ability.
Minato favored the second possibility.
Still, this wasn't the time to dwell on such things. He had to confront the Nine-Tails immediately.
With that thought, Minato activated the [Flying Thunder God Technique] and headed toward the battlefield inside the village.
Kamui's Space.
"Heh... heh..."
Obito caught his breath, cold sweat streaming down his face as he sat resting on a stone pillar, holding his left arm.
Fortunately, he had received the First Hokage's cells through transplantation. Even if one arm was torn off, he could regenerate a new one through powerful cell regeneration.
It only needed a moment.
Suddenly—
"A pathetic sight."
A mocking voice sounded abruptly inside Kamui's space. Then, Heiyan appeared.
"How did you get in here?"
Obito's expression changed drastically. He suppressed the terror rising within and forced himself to remain calm, speaking in a steady tone.
In his opinion, even if the other party also had Kamui, there was no reason they should be able to enter his personal Kamui space—it made no sense at all.
"Must be exhausting, talking so seriously all the time. Madara Uchiha? Or should I say… your real name is Uchiha Obito?"
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