[Hiruzen]: "Minato… I never revealed Naruto's identity. It was to protect him."
[Minato]: "I understand, Lord Third."
[Naruto (Adult)]: "Honestly, I'm grateful. If it weren't for you, Gramps, I'd probably have been locked away."
(Canon note: Naruto really said this in Boruto-era flashbacks.)
Minato lay on the grass, chest heaving.
Multiple long-range teleportations had drained almost every drop of chakra.
He gritted his teeth, analyzing.
For someone to infiltrate Konoha's barrier so easily…
To know exactly where Kushina was giving birth—
Could it be Danzo who leaked the intel?
[Danzo]: "Hold on! Don't pin this on me—it was Kakashi's fault!"
[Kakashi]: "Obito… why?"
[Obito]: "I should be asking you, Sensei. You didn't even recognize your own student."
[Ōnoki]: "You were wrapped up like a mummy. Who'd recognize you?"
The air warped again.
Obito stepped from the distortion, chains glinting faintly in the moonlight.
"Who are you?" Minato's tone turned razor-sharp. "Don't tell me—Uchiha Madara?"
"Who knows?"
"Impossible. Madara's been dead for years. Then again… maybe it doesn't matter who you are. Why attack Konoha?"
"Maybe whim. Maybe destiny." Obito's voice was cold and distant.
He flicked his wrist; the iron chain coiled like a serpent.
Both charged forward—blur against blur.
Minato's kunai sliced through air. Obito's body ghosted into nothingness.
Chains lashed out, caught the Fourth's cloak—
—and then his form blinked away in a shimmer of gold light.
[Obito (thinking)]: "As expected… he's fast."
[Minato (thinking)]: "He turns solid the instant he attacks. That's the opening."
Speed. Timing. One blink would decide everything.
[Raikage A]: "Tch. Even I can't keep up with that analysis mid-fight!"
[Ōnoki]: "So? Who wins?"
[Mei Terumī]: "Obito seems untouchable… unless—"
[Itachi]: "Unless the Fourth finds the moment his Kamui fails."
The two shinobi lunged again.
This time Minato flicked his marked kunai forward.
Obito sneered. "Same trick twice?"
His body blurred, the kunai passing harmlessly through his head.
He reached out, hand phasing through Minato's chest—
But before contact, a flash.
Blue light burst across the clearing.
A spinning sphere of chakra formed midair—Rasengan!
"Got you."
The world stilled.
Minato disappeared from in front of him—
—and reappeared above.
"Flying Thunder God — Second Stage!"
The Rasengan slammed into Obito's back.
The earth cracked open beneath the impact.
[Boruto]: "THAT'S INSANE! Grandpa's so cool!"
[Sarada]: "Can you not scream every time something awesome happens?"
[Iwabe]: "Nah, he's flexing. Definitely flexing."
Smoke curled as Obito crashed, gasping.
He realized—too late—what Minato had done.
"He teleported… to the kunai's mark behind me…"
Minato's voice echoed cold and calm.
"Flying Thunder God: Second Stage."
He had used the instant Obito turned solid to counter with impossible precision.
Even the Yellow Flash had to move faster than time itself.
While Obito reeled, Minato pressed his palm against his back, searing a new seal.
"Now I've marked you."
Obito staggered away, half his arm sloughing off like liquid.
"You really are… my teacher," he rasped. "But this isn't over."
"Nor will I allow you to use the Nine-Tails ever again."
Minato's seal pulsed—the link between Obito and Kurama snapped.
Across the village, Kurama blinked, control fading—
but rage remained.
It roared again, leveling buildings with one swing.
Obito vanished into his dimension, his voice echoing:
"Impressive, Sensei. But the fox… will be mine again soon."
The chat erupted—
[Boruto]: "Grandpa's way cooler than Dad!"
[Sarada]: "Don't start that again. Lord Seventh's amazing too."
[Iwabe]: "Still, that brainwork under pressure? Legendary."
[Denki]: "He really is the perfect shinobi."
[Chōchō]: "And handsome! Don't forget handsome!"
[Raikage A]: "Heh. Guess that's why they called him the Yellow Flash."
[Bee]: "Yo yo yo, my bro Minato stole the show!"
[Mei]: "A man that smart and that cute… sigh."
[Jiraiya]: "Told you all—no one could surpass my student."
High above, the last fragments of moonlight flickered through the drifting smoke.
The Fourth Hokage stood alone—torn, bleeding, but unyielding—
his mind already on the next battle.
Because the fox was still out there.
The true fight was only beginning.
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