"We went to check, but the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki's acquaintances knew nothing."
"The medic who handled her delivery is deep inside the T&I department. That place is packed with barriers, sensory units, and ANBU ready to respond at the first sign of intrusion."
"It's too risky to make contact now."
Obito gave a small nod. "True. No need to stir the hornet's nest."
For all of White Zetsu's mobility and disguise tricks, there were still ways to expose him.
"Forget it. If we can't confirm, then something must've happened inside Konoha. Either way, it won't matter. A few extra ANBU won't change the outcome."
"Obito, there's still the Third Hokage. They call him the Professor of Ninjutsu… the Hero of the Shinobi."
Obito's expression hardened beneath the mask. "So what? With Kamui and hostages, what can he do? When the Nine-Tails is tearing the village apart, will Sarutobi really have the heart to fight me?"
He hadn't inherited Madara's entire arsenal yet, but his own growth had made him arrogant. The world felt wide open before him, and he believed nothing could hold him back.
Zetsu's chuckle oozed through the bark. "You're confident, I'll give you that. So… we go as planned?"
Obito shook his head. "Not quite. This kind of opportunity doesn't come twice."
"What are you thinking?"
"Mobilize every clone you have in the village. Disguise them as foreign spies and harass the ANBU outside the barrier. Distract them, drag them away. And make it Mist shinobi."
A pause. Zetsu sounded uncertain. "Mist? My clones aren't trained in Water Style, and once they're killed..."
Obito cut him off. "Doesn't matter. Doubt is enough. Just plant the seed."
"…Fine. I'll make the arrangements. Don't be late."
Zetsu slipped into the earth, vanishing along the roots and waterways that crisscrossed beneath Konoha.
"I'll never be late again," Obito muttered. He rose, leapt through the night, and landed at the Memorial Stone. Rin's cenotaph stared back at him—just a photo, not her true resting place. He still visited whenever he had the chance.
His gloved hand brushed the carved surface, and for a moment a genuine smile softened his face. Then space warped, and he was gone.
On the western edge of the Uchiha district, Gen stood on his rooftop, arms folded, the moon at his back. His robe fluttered in the night breeze.
"So… no evacuation."
The intel he had slipped to the Hokage was only a possibility, and proud men never fled at possibilities.
"Dear Hokage, are you really prepared for Obito?"
He sighed. "White-washed, three times weaker. Blackened, ten times stronger. That wasn't just a joke."
"If you fail to kill him and the Nine-Tails tears the village apart like before… well, that'd be hilarious."
Gen chuckled, then dropped back inside. "I've done all I can. Whether you survive now depends on your Hokage."
He went to bed. If the Nine-Tails still appeared tonight, he wouldn't be sleeping for long.
ROOOOAR!
A monstrous bellow shattered the night. Gen bolted upright, vaulted through his window barefoot, and landed on the roof.
And there it was.
The Nine-Tails, towering like a mountain of fire, tails lashing hurricanes through the streets. Every roar cracked stone and toppled rooftops.
The full beast dwarfed the half version split by Minato's seal, four times larger, a true calamity.
Full Kurama stood at the scale of a Perfect Susanoo or Hashirama's Wood Golem. The half-beast that Naruto and Minato wielded belonged in the tier below, summons, lesser bijū, even the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.
"Alas," Gen whispered. "So Obito survived after all. Namikaze Minato… I told you what that man could do."
His gaze lingered. "Do you Hokage even understand the value of Wood Release? If you want to kill him, don't waste time. Blow off his head. Even Hidan wouldn't survive that."
He paused, then smirked. "Maybe." Truth be told, he wasn't certain.
"Forget it. If I can't stop him, I can at least profit from the chaos."
His fingers blurred through seals.
Poof.
A shadow clone stood beside him.
"You slip into the Hokage's residence. Find the Book of Seals. Copy everything you can. If time is short, just record the Flying Thunder God."
The clone grinned. "Understood." It leapt into the night.
The Book of Sealed wasn't in the Hokage's office or archives. It was kept in the Hokage's residence itself; passed down since Hashirama's time alongside forbidden scrolls and confidential records.
Hiruzen had once lived there before moving back to the Sarutobi compound. Minato, unconstrained by tradition, stayed with Kushina.
That meant the Book could only be in three places tonight; the Hokage's house, Hiruzen's home, or Minato's. All heavily guarded. All warded by barriers. Orochimaru had once plundered them anyway, proof that Anbu and seals alone couldn't stop the truly determined.
Gen glanced again at Nine-tails' rampage, then ducked back inside to dress for battle.
Across Konoha, the beast's roar woke thousands.
Ninjas scrambled onto rooftops and into courtyards—only to freeze in stunned terror at the sight of the monster blotting out the sky.