Neither Ryūjin nor Obito Uchiha spared much attention for the arrival of Minato Namikaze.
Obito simply had no room to care, his focus completely locked on the battle in front of him. As for Ryūjin, he never intended to target Minato in the first place.
His objective was simple.
Keep the Nine-Tailed Fox lying there quietly for half an hour.
As long as Minato did not interfere, Ryūjin would not make a move against him.
Minato, on the other hand, remained still.
He did not act rashly.
No matter who these two were or what they wanted, none of that was the priority right now.
The Nine-Tails was.
Still, something about the situation worked in his favor. The two intruders were locked in combat with each other. That alone created an opportunity.
An opportunity to teleport the Nine-Tails away using the Flying Thunder God Technique.
But not yet.
Minato narrowed his eyes, carefully observing everything.
He still did not fully understand what was happening. Why was the Nine-Tails lying motionless, as if asleep?
The most reasonable explanation was that it had been subdued by a Sharingan genjutsu.
Teleporting it away would be easy.
What came after would not.
If either of those two interfered, or worse, regained control and forced the Nine-Tails into a rampage, the consequences would be catastrophic.
He could not risk failure.
The village could not afford it.
For now, the safest choice was to wait for reinforcements from Hiruzen Sarutobi. If possible, capturing both enemies would resolve everything at once.
And if the situation turned unstable, he could still act instantly.
"Fourth Hokage, the Nine-Tails is still useful to me for now. I suggest you don't get any ideas, like quietly teleporting it away."
Ryūjin's voice cut through the tension, calm and direct.
"Though if you only want a portion of its chakra to save your wife, I won't stop you."
He paused, his gaze shifting slightly.
"I assume you won't object either, right… Obito?"
The name landed like a blade.
Obito froze for a fraction of a second.
"Damn it."
His expression behind the mask darkened instantly.
Back in the Hidden Mist, his identity had already been exposed once. He had hoped it would remain uncertain.
Clearly, that hope was pointless.
"You are… Obito!?"
Minato's eyes widened in shock.
Obito, who was supposed to have died long ago.
Without hesitation, Obito reached up and removed his mask.
Since the truth was already out, there was no reason to hide anymore.
Minato's breath caught.
It was him.
"Obito… it really is you."
His voice carried disbelief and pain.
"You're alive… how did things turn out like this?"
Not far away, within the shadows of the forest, two figures emerged quietly from a tree.
Black Zetsu and White Zetsu watched the scene unfold.
"This complicates things a bit," White Zetsu muttered.
"Not really," Black Zetsu replied calmly.
Strength ruled the shinobi world. With Obito's current power, his identity hardly mattered.
He had no attachments left.
No bonds, no weaknesses.
At most, he would no longer act under the name of Uchiha Madara, but even that was insignificant.
"What a pointless question," Obito said flatly, looking at Minato. "What changes if you know, sensei?"
There was no emotion in his voice.
This world meant nothing to him anymore.
Minato's expression tightened.
The Obito he remembered had been kind, clumsy, full of dreams.
What kind of suffering could twist someone into this?
He wanted answers.
But not now.
There was no time.
His attention shifted away from Obito and toward the Nine-Tails.
If teleporting it was too risky, then extracting a portion of its chakra…
That, at least, was possible.
Without another word, Minato pulled out a scroll and began preparing a sealing array, placing markers around the Nine-Tails with precise movements.
Obito glanced at him once, then looked away.
He did not interfere.
To him, Ryūjin was the real threat. Whether Kushina lived or died meant nothing.
Defeating Ryūjin came first.
Only then could he regain control of the Nine-Tails and move forward with his plan.
Swoosh!
Obito gripped his kunai tightly and vanished, reappearing as he lunged at Ryūjin.
Ryūjin moved at the same instant.
Their clash resumed with explosive force, steel ringing sharply through the night.
Minato worked in silence, his hands moving quickly as he maintained constant awareness of the battle.
He remained ready for any sudden change.
But neither of them paid him any attention.
That was enough.
At last, the sealing was complete.
A portion of the Nine-Tails' chakra was successfully stored within the scroll.
Minato let out a quiet breath.
Then he disappeared.
Swish.
The hospital ward came into view.
Several medical ninja surrounded Uzumaki Kushina, their expressions tense as they poured chakra into her failing body.
Sweat dripped down their faces.
But it was not working.
"If only Lady Tsunade were here…"
"We can't do anything… we're useless…"
Their voices were filled with frustration and guilt.
"Thank you for your efforts," Minato said as he stepped forward. "Leave the rest to me."
"Hokage-sama?"
They hesitated, confusion clear on their faces.
Still, they obeyed, stepping aside.
Minato approached Kushina and carefully unrolled the scroll.
Without hesitation, he drew out the sealed chakra.
Then, with steady hands, he began sealing that fragment of the Nine-Tails back into her body.