Inside the barrier, a newborn’s cry shattered the suffocating silence.
Kushina Uzumaki lay drenched in sweat, exhaustion written across her face.
Yet despite her weakness, a joyful smile bloomed on her lips.
“…Naruto…
our son…”
Minato Namikaze tightly held her hand, his eyes warm with emotion.
But the precious moment lasted only an instant.
Outside the delivery barrier, the ANBU guards fell one after another.
Not a scream.
Not a struggle.
Their lives were snuffed out as though an invisible hand had crushed them.
A figure slipped through a weak point in the barrier before it could fully stabilize.
Like a ghost.
An orange spiral mask.
A single eye stared through its lone opening, cold and emotionless.
“Who’s there?!”
Biwako and the medical ninja cried out, attempting to intercept him.
Obito never slowed.
A single strike.
Another.
Bodies collapsed limply to the floor.
He had only one objective.
The Nine-Tails’ Jinchūriki…
At the weakest point of the seal.
And…
The newborn child.
“Sharingan.”
The unstable seal within Kushina violently reacted.
The Nine-Tails’ chakra erupted out of control.
“Aaaagh!!”
Her agonized scream replaced the joy of motherhood.
“Kushina!”
Minato’s eyes widened in horror.
Obito reached for the newborn Naruto.
His movement was so fast it left only an afterimage.
“Fourth Hokage…”
The voice beneath the mask carried amusement and cruelty.
“Stay away from the Jinchūriki.”
“Or your son…”
“…won’t live to see his first minute.”
Naruto wailed helplessly as Obito held him aloft.
Minato froze.
Protect his wife…
Or protect his son?
A single instant.
Yet it felt heavier than a mountain.
“…Who are you?”
“What do you want?”
His voice came out hoarse with suppressed rage.
“I’ve come to bring this farce to an end.”
Obito’s answer was indifferent.
“Hand over the Nine-Tails.”
“Or watch your son die.”
The tip of a kunai rested gently against Naruto’s tiny neck.
Flying Thunder God Technique!
In a golden flash…
Minato vanished.
The next instant, Naruto was already safely in his father’s arms across the room.
But…
That brief opening was exactly what Obito had been waiting for.
“Got you.”
“The Nine-Tails’ Jinchūriki.”
His hand clamped onto the exhausted Kushina.
Kamui.
Space twisted violently.
Both of them disappeared.
“Kushina!”
Minato roared in despair.
Naruto’s cries grew even louder, as though he could sense his father’s anguish.
Konoha’s peace ended in that instant.
BOOM!!
A deafening explosion erupted from the heart of the village.
Flames rose into the night sky.
The colossal form of the Nine-Tails appeared within Konoha.
Its crimson eyes overflowed with destruction.
Every sweep of its tails reduced buildings to rubble.
Every roar sent countless civilians fleeing in terror.
“ROOOAAARRR!!”
The beast’s howl shook the entire village.
Outside Konoha…
Within a secluded forest clearing…
Obito dragged Kushina to a prepared ritual site.
“The Uzumaki really are hard to kill.”
He looked down at the woman bound in chains, barely clinging to life.
“But this is where it ends.”
His hands formed seals.
“Come forth…”
“Nine-Tails!”
Kushina’s body convulsed violently.
The sealing formula on her abdomen shattered piece by piece.
An even more agonizing scream tore from her throat.
A massive torrent of crimson chakra was ripped from her body.
It felt as though her very soul was being torn away.
For a Jinchūriki…
The extraction of a Tailed Beast meant only one thing.
Death.
Her brilliant red hair dulled.
Her life force faded at terrifying speed.
Obito watched coldly before tossing her aside like discarded trash.
His gaze shifted toward the Nine-Tails rampaging through Konoha.
“Go.”
“Destroy everything.”
“Reduce it all to ashes.”
Under the Sharingan’s control…
Kurama became even more savage.
Fire.
Smoke.
Screams.
Despair.
The entire village was engulfed in chaos.
Minato entrusted Naruto to one of the surviving ANBU before using Flying Thunder God to transport Kushina into another protective barrier.
Looking at his wife’s pale face…
His heart twisted in pain.
But he couldn’t stop.
He was the Hokage.
Donning the white cloak embroidered with the words Fourth Hokage, Minato charged toward the battlefield.
“…Minato…”
Kushina weakly reached out.
Her hand fell limply before it could touch him.
From high above…
Obito overlooked the burning village.
A twisted smile spread beneath his mask.
Against the Nine-Tails…
Konoha’s shinobi were little more than insects.
The Third Hokage had already joined the battle, desperately organizing the village’s defense.
Everything…
Was proceeding exactly according to plan.
The Nine-Tails had drawn away every major fighting force.
Now…
He could calmly proceed to the next phase.
Destroy the village he had once loved…
And later hated.
Or fully enslave the Nine-Tails as his ultimate weapon.
Everything…
Was under his control.
Or so he believed.
While Obito reveled in his revenge…
A lone figure silently appeared within the forest clearing where Kushina had been abandoned.
This was the temporary ritual site where, in the original timeline, Minato and Kushina would ultimately seal the Nine-Tails using the Dead Demon Consuming Seal.
Now…
Kushina lay there alone.
Her life hanging by a thread.
“…You’ve seen better days, Kushina-senpai.”
Yu crouched beside her, gently brushing a finger across her icy cheek.
Her eyelids fluttered open.
Her vision was blurred.
“…Who…
are you…?”
“Just a passerby.”
“Collecting a little interest while I’m here.”
An immense flow of chakra poured into her body.
His Sage Body.
His Asura chakra.
Warm and gentle, like a flowing stream.
The rapidly fading spark of her life stabilized.
A hint of color slowly returned to her pale face.
“…This power…”
She could feel life returning.
She was still critically weak.
But death had retreated—for now.
Yu said nothing more.
He rose to his feet and looked toward Konoha, where flames still illuminated the night sky.
Then, inwardly…
He spoke to the system.
“System.
Check in.”
[Ding!
Check-in successful at: Temporary Sealing Altar — Nine-Tails Incident!]
[Congratulations!
You have obtained: Perfect Nine-Tails Chakra Mode (No Jinchūriki Required.
Can Be Activated Freely.)]
The instant the notification ended—
BOOM!!
An overwhelming torrent of golden chakra erupted from Yu’s body.
It dwarfed even the raging chakra of the Nine-Tails itself.
Golden chakra surged upward like blazing flames.
Within moments, it condensed into a tangible cloak surrounding him.
Ancient black magatama markings spread across its surface.
Majestic.
Noble.
Overwhelming.
Behind him…
Nine enormous tails of pure golden chakra unfurled into the night.
They lashed through the air, stirring violent winds.
The sheer pressure seemed capable of making heaven and earth submit.
Far away…
Kurama suddenly froze mid-rampage.
For the first time…
Confusion appeared in the beast’s blood-red eyes.
Followed by something even rarer.
Unease.
It had sensed…
A higher existence.
Yu slowly raised a hand, savoring the tremendous power flowing through his body.
The Nine-Tails’ chakra blended perfectly with his Sage Body and Asura’s chakra.
There wasn’t the slightest trace of conflict.
Its strength far surpassed the ordinary Nine-Tails Chakra Mode used by typical Jinchūriki.
It also granted Kurama’s extraordinary sensory abilities…
And astonishing regenerative power.
“…Obito.”
“Your script is full of holes.”
Golden chakra rippled around him like living fire.
“Now…”
“It’s my turn.”