"Third Hokage, something terrible has happened! The Nine-Tails has appeared in the village and is wreaking havoc!"
An Anbu Ninja stumbled into Hiruzen Sarutobi's residence. The ninja was covered in wounds, but this was not the time to check on him.
"Uh... Lord Hokage!"
When he saw the Third Hokage, his expression faltered slightly.
"I'm ready for battle, and I can't back down no matter what happens!"
The Third Hokage was already dressed in his armor, and bandages were wrapped around his wrists.
He couldn't even remember the last time he wore this outfit, but that didn't stop him from taking the lead at his advanced age and giving his all in his final days.
Meanwhile, Orochimaru, standing atop the Hokage Rock, finally awaited the moment he had been dreaming of.
The raging Nine-Tailed Nine-Tails was like a wild horse, using both its hands and feet to unleash the fury it had accumulated over the years.
"T-Teacher! Its attack seems to be aimed this way!"
Anko stared in terror at the Tailed Beast Bomb that had materialized in the Nine-Tails' mouth. Her face had turned pale with fright, and her voice was trembling.
Sure enough, the next moment, the Nine-Tails' Tailed Beast Bomb came hurtling towards them.
Anko was so frightened that she panicked and tried to talk to Orochimaru his objections.
Orochimaru, however, remained unmoved. Instead, he pressed down on her head and said in a stern tone:
"Have you forgotten what I just told you?"
These words were like a wake-up call. Orochimaru shouted at her, and Anko let go of her little hand that was tugging at his clothes.
He stood there blankly, watching the Tailed Beast Bomb get closer and closer.
"Oh no! Am I going to die? Should I run away? Why isn't the teacher running away? No! The teacher wouldn't hurt me! I have to trust the teacher!"
These thoughts flashed through her little mind, but she didn't back down.
Instead, he stood in front of Orochimaru, arms outstretched, as if trying to use his small body to block the terrifying Tailed Beast Bomb.
Orochimaru couldn't help but smile as he watched how quickly the figure had adjusted and stood in front of him.
I felt grateful that I hadn't taught this apprentice in vain; it was rare for him to think of me at a time like this. Thinking of this, a warm feeling welled up in my heart.
"Fool, you're not capable of protecting your teacher yet!"
Anko thought she was going to die any minute, and she closed her eyes in fear.
Suddenly, a large, slightly cool hand familiarly pressed down on my head, and a sense of security enveloped me.
The Tailed Beast Bomb quickly arrived at the Hokage Rock, and perhaps in the blink of an eye, the statues of the Hokage of all generations would turn to dust.
At the critical moment, a spatial force appeared in front of the Tailed Beast Bomb.
The next moment, the Tailed Beast Bomb seemed to be swallowed up by the Hokage Rock, disappearing little by little.
"Have they arrived?"
Orochimaru knew who had made the move. A blond man wearing a Hokage robe was standing on a building in the distance; it was none other than the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze.
At this moment, Minato held shuriken with both thumbs and his palms outstretched towards Orochimaru, clearly indicating that he had just activated the Flying Thunder God Formation to transfer the Tailed Beast Bomb.
The next moment, a loud explosion rang out two kilometers away, followed by a mushroom cloud rising into the air.
What happened?
Anko only dared to open her eyes now. The scene of blood and flesh flying everywhere did not appear, but a mushroom cloud rose in the distance, making her little head even more confused.
Minato, who had also transferred the Tailed Beast Bomb Minato, was also somewhat puzzled. He also saw the two people above the Hokage.
"Strange, isn't that Orochimaru? What's he doing there, and why isn't he hiding? If I don't show up, they're doomed!"
Little did he know that even without his intervention, Orochimaru could easily dodge or instantly teleport away the Tailed Beast Bomb.
Before Minato could figure out the intricacies of the situation, a sense of crisis surged into his heart, and Minato instinctively swung his shuriken behind him.
Before he knew it, a dark figure wearing Swirl Mask had already crept up to him.
Just as the Masked Man was about to touch Minato, a shuriken slashed across his body first.
Without any hindrance, the shuriken pierced through the shadows, causing Minato to frown.
"It's you again! What exactly is your purpose?"
Having missed his first attack, Minato created some distance between Minato and the Masked Man, and began to carefully examine the enemy before him.
When Kushina was giving birth, it was this man who bypassed him and snatched Naruto away.
Later, he used Naruto to threaten him to stay away from Kushina, and it was at that time that the Masked Man took the opportunity to kidnap Kushina.
Taking advantage of the time when Kushina's sealing power over Nine-Tails was at its lowest during her childbirth, they extracted Nine-Tails from Kushina's body.
Just when the Nine-Tails, which had been sealed for decades, thought it could regain its freedom by breaking free of its cage, the Sharingan with Three Tomoe instantly took control of it.
This led to the Nine-Tails' attack on Konoha. Upon seeing the culprit again, Minato felt murderous intent for the first time in his life.
"Space-Time Ninjutsu, Sharingan, Nine-Tails! You are Uchiha Madara? Why did you attack Konoha?"
Okay, okay, back then we watched the stars and the moon together, and you called me "Sweetie"; now that you've replaced me with someone new, you call me "Old Cow"!
Minato quickly analyzed the available intelligence to deduce the general situation of the enemy before him.
In his view, only Uchiha Madara, the First Hokage's rival, could have done that.
It wasn't that he was being arbitrary, but rather that the village had very little information about the Uchiha, and very few people knew that those with Sharingan of Three Tomoe or more could control Tailed Beasts.
However, the prerequisite is having strong Chakra as support; otherwise, it cannot be controlled for long.
Obito met both of these conditions: his Sharingan was already the Mangekyō Sharingan, and he also had White Zetsu providing Chakra.
With the beast-taming techniques and summoning Ninjutsu that Madara taught him to forcibly contract Tailed Beasts, everything fell into place naturally.
"It was just a passing fancy; Konoha is as vulnerable as ever!"
Obito lifted his hood, and his voice became low and hoarse, though it was, of course, a disguise.
Seeing that the person in front of him didn't react in any unusual way, Minato became even more cautious.
Unbeknownst to him, a hint of disappointment flashed deep in Obito's eyes.
He lifted his hood to see if Minato would recognize him. If Minato recognized him as his disciple, Obito might stop there.
This was his last glimmer of hope, but unfortunately, things didn't go as planned.
This cannot be blamed on Minato. He witnessed Obito's death firsthand, and the chances of him surviving with such injuries were almost zero.
In addition, since he is now wearing the White Zetsu cloak, his height and physique have changed. Moreover, there are still so many Uchiha clan members alive and well, so Minato did not consider Obito's possibility.
At that moment, the hesitation in Obito's eyes completely vanished, replaced by a strong killing intent.
"Turn back, Madara! Konoha was founded by the First Hokage along with you!"
Minato tried to persuade Obito again, even though he knew it was unlikely. After all, Obito was a member of the Uchiha Clan, Obito's image flashed through his mind.
"Hmph! I've got Konoha in my grasp, and even the Death God can't stop me, I said it!"
Obito's conviction remained unwavering; having made his choice, he was determined to go all the way.
Besides, Obito is already dead, so what kind of idol are you choosing?
There's not much to say. We've exchanged glances and both want to kill each other. A battle is about to break out!
Orochimaru had also noticed what was happening here, but he was no longer interested in watching.
Because the familiar voice rang in his mind again the moment the Tailed Beast Bomb attacked him.