It really has been a long time, Obito!

The terror of death terrified Naruto Uzumaki, but it did not break him.

Naruto, amidst lingering fear, ignited a relentless surge of anger.

[So this is how my mother was torn apart! Her death was so painful, yet when she met me within the seal, there was only profound happiness and an unconcealable reluctance to part.]

[The mother was in so much pain, yet she showed it at all.]

[That damn bastard!]

Naruto Uzumaki's hatred for Obito Uchiha was somewhat insincere, since he had no memory of his parents' deaths.

His hatred stemmed from the pain of his miserable childhood, but by the time he realized it, he had already enjoyed several years of good life under the care of his teacher, and the pain had become blurred.

Because pain becomes blurred, the hatred that arises from it also appears vague and not as profound.

But when one experiences the same thing, and the perpetrator is the same person, hatred finally becomes tangible and incredibly real.

Naruto Uzumaki's eyes gradually became bloodshot as he stared intently at Obito through the Wall of Flames, wishing he could devour his flesh and drink his blood.

However, he did not lose his composure and stopped Sasuke and Sakura from approaching, preventing them from running into the Wall of Flames, unaware of the extent of the danger.

Uchiha Sasuke glanced at Naruto Uzumaki, secretly swallowed, and didn't dare to ask a single question.

That's fucking terrifying.

How can Naruto Uzumaki, such a gentle guy, become so terrifying when he gets angry?

What exactly happened just now?

Uchiha Sasuke was relatively quiet, but Sakura Haruno's legs were trembling like noodles.

Naruto's terror is on a completely different level from the terror of his enemies.

Naruto Uzumaki took more than a dozen deep breaths and finally controlled his anger, gradually calming down.

He looked at Obito Uchiha was frozen in place but slowly recovering, and asked, "Sasuke, Sakura, what do you think of his strength? Can we defeat him?"

Uchiha Sasuke remained silent for a while before answering, "His strength surpasses Uchiha Itachi's. If he didn't only have one Mangekyō Sharingan, Sakura probably wouldn't have had a chance to strike him from his blind spot."

"He possesses the ability to [Hollowfication] his body and traverse space, along with the Wood Release Kekkei Genkai and an exaggerated Self-Healing ability, making him a monster with perfect combat capabilities."

Sasuke paused, then finally said, "Naruto, I don't think the three of us working together can defeat him."

Naruto looked at Sakura Haruno and asked, "How are you feeling, Sakura?"

Sakura Haruno, suppressing her double fear, replied in a trembling voice, "It's impossible to win, and the Chakra in my Yin Seal is exhausted. I have almost no fighting power left."

Naruto Uzumaki closed his eyes and sighed deeply, "Alas, weakness is indeed the original sin."

"Next time, next time I'll definitely kill you, you bastard!"

"Team 7 Konoha, retreat!"

Uchiha Sasuke and Naruto Uzumaki, one on each side, supported the limp Sakura Haruno and chased after the main force.

On the other side of the Wall of Flames, Obito Uchiha gradually recovered from the impact of the terrifying eye power and regained consciousness from his complete paralysis.

His eyesight returned, and he saw Konoha's Team 7, their backs to each other as they walked away, supporting one another.

At that moment, Obito Uchiha thought of the joy and sorrow he experienced when he was young, spending time with Kakashi Hatake and Rin.

Obito's eyes welled up with tears, his nose stung, and he almost cried.

But his obsession had already hardened, and his emotions were only fleeting. He immediately began to consider how to hunt down the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.

Obito sneered, "Trying to run away from me? That's wishful thinking."

"Do you know that I am the strongest in Space-Time Ninjutsu? How could a mere Nine-Tails Jinchuriki possibly escape from my grasp?"

Obito stretched out his right hand, grabbed a handful of Konoha's Team 7 who was about to disappear over the sand dunes, and said viciously, "Run, run! I'll come and catch you once I've recovered."

"If I catch you this time, you'll all die a horrible death."

Suddenly, Obito Uchiha sensed a faint spatial fluctuation. Before he could react, a hand reached out from behind him and gently removed his mask.

Then a very familiar face appeared before Obito. He observed it carefully for a long time, then sighed and said, "It really has been a long time, Obito."

Obito Uchiha shrank back, muttering, "Minato Namikaze —Sensei—"

"Sorry."

Even after turning to the dark Obito Uchiha is Obito.

When he puts on the mask, he seems to truly believe he is Madara Uchiha, able to address Minato Namikaze as "Fourth Hokage" without batting an eye, and even when he's about to kill Kushina Uzumaki, he sneers and calls her "Nine-Tails Jinchuriki."

But when the mask is removed, he reverts to Obito Uchiha, bickering and arguing with Kakashi Hatake, no longer displaying the coldness and composure he once had when imitating Madara Uchiha.

But that was when he was facing Kakashi Hatake; Obito Uchiha since childhood.

Although Obito himself was the Dead Last and Kakashi was the top student in his grade, Obito always regarded Kakashi as his rival and constantly competed with him.

Now that Obito Uchiha's mask has been removed, leaving him completely exposed to Minato Namikaze, his spirits immediately crumbled.

Minato Namikaze sighed, "Obito, what happened to your face?"

Obito Uchiha trembled even more violently. His trembling lips made it impossible for him to speak; the only sounds that came out after the air rushed through his throat were "woo woo, woo woo woo woo".

The Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze, was a gentle Hokage. If it were the Fifth Hokage Shazo, he would have slapped him across the face long ago.

Of course, Obito Uchiha would cry and sob in front of the Fourth Hokage, but he dared not stop in front of the Fifth Hokage. As soon as he saw Shazo's shadow, he would run away frantically to avoid being beaten to death by the strongest Ninja World.

Only Minato Namikaze intervenes will Obito Uchiha, that slippery eel, stop, debating with his teacher for his absurd ideals, and finally engaging in another great battle.

Once the great war begins, Minato Namikaze, with his abilities, will have a chance to defeat Obito Uchiha.

This is why Shazo was willing to expose Konoha's biggest secret in order to mobilize Minato Namikaze, while he himself remained in Konoha to oversee the situation.

A mimosa plant slowly emerged from the distant yellow sand, and the Black and White Zetsu Yin-Yang was revealed from the split leaves. He recognized the Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze, Minato Namikaze, Impure World Reincarnation at a glance.

Black and White Zetsu Jue were taken aback, then realized a big problem. He quickly sank into the ground and, using the "Mysterious" ring, connected with the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.

At this moment, the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, hidden in the mountainous region bordering the Land of Wind and the Land of Bears, is extracting the One-Tail from the belly of the Fifth Kazekage, Gaara.

The one presiding over the extraction was Nagato, whose hands were constantly changing hand seals, controlling the Sealing Technique originating from the Rinnegan to continue operating.

[Sealing Technique: Nine Seals of the Illusionary Dragon]

Under the extraction effect of this Sealing Technique, pale blue Wind Style Chakra flowed from Gaara's nine orifices and converged into the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.

Because Nagato regained his health with the help of White Zetsu Cells, his strength was far greater than in his original crippled state, and he didn't need Pain: Deva Path's intervention at all.

Therefore, it is not necessary for all the core members of Akatsuki to be present to assist, and the extraction speed of the Tailed Beast can reach the limit of the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path's absorption.

The phantom of Nagato noticed the appearance of the phantom of Black Zetsu, immediately opened its eyes and looked over, only to find with surprise that his expression was strange.

Nagato then asked, "Black Zetsu, what happened?"

Black Zetsu replied, "Something's not right. There's a problem with that Sunagakure reinforcement. Only Ninja from Chiyo Sunagakure; the rest were all reinforcements sent by Konoha."

Konan asked in surprise, "Are the main force of the rescue team all Konoha Ninja?"

Black Zetsu replied, "Yes, they're all Konoha Ninja."

Deidara scoffed, "I found it strange when I heard the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki had arrived, but for Sunagakure to only send an old woman is just too much."

"Is it that Konoha and Sunagakure have a good relationship, or does Sunagakure not care about its Fifth Kazekage, or is Sunagakure truly out of talent?"

Black Zetsu's words were repeatedly interrupted, and he jumped up and down, shouting, "That's not the point! The point is, besides Jiraiya, Kakashi Hatake, and the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, Konoha also has some weirdo here!"

Nagato's eyes instantly sharpened. "Could it be that the Fifth Hokage Shazo, has personally taken action?"

Black Zetsu shook his head and said, "It's not the Fifth Hokage, it's the Fourth Hokage."

"Um?"

All the members of the Akatsuki, including Uchiha Itachi, who was severely injured by the power of the Nine-Tomoe Rinnegan, were stunned.

Kakuzu asked, slightly annoyed, "Zetsu, are you sure you're not mistaken?"

Kisame Hoshigaki then said, "The Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, has been dead for almost 20 years, hasn't he?"

Uchiha Itachi said, "16 years."

"The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki is 16 years old this year. He was born at the same time the Fourth Hokage died in battle."

Black Zetsu jumped up and down in exasperation. "I didn't see wrong, it's the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze! He has blond hair, uses the Flying Thunder God Technique, and is wearing a haori with the words ' Fourth Hokage ' printed on the back!"

"I saw it clearly too. Minato Namikaze has cracks on his face. He's Impure World Reincarnation! The Impure World Reincarnation developed by Orochimaru!"

The Akatsuki members were even more bewildered. "Impure World Reincarnation?!"

"The Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze!!"

Having heard that Black Zetsu believed him, Nagato couldn't help but softly repeat the enemy's identity.

A sudden thought flashed through his mind, and he blurted out, "Oh no, the Fourth Hokage is that guy's... teacher?"

Uchiha Itachi's eyes widened. "To scheme against people to this extent, doesn't that prove that the Fourth Hokage wasn't the only one Impure World Reincarnation from Konoha using the Impure World Reincarnation technique?"

The Akatsuki members were immediately in an uproar.

This is a big problem.

If the Impure World Reincarnation technique could Impure World Reincarnation the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, then the Second Hokage Tobirama Senju, should be able to as well, and the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, would be even more certain, right?

The thought of all the powerful Kage-level Ninja from Konoha emerging one after another to launch a suicidal attack on the Akatsuki made even Nagato, with his Nagato strength, gasp in horror.

Konan sighed deeply, "As expected, it wasn't just us who came up with this idea. The Second Hokage of Konoha was the developer of the forbidden technique [Impure World Reincarnation], so it's quite logical that they came up with this idea."

Nagato's face was grim as he commanded, "Everyone, use [Magic Lantern Body Technique] to project your abilities onto the battlefield, supporting Sasori of the Red Sands and Deidara, and ensuring the seal is successfully completed."

"Once we can complete this, everyone should retreat. There's no need to fight the Konoha Ninja head-on."

Deidara asked, "Boss, are we still going to capture Nine-Tails?"

Nagato glanced at him sideways. "If you're not afraid of death, you can try it yourself."

"But I need to capture the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki next, and the others need to cooperate with me to seal the Eight-Tails. No one has time to save you."

Deidara sighed, "Sigh, alright, I understand."

"I thought I'd get to meet the Fifth Hokage this time and experience his Rōran Great Explosion."

"Ah~~ Explosions are art, but why can't I achieve that kind of breathtaking art?"

Sasori of the Red Sands angrily shouted, "Shut up! If you want to die, don't drag me down with you!"

"And another thing! Explosions aren't art; Eternity beauty is!"

"You stupid figurine fanatic, do you even deserve to call your toys art?"

"Enough!"

Enraged, Nagato roared, and under the oppressive aura of a superior being Rinnegan, everyone fell silent and quietly went about their business.

The silence lasted for a while until Kisame Hoshigaki spoke, breaking the stillness.

"Chief, it's my turn to intercept them."

Uchiha Itachi recovered slightly. He opened his bloodshot eyes and warned, "Be careful of Genjutsu. [Magic Lantern Body Technique] cannot provide immunity to some Genjutsu damage."

Kisame Hoshigaki grinned. "Thank you for the reminder, Itachi-san. I'll be careful."

After Team 7 of Konoha held off Uchiha Itachi, the main force of the rescue team swept through the Akatsuki and quickly approached the Land of Bears.

When the yellow sand disappeared and the ground turned into lush green grass, the rescue team encountered their second enemy, a core member of the Akatsuki.

Standing nearly two meters tall, with a shark-like face and skin, Kisame Hoshigaki the Ninja whose image most closely resembles a monster, and also the most earnest and honest Ninja.

Kisame Hoshigaki was a second-generation member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist from Kirigakure, possessing an amount of Chakra unimaginable to ordinary Ninja.

In an era when Hashirama Senju was gradually forgotten, Kisame Hoshigaki's Chakra was astonishing to Ninja, who even called him the "Tailless Tailed Beast."

Of course, with the Fifth Hokage Shazo of Konoha, Sasuke, sweeping across the Ninja World, this title was no longer mentioned.

After all, Kisame Hoshigaki couldn't withstand an attack from 20 Ninja, while a true Chaton Ninja could sweep through an entire ninja village and over a thousand—

Even famous Ninja can exchange Ninjutsu and one can even win the exchange.

Kisame Hoshigaki gradually became known as "the honest man" because among the core members of Akatsuki, he was the only one still using complete hand seals to perform Ninjutsu.

Moreover, he would do everything in his power to complete the mission, even at the cost of his own life.

You could say that Kisame Hoshigaki is the purest Ninja, a tool who lives for missions.