"Sir, why did Obito attack Konoha?"
"The reason is simple. Obito only wanted to weaken Konoha and maintain the balance of the entire Ninja World."
"Weaken Konoha?"
Minato was puzzled. There hadn't been a victor after the Third Shinobi World War.
Every Ninja Village had suffered enormous losses. Konoha had paid a terrible price as well, so why did it still need to be weakened?
Natsu Yuu briefly explained the situation to the two of them.
After the Third Shinobi World War:
[Sunagakure]'s Third Kazekage disappeared, and the village was devastated by a civil war, nearly destroyed. The Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, had barely managed to rebuild the village and had no strength to invade others.
[Kirigakure]'s Third Mizukage had died, the Tailed Beasts had run amok, and the Seven Ninja Swordsmen had fallen apart. The Bloody Mist Village's policies had killed large numbers of ninja, and even the few elite Anbu who remained had been slaughtered by Obito. The village was just as incapable of invading others.
[Iwagakure] lost fifty elite Stone Ninja to Minato Namikaze at the Battle of Kannabi Bridge. Its ten-thousand-strong army had worn the Third Raikage down to the point of death, suffering more than half its forces in casualties.
[Kumogakure] had lost its strongest fighter, the Third Raikage, and suffered plenty of other casualties as well.
As for [Konoha], its situation went without saying.
During the Third Shinobi World War, people like Might Guy graduated at seven, while Naruto and Sasuke's class graduated at twelve. This meant Konoha had been so short on basic manpower that it had been forced to drastically lower the age at which students graduated.
[Battle of Kannabi Bridge]: A thousand Stone Ninja invaded, and Konoha couldn't spare enough troops to stop them. That was why Kakashi had been hastily promoted to jonin, and why Minato's Squad had been split into two groups, with three people sent to blow up the bridge and one to provide support. It was a desperate situation.
[Battle of Mount Kibaki]: The enemy had reached Konoha's doorstep. That alone showed how brutal the fighting had been and how weak Konoha had become. This battle happened around the same time as the [Battle of Kannabi Bridge]. It was likely that the Battle of Mount Kibaki had exposed Konoha's weakness, prompting Ōnoki to ignore the terrible losses from trying to kill the Third Raikage and scrape together a thousand troops, bit by bit, to invade the [Land of Fire].
Compared to the devastation of the Third Shinobi World War, the Fourth Great Ninja War was, in a way, little more than a farce.
So all five of the Five Great Hidden Villages had suffered grievous losses in the Third Shinobi World War.
However...
Because Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki were around, Konoha still had a huge advantage over the other four villages, despite its heavy losses.
There was no need to elaborate on the [Yellow Flash]. He was worth more than half a Ninja Village all by himself.
And Kushina wasn't just a housewife. She was a living "strategic weapon"—a Jinchuriki.
She wasn't a Perfect Jinchuriki, but with the Uzumaki Secret Technique, she could control the Nine-Tails and unleash "Nuclear Strike Capability."
With the two of them around, Konoha had nearly gained the terrifying ability to destroy the other four villages after the Third Shinobi World War.
Therefore,
the [Nine-Tails' Rampage] had really been Obito correcting the balance.
If his only goal had been to capture the Nine-Tails, he could have taken it away as soon as he succeeded. Why summon the Nine-Tails inside Konoha and let it wreak havoc?
His real goal was to ensure the Uzumaki Clan had no successors, depriving Konoha of its independent "Nuclear Strike Capability"!
Otherwise, the postwar world would have been dominated by Konoha and Minato, seriously disrupting the growth of the [Akatsuki Organization] and its ultimate plan, the [Moon Eye Plan].
Once Minato and Kushina were dead, the Five Great Hidden Villages would return to a relative balance of power.
Of course, taken as a whole, [Kumogakure] would have the greatest strength.
That was why, after the [Nine-Tails' Rampage], Kumogakure immediately went to war with Konoha. They fought for three years without finding out where Konoha stood, so they decided to send someone to capture Hinata and probe further.
If Konoha still had its independent "Nuclear Strike Capability," it wouldn't have been so weak diplomatically.
In the end, only after [Kumogakure] had tested Konoha's limits did it dare to make such an outrageous demand for the [Byakugan].
And there was more.
Seven years later, during the [Uchiha Clan Downfall], Obito had been willing to help Itachi wipe out the Uchiha.
He had probably realized Danzo was planning to tamper with the [Sharingan] to restore Konoha's independent "Nuclear Strike Capability." That was why he'd taken part in the Uchiha Clan Downfall, cutting off every way Konoha could control the Tailed Beasts and getting a batch of [Sharingan] as a backup.
After hearing the explanation, Minato understood once more.
The few doubts he'd had before now made sense.
No wonder Obito had insisted on controlling the Nine-Tails to destroy Konoha. He'd wanted to force Minato to face the Nine-Tails.
So he'd wanted to weaken Konoha and maintain the overall balance of the Ninja World.
If the Nine-Tails had really been sealed inside the infant Naruto, where it couldn't be used, Obito would have had no reason to attack. No wonder Naruto had grown up safely.
How ruthless!
"Obito... How did he end up like this?"
"It's simple. The girl he loved, Rin, died, so naturally he began to hate the whole world and the entire ninja system. Add in Madara's persuasion, and it's no surprise he came up with the idea of destroying the world and remaking it..."
Minato fell silent, unsure how to express his sorrow.
As her teacher, he was heartbroken that he hadn't been able to save Rin.
Rin had been his student too!
But knowing that Madara Uchiha had been pulling the strings behind the scenes, Minato could only sigh helplessly.
Madara had waited until Minato was away on a mission before controlling Rin and sending her to attack Konoha.
When one side had planned for it and the other hadn't, even Minato's Flying Thunder God couldn't be everywhere at once!
But there was no use regretting it now.
The most important thing for Minato was to find a way to deal with the disaster that lay ahead.
"So as long as Kushina and I are alive, that [Akatsuki] organization and Obito will keep trying to kill us? Even cooperate with [Kumogakure]?"
"Yes."
"Just [Kumogakure] is enough to keep Konoha scrambling. Add Obito and the Akatsuki Organization with the [Rinnegan], and do you still think Konoha has a chance of winning?"
Minato nodded, understanding the difference in strength.
If he and Kushina didn't step in, Konoha would almost certainly lose!
And what Natsu Yuu wanted was for Minato to step forward at the last moment and turn the tide, uniting all of Konoha.
If they planned things well, they might even eliminate Obito and Nagato along the way, greatly shortening the progress toward [Unify the Ninja World].
"Fourth, if you face Obito again, will you kill him?"
Minato pondered for a while before answering:
"I want to defeat him and give him another chance. I'll do my best to persuade him to come back."
"But if there's truly no saving him, I'll put an end to him myself!"
Minato had always been able to distinguish clearly between kindness and resolve.
He wanted to save Obito. But if Obito refused to change and kept hurting the village and his family, Minato wouldn't show him mercy.
"Then why not fly over there now, smack him with a Rasengan, and bring him back?"
"I'm sorry, but the Flying Thunder God Mark on him is already beyond the range of my Chakra senses... It's also possible he's already removed it."
"Can your Flying Thunder God Mark be removed?"
"Normally, it can stay in place indefinitely. But if the other person cuts off the flesh it's on or crushes the Kunai, it'll disappear..."
Natsu Yuu nodded and didn't ask further.
They were bound to face Obito again sooner or later. There was no need to rush.
"Minato, what about Kakashi?"
Kushina asked with some concern. For much of her pregnancy, Kakashi had secretly guarded her.
She was also worried that hearing all this about Obito might upset Kakashi.
"Don't worry. I'll tell him when the time is right."
"I'm worried that if I tell him now, he'll leave the village right away to look for Obito..."
Minato said anxiously. He knew all too well how much Obito meant to Kakashi.
"Okay."
Just then,
"Waaah, waaah!"
Naruto's crying came from inside the house. He was clearly hungry and wanted milk...
Kushina hurriedly picked Naruto up.
Minato stood beside her, at a loss as well, his awkwardness as a new father plain to see.
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