The Biggest Beneficiary

"Swish!"

The moment the figure appeared, he raised his blade and severed Masked Obito's right arm in one clean motion, with Shisui's long sword falling immediately behind it.

But clearly, the opponent had vanished from the spot once again.

"The technique—it's the Flying Thunder God Jutsu!" Kakashi exclaimed.

"You guessed right!"

The voice of the Sora clone rang out behind Shisui, and before the words had even finished, one of his hands was already reaching toward Shisui's ninja tool pouch.

His target was the glass vial containing the Kamui Mangekyo.

"Bang!"

Shisui swung his long sword horizontally, sending the Sora clone flying with a single strike. Had it not been for the shuriken he used to block, the clone would have been sliced in two.

"Hum..."

Three tomoe spun as Shisui's Mangekyō Sharingan activated instantly.

"Did I fail? No matter, the primary objective is achieved. Goodbye, everyone!"

The moment before the Mangekyō fully manifested, the Sora clone grabbed Masked Obito's arm with one hand and, clutching a kunai in the other, vanished from the spot.

"Hah... hah..."

Shisui panted heavily as he deactivated his Mangekyō; he had exhausted far too much chakra and ocular power tonight.

Beside him, Kakashi looked stunned. "The Fourth's Flying Thunder God Jutsu—how is that possible?"

Fugaku, who had been keeping a low profile all night, stepped forward. He picked up a stone and looked at a dead mouse below, where a seal was marked: (Uzumaki Sora). Uzumaki?

Kakashi frowned and said, "The teacher once said that in the entire history of Konoha, only the Second Hokage and the teacher himself mastered the Flying Thunder God Jutsu. Who is that person? Uzumaki Sora?"

Scanning the surroundings, Shisui sheathed his long sword and said, "He didn't have much strength; in fact, he was weaker than an average chunin in taijutsu. If it hadn't been such an emergency, that last strike would have injured him even through his block."

Fugaku frowned deeply, thinking for a moment before saying, "We will report this to the Hokage later. This involves the Uzumaki Clan, and the purpose of this guy's right arm—there are too many implications here."

Masked Obito, who had been hanging his head while recovering, let out a low, raspy laugh.

"Hehehe... was that the guy from just now? Red hair, Uzumaki Clan, Uzumaki Sora!"

"He's the one who gave you my intel, isn't he? To think there are still people hiding in the shadows of this world. Do you want to know what my right arm is for?"

"Uchiha Shisui, the reason I can use Wood Release is precisely because of that right arm! The Uzumaki Clan, who long intermarried with the Senju, are famous for their red hair, longevity, Sealing Jutsu, and vast chakra reserves. That fellow came for the First Hokage—for the power of the man known as the God of Shinobi."

In an instant, Masked Obito's words left them all in shock.

Fortunately, before Obito could speak further, the three tomoe in Fugaku's eyes slowly spun, ensuring the two medical ninjas nearby heard nothing under the influence of his genjutsu.

"Bang!"

With a single palm strike, Fugaku physically knocked the eyeless Obito unconscious.

"From here on, all questions will be handled by the Fourth. Our mission is to escort him back to the Military Police Force and ensure his safety!"

Shisui and Kakashi nodded in succession. Both were geniuses, and both were veterans of the Third Great Ninja War.

The surname Uzumaki concerned more than just the First Hokage's wife, Mito; the dead were gone. It concerned the current Hokage, Fourth Namikaze Minato's wife: Kushina Uzumaki!

In the dark woods, a figure quietly appeared atop a giant tree.

"Hiss!"

The Sora clone hissed, looking at his wrist where he held the kunai—it was swollen!

The clone's overall strength fluctuated with the original body's development. At five years old, his physical strength compared to Shisui's taijutsu meant it was a miracle he hadn't been cut in half.

If not for the surprise factor of the Flying Thunder God and his near-zero neural reaction time, the second time he reached out would have been the clone's end.

Still, the harvest was decent. With his current strength, he lacked the power to steal from Orochimaru's laboratory or Danzo's Root.

The Flying Thunder God was useful, but it required hard-hitting offensive power. Minato's strength and the Rasengan were things he couldn't replicate yet.

An arm made of Hashirama Body Material—there was nothing more suitable than this!

"Bang!"

A puff of smoke rose, and the arm was sealed into a small scroll.

Next, he would have to go out and take on life-threatening missions; his lack of combat experience was a major weakness.

In fact, in the original story, the final boss wasn't Kaguya but Madara. It was hard to say if Sasuke and Naruto would have been toyed to death by Madara.

Ninjas who had clawed their way out of the Warring States Period were all battle-hardened. Unlike Lady Kaguya, who could be stunned for two seconds by a Harem Jutsu.

If not for the filial Black Zetsu chirping in her ear, she likely would have been resealed in a few moves.

Sora rubbed his forehead. It wasn't just about accumulating experience; the task of earning money to support his family also fell on him.

This is so hard!

October 10th. The night of the Nine Tails Incident passed peacefully. The bustling night market quieted down under the cover of darkness, and the future began to change from this day forward.

"Squeak..."

The door slid open, and Izumi rubbed her eyes as she asked, "Big Brother, why aren't you asleep yet?"

Yun looked up at the tranquil night sky. "It's almost dawn, so I couldn't sleep and came out to look at the stars. What about you, Izumi? Did you wet the bed again?"

In an instant, Izumi's face turned bright red. She puffed out her cheeks and retorted, "I haven't wet the bed since the year before last, okay? Big Brother, you're really annoying for bringing that up!"

Yun tilted his head, pondering. "When we slept together before you were three, I almost thought I'd fallen into a swimming pool at night."

"Oh, right. There was that morning last year when you were whispering secretly with Mother, and then all our bedsheets and covers were washed that day. I suppose you wet the bed and begged Mother to wash everyone's linens so no one would know, right?"

As he spoke, Yun clicked his tongue. "You really are a clever little thing; that way, no one would ever know you had an accident."

Yun's words made Izumi's face flush even deeper. Driven by embarrassment and anger, she lunged at him, mouth open, ready to bite.

"Swish!"

Unfortunately, Yun vanished from the spot in an instant. Izumi, aiming for his ear, missed completely and nearly fell, only to be caught and pulled up by Yun from behind.

"So fast! Big Brother, you're amazing!" Izumi's face was full of surprise.

Uchiha Yun reached out and ruffled her small head. "That's a secret, okay? You can't tell anyone, Izumi."

Hearing this, Izumi nodded earnestly and tugged at Yun's sleeve. "Big Brother, I feel like you've changed so much today, and you're smiling more, too."

Yun looked toward the first ray of dawn on the horizon and smiled.

The fate of his family of three had been altered. With the Fourth alive, the probability of the Uchiha clan's annihilation would reach its lowest point.

Furthermore, starting from yesterday, he had finally gained the initial ability to protect his family in this world, and he would only grow stronger from here on out!

"Today, Big Brother will go practice shuriken with you!"

"Mm!"

(Note: With Obito's Mangekyou being gouged out, several branching storylines will emerge. I'm not sure which one to choose for the time being.)

(Is the Fourth Mizukage already under control at this point in time? In the TV series, there is a point where Obito takes Pain and Konan to Kirigakure. Working backward, this implies Hanzo is dead and Yahiko is dead.)

(With Obito's Mangekyou eye removed, will the genjutsu Yagura is under be dispelled?)

(There have always been two versions regarding the Bloody Mist Village in the lore. One is that the Third Mizukage created the Bloody Mist policy, and after Zabuza graduated, he helped Yagura take power to set things right, only for Obito to later control him and create an even bloodier Bloody Mist.)

(Version two: The Third Mizukage is irrelevant; the Bloody Mist was created after the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura, was controlled. And Yagura becoming the Fourth must have happened after Rin died, because Isobu was inside Rin at the time.)

(Zabuza's graduation time: In the manga, Kakashi mentions during the Land of Waves mission that ten years ago, the graduation method of Kirigakure was changed by Zabuza, who graduated the year before—meaning eleven years ago!)

(In other words, Zabuza graduated one year after Naruto was born, so the Bloody Mist of Kirigakure already existed before that.)

Is there any expert who understands this and can offer some guidance?

It seems I'm still two monthly votes away from 30. Could any kind soul spare two?