The Fourth Hokage

"Enemy attack! Protect the Jinchuriki!"

The two Anbu guards waiting outside shouted and rushed in through the window. Seeing what was happening in the bedroom, they froze.

In the wrecked bedroom, Naruto stood with a solemn expression, carrying himself with an adult's composure as he warily surveyed his surroundings.

Noticing the Anbu, "Naruto" said sternly, "Leave. Find the Third as quickly as you can and tell him a powerful enemy has his eye on Naruto."

That meant...

The Anbu asked in a tense voice, "You're not the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. Who are you, and why have you taken over the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki's body?"

"I..."

"You're the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, aren't you?"

Obito appeared in the bedroom doorway. His robe was in tatters, and a hole had been torn through the right side of his chest, exposing pallid muscle tissue. Yet there wasn't a drop of blood. The sight was unnerving.

"Lord Fourth?!"

The Anbu stared in disbelief.

"Get out of here. Now."

After giving the order, Minato paid them no further attention. His focus remained entirely on Obito, and he glanced at the wound on his body.

"Madara, you really are a monster."

Obito laughed as if he didn't care. "There's nothing wrong with being a monster. You live a long time. Unlike you... So what if you were the famous Yellow Flash? You died before you even had a chance to see your newborn son properly. Now all that remains of you is a wisp of Chakra. Once it runs out, you'll disappear for good."

"But before I disappear, I'll take you with me."

Draped in a golden Nine-Tails Chakra Cloak, Minato used Shuriken Shadow Clone. In an instant, he appeared beside Obito, and they began fighting fiercely.

The Jinchuriki had been attacked!!!

The Third rushed to the scene after receiving the news. The moment he arrived, he froze.

"That's..."

Under the deep night sky, the clang of metal and the thud of bodies colliding rang out without pause.

A golden blur flashed around the area, with a blood-red eye following close behind.

Both sides moved so quickly that the Konoha Ninja nearby couldn't get involved.

"Lord Hokage, the Fourth Hokage is using the Jinchuriki's body to fight the enemy. The enemy's name is Madara..."

The Anbu responsible for guarding Naruto quickly explained what had happened.

The Third looked carefully at the golden blur. Beneath the golden Chakra Cloak... was "Naruto," with a mature expression on his young face.

"Naruto" flickered in and out of sight, appearing and vanishing without warning.

There was only one likely explanation for that: Flying Thunder God.

"Minato, so it really is you. You've been the one teaching Naruto to train all this time, haven't you... Why didn't you come to see this old man? I see. This old man failed to honor your request. You're blaming me..."

His complicated feelings finally gave way to a sigh.

The Third set those thoughts aside, rallied himself, leapt into the air, and thrust his staff into the battle.

"Madara, you can't run wild in Konoha."

Boom!

Obito, who had been locked in combat with Minato, didn't have time to phase through the attack. The staff sent him flying, and he smashed through several buildings before coming to a stop.

An ordinary person would have been dead or crippled after taking such a blow, but Minato knew the enemy wasn't human.

He didn't stop to catch up with the Third. He pursued Obito at once and slammed a Rasengan into him, leaving a crater in the ground.

Obito, who had been lying on the ground, had already phased through the attack. He looked up at Minato, disheveled but defiant.

"Trash! Worthless! You couldn't protect your student, and you couldn't protect your wife. You won't be able to protect your son or Konoha, either... Unless you kill me today, I'll kill your son and destroy your village one day. Minato Namikaze, just you wait! Hahahahahaha..."

His crazed laughter and threats made the Konoha Ninja around them deeply uneasy.

"This guy actually wants to destroy Konoha... We have to kill him today!"

As their killing intent surged, the Konoha Ninja couldn't help but feel confused.

Who was the Fourth Hokage's son...

Wait, the Fourth Hokage had a son? Who was he? Why had they never heard of him?

Some sharp-eyed ninja glanced toward the person the Fourth Hokage had possessed, their pupils contracting.

Could it be...

After a moment of silence, Minato asked, "You seem to hate me a lot. Can you tell me why?"

"Because you deserve to die!!!"

You couldn't protect Rin, so why did you get to have a happy family? I want you to feel what it's like to lose the person most important to you, just like I did...

Beneath the Spiral Mask, Obito's face twisted into a terrifying expression.

"Madara, you've lost your mind. As long as I'm here, you won't succeed!"

With killing intent blazing in his eyes, the Third walked up to Obito with the Adamantine Staff in hand and brought it down. The staff passed through Obito's phased body, leaving another crater in the ground.

Obito was unharmed. He gave him a contemptuous look. "You old geezer. Who are you...?"

In his eyes, only Minato was worth noticing. The others... Not even the Third deserved his attention.

The Third's expression darkened. Minato called out a warning. "Lord Third, the enemy is immune to physical attacks. Ordinary ninjutsu won't work on him."

"Is there a way to deal with him, Minato?"

"There should be a time limit... Am I right, Madara?"

"Heh."

Did you think I'd be foolish enough to admit it?

He didn't say so aloud, but with his life at stake, his actions told a different story.

Obito rose unhurriedly, leisurely brushed the dust off himself, then walked through the encircling Konoha Ninja as if he planned to leave.

Damn it, he was trying to escape right in front of them... He was treating Konoha like a joke!

The Konoha Ninja were furious, and they all launched attacks.

Kunai, Shuriken, Explosive Tags, Fire Style, Wind Style, Lightning Style...

A flood of weapons and ninjutsu came crashing down on Obito.

Boom, boom, boom...

Flames and wind spread, lightning roared, and explosions erupted one after another.

After a long while, the wave of attacks ended. Just as the ninja were about to stop and see how effective they'd been—

Boom, boom, boom...

Fireballs continued to rip through the air, one after another, relentlessly bombarding Obito.

"Everyone, I am Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage. Follow my orders."

Pretending to form Hand Seals as he used Great Fireball, Minato gave his orders. "Divide into five teams. Take turns attacking. Each team must attack with all their strength for one minute. Don't let up between teams... Keep it up, and victory will be ours!"

The ninja shouted in unison, "Yes, Lord Fourth!"

Their resolute voices rang out in every direction. Some of the more sentimental ninja even found themselves in tears. This was their Fourth Hokage...

Back then, under the Fourth Hokage's leadership, Konoha had won victory after victory and defeated one powerful enemy after another. They had been unstoppable on the battlefield.

So what if the four great ninja villages joined forces? So what if it was the Cloud Village? They had all been defeated by Konoha.

Those had been Konoha's glory days. Everyone, even their enemies, had believed that under the Fourth Hokage's leadership, Konoha would flourish and reach new heights.