Masked Man

"So it is you. What grudge do you hold against us? Why must you hunt us to the end?" Kushina Uzumaki looked at the masked man who had appeared and asked.

"Grudge? No, I have no grudge against you. I simply wish to destroy Konoha, to destroy this world. Once the world is destroyed, there will be peace, will there not?" The masked man spread his arms, speaking of his insane vision.

Hearing the masked man's words, Kushina Uzumaki knew that no matter what she said, he would not be swayed from his path. Yet, her child had only just been born and had not even seen the beauty of this world before facing death. As a mother, she felt immense guilt for failing to protect her child.

"Mirai, run! His target is us. Do not stay here and sacrifice yourself in vain." Kushina Uzumaki shouted at Mirai. She had already sensed the strength of the opponent; that space-time ninjutsu was incredibly difficult to deal with. Mirai was still just a child, and she felt deep guilt that he had been innocently dragged into this because of her and her son. She hoped the man would not turn his hatred toward Mirai.

The masked man turned his gaze toward Mirai and said, "A member of the Uchiha Clan, is it? Very well. I am in a good mood today, so I will spare you. Whether you survive, however, depends on fate." Uchiha Obito did not hold a bug like Mirai in any regard. Even if he let Mirai go here, he would still destroy Konoha; perhaps letting him live would only allow him to experience more fear.

Mirai stood his ground without moving. Kushina Uzumaki shouted at him again, "Leave quickly, Mirai! You are still young; you are no match for him. Do not throw your life away for nothing!"

"I know I am no match for him, but I promised the Fourth Hokage that I would protect you. Running away now would be too pathetic," Mirai replied. Though he said this, the real reason was that if he left, he would almost certainly die anyway. Even knowing he was outmatched, he had to bite the bullet and fight.

"The so-called Will of Fire, is it? Since you are seeking death, I shall grant your wish. The Fourth Hokage could return at any moment; I must finish you off quickly."

"Whoosh!" Before the masked man could finish speaking, Mirai took the initiative. He threw two kunai toward the masked man, but both passed straight through his body.

The masked man's body appeared like a void-like shadow; the kunai could not inflict any damage upon him.

"That clumsy throwing technique of yours is useless against me," the masked man remarked.

Mirai replied, "Whether it is useful or not is not for you to decide, but for me. Explode!" Mirai formed a seal with his hands and spat out the word 'Explode'.

"BOOM BOOM BOOM!!"

A massive explosion suddenly erupted. These two kunai were specially crafted by Mirai. He had attached many Paper Bombs to the handles, all bought with his meager savings—a purchase that had made his life quite difficult.

Mirai knew Uchiha Obito would not take him seriously, so he had thrown the kunai straight at him without any fancy maneuvers, appearing even more clumsy. However, there was a large tree directly behind Uchiha Obito. Before the kunai struck the tree, Mirai had used his chakra to ignite the Paper Bombs.

The time spent talking earlier had been enough, and it served to ensure Uchiha Obito did not focus on the kunai. Furthermore, the deafening sounds of the battle with the Nine-Tails nearby made it difficult for Uchiha Obito to notice the subtle movements.

The massive explosion shattered and destroyed several nearby tall trees. Kushina Uzumaki looked at Mirai in surprise, not expecting that someone of his age could achieve such a feat.

"Did you get him?" Kushina Uzumaki asked.

Mirai said with a grave expression, "Not yet. Although it was a surprise attack, he is not the type of person who can be defeated by this level of ninjutsu." Uchiha Obito was a super boss-level character in the future; if he were defeated so easily, then Mirai himself would be the ultimate boss.

"Oh? You seem to know quite a lot about me!" Suddenly, a voice sounded from behind Mirai. Mirai's expression changed, and his hands moved rapidly to form seals.

"Swish!" Mirai's figure vanished, leaving only a falling leaf in his place.

The eyes behind the mask held no small amount of surprise. "Body Flicker Technique. Although it is the basic Konoha Body Flicker, it is not something a child should be able to learn. To use it with such proficiency... and that kunai attack earlier was a deliberate display of clumsiness to make me lower my guard, wasn't it? You succeeded. You appear to be a genius. If I let you grow, it would be too dangerous; you might even surpass the Fourth Hokage and interfere with my grand plan. I must finish you here before you mature."

As the masked man spoke, he appeared where Mirai had been standing. There were some scorch marks on his black robe. Mirai's attack had been so sudden that even he hadn't expected it, and he had been completely deceived by Mirai's acting. He had taken some impact, though nothing serious, but he was nonetheless shocked by Mirai's talent.

Uchiha Obito stomped his foot and moved rapidly toward Mirai. Mirai's hands moved in a blur.

Snake-Ram-Monkey-Boar-Horse-Tiger. Uchiha Obito was stunned when he saw the seals Mirai was forming, as this was the signature ninjutsu of the Uchiha Clan. He knew it too, but what shocked him was the speed of Mirai's seals. His hands moved like phantoms, completing the sequence in an instant. The speed was faster than his own, which he found impossible to believe for a child.

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!" A massive fireball, roughly five meters in diameter, appeared and surged toward Uchiha Obito.

Although this was the first time Uchiha Obito had felt a sense of alarm toward a child like Mirai, it only intensified his murderous intent. He activated the power of his Sharingan: "Kamui!"

The massive five-meter fireball launched by Mirai began to distort, disappearing before Uchiha Obito as if absorbed by something. If one looked closely, they would see that Uchiha Obito's right eye was swallowing the Great Fireball. This was the power of Kamui: beyond making himself intangible, it could transfer an opponent's attacks and objects into his own dimension.