Masked Man

(Chapter 32: Masked Man)

"So it was you. What grudge do you have against us? Why are you determined to wipe us out?" Uzumaki Kushina asked as she looked at the Masked Man.

"A grudge? No, I have no grudge against you. I simply want to destroy Konoha and this world. Once the whole world has been destroyed, there will be peace, won't there?" The Masked Man spread his arms, voicing his mad idea.

Hearing his words, Uzumaki Kushina knew that nothing she said would make him change his mind. Her child had only just been born and hadn't even seen the world yet, and now he was going to die. As a mother, she felt deeply guilty for failing to protect her child.

"Mirai, hurry and get out of here! He's after us. Don't stay here and throw your life away," Uzumaki Kushina shouted to Mirai. She had already sensed how strong their opponent was. His Space-Time Ninjutsu was extremely difficult to deal with, and Mirai was still only a child. She felt guilty that he had been dragged into this because of her and her child, and hoped the Masked Man wouldn't direct his hatred at Mirai.

The Masked Man looked at Mirai. "Someone from the Uchiha Clan? All right, I'm in a good mood today, so I'll let you go. Whether you survive is up to fate." Uchiha Obito didn't give someone like Mirai, an insignificant bug, a second thought. Even if he let Mirai go here, he was still going to destroy Konoha. Besides, Mirai would feel even more fear if he survived.

But Mirai stood where he was without moving. Uzumaki Kushina shouted to him, "Hurry and leave, Mirai! You're still so young. You're no match for him. Don't throw your life away for nothing!"

"I know I'm no match for him, but I did promise the Fourth Hokage I'd protect you. Running away like this would be pretty pathetic." Mirai said it that way, but the real reason was that if he left, he would almost certainly die. Even knowing he was no match for the Masked Man, he had to grit his teeth and fight.

"So this is that so-called Will of Fire? Since you're looking for death, I'll grant it. The Fourth Hokage could return at any moment, so I'd better finish you off quickly."

"Whoosh, whoosh—!" Before the Masked Man had even finished speaking, Mirai had already struck first. He hurled two Kunai at him, but both passed straight through the Masked Man's body.

The Masked Man's body seemed like an intangible shadow. The Kunai couldn't hurt him at all.

"Your clumsy throwing technique is useless against me," the Masked Man said.

Mirai replied, "Whether it works isn't for you to decide. It's for me to decide. Explode!" He formed Hand Seals and spoke the word aloud.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

A massive explosion suddenly erupted. The two Kunai had been specially prepared by Mirai; he had packed their handles with Paper Bombs. He'd saved up to buy them, and the expense had left him short on money.

Mirai knew Uchiha Obito wouldn't take him seriously, so he'd thrown the Kunai straight at him without changing anything about his approach, making the attack seem even clumsier. But there was a large tree behind Uchiha Obito, and before the Kunai struck it, Mirai had ignited the Paper Bombs with chakra.

The time they'd spent talking had been enough. It had also kept Uchiha Obito from focusing on the Kunai, and the explosions from the battle with the Nine-Tails made it hard for him to notice them.

The enormous blast snapped and destroyed several tall trees nearby. Uzumaki Kushina looked at Mirai in surprise. She hadn't expected someone so young to be capable of this.

"Did you get him?" Uzumaki Kushina asked.

Mirai's expression was grave. "Not yet. Even though I caught him off guard, he's not someone you can beat with a technique of this level." Uchiha Obito would become a super-boss-level opponent later on. If Mirai could take him down that easily, then Mirai would be the super boss.

"Oh? You know quite a lot about me!" Suddenly, the voice came from behind Mirai. His expression changed, and his hands formed Hand Seals at once.

"Whoosh—!" Mirai vanished, and a fallen leaf drifted down where he had been.

The eye behind the mask showed a trace of surprise. "Body Flicker Technique. It's only the basic Konoha Body Flicker, but even that isn't something a child can learn easily. And you use it so well. You also threw those Kunai so clumsily on purpose to lower my guard, didn't you? You succeeded. You're a genius. If you're allowed to grow up, you'll be far too dangerous. You might even surpass the Fourth Hokage and interfere with my plans. I'll have to kill you here before you can grow stronger."

As the Masked Man spoke, his body appeared where Mirai had just been standing. There were scorch marks on his black robe. Mirai's attack had been so sudden that he hadn't expected it at all; he'd been completely fooled by Mirai's acting. He'd taken some of the blast, though he wasn't seriously hurt. Even so, he was astonished by Mirai's talent.

Uchiha Obito pushed off the ground and rushed toward Mirai. Mirai rapidly formed Hand Seals.

Snake—Ram—Monkey—Boar—Horse—Tiger. Uchiha Obito froze when he saw the seals Mirai was making. They were the signature hand seals of the Uchiha Clan, and he knew the technique too. What stunned him was Mirai's speed. His hands were like a blur; he completed the seals in an instant, even faster than Obito could. He couldn't believe Mirai was still a child.

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!" A huge fireball, about five meters in diameter, appeared and charged toward Uchiha Obito.

Although Uchiha Obito was alarmed for the first time by a child like Mirai, it only made his murderous intent grow stronger. He activated his Sharingan's power. "Kamui!"

The huge fireball Mirai had launched began to twist, then vanished in front of Uchiha Obito as if something had absorbed it. A closer look would reveal that Uchiha Obito's right eye had swallowed Mirai's Great Fireball. That was Kamui's power: it could make Obito intangible, or transfer an opponent's attack or an object into the space inside his eye.