No, You Lost

Uzumaki Kushina observed Mirai's performance with utter shock. She had first met him at a ramen shop, where she found him to be a clever and endearing child. At the time, she had been celebrating her pregnancy and had playfully asked Mirai to help name her child.

Although it was just a joke, she had intended to seek opinions from others. Later, when the Fourth Hokage's teacher, Jiraiya, returned and also suggested the name Naruto, she felt such a sense of fate that she ultimately decided to name her child Naruto.

In the time that followed, she would occasionally run into Mirai while eating at Ichiraku Ramen. She would always pay for his meals, and Mirai never stood on ceremony; he saved where he could, as ninja tools were incredibly expensive.

At this moment, Uzumaki Kushina couldn't help but think that if not for those few bowls of ramen, perhaps she and her child would have already been killed by the Masked Man.

She truly could not imagine that a child like Mirai possessed such astonishing strength; how could a few bowls of ramen ever repay such a debt?

Mirai had no time to worry about what Uzumaki Kushina was thinking. In the heat of battle, he had only one goal: to take down his opponent.

Rat-Tiger-Dog-Ox-Hare-Tiger. As his Great Fireball was being absorbed by Uchiha Obito, Mirai had already begun weaving the seals for his second jutsu.

"Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!" His hand speed was blinding. Mirai spat out a barrage of fireballs, aiming to strike Uchiha Obito just as the man finished absorbing the Great Fireball.

Kamui was a technique Mirai had loved back on Earth. At that time, anything related to space-time felt incredibly powerful, so he naturally had some understanding of it.

Whether it was the strengths or weaknesses of Kamui, Mirai understood them all. When Kamui was absorbing an object, the user's body had to materialize; that was the moment to strike the physical form.

A dense cluster of fireballs rained down toward Uchiha Obito's position.

BOOM! BOOM!

A massive fire erupted where Uchiha Obito stood. His body twisted and vanished into the flames, reappearing a short distance away. There were several holes in his clothing, clearly showing that he hadn't managed to dodge all of Mirai's attacks.

Uchiha Obito, however, appeared remarkably calm. He looked at Mirai and said in a flat tone, "This is the first time I've been forced into such a sorry state by a child. I'm starting to think you should have been the first target to eliminate; your threat level makes me feel like you're a greater danger than the entire Konoha." Uchiha Obito's voice was icy, and true killing intent had taken root in his heart. He might have looked down on Mirai before, but after suffering two setbacks at his hands, he would be a fool to underestimate his opponent again.

Even a lion uses its full strength to hunt a rabbit. Uchiha Obito now truly regarded Mirai as a dangerous individual—one who had to be killed. Mirai felt the killing intent radiating from Uchiha Obito; it was so intense that his skin prickled, and he knew the man was finally getting serious.

"Whoosh!" Uchiha Obito charged at Mirai with incredible speed. Mirai quickly threw several Shuriken, but they all passed straight through Uchiha Obito's body.

In an instant, the man was before him, a Kunai in his hand thrusting toward Mirai's chest. "Squelch!" Blood bloomed from Mirai's chest.

"Poof!" A wooden log appeared in Mirai's place, and Uchiha Obito's Kunai sank into the wood. Uchiha Obito narrowed his eyes. "Substitution Technique... that was too realistic."

Mirai suddenly appeared behind Uchiha Obito and launched an attack. "Whoosh!" The Kunai sliced through Uchiha Obito's body, but it passed through nothing but empty air.

Uchiha Obito kicked out at Mirai. "Poof!" Mirai's body turned into smoke and vanished.

"Clone Technique. Trying to use these tricks to stall for time? Then I'll just kill the Fourth's wife and son first!" Uchiha Obito seemed to realize Mirai's objective and lunged toward Uzumaki Kushina.

"Whoosh!" Mirai instantly appeared in front of Uzumaki Kushina and Naruto. He could not allow the Masked Man to kill them, or he would be dragged down to his own grave as well.

"So you really did show up. Then, it's all over." Uchiha Obito's body accelerated in an instant, and he kicked Mirai square in the chest.

"Ugh!" Mirai spat out a mouthful of blood as his body flew backward. Thud, thud, thud—he rolled across the ground like a ragdoll, finally coming to a stop near Uzumaki Kushina.

"Mirai!" Seeing Mirai, who had been slightly gaining the upper hand, suddenly suffer a grievous injury because of her, Uzumaki Kushina couldn't help but scream his name in desperation.

But after taking Uchiha Obito's strike head-on, Mirai was already severely wounded. The gap in their strength was too vast; physically speaking, Mirai was indeed no match for Uchiha Obito.

Mirai struggled to climb to his feet, but Uchiha Obito was already upon him. He reached out with his right hand, gripped Mirai's throat, and hoisted him into the air.

A bitter smile appeared on Mirai's face. With his throat constricted, he spoke with great difficulty: "The... the gap is still too big, huh..."

Uchiha Obito looked at Mirai and said, "You are a once-in-a-century genius. If given time, you might have surpassed me. Your talent even made me feel fear. But I am stronger than you now, so you have lost. Just die here."

As he spoke, a Kunai appeared in Uchiha Obito's left hand, ready to plunge into Mirai's heart.

"Snap!" Mirai's left hand shot out and grabbed Uchiha Obito's wrist. "No..."

Uchiha Obito paused. "Are you trying to beg for mercy?"

A strained but brilliant smile broke across Mirai's face. "No... I meant... you have lost..." As Mirai spoke, he struggled to raise his right hand. His middle finger was hooked through the ring at the end of a Kunai, which reflected in Uchiha Obito's eyes. A white paper tag was bound to the Kunai—it was the very one the Fourth Hokage had given to Mirai.

The Sharingan beneath Uchiha Obito's mask constricted as if he had realized something terrifying. Whoosh. A figure with golden hair appeared silently between Uchiha Obito and Mirai.