No, You Lost

Mirai's performance had not escaped Uzumaki Kushina's notice. She was astonished. The first time she had met Mirai was at the ramen shop. Back then, she had thought he was a clever, likable child. She had been so happy about her pregnancy that she'd asked him to help choose a name for the baby.

It had only been a joke; she'd planned to ask other people for their opinions, too. Later, the Fourth Hokage's teacher, Lord Jiraiya, returned and suggested the name Naruto as well. The coincidence had surprised her, and in the end, she named her child Naruto.

After that, she would occasionally run into Mirai when she went to Ichiraku Ramen. She always paid for his meal, and he never stood on ceremony—he was happy to save money wherever he could. Ninja tools and the like were expensive, after all.

At that moment, Uzumaki Kushina couldn't help thinking that if she hadn't treated Mirai to those bowls of ramen, perhaps the Masked Man would have killed her and her child by now.

She couldn't imagine that a child like Mirai could be so astonishingly strong. How could a few bowls of ramen ever repay such a debt?

Mirai had no time to wonder what Uzumaki Kushina was thinking. When he was fighting, he had only one goal: to kill his opponent.

Rat Seal—Tiger Seal—Dog Seal—Ox Seal—Hare Seal—Tiger Seal. As soon as Uchiha Obito absorbed the Great Fireball, Mirai had already begun forming the seals for a second jutsu.

"Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!" Mirai formed the seals incredibly fast, spitting out one fireball after another to attack Uchiha Obito just as he finished absorbing the Great Fireball.

Kamui was one of Mirai's favorite jutsu back when he was on Earth. At the time, anything related to time and space seemed incredibly powerful to him, so he'd naturally learned a little about Kamui.

Mirai understood both Kamui's strengths and weaknesses. While it was absorbing something, the user's body became tangible. Attacking him then would work.

A volley of fireballs rained down toward Uchiha Obito.

Boom! Boom!

Flames erupted where Uchiha Obito had been. His body twisted and vanished into the fire, then reappeared some distance away. His clothes had several holes in them, clear proof that he hadn't dodged all of Mirai's attack.

Uchiha Obito looked perfectly calm as he regarded Mirai and said coolly, "This is the first time I've been pushed into such a sorry state by a child. I even think you should have been the first target to die. You're an even greater threat than the entire village of Konoha." His voice was icy. He had finally decided to kill Mirai in earnest. Perhaps he'd underestimated him at first, but after suffering twice at his hands, he'd have to be a fool to keep doing so.

Even a lion used its full strength against a rabbit. Uchiha Obito now saw Mirai as a dangerous enemy who had to be killed. Mirai could feel the murderous intent radiating from him. It was so intense that Mirai's skin prickled. He knew his opponent was done holding back.

"Whoosh!" Uchiha Obito charged at Mirai at tremendous speed. Mirai quickly hurled several shuriken, but every one of them passed straight through Uchiha Obito's body.

In an instant, Uchiha Obito was right in front of Mirai. He thrust the kunai in his hand toward Mirai's chest. "Pfft!" Blood spurted from Mirai's chest.

"Poof!" A wooden post appeared where Mirai had been. Uchiha Obito's kunai struck it. His eyes narrowed slightly. "Substitution Technique... That was convincing."

Mirai suddenly appeared behind Uchiha Obito and attacked him. "Whoosh!" The kunai swept through Uchiha Obito's body, but it passed through empty air.

Uchiha Obito kicked at Mirai. "Bang!" Mirai's body turned into smoke and disappeared.

"Clone Technique. Are you trying to buy time with tricks like these? Then I'll kill the Fourth Hokage's wife and son first!" Uchiha Obito seemed to have figured out Mirai's plan. He turned and charged toward Uzumaki Kushina.

"Whoosh!" Mirai instantly appeared in front of Uzumaki Kushina and Naruto. He couldn't let the Masked Man kill them. Otherwise, he'd be dragged down with them.

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

"Pfft!" Mirai spat out a mouthful of blood as he flew backward. His body bounced and rolled across the ground like a rag doll before finally crashing down near Uzumaki Kushina.

"Mirai!" Seeing that Mirai, who had been holding his own moments ago, was suddenly gravely injured because of her, Uzumaki Kushina cried out his name in alarm.

But after taking Uchiha Obito's blow head-on, Mirai was already badly wounded. The gap between their abilities was simply too great. Physically, Mirai was utterly no match for Uchiha Obito.

Mirai struggled to get up, but Uchiha Obito had already reached him. He grabbed Mirai by the throat with his right hand and lifted him into the air.

Mirai gave a bitter smile. With Uchiha Obito's hand clamped around his throat, it was hard to speak. He managed to rasp, "The... gap is still too great..."

Uchiha Obito looked at Mirai. "You're a once-in-a-century genius. Given time, you might have surpassed me before long. Your talent even frightens me. But I'm stronger than you now, so you've lost. You're going to die here."

As he spoke, a kunai appeared in Uchiha Obito's left hand. He prepared to plunge it into Mirai's heart.

"Slap!" Mirai's left hand caught Uchiha Obito's wrist. "No..."

Uchiha Obito was taken aback. "Are you begging for your life?"

A strained but brilliant smile appeared on Mirai's face. "No... I mean... you've lost..." As he spoke, he laboriously raised his right hand. His middle finger was hooked through the ring at the end of a kunai, which dangled upside down in Uchiha Obito's line of sight. A white tag was tied to it—the very kunai the Fourth Hokage had given Mirai.

The Sharingan beneath Uchiha Obito's mask contracted. It seemed he had thought of something terrifying. Whoosh—a figure with golden hair appeared silently between Uchiha Obito and Mirai.