The Hokage

Mirai's words had the greatest impact on Uchiha Obito. The scene just now had been so similar to what happened back then. When Rin died, hadn't he also wished for a miracle to happen? But no miracle had come. When he arrived, he saw Kakashi's hand pierce the chest of the girl he loved. The regret and self-reproach still made his heart ache whenever he thought of it.

The look in Uchiha Obito's eyes beneath his mask gradually changed from pain to something sharper. His voice was cold as he said, "Miracles don't happen. You have to create them with your own hands!" His emotions seemed unstable. Mirai himself hadn't wanted to leave his fate to a miracle, but by then, his fate was no longer in his own hands.

The Fourth Hokage patted Mirai on the head. "Mirai, I'm sorry I got you caught up in this. You're the future hope of Konoha. You'll definitely become a great shinobi."

Minato looked up at Uchiha Obito. "I never imagined you could pass through Konoha's protective barrier so freely. My carelessness nearly put others in danger. Konoha is my village, and I'll never let a dangerous criminal like you destroy it."

Whoosh! The Fourth Hokage's body suddenly vanished, then appeared right in front of Uchiha Obito. Obito hadn't reacted in time. He knew the Fourth Hokage's Flying Thunder God Technique well: it required a marker to teleport. But why had Minato suddenly appeared beside him? Had he marked him?

But the Fourth Hokage gave him no time to think. A Kunai was already buried in Uchiha Obito's abdomen, and Namikaze Minato struck him in the chest with his palm. Dense black Cursed Seal markings spread across Obito's body from Minato's hand.

"Contract Seal. You're trying to make the Nine-Tails break free of my control?" the Masked Man, Uchiha Obito, said.

"The shinobi of Konoha are still fighting with all their might. If you control the Nine-Tails, we won't be able to seal it again." Namikaze Minato poured all his strength into the Contract Seal.

The pupils in the rampaging Nine-Tails' eyes, which had resembled the Three-Tomoe Sharingan, turned back into the upright golden slits of a beast.

"Roar! Roar! Roar!" It raised its head and bellowed, as if venting its fury at being enslaved by the Uchiha clan once again.

"Attack! We absolutely cannot let the Nine-Tails destroy our village any further!"

"We have to hold out until Lord Fourth arrives!"

"Ahhh!" The shinobi of Konoha threw themselves into the fight against the Nine-Tails one after another. But they were nothing more than insects, and Konoha had imprisoned it for so many years. All its hatred welled up at once, and the Nine-Tails began slaughtering the Konoha shinobi.

The Fourth Hokage was busy freeing the Nine-Tails from the Masked Man's control, giving Uchiha Obito an opening to escape. Space twisted, and Obito disappeared from in front of the Fourth Hokage, reappearing on a tree branch.

"As expected of the Fourth Hokage. You actually managed to break my control over the Nine-Tails. But the Nine-Tails will be mine in the end, and so will this world. And you, brat—you managed to hurt me. I wonder if a miracle will happen next time we meet. I'm looking forward to it..." As Uchiha Obito spoke, his body seemed to be drawn into a spatial vortex. He soon vanished from sight. Feeling the Flying Thunder God marker moving away, Minato breathed a slight sigh of relief. But Obito's confident tone didn't sound like a bluff.

Mirai could feel the killing intent radiating from Uchiha Obito, but he wasn't too afraid. Danger was simply the motivation he needed to grow stronger. Surviving a fight with someone as powerful as Uchiha Obito had changed him, too. He still had the System Shop, and Obito was just a late-game super boss. Mirai refused to believe he couldn't beat him.

"Minato, why didn't you finish him off? He'll be a huge threat to Mirai in the future," Uzumaki Kushina said. The Masked Man had clearly set his sights on Mirai. Mirai might have a lot of talent, but he was still just a child. Because of them, this innocent boy had nearly lost his life. They couldn't let him face any more danger.

Namikaze Minato shook his head. "That masked man is incredibly powerful. I wounded him, but not badly enough to cripple him. Maybe I could catch him if I pursued him, but I'm nearly out of strength. And the biggest problem right now isn't the Masked Man. It's..." He looked toward the Nine-Tailed Fox, rampaging outside Konoha.

The Masked Man was terrifyingly strong, and might do something even worse in the future. But right now, the Nine-Tailed Fox was the greatest threat. If they didn't deal with it properly, all of Konoha might be destroyed.

Uzumaki Kushina knew Minato was right. "I... can still fight." She was part of the Uzumaki Clan, and her chakra could counter a Tailed Beast's chakra. She also had tremendous vitality; an ordinary Jinchuriki would have died as soon as a Tailed Beast was extracted from their body. They needed her power to seal the beast again.

"I'll move the Tailed Beast somewhere farther away first. Wait here for a little while." With that, Namikaze Minato vanished using the Flying Thunder God Technique.

Namikaze Minato appeared where the Nine-Tails was. Many shinobi had already fallen, and the situation was dire. Minato pressed a palm to the ground. "Summoning Jutsu!"

Poof!

A giant toad nearly as large as the Nine-Tails appeared on the battlefield in a cloud of smoke. The shinobi who saw it all shouted, "The Fourth Hokage is here!"

Gamabunta could already be considered the Fourth Hokage's signature summon. So when the shinobi saw him appear, they knew the Fourth Hokage had arrived. To them, the Hokage was a pillar of support. As long as the Hokage hadn't fallen, they could overcome any difficulty.

The Nine-Tails seemed to notice the enormous target, but its main target was the Fourth Hokage atop the giant toad. He was the one who had kept it from breaking through the seal, so the depth of its hatred for him was obvious.