A few years later, Yahiko was killed.
Obito Uchiha successfully manipulated Nagato, and the Akatsuki began to stray from its original course.
Several more years passed, and the time for the Nine-Tails Attack arrived.
The night was pitch-black.
The wooded mountains outside Konoha were eerily quiet.
Obito stood on a secluded cliff, the White Zetsu tissue covering the right half of his body gleaming a faint, sickly white in the moonlight.
He wore his signature spiral-patterned mask, revealing only a single scarlet Sharingan.
The power of Dual Kamui swirled slowly in his eyes, but he deliberately restrained it, maintaining only the bare minimum of perception.
(The Nine-Tails Attack... I've finally reached this point.)
Obito Uchiha murmured inwardly.
According to his agreement with the Observer, the overall course of events could not change.
The Tailed Beast had to appear, the Fourth had to die, and Naruto had to become the new Jinchuriki. Not one of those milestones could be skipped.
"A-Fei."
Obito spoke calmly.
The White Zetsu attached to half his body immediately answered, "Here!"
"Are you ready?"
"Ready to move at any time, Lord Obito!"
A-Fei replied.
"Don't call me Obito. From now on, Obito no longer exists. Call me Madara Uchiha."
Obito Uchiha interrupted him flatly.
Then Obito gave a slight nod, the Mangekyō Sharingan in his right eye slowly spinning.
In the distance, the lights of Konoha looked especially warm against the night.
Obito Uchiha raised his hand, directing his chakra with precision toward a building on the village outskirts.
There, Uzumaki Kushina was enduring the agony of childbirth.
The Nine-Tails' chakra had briefly destabilized because of the delivery, making this the perfect moment to strike.
"Let's begin."
"The Nine-Tails Attack."
Obito's voice came through his mask, devoid of emotion.
The next second, he vanished.
Kamui.
A passage