"Impossible." Obito shook his head slightly. Although Kakashi had also awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, just like him, he wasn't a member of the Uchiha Clan. He probably still hadn't fully mastered Kamui, so there was no way he could have discovered Obito.
He raised his eyes to look at Zetsu and said, "It's probably just a coincidence. There's no way they know about our plan."
"Besides, didn't you say that apart from Tsunade and Jiraiya's return, Konoha hadn't made any other moves?"
"Maybe."
Zetsu asked, "Are we still going ahead with the plan?"
"We have to. If we miss this opportunity, it'll be very difficult to get things moving later."
In the cave cloaked in darkness, Obito stared at his right hand as he slowly clenched it.
But this time, Zetsu had none of his usual playfulness. His expression was grave. "If it's just you..."
"Even if you successfully unleash the Nine-Tails and hold off the Fourth Hokage, the plan will still be hard to pull off with Jiraiya and the Third Hokage's strength."
"After all, even though the Nine-Tails is powerful, it still can't gain the upper hand when facing several Kage Level ninja at once."
At this, Obito's expression grew heavy, as if he were pondering something.
"Why not bring that guy in? He should be able to use some of his power by now."
After a brief pause, Obito said, "Let's not consider him for now. His comrade's death dealt him a tremendous blow, but we only have a month left. He might be useful if we were only attacking Konoha, but now that Jiraiya's back, and he was Jiraiya's student, we can't fully trust him yet."
"Besides, that would mean revealing all our trump cards, which could affect our plans later on."
"However..." Obito's eyes narrowed slightly, a murderous glint in his scarlet gaze. "We could try to make them turn on each other."
"Are you thinking..." Zetsu paused in surprise, then chuckled. "Heh, that sounds like it'll be interesting!"
"Let's go. To make sure nothing goes wrong, we need to prepare a few more things."
As he spoke, space rippled in front of Obito, and then he vanished.
A month later, a major event took place in Kirigakure, one of the five great villages.
The sudden disappearance of the Fourth Mizukage, Karatachi Yagura, plunged Kirigakure into panic.
Some of the bloodline clans began to grow restless, with the Kaguya Clan being the most conspicuous among them.
They started making moves of all kinds, preparing to launch a coup.
For Konoha—and perhaps for the entire Shinobi World—today would be a special day. The true Child of Prophecy, Naruto Uzumaki, was going to be born.
At Minato's house in Konoha,
"Naraku, wait at home for your big sister, okay? I'll be back soon." Kushina ruffled Naraku's full head of red hair and spoke gently.
"Okay. I'll wait here for you and Naruto," Naraku replied with a smile.
Although he was deeply worried, he didn't let it show, afraid of making Kushina worry. Giving birth was already extremely risky for any woman, let alone one with the Nine-Tails sealed inside her.
Both Minato and Naraku had kept the coming attack from Kushina so she could give birth without worry.
"Don't worry. We'll definitely come back safely," Minato said with a smile. Then he placed both hands on Kushina's shoulders. Space rippled, and they vanished from where they stood.
"Will they really come back?" A feeling of dread welled up in Naraku's heart. Although Minato had made preparations, and Naraku had told him everything he knew, he had also warned Minato about Obito's Space-Time Ninjutsu.
Even so, he still felt uneasy.
"Big sis, you have to come back," Naraku prayed silently.
He felt utterly helpless. There was nothing he could do about it—at just five years old, there was very little he could manage.
At the Hokage Office,
Although it was already late at night, the lights here were still on.
An old man with graying hair and several deep wrinkles on his face held a pipe in his hand.
This was the Third Hokage, a powerful ninja known throughout the Shinobi World as the Professor of Ninjas.
Minato had to stay with Kushina throughout the birth, so the responsibility of protecting the village had temporarily fallen to him.
Two other elderly people sat across from him, a man and a woman: Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura.
"Danzo, what on earth are you thinking?" The Third Hokage wondered to himself, waiting for Danzo, who still hadn't arrived.
Under the ink-black night sky, inside a secluded cave outside Konoha,
Dim yellow light filled the entire cave.
"Ah!"
A woman's cries of pain echoed through the cave. She could no longer bear the agony.
This was where Kushina was giving birth.
Her waterfall of red hair was disheveled. Weak and pale, Kushina clenched her fists. She had never experienced such pain before, and it left her nearly faint with exhaustion. Sweat streamed down her head.
Even the most wicked woman became great in that moment, for she was bringing a new life into the world.
"Come on, Naruto. Mom's almost at her limit," Minato thought, keeping the Nine-Tails' seal in place beside her.
He was just as tense. Seeing Kushina in pain, he couldn't help asking, "Is Kushina really going to be okay?"
"She'll be fine. Every woman is strong at a time like this."
"You should focus on maintaining the Nine-Tails' seal." Unlike Minato, the midwife, Biwako Sarutobi, remained completely calm. To her, after having two children of her own, this was nothing unusual.
"Bang!"
Under Minato's palm, the seal on Kushina's belly, already close to breaking, suddenly bulged. A violent, bloodthirsty energy surged against it, as if it would burst out at any moment.
"Roar!"
A furious roar sounded in Minato's mind. In a daze, he seemed to see a gigantic, blood-red monster standing before him.
"The Nine-Tails!" Minato exclaimed. "What incredible power."
"But I won't let you have your way!" Minato's expression turned grave. He began gathering chakra throughout his body, doing everything he could to suppress the rampaging Nine-Tails.
"Hang in there, Kushina!"
"Naruto!"
Minato was more tense than ever. He couldn't spare any thought for anything else; he had to focus all his strength on suppressing the Nine-Tails.
Outside the cave, several masked Anbu kept watch over the surroundings.
Dark seals flickered faintly across the mountainside, and a barrier enveloped the mountain.
The seals blocked everything inside the cave, so it was completely quiet outside.
But the sudden appearance of a space-time vortex broke the stillness.