Obito's Plan

"Impossible," Obito shook his head slightly. Although Kakashi had awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan just like him, he was not of the Uchiha clan after all. He should not have fully mastered Kamui yet, so it was impossible for him to have discovered his presence.

He raised his eyes to look at Zetsu before him. "It must have been a coincidence. There is no way they could know about our plan."

"And didn't you say that apart from the return of Tsunade and Jiraiya, Konoha hasn't made any other moves?"

"Perhaps!"

Zetsu asked, "Then should the plan continue to be executed?"

"The plan must go on. If we miss this opportunity, it will be very difficult to carry out the subsequent work."

In the cave shrouded in darkness, Obito stared at his right palm as he slowly clenched it into a fist.

However, Zetsu had shed his usual playfulness, his expression turning somewhat heavy. "If it's just you alone..."

"Even if you succeed in releasing the Nine-Tails and pinning down the Fourth Hokage, it will be difficult for the plan to succeed given the strength of Jiraiya and the Third."

"After all, although the Nine-Tails is very strong, it cannot gain the upper hand when facing several Kage-level ninja simultaneously."

Upon hearing this, Obito's expression grew heavy, as if he were pondering something.

"Otherwise, why not call that guy along? He should be able to use a portion of his power by now."

After a brief moment of contemplation, Obito said, "Let's not consider him for the time being. Although the death of his companion dealt him a massive blow, there is only one month left. It would be fine if we were just acting against Konoha, but now that Jiraiya has returned—and he is, after all, Jiraiya's disciple—we cannot fully trust him yet."

"Furthermore, that would mean exposing all our trump cards, which would impact our future plans."

"However," Obito's gaze sharpened slightly, his scarlet eyes revealing a murderous intent, "we could try to make them turn against their own."

"Are you suggesting..." Zetsu paused for a moment, then began to chuckle. "Heh, that sounds like it would be very interesting!"

"Let's go. To ensure nothing goes wrong, we still need to prepare a few more things."

As he spoke, the space in front of Obito rippled, and his figure vanished from the spot.

A month later, the Hidden Mist Village, one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, ushered in a major event.

The sudden disappearance of the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura Karatachi, plunged the Hidden Mist Village into panic.

Some of the bloodline limit clans began to grow restless, with the Kaguya clan being the most prominent among them.

They began making various small moves, preparing to launch a coup d'état.

And for Konoha, or perhaps the entire shinobi world, today would be a special day. The true Child of Prophecy, Naruto Uzumaki, was to be born today.

In Minato's home in Konoha, "Naraku, wait for your sister at home, okay? I'll be back very soon," Kushina said with a gentle expression as she ruffled Naraku's mop of red hair.

"Alright, I'll wait at home for Sister and Naruto," Naraku replied with a smile.

Although he was deeply worried inside, he did not show it, all to avoid making Kushina anxious. For a woman, giving birth inherently carried great risks, not to mention that she had the Nine-Tails sealed within her.

Regarding the possibility of an attack, both Minato and he had chosen to keep it from Kushina so that she could give birth in peace.

"Don't worry, we will definitely come back safely," Minato said with a smile from the side. He then placed both hands on Kushina's shoulders, and after a ripple of space, they vanished from the spot.

"Will they really come back?" A sense of dread rose in the depths of Naraku's heart. Even though Minato had made preparations and he had told him all the information—including warning Minato about Obito's space-time ninjutsu—he still felt uneasy.

Sister, you must come back, Naraku prayed silently in his heart.

He felt truly powerless right now, but there was nothing he could do; at only five years old, there was very little he could actually accomplish.

In the Hokage's office, Although it was already late at night, the lights here remained on.

An elderly man with graying hair and clearly visible 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.

Minato was to accompany Kushina throughout her labor, so the responsibility of guarding the village had temporarily fallen upon his shoulders.

Sitting across from him were two other elderly people, a man and a woman: Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado.

Danzo, what exactly are you thinking? the Third thought to himself as he looked at the empty seat where Danzo had yet to appear.

The night was as dark as ink. Inside a hidden cave outside Konoha village, Dim, yellow light illuminated the entire cave.

"Ah!"

Painful cries from a woman unable to endure the agony echoed continuously through the cave.

This was the location of Kushina's delivery.

Her waterfall of red hair had become incredibly disheveled. Due to her weakness, Kushina's face was deathly pale, her hands clenched into tight fists. She had never felt such pain before, leaving her completely drained, sweat streaming down from her head.

Even the most vicious woman is great in this moment, for they are bringing a new life into the world.

Hurry and come out, Naruto. Mother can't hold on much longer, Minato, who was maintaining the Nine-Tails' seal at her side, thought to himself.

He was incredibly nervous as well. Seeing Kushina in such agony, he couldn't help but ask, "Is Kushina really going to be alright?"

"There is no problem. Every woman is incredibly strong at a moment like this."

"You should just focus on the Nine-Tails' seal," Biwako Sarutobi, who was in charge of the delivery, replied with far more composure than his own anxiety. Having already given birth to two children herself, this was nothing more than a minor scene to her.

"Bang!"

At that moment, beneath Minato's palm, the seal on Kushina's abdomen—which had been on the verge of collapse—suddenly bulged. A surge of violent, bloodthirsty energy hammered frantically against the seal, as if it were about to burst forth at any second.

"ROAR!"

A thunderous roar echoed within Minato's mind. In a trance, he felt as if a massive, blood-red monster were standing right before him.

"Nine-Tails," Minato exclaimed, "what truly overwhelming power."

"But I won't let you have your way," Minato said, his expression grave as he began to channel all his chakra, exerting his full strength to suppress the rampaging Nine-Tails.

"Hang in there, Kushina!"

"Naruto."

Minato had never been this tense before. He could no longer afford to think about anything else; he had to go all out to suppress the Nine-Tails.

Outside the cave, several masked Anbu operatives kept a vigilant watch over the surroundings.

Faint black seals flickered across the entire mountain, a barrier enveloping the terrain.

The seals isolated everything inside the cave, leaving the exterior in complete silence.

However, the sudden appearance of a spatial vortex shattered the existing calm.