Outside Konoha,
As a space-time vortex appeared, Obito, dressed in black, emerged from it.
"This is the place, then. I'm truly sorry, Sensei, Lady Kushina," Obito murmured as he walked forward.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
He had taken only a few steps when several figures appeared in front of him.
The Anbu selected to guard Kushina while she gave birth were all quite capable.
Without wasting words, the Anbu attacked at once, swinging their swords at Obito.
"Clang, clang, clang!"
Several Anbu swords slashed at him from different directions, yet passed straight through his body as if they had struck thin air. When they collided with one another, they rang out with the sound of clashing metal.
"What is this?" someone cried, quickly backing away.
But some were not so lucky. Obito swiftly took one of them down with a kunai.
The scarlet eyes beneath the Tiger-Pattern Mask gleamed brighter. "Today, I, Uchiha Obito, will sever the bonds of fate."
Then he moved with blinding speed. The Anbu were skilled, but they were no match for Obito and his Kamui. In little more than ten seconds, they were all lying in pools of blood.
Obito turned his gaze toward the cave. "It's your turn to act."
Inside the cave,
"Waaah!"
"Waaah!"
A loud cry rang out. At the sound, Kushina, nearly exhausted, and Minato, who was suppressing the Nine-Tails' seal, were overcome with emotion, tears glistening in their eyes.
This tiny life, just brought into the world, was the fruit of their love and the continuation of it.
Those who had never been parents could never understand the feeling.
"Waaah!" "Waaah!"
As the cries continued, Biwako Sarutobi, who had delivered the baby, picked up the newborn Naruto. Like most newborns, his skin was a little dry, and his tiny body trembled faintly.
"Minato, hurry and complete the Nine-Tails' seal," someone else present reminded him.
The speaker was a white-haired woman.
Though he wanted to hold his child, Minato knew there was something more important to do right now.
"Kushina, hang on a little longer. I'll be done soon." With Naruto's birth, the seal on Kushina was close to breaking and could no longer suppress the Nine-Tails, so Minato had to create a new one.
It was a little troublesome, but Sealing Jutsu was one of Minato's specialties. At this rate, he would have the new seal in place soon.
"Universal Pull."
A cold voice suddenly rang out.
Then a shocking sight unfolded: Kushina, who had been lying on the bed, suddenly shot backward at tremendous speed.
"Kushina!" Minato cried. He immediately stopped forming the seal and reached for her.
Though he reacted quickly, he was still too late. A man shrouded from head to toe in a black cloak had seized Kushina.
Buzz!
Minato sensed a ripple in space as he moved to rescue her. Before he could do anything—
"Ah!"
A scream rang out. Biwako, who had been holding Naruto, suddenly fell to the ground, a terrible wound in her abdomen.
Obito, wearing the Tiger-Pattern Mask, appeared before him and reached for Naruto.
But the white-haired woman beside Biwako got to him first, gathering Naruto into her arms.
Poof!
A cloud of smoke appeared, engulfing the white-haired woman. When it cleared, a tall figure stood in her place.
"So it's Jiraiya," Obito said, his pupils narrowing.
"Ninja Art: Wild Lion's Mane Technique!" Jiraiya held Naruto in his left arm and quickly formed Hand Seals with his right.
His flowing white hair rapidly grew and surged toward Obito.
"So what if you're one of the Sannin? My plan has already succeeded." Obito chuckled, letting the hair pass through his body before vanishing.
"So this is the Space-Time Ninjutsu Minato told me about," Jiraiya thought.
To be safe, Minato had not only brought Jiraiya to the delivery site but had also told him about the Space-Time Ninjutsu.
Meanwhile, Minato had appeared beside the cloaked man and reached for Kushina.
But the next instant, he stopped.
The cloaked man held a black rod to Kushina's neck. "Stand down, Fourth Hokage. Take another step, and your wife dies here."
While Minato hesitated, Obito appeared before the cloaked man. He grabbed Kushina by the arm and activated Kamui.
"It's over, Fourth Hokage." The next moment, he and Kushina vanished together.
After glancing at Jiraiya behind him, the cloaked man went poof and dissolved into a cloud of smoke.
"Kushina..." Beads of sweat rolled down Minato's face. He had been careful, yet things had still gone wrong.
"Go, Minato. I'll take care of Naruto," Jiraiya said, his expression complicated.
That cloaked man had felt strangely familiar.
Minato gave Jiraiya a grateful look but said nothing. He closed his eyes and began sensing for Kushina.
He had placed a Flying Thunder God Formula on her in advance.
In fact, he had started sensing for her the instant she vanished, but he hadn't been able to pick up her location.
"Found her!" Minato's eyes snapped open, sharp with killing intent.
Whoosh!
A flash of yellow light, and he was gone.
Left behind, Jiraiya felt helpless. Even he had been unable to stop the tragedy from unfolding in the face of that strange Space-Time Ninjutsu.
Then he set off for Konoha with Naruto.
As for Biwako, who lay on the ground, she was already dead. Jiraiya sealed her body inside a scroll.
"Ah!"
A cry of pain rang through the forest. Kushina was bound by four chains to the side of a massive rock face. The Nine-Tails' seal had been completely undone with Obito's help, and violent red energy poured from her abdomen.
The energy cast an eerie glow across the pitch-black night sky.
"Come out, Nine-Tails." Watching Kushina's agony, Obito's eyes briefly betrayed a complicated emotion, but it vanished almost at once.
Obito had used the Tailed Beast Extraction Seal on Kushina inside the Kamui Dimension. By now, the Nine-Tails had nearly broken free completely.
Outside Konoha,
In a secluded patch of forest, Zetsu, wrapped in a pitcher plant, suddenly laughed. "So it really worked."
He had received a message from his clone and learned that Obito had successfully captured Kushina.
"Then it's your turn to put on a show."