Merely Obito

Listening to the whispers around him, Obito felt his composure nearing collapse. Had he just been socially executed? No room for negotiation? His identity exposed just like that?

"You wait!" Obito glared at Uchiha Gen with hatred, his blood-red Sharingan filled with malice. With a swirling ripple of space, Obito's figure vanished!

Watching Obito disappear, Uchiha Gen grew anxious. Damn it, that hack Hiruzen Sarutobi is completely unreliable. Obito already arrived, yet he's nowhere to be seen.

And Minato Namikaze, too. Isn't the Flying Thunder God supposed to be fast? The "Yellow Flash"? Is this it? Where's the flash? All that's left is the yellow???

Judging by the look on Obito's face when he left, he had definitely been marked. If he didn't pin Obito down today, there was no telling what kind of trouble he'd cause later! As the saying goes, one doesn't fear a thief stealing, but rather a thief plotting! There was no such thing as a thousand days of guarding against a thief!

But the problem was that he had to suppress the Nine-Tails right now, and that jerk Obito had left so cleanly, giving him no chance to strike. As for those two wastes, Hiruzen Sarutobi and Minato Namikaze, who knew what they were doing? That old schemer Danzo was probably hoping he'd keep burning through his ocular power; even if he were nearby, he wouldn't come to assist!

This is tough!

"Grrr!" The Nine-Tails beneath him tried to roar in defiance, but its mouth remained sealed.

"Shut your trap, can't you see I'm already in a foul mood?" Uchiha Gen said, landing a punch right on the Nine-Tails' head.

Uh, the surrounding Konoha ninja didn't know what to do, so they could only stand guard in place.

Whoosh! Minato Namikaze finally arrived, bringing his wife and the Third Hokage along.

"Thank you for your hard work, this... Uchiha fellow!" Minato said, only realizing halfway through that he didn't know the man's name, so he could only address him by his clan.

"Never mind the hard work, what's going on with Kushina Uzumaki? Looking at this, you actually had time to change her clothes! You're not treating me like a human being!" Uchiha Gen roared, looking at Kushina's still-damp hair and spotless outfit.

"Uh, I can explain. Kushina was giving birth when a mysterious person seized the chance to release the Nine-Tails, leaving her in critical condition. Given the state she was in, we couldn't seal the Nine-Tails, so we took her to the Konoha Hospital first. Besides, she was covered in filth from the birth, and, well, you understand!" Minato hurriedly explained.

"Understand what? I don't even have a wife, stop spouting nonsense! Just hurry up and seal it!" Uchiha Gen didn't bother arguing; he was burning through nearly a thousand points of chakra every second! A few more words and a three-tomoe Sharingan would be gone!

"Right, right. Kushina, get ready!" Seeing this, Minato stopped talking and immediately told Kushina to prepare the seal.

Logically, a jinchuriki would die if their Tailed Beast were extracted, but Kushina was, after all, of the Uzumaki clan. She could survive for two cycles, and thanks to the timely treatment at the Konoha Hospital, her injuries had slightly stabilized. Fortunately, the Nine-Tails hadn't been gone long; as long as it was sealed back in time and she had a period of recovery, there would be no immediate danger to her life.

Heh, those were just the personal thoughts of Minato and the Third Hokage, but the results were utterly useless.

"Ah! Minato, hurry! I can't hold it back anymore!" Kushina looked at Minato with tears in her eyes.

"How can this be? This shouldn't be happening!" Minato lost his previous composure.

"It must be because Kushina lost too much vitality earlier, combined with the childbirth. Her body can no longer sustain the Nine-Tails! If only Tsunade were here, sigh..." Hiruzen Sarutobi said despondently from the side.

"Stop dawdling! If she can't do it, find someone who can. Can we just seal the Nine-Tails first and talk later?" Uchiha Gen urged impatiently.

"Third Hokage, please arrange for the sealing squad to assist immediately. I'm going to bring Naruto! Naruto is my and Kushina's child; he can definitely do it!" Minato looked at the suffering Kushina and made a prompt decision.

"Naruto? Is the child named Naruto? Very well, I'll go make the arrangements!" Hiruzen Sarutobi immediately sprang into action.

Minato also vanished with a whoosh.

Only Uchiha Gen, sitting on the Nine-Tails, remained with the prone Kushina and a group of Konoha ninja staring at each other in awkward silence.

With a whoosh, Minato returned first, holding the infant. A few minutes later, the Third Hokage arrived with a team of professionals.

"Lord Third, I leave Naruto and the sealing to you! I'm going to bring Lady Tsunade back! Kushina is reaching her limit!" With that, Minato set the baby down and disappeared.

The ninja world was vast; finding someone in a short time was no easy feat. Even for a cheat like Minato who had marked the whole world, finding someone was fraught with difficulties. Fortunately, Konoha had a general idea of Tsunade's location. Combined with Minato's speed and the Flying Thunder God, if he targeted the casinos she frequented and had enough luck, Kushina might just hold on until Minato brought her back.

The Third Hokage had already begun organizing the team to seal the Nine-Tails. As the Nine-Tails entered Naruto's body, Uchiha Gen withdrew his Susanoo. Tonight had finally passed without any major disasters.

"Lord Third, if there's nothing else, I'm going back to sleep." Seeing everyone around him busy, Uchiha Gen, bored, spoke up.

"Uh, what was your name again?" Hiruzen Sarutobi asked, looking at Uchiha Gen with slight embarrassment.

"Gen. My name is Uchiha Gen. Alright, Third Hokage, if there's nothing else, I'm heading out." Waving his hand, Uchiha Gen planned to go back to the Hokage Rock to roll up his bedding.

"Gen, wait a moment. Look at Konoha—it's in total chaos. The Nine-Tails was only just sealed and it's still unstable. If something were to happen, all our efforts would be in vain. Plus, we don't know if that mysterious person will double back. Please, stay and help!" Hiruzen Sarutobi persuaded him, appealing to his sense of duty.

Well, with that said, Uchiha Gen had no choice but to stay and keep watch. As time passed, things remained stable on Naruto's end, but Kushina's situation grew dire. Although the medical ninja were doing their best to save her, they couldn't stop her life force from slowly fading away.

"Minato, please come back soon..." Kushina held Naruto, despair spreading in her eyes as she whispered softly.

As it turned out, Minato's luck was decent; he managed to bring Tsunade back at the very last moment.

"What happened to Konoha?" Tsunade looked around in shock.

"No time to explain, Lady Tsunade! Saving Kushina is the priority!" Minato urged hurriedly.

"Ah, oh, right!" Hearing this, Tsunade immediately turned her attention to the prone Kushina.

After a quick examination, Tsunade's brow furrowed deeper and deeper. Finally, she stood up and sighed, "I can ensure her life doesn't fade further for a while, but I cannot replenish her vitality. In her condition, the only chance for survival is to restore her life force and re-seal the Nine-Tails."

"How long is 'a while'?" Minato asked urgently.