The spatial vortex slowly dissipated atop the Mizukage Building, and Lin Feng's figure solidified once more.
The salty sea breeze ruffled his wild black hair. In the Water Mirror, the chaotic flames burning across Konoha were reflected in his purple Rinnegan, like the finale of a grand performance.
"Lord Madara, that move of yours... it was truly..."
Black Zetsu emerged halfway from the shadow at his feet. His two-toned face was filled with incomprehension and shock, along with a trace of genuine... reverence.
He couldn't understand why the plan had suddenly been changed like this.
"What? Think I've gone soft?" Lin Feng asked without turning around. He casually picked up a bottle of juice from the ice bucket Kisame had prepared nearby.
"No, I wouldn't dare." Black Zetsu quickly lowered his head. "It's just... letting Namikaze Minato and Kushina Uzumaki live seems to go against our original intention of throwing Konoha into chaos..."
"Original intention?"
Lin Feng unscrewed the cap and took a sip, letting out a satisfied sigh.
"A dead hero is nowhere near as interesting as a living hero who's been stripped of his power. You'll understand soon enough. Sometimes, being alive is more painful than being dead."
[ Ding! The host's actions have drastically altered the world line, successfully changing the fates of the core characters Namikaze Minato and Kushina Uzumaki, who were destined to die! ] [ Role-playing mission 'Director of the Nine-Tails Incident' completed at an SSS level! Overall evaluation: SS+! ] [ Congratulations, host. You have received the following rewards: ] [ 1. Eye Power Proficiency +20%! Greatly increased control over the Rinnegan! ] [ 2. Special Ability—Life Feedback (Yang): Consume your own Chakra to infuse a designated target with vitality. It has powerful healing and restorative effects and can instantly save a dying Jinchuriki. ] [ 3. Legendary Item—Flying Thunder God Mark (permanent coordinates) x3: Permanently set these marks at any location. They ignore distance and barriers, allowing you to teleport at any time. ]
Lin Feng felt the surging eye power well up inside him once more, along with the warm life energy that had appeared in his mind. He was in an excellent mood.
"Let's go. The first half of the show is over. It's time to see the actors' faces."
He casually branded a Flying Thunder God Mark atop the Mizukage Building, then disappeared once more with Black Zetsu.
Elsewhere, in Konoha.
When Sarutobi Hiruzen led a large group of Anbu and jōnin into the heart of the barrier, prepared to die, everyone stopped in shock at the sight before them.
There were no corpses as they had expected.
Only Namikaze Minato and Kushina Uzumaki, utterly exhausted and supporting each other as they stood, along with the baby nestled safely in Kushina's arms, fast asleep.
The Nine-Tails' massive body had vanished without a trace.
"Minato?! Kushina?!"
The pipe in Sarutobi Hiruzen's hand clattered to the ground. His cloudy eyes widened until they were round, and he could hardly believe what he was seeing.
"You... you're still alive? Where's the Nine-Tails?"
"Third Lord..." Minato's voice was hoarse. He gave him a gentle smile of relief. "The Nine-Tails... has been sealed again."
"Sealed? But you..."
Sarutobi Hiruzen's gaze swept back and forth between them. They were weak, but their life signs were steady. They looked nothing like people who had just survived the extraction of a Tailed Beast and the use of a forbidden technique.
This made no sense according to the laws of ninjutsu!
"Yes... someone saved us." Minato took a deep breath and spoke the name that would shake the entire Ninja World.
"Uchiha Madara."
"He appeared after I wounded the person who released the Nine-Tails and drove him away. Then he saved Kushina and me."
In an instant, the air around them seemed to freeze.
The expressions of every ninja who had arrived—including Uchiha Fugaku, who had just led his clan in a hard-fought battle and earned the whole village's respect—stiffened completely.
"What did you say?" Fugaku was the first to blurt out. He even forgot to use an honorific.
Lord Madara? He saved the Fourth Hokage and his wife?
Why would Lord Madara save people from the Hokage's faction?
That sounded even more absurd than Senju Tobirama speaking like a normal person!
"Minato, are you so exhausted that you're seeing things?" one of the elders from the advisory council asked doubtfully.
Minato shook his head bitterly.
"It wasn't an illusion. His power... those Rinnegan, I couldn't mistake them. He forcibly interrupted my Dead Demon Consuming Seal. He was also the one who suppressed the Nine-Tails and told me... how to save Kushina."
He briefly recounted what had happened, including how the Nine-Tails had been split in two, with Yin Release Chakra sealed back inside Kushina to keep her alive and Yang Release Chakra sealed inside Naruto.
Every person present was shaken to the core.
What shocked them wasn't whether this sealing method was possible. It was... Uchiha Madara's motives.
Why had he done it?
Since he hadn't been the one to release the Nine-Tails, he could have stood by and watched Konoha's pillar be destroyed. Why had he chosen to save them himself at the last moment?
What was he after?
A deeply conflicted feeling welled up in Fugaku's heart.
On the one hand, the Fourth Hokage was still alive, which meant his position as Hokage Assistant—earned by saving the Hokage—was now secure.
On the other hand, the name "Uchiha Madara" didn't have a good reputation in Konoha. The pressure had returned to the shoulders of every Uchiha clan member.
He had just led the entire clan in clearing their name, only for their ancestor to suddenly emerge and pull off this earth-shattering "confounding stunt." Although the Fourth Hokage had said the person who released the Nine-Tails wasn't Uchiha Madara, the Uchiha Clan would still be viewed with suspicion. They had no idea how they would find a place in Konoha from now on. After all, everyone knew of Uchiha Madara's history of controlling the Nine-Tails.
Everyone's gaze would once again turn to the Uchiha Clan, filled with even deeper scrutiny and suspicion.
Sarutobi Hiruzen picked up his pipe from the ground and took a hard puff, forcing himself to calm down.
"This matter is to be classified as the highest-level S-rank secret!"
He looked around at everyone, his tone more grave than ever.
"Tonight's events will be reported as follows: the Fourth Hokage and his wife fought with all their strength and successfully subdued the Nine-Tails using a new sealing technique. Not a word about 'Uchiha Madara' is to be leaked by anyone!"
"Anyone who disobeys will be treated as a traitor to the village!"
"The Uchiha Clan rendered great service by helping Konoha repel the enemy. From now on, no one is to question the Uchiha Clan's conduct during this incident!"
In a hidden cave.
In the pitch-black cave, Obito Uchiha sat cross-legged atop a stone pillar, using White Zetsu's cellular tissue to repair the half of his body that had been pierced by the Rasengan.
Through the forest before him, his single crimson eye coldly "watched" the direction of Konoha.
Though he couldn't see it with his own eyes, he could imagine the devastation there.
Kushina shouldn't have survived.
Konoha had lost its strongest Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. The village must be plunged into grief and chaos.
And the Uchiha Clan, the only clan with the Sharingan and the ability to control the Nine-Tails, would inevitably become the target of everyone's suspicion and anger.
Everything was unfolding exactly as he had planned.
His revenge, his Eye of the Moon Plan, had finally taken the perfect, most crucial first step.
"Rin..."
He softly called the name that existed only in his memories. Beneath his mask, his face held a trace of sickening satisfaction.
"Soon, this false world will come to an end. Very soon..."
Just then, the space beside him twisted, and Black Zetsu's two-toned face slowly emerged from the ground.
"Oh my, Obito. It looks like you're badly injured," Black Zetsu said in his distinct raspy, oily voice.
"It's you, Black Zetsu?" Obito ignored his taunt and asked coldly.
"Why are you here? How's the situation in Konoha? They suffered heavy losses, didn't they?"
"Well... more or less." Black Zetsu's tone was a little strange.
"What do you mean, 'more or less'?" Obito furrowed his brow, a vague sense of foreboding rising in his heart.
"The Nine-Tails did rampage through Konoha, and the village did suffer heavy losses," Black Zetsu said unhurriedly, as if deliberately keeping him in suspense.
"But there was a little... unexpected development."
"Unexpected?"
"Ah, about that..." A deeply peculiar smile spread across Black Zetsu's face, mixing malicious glee with a trace of fear.
"Kushina Uzumaki didn't die."
The expression on Obito's face froze.
His single crimson eye flew wide open as he stared at Black Zetsu, as if trying to see right through him.
"You... what did you say?"
"I said she didn't die." Black Zetsu spread his hands. "Not only did she survive, but the Nine-Tails was perfectly split in two. One half stayed inside Kushina and kept her alive, while the other half was sealed inside her newborn son."
Boom!
Obito's mind seemed to be struck by a bolt of lightning, going completely blank.
Impossible!
That was absolutely impossible!
No one could survive the extraction of a Tailed Beast! No one could undo the Dead Demon Consuming Seal!
Minato-sensei... How could he possibly have the power to do that...?
"Who... who did it?!" Obito grabbed Black Zetsu by the collar and roared hysterically. "Who else in Konoha could do something like that?! The Third Hokage?!"
"Nope."
Black Zetsu let him grab hold, his smile growing ever brighter—and ever crueler.
He leaned close to Obito's ear and softly uttered the answer in an almost lyrical tone, shattering Obito's entire worldview.
"Lord Madara did it."
"Lord Uchiha Madara saved them with his own hands."
Before you continue