In the name of the Hokage

The surging waves took the shape of a dragon and hurtled toward the two of them with the force of a landslide and a tsunami.

Water Release? Here?

A hint of mockery crossed Obito's face beneath his Mask. The instant he sensed the attack, he activated Kamui, turning intangible. The water dragon roared toward him, only to pass straight through his body.

It was a powerful Water Release technique, but unfortunately, it was useless against him.

He paid no further attention to Uchiha Izumi, who was bound by chains and unable to move, leaving her helpless as the water dragon swept her away.

Instead, he immediately turned toward the source of the water dragon.

Who was it?

"So it really is the Masked Man I fought back then. To think he was Obito..." At the far end of the water dragon, "Naruto," shrouded in strange chakra, raised his head. Red markings appeared around his eyes, and his expression was deeply conflicted, showing emotions the little Naruto would never have displayed.

Even after seeing that the Water Release had no effect on his enemy, he did not stop. Waves of water poured endlessly from his mouth.

"Water Release won't work on him," the Nine-Tails' voice rang in his ears. "I can't give you my own chakra, partly because of the seal, and partly because we can't let him realize Naruto is here. At most, I can share natural energy with you. You can only use Naruto's chakra. This is a power he knows nothing about."

"Just leave, Minato!"

Indeed, the one using Water Release through Naruto's body was Minato Namikaze.

A little earlier...

When the Nine-Tails sensed Obito's chakra, he immediately wanted to warn Naruto to leave.

But he had not expected the ability to sense malice, which Naruto had gained early through his influence, to be overwhelmed at that instant by the endless negative emotions filling the Uchiha Clan Compound. Naruto had faltered.

Perhaps because the Nine-Tails no longer plagued Naruto's thoughts and dreams with malice and resentment in this life, the boy had actually lost his nerve under these circumstances.

"Minato, get ready. I'll pull Naruto's consciousness into the mental space, and you..." Realizing something was wrong, the Nine-Tails acted decisively. He could sense that malice drawing closer. Once Obito discovered Naruto, escaping the power of those eyes would not be so simple!

"Right, I understand!"

Minato Namikaze understood the Nine-Tails' intention almost instantly. He needed no preparation. The next moment, he opened his eyes and saw the girl shielding him. After lightly touching the hem of her clothes, he used the Body Flicker Technique to leave the spot.

Even Uchiha Izumi, with all her attention focused ahead, failed to notice Naruto's departure.

Suppressing his presence as much as possible, he hid in the most suitable corner to observe the situation. Almost simultaneously, he tried connecting to the natural energy the Nine-Tails was passing to him. As those unusual red markings appeared around Naruto's eyes, Minato's sensory abilities multiplied—

He had entered Sage Mode!

Without anyone needing to remind him, Minato Namikaze had instantly assessed both the situation and his own condition, making the most sensible decision. He was the Yellow Flash, Konoha's hero who had fought his way through the battlefields of the shinobi world!

"How long can I maintain Sage Mode in Naruto's body, when I'm not particularly good at it..." Minato murmured, then focused his attention on the situation before him.

Even Obito had failed to notice anything. He had merely dismissed Uchiha Izumi's earlier attempt to shield Naruto as inconsequential. Thus, when he prepared to finish her off, Minato, possessing Naruto's body, had already made his move.

Sage Art: Water Release: Heavenly Light Triple Howl Whirlwind Scattering Blossoms Frozen Water Dragon Bullet, Type Zero.

Despite its bizarre name, it was essentially an enhanced version of the Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique. With senjutsu chakra empowering it, however, its strength was on an entirely different level.

Combined with the enormous chakra reserves Naruto possessed as a member of the Uzumaki Clan, the seemingly endless torrent instantly turned the entire area before the Konoha Military Police Force headquarters into a pond, engulfing both Obito Uchiha and Uchiha Izumi.

After Minato had previously determined that Naruto possessed wind and water chakra natures, the techniques he taught him had been Water Release ninjutsu.

During his lifetime, Minato's own elemental chakra natures had been wind, lightning, and fire, but that did not mean he knew no Water Release ninjutsu. On the contrary, Jiraiya had once described him by saying, "Compared with Minato Namikaze, everyone else falls short."

Mastering most ninjutsu was only one aspect of his genius.

However...

"Water Release? Who is it!" Already in a state of Intangibility, Obito charged straight upstream. The raging water had no effect on him, instead serving as the perfect beacon for tracking his enemy.

Almost in an instant, Obito reached the source of the Water Dragon Bullet. Yet his Mangekyō Sharingan saw no one there.

Boom!

Another water dragon roared, but this time it struck from behind him. It followed the previous torrent almost seamlessly, keeping Obito trapped within the waves.

How did he move? Obito spun around, only to find that the source of this water dragon was even farther away than the distance he had just run. Had his opponent instantly moved that far away from him, then precisely targeted him with another Water Release attack?

Still, it was useless. With Kamui's Intangibility active, he could ignore any attack for its duration!

Obito once again raced upstream along the water dragon. This time, he would use his Sharingan to see exactly how his opponent moved.

"Already caught on?" Even Minato had to admit how troublesome Obito's ability was. He glanced at Uchiha Izumi, lying at his feet. The water dragon had carried her here when it struck her, and the Flying Thunder God Mark he had just left was on the hem of her clothes.

At the instant Minato attacked Obito with Water Release, he had also used the force of the senjutsu-enhanced torrent to send Uchiha Izumi flying away.

Because Obito was intangible, he would not be carried away with her. Instead, he would move toward Minato's previous position. Before he arrived, however, Minato had already used the Flying Thunder God Technique to teleport to Uchiha Izumi's side. The distance created by that back-and-forth movement gave him ample room to maneuver.

This sequence had not only taken him and Uchiha Izumi beyond Obito's field of view, but also kept Obito from discovering who he was or what abilities he possessed.

This was Minato Namikaze's combat instinct!

"Still not leaving?"

The Nine-Tails' voice rang out again, but this time, there was no urgency in his tone.

He had a vague idea of what Minato intended.

It's tonight, isn't it? Minato thought, knowing the Nine-Tails could hear him. The night you spoke of, when the Uchiha Clan is wiped out.

"Probably. So what do you intend to do?"

"Keep him trapped in the water with Water Release. Visibility won't be very good underwater at night, so his movements will slow. Until he figures out what I can do, he probably won't end his Intangibility lightly. And based on what I learned from our previous fight, he can't attack or use other techniques while he remains intangible."

"Second, you said his Kamui only makes him intangible for a limited time. He can't stay that way forever. Once he has to become solid without knowing who his enemy is, he may not continue the pursuit," Minato calmly explained his tactics.

"Then you'll have to keep him trapped for quite some time, using Flying Thunder God to lead him back and forth without letting him notice... You won't have enough chakra."

"Besides Naruto's chakra, I still have my own." Minato's voice was calm. "After converting and absorbing the chakra you've been continually passing to me, I should be able to hold out for a while if I use all of it."

"...Why go this far? If you want to save this little girl, you can take her away with Flying Thunder God right now." The Nine-Tails seemed to see right through Minato's intentions. "You still want to save the entire Uchiha Clan? Naive. Even if they survive tonight, what then? Do you think everything will be peaceful tomorrow?"

"...Nine-Tails, I understand what you mean. I also understand the Third Hokage's thinking, and why this decision was made for the village.

"I know even better that stopping them now, and exposing your presence and the changes in you, would bring Naruto a great deal of unnecessary danger... Of course, I'm equally aware that the future enemies you're guarding against are far more dangerous and powerful!"

Minato fell silent for a moment. In Sage Mode, he sensed Obito drawing closer, yet he did not stop using chakra. Just as Obito was about to reach him, he used Flying Thunder God to return to his previous position and unleashed another senjutsu Jutsu.

"But from what I've seen, from what I know, right up to this very moment, the Uchiha Clan is still part of Konoha. And I am still a Hokage whose face is carved into Konoha's cliff!"

"The name of Hokage I bear is an oath I swore to every member of Konoha. I will protect the village and its people. They are in danger now, and I cannot run. This is something I can never abandon!"

At that moment, "Naruto's" gaze was extraordinarily resolute, a soul burning within that tiny body.

Once, he had sacrificed his own life to seal the Nine-Tails and protect the village.

His name was Minato Namikaze!

He was Konoha's Fourth Hokage!

That had never changed!

"...You would uphold the name of Hokage even if it meant putting yourself and your own child in danger. You really are... No, I should say..."

Sensing Minato Namikaze's resolve, the Nine-Tails almost saw that unforgettable figure appear before his eyes.

The man wearing the Seventh Hokage's cloak.

He could not help but sigh. "You two truly are father and son."

"Then let me lend you a hand. Minato, use a Shadow Clone!"