The desert wind stopped. Silence-utter, deathly silence.
The cold Flying Thunder God Kunai pressed firmly against the artery in Obito's neck, its killing intent locked onto him.
Minato stood quietly behind him, his breathing steady.
At that moment, what Minato sensed was exceedingly strange.
The enemy's chakra was chaotic and uneven, yet there was something familiar about it.
Normally, a ninja's chakra could not be sensed so easily, but Obito was different now.
The dragon veins had washed through his body, disrupting his chakra. With the white Zetsu cells in his body, however, his chakra did not feel the same as it had when he was a child.
The only thing Minato could make out was the pale, familiar outline of the man's profile.
He looked older than Minato.
There was a faint, inexplicable familiarity to him.
Yet his bearing and presence were completely foreign.
Minato frowned slightly as a faint doubt rose in his heart, but he could not connect the man to anyone he knew.
"Who exactly are you?"
Minato's voice was calm and probing, his blade never easing even a fraction.
Obito froze in place before him.
After so many years, across time and space, he heard that gentle, composed voice again.
All the innocent, burning determination of his youth, his desire to follow in the Hokage's footsteps, surged wildly through his heart.
This was the man he had once respected most, the beloved teacher he had admired, the mentor he and Kakashi had shared.
But he was no longer the person he had been back then.
Is this genjutsu?
Obito immediately activated his Sharingan, but he could not see through it. There was no trace of genjutsu.
Looks like it isn't genjutsu!
Obito forced down the tumultuous emotions in his heart and raised his trembling right