Konoha, Hokage Rock.
Hum, hum, hum...
A strange vortex abruptly appeared atop the likeness of the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, on Hokage Rock.
Then a masked man suddenly emerged from the vortex, looking down over Konoha beneath the night sky.
"Konoha, I'm back."
He had once been a member of the Uchiha Clan, named Obito Uchiha.
Konoha had been his home.
But that had only been because Rin was here!
Ever since Rin died, nothing in this world had held any meaning.
That included his family, the Uchiha Clan, and his home, Konoha.
Because he knew that all of it was false.
This clan, this home, to him now...
They were nothing more than a place of sorrow.
Obito Uchiha silently surveyed Konoha, his sole exposed eye-a crimson Mangekyō Sharingan-filled with indifference.
"Aside from Teacher Chen coming out of retirement, Konoha's other fighting forces haven't changed, have they?"
"No. Other than Shisui Uchiha heading to the border of the Land of Fire, everyone's movements and whereabouts have matched our previous intelligence."
No sooner had he finished speaking than Black Zetsu poked his head out of the ground and answered.
"In that case, once the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki goes into labor, everything before me..."
As he spoke, Obito Uchiha slowly raised his right hand, covering all of Konoha from his view.
Then he clenched it sharply.
"Can be destroyed."
"..."
Meanwhile, as Obito Uchiha stood in the darkness silently watching Konoha...
Elsewhere, Shisui Uchiha's Wood Clone abruptly opened his eyes as he lay on a branch.
"This presence... Obito Uchiha!"
Now that Obito Uchiha had appeared, the Nine-Tails' Rampage would likely follow soon.
Before that, he needed to do something first!
At that thought, Shisui Uchiha hesitated briefly, then donned an Anbu uniform and vanished.
When he reappeared, he was already behind Obito Uchiha, slashing fiercely with the Kusanagi Sword in his hand.
Whoosh!
"An insect from this filthy world, ignorant of your own limits."
Obito Uchiha was somewhat surprised by Shisui Uchiha's appearance, and by the fact that someone had actually detected his arrival.
But that was all.
What threat could a mere Anbu member possibly pose to him?
He only needed to use his Sharingan's ability once to kill the man with ease!
As Obito Uchiha activated his Sharingan's ability, Kamui, the Kusanagi Sword that should have beheaded him instead passed straight through his body.
"What is this?"
Shisui Uchiha feigned confusion, then swiftly withdrew the Kusanagi Sword and darted backward.
He had only come to experience the power of Obito Uchiha's Mangekyō Sharingan, Kamui, in advance, so he could subdue him more easily during the Nine-Tails' Rampage.
The Sharingan was the Uchiha Clan's exclusive kekkei genkai.
It was also known as the eye that reflected the heart.
Because every stage of the Sharingan's evolution, from one-tomoe to three-tomoe and even the Mangekyō Sharingan, was accompanied by pain.
Experiencing pain and awakening the power the heart needed most desperately.
That was the Uchiha, and that was the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan!
Obito Uchiha's Kamui was one such example.
Obito Uchiha rejected this world, declared it false, and wanted to create a "real world" where Rin existed.
And so, the ability known as Kamui had emerged.
Now that Shisui had experienced Obito Uchiha's Kamui up close, he could get down to business.
He needed to alert that man inside Konoha!
"Good reflexes. Unfortunately, they're meaningless."
While Shisui Uchiha feigned confusion, Obito Uchiha's body had already been sucked into that strange vortex.
When he reappeared, he was behind Shisui Uchiha.
He thrust his kunai straight down toward Shisui Uchiha's head, his cold voice dripping with scorn.
"Die, insect!"
But just as he was about to succeed, a yellow flash appeared out of nowhere between them.
Clang! Clang!
Clear metallic clashes rang out as Shisui Uchiha's kunai was forcibly knocked aside.
He came, just as expected.
The Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze!
Seeing Minato Namikaze arrive, Shisui Uchiha darted backward and shouted in a deliberately grave voice.
"Lord Hokage, be careful! This man's ability is strange!"
"Leave him to me. Hurry back and inform the Third Hokage!"
"Yes!"
Shisui Uchiha nodded, then left Hokage Rock to watch the battle from a distance.
As for delivering the message, he only needed to hypnotize an Anbu member with Genjutsu.
Whoosh!
As soon as Shisui Uchiha left, Minato Namikaze gripped his kunai and instantly moved to the spot where Shisui Uchiha had just stood.
The next instant, their kunai collided head-on.
But just as Minato Namikaze prepared to strike again, Obito Uchiha suddenly gave a cold laugh.
"Konoha will be destroyed in the end. Everything is an illusion."
"Foolish people, cherish what little time you have left..."
Hum, hum, hum.
Then, right before Minato Namikaze's eyes, his body was sucked into that strange vortex.
The moment Minato Namikaze appeared, Obito Uchiha knew he had to leave.
After all, the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki had yet to go into labor. The time to release the Nine-Tails had not come, and there was no need to stay here fighting Minato Namikaze.
At the sight, Minato Namikaze's brows drew tightly together.
"That eye... it seemed to be the Uchiha Clan's Mangekyō Sharingan!"
A Mangekyō Sharingan and a space-time ability... there didn't seem to be anyone like that among Konoha's Uchiha Clan!
Besides, if he really were a member of Konoha's Uchiha Clan, he would surely have tried to kill me to silence me the moment I discovered him.
But that man hadn't. He had simply fled!
At that thought, Minato Namikaze's expression grew even graver.
This seemed more complicated than I'd imagined!
Whoosh! Whoosh!
While Minato Namikaze pondered, Hiruzen Sarutobi received the news and hurried over.
"Minato, did you finish that man off?"
"No. He had Space-Time Ninjutsu and escaped."
"But rest assured, Third Hokage. For the peace of the village, I'll do everything I can to capture him!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded at his words, a pleased smile appearing on his face.
"Minato, thank you for your hard work."
"I'm only doing my duty."
"..."
Watching Minato Namikaze's retreating figure, Hiruzen Sarutobi felt deeply displeased.
According to his original plan, after helping Minato Namikaze become Hokage, he should have been able to operate behind the scenes, retain control over Konoha, and continue carrying out his own will.
But reality had turned out otherwise!
Since taking office as the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze seemed to have won even greater public support than he had, and his actions better served the interests of the village's various clans.
That left Hiruzen Sarutobi in an awkward position.
Under these circumstances, unless something unusual happened...
He would never be able to reclaim the power that belonged to him!
For instance, if something happened to Minato Namikaze...
But with the man's Flying Thunder God Technique, could something like that really happen?
Before you continue