Kage Rock was a symbol of Konoha and one of its famous landmarks, carved with the faces of successive Hokage.
As a vortex appeared above the treetops, the Masked Man silently studied the last stone face, then looked down at Konoha below. No expression could be seen behind his tiger-striped mask.
He had once been a ninja of Konohagakure, fighting to protect the village, but now he wanted only to destroy it.
"Are you really going to destroy this place? It's your hometown..." Zetsu asked Obito, half his body emerging from a tree trunk.
The Masked Man said nothing. He merely snorted before disappearing into the vortex.
The next instant, the Masked Man appeared near the wooden cabin guarded by ANBU and surveyed their vigilant faces.
He could not destroy Konoha alone, but the Nine-Tails could. Its power was enough to destroy the entire village, and today was the day the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki would give birth.
He had come here after sensing the Nine-Tails' presence. He intended to undo its seal when its jinchūriki was weakest, then destroy all of Konoha.
As for who the jinchūriki was, he did not care.
Moving with lightning speed, Obito dispatched the nearby ANBU guards and entered the cabin, only to find flashes of light rising from the wooden floor. The Explosive Tags were about to detonate.
Obito's expression changed beneath his mask. He was about to escape with the Body Flicker Technique when he realized his shadow had been bound, leaving him unable to move.
"Shadow Possession Jutsu!"
The Masked Man looked toward the clearing outside the cabin. The ANBU he had just dispatched stood back up one after another, their eyes fixed intently on him.
The next instant...
A series of violent explosions erupted inside the cabin, engulfing it and the Masked