"Another Tailed Beast Bomb?"
Hikaru watched the Nine-Tails, pinned in place by the Wood Dragon—especially the chakra gathering at its mouth—and shook his head slightly.
Even though the Nine-Tails had recovered somewhat, its ferocity was worse than before.
But Hikaru wasn't frightened.
His senses had already caught Minato arriving—and an unexpected guest.
Obito was back.
"Why did Obito return…?"
Hikaru's frown deepened.
To be honest, he wasn't too worried about the Nine-Tails—Minato had sealed it in the original timeline even at the cost of his life.
But the original timeline never mentioned Obito coming back to "watch."
That was an unpredictable variable.
Then, suddenly, Hikaru's brows relaxed.
A smile spread across his face.
His chakra surged violently.
His hands flew through seals at top speed—and then he slammed both palms onto the ground.
"Sage Art: Wood Release — Wood Formation Wall!"
Chakra erupted.
In an instant, countless massive trees fused together and burst from the earth—each crowned with a lizard head—forming an unbreakable barricade in front of Hikaru, leaving the Tailed Beast Bomb no opening at all.
BOOM!
The explosion thundered again.
The night turned white.
The earth shuddered violently—so violently that cracks split across the ground and raced outward.
But Hikaru knew those cracks wouldn't spread far.
They weren't deep.
Even so… the power was horrifying.
"Hikaru-kun."
At that moment, Minato appeared beside him, supporting Kushina—
And in his arms was newborn Naruto.
"Hokage-sama." Hikaru's eyebrow lifted.
So you're still planning to seal the Nine-Tails into Naruto?
Hikaru clearly remembered Minato leaving earlier and confidently saying he would seal the Nine-Tails back into Kushina.
So why the sudden reversal?
He didn't even need Minato to explain.
The moment Hikaru looked at Kushina, he understood.
Her condition was terrible.
Her life force flickered—barely held together by her constitution, but it wouldn't last long.
Worst of all, her body likely couldn't bear a complete Nine-Tails anymore.
Minato must have judged that—
Which was why he brought Naruto as well.
And Minato himself wasn't in good shape either.
He'd teleported away the first Beast Bomb, fought Obito for a long time, moved the Nine-Tails here, and then brought Kushina and Naruto out too.
And unlike the Senju "chakra tank" type, Minato's reserves weren't endless.
Even Hikaru—who mocked himself as the "shame of the Senju"—wasn't below Minato in chakra quantity right now.
(And that was without planting any seeds.)
"Hikaru-kun, there's no time." Minato inhaled sharply, face grim. "Let's seal the Nine-Tails quickly. Kushina's condition is bad. I'm going to seal part of the Nine-Tails into her… and part into me. That's the only way she can withstand it."
"Huh?" Hikaru froze, then pointed at Naruto in Minato's arms. "Then what's the baby for?"
"A contingency plan." Minato shook his head. "If—if there's a worst case… then Naruto must carry part of the responsibility. Because he's our child."
"I understand." Hikaru nodded solemnly, looking almost moved. "You'll succeed."
He didn't say more.
Minato had the same resolve as the original story—ready to die if needed.
But more than anything, Minato wanted to save Kushina.
Hikaru didn't bother judging.
His task was simple:
Cooperate to restrain the Nine-Tails…
Then find a chance to withdraw, leaving Minato to face the Nine-Tails alone.
Because Obito was here—Hikaru had the perfect excuse.
"But I'll keep the Wood Dragon here," Hikaru thought. "Better than letting the Nine-Tails turn Minato into a kebab."
As he lowered the Wood Formation Wall, he tightened the Wood Dragon's grip even harder.
When the wall fully sank, the Nine-Tails was completely locked in place.
It struggled and roared—
But as a creature formed of pure chakra, it was helpless against a technique that devoured chakra and strengthened itself.
Minato finally exhaled in relief.
Even with resolve, he didn't want to die young.
His life had only begun.
His child had just been born.
He was the Hokage.
He still wanted to change this broken world.
He looked down at Kushina—
And she gave him a weak smile.
BOOM!
Kushina's chakra flared.
Golden chains burst forth, spiraling through the night like coiling dragons, binding the Nine-Tails on top of the Wood Dragon's restraint.
Chains designed to suppress tailed-beast chakra.
With Wood Dragon + Uzumaki chains together, the Nine-Tails couldn't break free no matter how violently it fought.
Its claws flashed cold in the dark.
Its eyes brimmed with denser cruelty.
Still—powerless.
"Now! I'll first take part of the Nine-Tails—" Minato began.
But in the next instant—
Hikaru suddenly shoved him aside.
And a figure appeared right beside Hikaru.
"Finally."
Hikaru had already locked onto Obito's chakra.
The moment Obito's chakra surged, Hikaru prepared—yet that shift gave the Nine-Tails a momentary opening.
The chains rippled.
The Nine-Tails seized the chance and struggled furiously—chains clattering wildly.
"It's you again!" Minato steadied himself while holding Kushina and Naruto, glaring at Obito.
"Yeah, me again." Obito shrugged. "Don't misunderstand—I'm not interested in you anymore."
"I'm interested in the one next to you."
"Oh?" Hikaru raised a brow, genuinely puzzled.
He swore he used to be close to Obito.
But after joining ANBU, there was almost no contact.
Now? They were enemies by definition.
Obito was a rogue.
Hikaru was ANBU.
So why did Obito speak as if he understood Hikaru perfectly?
Hikaru wanted to use Obito as an excuse to disengage, forcing Minato into the desperate struggle he needed—survive barely, change history, recuperate, but not die.
Instead, Obito came straight for him.
Something was off.
Then Hikaru's thoughts clicked into place.
It's the Wood Release.
Hikaru's presence was a variable—maybe to Obito, maybe to Black Zetsu—something they couldn't control.
Obito returning served two purposes:
Disrupt the sealing…
And test Hikaru's strength.
"Looking for me?" Hikaru frowned. "You came to cause trouble again?"
"Trouble?" Obito tilted his head. He didn't even look injured. "I'm just curious who could possess Wood Release again. That kind of power… isn't something normal people have."
As he walked forward, chakra condensed inside him—
Especially within the right half of his body, which pulsed with an abnormal chakra wave.
Hikaru watched calmly. His Flying Thunder God was already ready.
Then Obito's voice dropped.
"So I came to test how strong your Wood Release really is!"
He thrust out his right hand.
Countless sharp wooden spikes erupted and stabbed toward Hikaru.
Hikaru instantly used Flying Thunder God and dodged.
Obito didn't stop.
His right eye shifted.
Space warped—and in the next second he was on Hikaru again.
Hikaru snorted and flashed away again.
Obito phased and chased.
In a blink, both vanished—leaving only Minato, Kushina, and the struggling Nine-Tails.
Minato inhaled, gaze turning heavy.
"This is getting bad."
He looked at Kushina.
"Now… we can only rely on ourselves."
"That man… who is he?" Kushina asked weakly, her breathing worsening. "Why would he do this?"
"He…" Minato sighed deeply. "He said he's Uchiha Madara."
"Madara…" Kushina's pupils widened.
She didn't believe it.
Neither did Minato.
By age alone, Madara should have been ancient.
But if he wasn't Madara… how did he know how to control the Nine-Tails with Sharingan?
A disciple? A successor using his name?
"Forget him." Kushina shook her head. "Minato… what will you do? My condition… I can only support the Wood Dragon and chains for now. The rest…"
"I know." Minato smiled—bright and sunny, painfully out of place.
At that moment, Naruto began crying loudly in his other hand.
Kushina turned to him, voice trembling. "Sorry, Naruto… we woke you."
"Sorry, Naruto." Minato gently placed Naruto on the ground.
Then he looked up at Kushina.
"I know what to do now. Don't worry."
"After this… you'll have to carry the burden."
"Minato!" Kushina's heart plunged.
But Minato cut her off with a radiant smile.
"Kushina… thank you."
"Thank you for everything you gave me."
"You made me the Fourth Hokage."
"You made me lucky enough to be your husband."
"And you made me a father."
"Up to now… my life has been perfect."
"If I have any regrets… maybe just one or two."
He stopped there.
He didn't continue.
Because he knew:
His chakra was running low.
If time remained, and with Hikaru's help, he might have split and sealed the Nine-Tails precisely.
But now the situation had changed.
Even with Wood Dragon still restraining the Nine-Tails—
Without Hikaru's direct control, its binding force was steadily weakening.
It was still devouring chakra, yes…
But cracks were forming in the restraint.
If this continued, the Nine-Tails would break free.
Minato didn't have time for a careful, slow extraction.
Kushina's state was awful—
But with the Wood Dragon helping, she still had a small window where she could bear a tailed beast.
Minato had to split the Nine-Tails as fast as possible.
Kushina could still live.
He wouldn't abandon her.
Minato's eyes hardened into steel.
He crossed his hands and began rapid seals.
An eerie chakra stirred inside him.
His mind blurred, as if something massive and unseen loomed behind him—
A presence terrifying beyond description.
"No! Minato!" Kushina screamed.
Minato didn't turn around.
He feared if he did… he would break.
"Ninja Art: Reaper Death Seal!"
His chakra surged wildly.
The seals completed in an instant.
If he had a choice, he wouldn't use this technique.
But at this moment, it was the simplest way to precisely split the Nine-Tails and seal part of it.
As it activated, Minato felt the horror behind him move.
His hand touched something intangible—
A phantom chakra body.
A freezing chakra crawled into his abdomen.
Then an unseen force shot toward the Nine-Tails—
And struck it.
A tremendous pulling force hit.
Minato knew it had worked.
The Nine-Tails roared more violently than ever, fighting to resist.
But no matter how vast its chakra was, it couldn't endure long before the Reaper Death Seal.
A pale Nine-Tails chakra phantom was torn free—
Dragged into Minato along with the sealing force.
A scorching pain bloomed in his abdomen.
Something terrifying now resided inside him, as if it could rip him apart from within at any moment.
Minato gritted his teeth, suppressing the sealed half with the last of his chakra.
Using the Reaper Death Seal, he extracted the Nine-Tails' Yin chakra—
And sealed it within his own belly.
A sealing pattern appeared.
"No!!" Kushina's voice broke into hoarse screams.
Minato didn't turn.
He closed his eyes, trying not to cry.
But tears still fell—drop by drop onto the earth.
"I'm sorry, Kushina… I'm sorry."
"Please forgive my selfishness… forgive me…"
The Nine-Tails still struggled beneath Wood Dragon and Uzumaki chains—
But its struggle couldn't stop Minato's next step.
And the Nine-Tails could feel it:
The Wood Dragon restraint was cracking.
Its chance was coming.
Minato sensed it too.
So he hurried, forming seals again.
"Next… the Eight Trigrams Seal, Kushina…"
"I'm sorry… goodbye…"
Hikaru and Obito moved at high speed through the forest, pulling farther away from the Nine-Tails.
Hikaru had no illusions about outrunning Obito's pursuit.
Obito's movement didn't require marked coordinates like Flying Thunder God.
He could warp straight to where he intended.
So Hikaru's goal was different:
Drag Obito far away…
Then "talk" properly.
Once Minato finished the sealing, Hikaru would return and do what he needed.
He had Obito's intel.
If Minato could beat Obito, Hikaru believed he could too.
Minato had already left Obito a "gift"—
And because of his cheat-like advantage, Hikaru could use any Flying Thunder God marks.
As long as he controlled the timing, Obito wasn't an unsolvable problem.
"Hm?"
Hikaru had just stabilized his footing when his senses detected more chakra signatures approaching from Konoha's direction.
Not a few—many.
And among them…
Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Hikaru nodded faintly.
In the original timeline, Hiruzen arrived after Minato sealed the Nine-Tails and took Naruto away.
Hikaru had moved in this direction on purpose—
To prevent complications like Hiruzen interfering while Hikaru was "saving" Minato and Kushina.
It was precaution.
And it was proving correct.
But Obito arrived behind him as well.
A chain snapped out of his sleeve and whipped toward Hikaru.
"What a nuisance."
Hikaru leapt aside—
But Obito stayed glued to him.
If Obito (or Black Zetsu) wanted to see Wood Release…
Hikaru wasn't going to disappoint.
He checked his chakra, then flashed through seals.
"Sage Art: Wood Release — Thorn Assassination Technique!"
He thrust his hand forward.
Countless vine-like wooden tendrils shot at Obito.
More wood erupted around Obito, surrounding him, chakra pulsing through it.
Obito's brow twitched.
If those hit, they would be trouble.
Because within them was a special force—dangerous.
"So your Wood Release is different from mine…" Obito thought.
He twisted away—
Then extended his right hand again.
"Wood Release: Impalement Technique!"
Sharp wooden spikes surged under his chakra and stabbed toward Hikaru.
But Obito's expression changed.
The target vanished.
His Sharingan spun rapidly.
And in that instant, Hikaru appeared beside him—
A chakra-blue blade slashed down on Obito's right hand.
SHNK!
Obito's right hand was severed cleanly at the wrist.
Hikaru didn't pursue further.
Obito's reaction speed wasn't slow—he had Mangekyō.
Hikaru paused for less than a second, then returned to his original spot as if he'd never moved.
Obito stared at him darkly.
Tonight was humiliation piled on humiliation.
His technique had been countered by two Flying Thunder God users—
First his teacher.
Now his "classmate."
And both were once people he'd had a good relationship with.
It made rage boil up inside him.
Minato had Flying Thunder God—
But he arrived too late, and Rin died by Kakashi's hand.
And Hikaru—Obito's closest peer—
Was Senju, had Wood Release, and also had Flying Thunder God.
If he had power like that…
Why didn't he save Rin?
Obito's mind, once it started spiraling, ignored inconvenient facts.
He only believed what he felt.
His chakra surged harder.
Hikaru sensed it—
And also sensed Hiruzen's forces nearing.
"They can't come closer," Hikaru thought.
"Then…"
Obito completed hand seals.
"Fire Style: Blast Wave Dance!"
A fire dragon roared out, enormous under Obito's chakra.
His Sharingan spun—space warped—
And the flames twisted into a spiraling inferno, scorching the ground as if it were being ignited.
Hikaru responded instantly.
"Sage Art: Water Release — Water Formation Wall!"
He used large-scale water release to block the advancing forces.
He hadn't expected it—
But it also happened to counter Obito's fire.
He didn't stop there.
Keeping his senses locked on Obito, Hikaru formed seals again.
"Sage Art: Wood Release — Deep Forest Emergence!"
He cast it again.
To keep Hiruzen's troops away, he needed large-scale terrain denial.
Water alone wasn't enough.
But with Deep Forest Emergence on top—
This entire area would become a forbidden zone.
As long as Hikaru didn't dismiss it, Hiruzen wouldn't dare push in.
The trade-off was clear:
Hikaru's senjutsu chakra was nearly empty.
He could barely maintain Sage Mode now.
If he used another senjutsu technique, he would drop out.
A moment later, Hikaru jumped—
And a whirlpool-like distortion appeared where he had been.
Obito emerged, sticking close.
"Your Wood Release is strong," Obito said coldly, stabbing with a kunai. "But it's not enough. And your condition… you're about done, aren't you?"
"Guess whether this is real… or a fake attack."
"Boring."
Hikaru hopped back, then blocked Obito's next strike with his blade.
Obito's one visible eye locked onto him, voice carrying a mocking edge.
"Still… your Wood Release is terrifying."
"I can't compare to it."
"You got this ability from Hashirama Senju's cells, didn't you?"
Hikaru slashed.
His blade passed through Obito's body.
He flashed to a tree branch.
"I noticed it long ago. You're disgusting."
"That mask—because you're a half-dead freak who can't face people, right?"
Hikaru's tongue was ruthless.
He felt no sympathy now that they were enemies.
Even if Obito was a tragedy—
A tragedy as deep as Madara's.
Because the shinobi world was, in a twisted sense, an extension of Ōtsutsuki-family conflict.
There were no "purely evil" villains.
Everyone had motives.
Some even believed they were doing the right thing.
Obito's "logic" was:
If reality is hell, then make a paradise in illusion.
To many people in the shinobi world, that might even sound tempting.
But Obito didn't know Infinite Tsukuyomi was a trap.
No matter what he did, Kaguya would exploit him.
Still—
Hikaru didn't care.
He was practical.
Obito threatened his interests.
So he would not be soft.
Then—
A vast, unnatural chakra surged into the sky.
Cold, suffocating, deathlike.
It rolled toward them.
At the same time, the Nine-Tails' roar grew harsher and more desperate—
And in Hikaru's senses, the Nine-Tails had been cut down by half.
Hikaru instantly understood.
Minato had done it.
"No time to play," Hikaru said, looking at Obito.
"I'd like to figure out who you really are…"
"But I think starting from your corpse is easier."
"You're confident," Obito rasped, amused. "You couldn't deal with me earlier. You think you can finish me quickly now?"
"I think I can." Hikaru lifted his head.
His blade flared blue again.
"Actually, killing you isn't that hard. For example—"
His figure vanished.
Obito's danger sense exploded.
"Now—"
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