Obito gradually realized that Isobu seemed to be coming specifically for him.
The only reason the Three-Tails had not attacked him immediately was that Isobu had failed to control the direction of 'Shadow Stroke', its rolling attack similar to the Human Boulder.
It had started by spinning the wrong way and charged off in the opposite direction.
Had Isobu aimed correctly, the first thing destroyed would have been the house Obito was standing inside.
How did Obito figure that out?
Only because Isobu realized it first.
After completing its initial charge, the Three-Tails stopped and swept its gaze across the Konoha shinobi trying to restrain it.
Realizing it had gone the wrong way, it turned around, corrected its aim, and prepared to attack again.
The moment Obito noticed, he immediately ran for his life.
Of course, he did not merely flee.
Along the way, he conveniently "rescued" a few cats, dogs, and children.
Basically, he saved anything light enough to carry.
From the perspective of Konoha's other shinobi, however, the Three-Tails did not appear to be consciously hunting anyone.
They assumed it was simply rampaging indiscriminately.
As for Obito, all they saw was "Kakashi" repeatedly racing ahead of the disaster to rescue innocent civilians…
And cats and dogs.
It was not that the Three-Tails was chasing him.
The destruction simply remained one step behind him wherever he went.
Watching this, the Third Hokage felt deeply moved.
"Kakashi truly is a courageous child. He's risking his own safety, constantly moving ahead of the Three-Tails' attacks to save the villagers."
He immediately began issuing orders.
"Everyone, support Kakashi and stop the Three-Tails!"
"Akimichi clan, move in!"
Compared with the Nine-Tails' attack in the real world, Isobu was causing far greater damage to Konoha.
Looking at it this way, Uchiha Madara's scheme—and the real Rin's fear that led her to throw herself onto Kakashi's Lightning Cutter—had actually been justified.
During the Nine-Tails' attack, Minato had teleported away Kurama's Tailed Beast Bomb.
Kurama's ordinary attacks caused some destruction at first, but Sarutobi Hiruzen soon extended Enma's staff and shoved him straight out of the village.
Kurama was also an unusually obedient Tailed Beast.
Once pushed outside, he genuinely stayed there and continued fighting on the spot rather than returning.
The attack had still been a painful tragedy for Konoha, but the destruction Kurama personally caused was not actually that extensive.
It certainly did not match the full capabilities of the Nine-Tails.
The greatest damage he caused came from smacking the ground a few times immediately after appearing, before Hiruzen pushed him out.
Isobu, on the other hand, had opened with Shadow Stroke and was now ricocheting through Konoha like a billiard ball.
Hiruzen wanted to use the same method and shove the Three-Tails outside, but he could not.
No matter how quickly he swung Enma's transformed staff, he could not keep up with Isobu's rolling speed.
Before they could force the beast out, they first had to make it stop.
Naturally, the Akimichi clan and their Expansion Jutsu were best suited for the job.
Hiruzen had not ordered them forward earlier because Isobu had only just appeared and the damaged area was still relatively small.
Had the Akimichi enlarged themselves—or worse, used the Human Boulder Technique to collide with Shadow Stroke—the battlefield would genuinely have turned into a game of billiards.
Several giant Akimichi meatballs would have been sent flying across Konoha, causing even more destruction than the Three-Tails.
Things were different now.
While chasing Obito, Isobu had already devastated a large enough district that the Akimichi could safely use their Expansion Jutsu and fight back.
The logic was similar to how Pain's massive Shinra Tensei had technically helped Naruto in the original story.
If the enemy destroyed the village first, then fighting them among the ruins was perfectly acceptable.
But if you confronted the enemy early and the village was damaged during the battle, the civilians would blame and bully you for it.
It did not matter that both situations produced the same result—or that acting earlier might even save more lives and reduce the destruction.
"Expansion Jutsu!"
Several large members of the Akimichi clan unleashed their secret technique at full strength, transforming into small giants and blocking Isobu's route.
Those lacking sufficient ability used the Partial Expansion Jutsu instead, enlarging their hands to help stop it.
Seeing the defensive line, Obito immediately led Isobu straight toward them.
The rapidly spinning Three-Tails crashed into the Akimichi formation.
Under their combined resistance, its rotation gradually slowed until it finally stopped.
The moment Isobu became stationary, every Akimichi released their Expansion Jutsu.
Their hands were torn and bloodied, presenting a miserable sight.
"Lord Third, hurry!" Obito shouted at the arriving Hiruzen. "Attack its back door!"
Hiruzen had been preparing to strike Isobu and knock it out of the village.
Hearing Kakashi's instruction, his foot slipped, and he nearly fell over.
Still, if Kakashi had specifically said so, there had to be a reason.
"Lord Third, what happened here?"
Namikaze Minato suddenly appeared beside Hiruzen through the Flying Raijin Technique, staring gravely at the ruined buildings surrounding them.
As the fastest shinobi alive, Minato had once again arrived one step too late.
He had been away on a mission. By the time news of the attack reached him and he teleported back, the disaster was already well underway.
"Minato, Nohara Rin became the Three-Tails' jinchūriki and suddenly lost control inside the village today…"
Hiruzen began explaining, then realized this was hardly the time.
"We can discuss the details later. We need to stop it while it's immobilized!
"Minato, assist me!"
Hiruzen decided to trust the now-"reformed" Kakashi and strike Isobu directly in its vital rear position.
Yes.
In Hiruzen's mind, Kakashi must have discovered a hidden weakness there.
"Understood, Lord Third. Let's do it!"
Minato placed one hand on the end of Enma's staff and nodded.
"Good!"
Hiruzen pushed with all his strength.
The Adamantine Staff rapidly lengthened into an enormous pole and shot toward the Three-Tails.
Minato vanished in a streak of golden light and appeared at the staff's advancing tip.
Just before the pole could crash into him, Minato threw out a stack of explosive tags and attached them to its end.
Then, before the staff could shove the tags into his own body, he used the Flying Raijin Technique and returned to his original position.
He repeated the process several times.
Before the staff reached Isobu, its tip had been completely covered in explosive tags.
Meanwhile, Obito stood directly in front of the Three-Tails, drawing its attention.
He knew Isobu wanted to kill him.
Now that the beast had stopped rolling, its focus would naturally lock onto him.
"Isobu, why are you so determined to chase me?"
Obito jumped straight in front of the beast and spoke quietly enough that only the two of them could hear.
After all, speaking in front of an entire crowd was clearly the best way to ensure nobody eavesdropped.
"You vile, depraved monster! I swear I'll kill you!"
Isobu had never expected the bastard to approach willingly and immediately erupted in fury.
Every time the Three-Tails looked at Obito, a chill ran along its back.
Unless it killed this pervert, Isobu feared it would never sleep peacefully again.
What the beast failed to realize was that the chill running down its back was actually a warning of an incoming attack.
For once, it had nothing to do with Obito.
Obito's gaze contained none of the greedy desire for a Tailed Beast's body that he had displayed earlier.
Click.
Isobu was just about to attack when its pupil contracted and its entire body froze.
The combined strike of Sarutobi Hiruzen and Namikaze Minato had arrived!