On the screen, having dodged the suction force of Kamui, Minato harbored some suspicions and asked calmly, with a hint of probing.
"Are you Uchiha Madara?"
"No, that can't be right—he was already killed by Lord First."
"Who knows?" The black-robed figure tilted his head slightly, removed his hood, revealing a white tiger-patterned mask, and said indifferently.
"Why are you attacking Konoha?"
Minato stared at him, trying to discern something behind that mask.
"If I had to say… on a whim."
Obito paused briefly, "You could also say it was long-planned."
His tone made it sound like he was talking about some trivial, insignificant matter.
[In truth, Mr. Simp later blamed Minato for not recognizing him—which is completely unreasonable. After all, compared to Minato's memories, he had grown up to 1.8 meters tall, his voice sounded eerily similar to Madara's, his entire body was wrapped up like a rice dumpling, he attacked Konoha with the Nine-Tails… and yet he expected Minato to recognize him. That's honestly just ridiculous.]
Everyone in the Shinobi World: "...?"
They had no idea what the Sky Screen was even talking about.
[Honestly, everyone else in the Shinobi World is equally problematic. The height is wrong, the hairstyle doesn't match, and with Mr. Simp's personality—just because he says he's Uchiha Madara, you believe he's Madara?]
---
[Konoha, Year 50. Hokage Office]
Minato pressed a hand to his forehead, feeling a bit dizzy.
The sunlight streamed in through the window, yet Minato felt an unbearable chill.
Possesses a Sharingan… very familiar with him… awakened a two-tomoe Sharingan right from the start… and blames him for not recognizing him…
The Sky Screen had almost explicitly revealed Mr. Simp's identity.
Who else could it be but an Uchiha who met all these conditions and was so closely connected to him?
Minato covered his face in pain.
'Obito!!'
If one directly identified Obito as Mr. Simp, certain things suddenly began to make sense.
But… Minato still didn't want to believe it deep down.
Was he really Obito?
How could that child, who once dreamed of becoming Hokage, attack Konoha with the Nine-Tails? Why did he harbor such animosity toward the village?
Was it because he blamed Minato for failing to save him, and then awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan?
But based on his understanding of Obito, he would never resent Konoha for that alone, and the bond within Team Minato was absolutely real.
So why? What was the reason?
Minato felt like a complete failure as a teacher. All he wanted now was to find Obito and ask him face to face.
If he was alive, why didn't he return to Konoha?
And why did he attack Konoha?
---
[Konoha, Year 60. Training Ground]
Kakashi's face turned pale.
What Minato could piece together, Kakashi—over a decade later—could figure out even faster.
Possesses a Sharingan… close relationship with Minato… and blames him for not recognizing him…
Obito… It could only be Obito.
But!
"No… it can't be him."
Kakashi's voice was hoarse, trembling uncontrollably.
"Obito is a hero of Konoha, he died long ago. Someone must have taken his eye!"
Naruto was startled, "Kakashi-sensei?"
Sakura also looked at him with concern, "Kakashi-sensei, are you okay?"
Sasuke said nothing, just stared at Kakashi. It was the first time he had ever seen this man lose his composure like that.
Kakashi didn't respond. He just stared fixedly at the masked figure on the Sky Screen, countless complex emotions flashing through his eyes.
If it really was Obito…
Then what had he been doing all these years?
---
[Konoha, Year One]
Madara's face darkened. Just what exactly had his future self done to end up with such a terrible reputation?
Whenever someone had some blame to shift, they put it on his head.
And this guy clearly wasn't him, how could people believe this?
Hashirama on the side was struggling to hold back his laughter, "Madara, this just shows you're famous."
Madara shot him a glare: "Shut up."
[In the fight against Mr. Simp, Minato's battle IQ was on full display. In just one exchange, he had already figured out the intangibility ability. From being at a disadvantage to landing a decisive blow, it took him only two rounds. Of course, part of it was because Mr. Simp hadn't awakened his Mangekyō Sharingan that long ago and wasn't yet proficient in using it. Had this been later, after he'd drifted for a while, he definitely wouldn't have suffered such a crushing blow to his confidence.]
Accompanied by music, Minato was now locked in combat with the masked figure.
Minato suddenly wrenched his wrist free from the masked man's grip, leaping backward to create distance, and the next instant, a golden flash erupted—he didn't retreat, but instead charged forward.
Obito snorted coldly and met the attack head-on.
The two figures crossed paths, and Minato's kunai once again passed straight through the opponent's body.
But he didn't stop. With a flick of his wrist, he hurled another kunai directly at Obito. And at the same time, his body accelerated again, following close behind.
The kunai passed through Obito's body once more, evaded once again by intangibility.
But then—
Just as Obito was about to turn solid to grab hold of Minato—in the instant before Obito could touch him, Minato vanished into thin air.
The next second, he appeared directly above Obito.
And in the palm of his right hand, a brilliant blue sphere of Chakra was spinning wildly—
Rasengan!
That Chakra sphere, which condensed all of Minato's power, slammed into the masked man's defenseless back without reservation.
BOOM!!!
A deafening explosion erupted, and Obito in his black-robed form, was smashed violently into the ground, sending up a spray of rubble and dust flying.
"Contract Seal!"
As the sealing Jutsu took effect, the Sharingan vanished from the Nine-Tails' eyes, and the beast's crimson pupils returned to clarity.
But once it took in its surroundings, its fury only intensified. Decades of imprisonment had already filled it with a deep, bone-deep hatred for Konoha.
The Nine-Tails, as if driven mad, continued its rampage, destroying Konoha with reckless abandon.
---
People from other Shinobi Villages were somewhat confused when they saw this. It looked like the Fourth Hokage had stopped the black-robed man, right? So how did he die later?
They didn't have to wait long for the answer.
Regaining its senses did nothing to stop the Nine-Tails. It roared and swung its claws, and building after building collapsed. Countless Konoha villagers perished.
"This damned Nine-Tails! Controlled or not, it still wants to destroy Konoha?!"
"This accursed demon fox!!"
"Tailed Beasts… should not exist in this world."
---
[Akatsuki Hideout]
Obito watched the scene on the Sky Screen where he was smashed into the ground, and his face beneath the mask twitched.
Just this one hit, no need to recall, it hurt just looking at it.
Deidara was already gloating at the side.
"Ah, Tobi, you got beaten up pretty badly by the Fourth Hokage!"
Hidan also grinned, "Taken down in two exchanges? Some 'Six Paths-level' you are."
Obito: '…Can you both just shut up.'
*****
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