The moment he saw that graceful young girl, the masked man's Sharingan tightened beneath his mask. The crimson tomoe and the scar on his right cheek revealed nothing but shock. Just like back then, when he'd witnessed that hellish scene in the storm and thunder.
All of this is fake…
The real Rin…
No longer exists in this false world.
Ignoring everyone else's attacks, the masked man went straight for Minato from behind as he was performing the sealing on the Jinchūriki, Kushina Uzumaki. Minato had no choice but to stop the seal and fight him.
With no intel on the masked man's abilities and Kushina still within range, both Flying Thunder God and Rasengan were heavily restricted. Youth Kakashi and several students rushed in to help.
The masked man seized the opportunity and pretended to strike down the young Konoha shinobi.
Naruto: "!!!"
Sasuke: "Naruto—!"
Sakura: "!"
As the masked man reached for Naruto's head, the killing intent pouring off him—like something rising straight from the depths of hell—stunned everyone present.
While helping Kushina seal the Nine-Tails, Minato Namikaze considered the Space-Time ninjutsu he'd seen, the younger version of Kakashi, and the unfamiliar Konoha youths... and he was nearly certain these people came from both the past and the future.
He didn't know the blond boy under attack, but he absolutely couldn't allow a child from the future to die here.
He used Flying Thunder God to pull the boy out of danger just before he would've been gravely injured. But the masked man phased right through Minato, choosing instead to abduct the incomplete Jinchūriki—the freshly delivered Kushina Uzumaki.
"Minato!!!"
The moment the masked man passed through him, Minato realized he'd been tricked. He could only watch as his beloved wife—who had just endured unbearable pain to give birth to their child—was swallowed by the swirling vortex that tore open in the void.
"Kushina!!!" he shouted desperately.
Naruto stood frozen, realizing the Fourth Hokage had been lured away to protect him. A moment later, Minato, who had sent the infant home earlier, returned using Flying Thunder God.
Seeing neither Kushina nor the masked man, he immediately understood—things hadn't improved at all after the newcomers arrived.
Naruto slammed his fist into the wall in frustration.
"Damn it!!! It's all my fault!!"
The faint red chakra flaring from his anger, the golden hair, the whisker marks—this world's Fourth Hokage instantly formed a guess about Naruto's identity. He stared, stunned, unable to hide the emotions flooding his eyes.
"This isn't the time for talk. We need to rescue Kushina immediately. The masked man is after the Nine-Tails," Minato from the Kannabi Bridge Timeline said as he returned. "The others can't help right now. I'll bring you all to safety."
Naruto: "No! I'm going with the Fourth Hokage to save that lady!"
Because of him, that red-haired big sister had been taken. The guilt twisting in his chest, the anxiety and rage churning so violently that he nearly lost control and accepted the Tailed Beast's chakra—he couldn't just stay behind.
Minato from the Kannabi Bridge Timeline grew solemn as he fixed his eyes on Naruto.
"Listen. I will bring Kushina back."
Sasuke and Sakura exchanged looks. Naruto—Konoha's number-one unpredictable ninja—was actually listening? Even in this state of extreme anger, he accepted the Fourth's orders without argument?
They were transported to the home where Minato Namikaze had placed the infant...
Though Naruto obediently followed Minato here, the restless tension inside him made waiting unbearable.
Curious, Sakura stepped toward the baby —but before she could reach the crib, this world's Fourth Hokage had already returned.
He carried the red-haired woman—exhausted from childbirth and tormented by everything that followed—in his arms. His expression was so dark that Sakura immediately backed away, not daring to ask a thing.
He set Kushina down beside the baby. The leader of Konohagakure looked utterly devastated.
Rin rushed forward. As a Medical-nin, she immediately requested permission.
"Minato-sensei! Please let me treat Kushina!"
"Thank you." Minato-sensei looked at Rin, his gaze lingering on this student he had once lost. "It's truly wonderful to see you all again."
Kushina, already teary-eyed upon seeing her child, now sobbed hoarsely at the sight of this student of Minato's.
"Rin... Obito—"
Witnessing her fragile sensei's wife, Rin clenched her fists.
"Please try to speak as little as possible and cooperate with my treatment."
As Rin treated Kushina with Medical Ninjutsu, she realized the woman's vitality was draining at an alarming rate. She didn't know if this world's Minato-sensei was aware, but having learned the truth herself, she couldn't hold back her tears. Deep within, she harbored intense hostility toward the masked man who had suddenly appeared.
The young Obito Uchiha watched the woman who was always stern yet genuinely cared for him now lying weakly in the bed. He and Young Kakashi hurried to Rin's side, looking at the bed where Kushina Uzumaki lay...
Young Kakashi opened his lips beneath the mask but said nothing.
"Kushina-san..." Obito's voice was hoarse.
Seeing the child she had once cherished most—the one who had sacrificed himself during the Mission at the Kannabi Bridge—Kushina's eyes welled with even more tears.
"Is it because I'm dying that I can see you all?"
Hearing her words, Fourth Hokage Minato felt a stabbing pain in his throat.
He replied, "Kakashi is still alive. The people you see here have come from other parallel worlds. I sense distinct traces of Space-Time Ninjutsu power emanating from them."
"Is that so?" Kushina strained to grasp Obito's hand.
"It's so good that you're alive." Her voice was weak, yet she forced out the words she needed to say. "Before the Kannabi Bridge mission... you promised me everyone would return unharmed..."
Kushina's words struck a deep chord within the young Obito. His two tomoe Sharingan eyes snapped open.
Gripping Kushina's hand in return, he vowed, "I will catch that masked man!!!"
This sentiment was shared by Minato. He had heard it—that shadowy figure called the masked man 'Madara'! And the only person that name could possibly refer to was the former Uchiha Clan Head—Madara Uchiha.
This crucial intelligence led him and his counterpart from another world to divide their tasks. He would hold off the masked man, while his other self went to find the Uchiha clan head. Adult Kakashi would assist the other Konoha ninjas in organizing defenses and facilitating the evacuation.
The Fourth Hokage, Minato, took one last look at his wife and his son who had just been injured, and... the bewildered, pale-faced blond youth who stared at the weakened Kushina, wanting to approach her yet inexplicably filled with unease.
From the youth's demeanor, he already understood—in the future, he and Kushina likely wouldn't be able to stay by Naruto's side.
Don the divine robe. Prepare to enter battle as the Fourth Hokage.
The Fourth Hokage, Minato, ruffled the blond youth's hair.
"Meeting you is a blessing..."
"Huh?"
Naruto tilted his head, puzzled why this era's Fourth Hokage acted so familiar with him.
Sakura felt an even stranger sensation. No matter which Fourth Hokage it was, they all seemed to favor Naruto. Was it simply because they shared the same golden hair? Or did the Fourth Hokage actually have a social butterfly syndrome?
But he didn't seem particularly warm toward her or Sasuke-kun either.
Sasuke, however, wasn't overly concerned with the situation here. His mind was consumed with whether he should take this opportunity to return home and tell his parents everything that was about to happen.
Minato weighed the Flying Thunder God Technique kunai in his hand.
"I'm leaving," he said, mustering his last shred of gentleness.
From now on, he would only remember the Yellow Flash that struck fear into the hearts of other ninja nations during the Third Shinobi World War. Protect Konoha. Recapture the Nine-Tails. Deal with the masked man.
"Be careful, Minato."
On the bed, Kushina—receiving Rin's treatment that wasn't doing much to help—spoke weakly.
"Mm, I'll be back soon." His firm voice rang out, the killing intent reflected clearly in those water-blue eyes.
The Fourth Hokage vanished in a flash.
A heavy atmosphere settled over the house. Obito, Kakashi, and Rin stood around the bed, their throats tight.
"Damn it! Why are we so weak!" Obito cursed.
Though he'd sworn moments ago to take down the masked man, even that brief exchange of a single move had already shown him the truth—he was nowhere near that man's level. And when he'd tried using his Sharingan to find an opening in the opponent's Voiding ability, the stabbing pain in his eyes had forced him to shut it immediately. Luckily, for some unknown reason, the masked man had failed to fully phase out at that moment, which was the only reason Kakashi survived.
Now, the young Kakashi lowered his head in silence. The pride of a prodigy had taken a heavy blow. He'd thought that becoming a Jōnin meant he was already strong… yet he hadn't been able to withstand even a single attack from the masked man called 'Madara.'
Rin said nothing; she needed all her strength just to keep Kushina alive.
But Kushina knew. Once a Jinchūriki had their tailed beast extracted, their life force would drain rapidly until death. No Medical Ninjutsu could reverse that swift collapse.
As death crept closer, she looked at the baby sleeping peacefully beside her. Born only one day ago, and already his mother was leaving him. Today should have been his birthday—how would he face this day in the future?
"Naruto... I'm sorry..."
A mother pressed her child against her cheek, whispering apologies through her pain. The sight was heartbreaking.
Naruto, who was struggling to suppress the unrest of the Nine-Tails within him, heard someone call his name and instinctively turned around.
"Sis, you called me? Wait—how do you know my name?"