"What the hell is going on?"
Within the bounds of Konohagakure, Sarutobi Hiruzen was leading a group of Anbu at full speed toward the scene of the incident. Alongside him was none other than Shimura Danzō.
Truth be told, Hiruzen hadn't wanted to bring his old comrade along—but given the urgency of the situation, he simply didn't have the time to argue.
"Hmph. Seems like Konoha's gotten pretty chaotic under your leadership."
Even while sprinting, Danzō couldn't resist the urge to sneer. The jab instantly drew a glare of disapproval from Hiruzen.
But Danzō wasn't intimidated. Not even when Hiruzen had previously surrounded Root with Anbu and seized Kinoe—he hadn't backed down then, and he wasn't backing down now.
"You think this might be Jiraiya's doing? Maybe he brought back some… baggage?"
"Jiraiya?"
Hiruzen raised an eyebrow but didn't bother questioning how Danzō knew about Jiraiya's return. After all, the man had never been known for honesty.
As for the idea of 'baggage'…
With a shift in thought, Hiruzen more or less figured out what his old comrade was implying—but some things were better left unsaid.
"Hm?"
Just then, as they rushed ahead, they spotted Jiraiya, Might Guy, and a visibly exhausted Kakashi approaching from the other side.
"Old man?"
Jiraiya called out the moment he caught sight of Hiruzen.
"You too? Wait… Danzō?"
"I came looking for him tonight," Hiruzen replied casually, "but then I ran into this mess. Thought I'd check it out."
He quickly moved to Jiraiya's side, and as they continued forward, he lowered his voice to ask, "Any idea who it might be? Could you have brought someone tailing you?"
"Eh…"
At first, Jiraiya was about to shake his head—after all, he hadn't been back in Konoha for long. But the second half of the question made his brow twitch.
After a brief pause, he spoke softly.
"We rushed back as fast as we could… But the enemy already knew who we were—probably thanks to Orochimaru and Uchiha Itachi. So I'm not really sure how to judge this one."
"I see…"
Hiruzen murmured under his breath, while Jiraiya simply chuckled and shook his head.
"Old man, don't always assume the worst. What if it's just a misunderstanding?"
"You're not Hokage. You wouldn't understand. From where I stand, there's no room for wishful thinking."
Hiruzen was clearly annoyed by his student's optimism. Even if Jiraiya meant to reassure him, it was unnecessary.
For a Hokage, nothing could be considered a trivial matter.
"Alright, alright. Let's just hurry up and take a look."
Jiraiya didn't want to keep arguing. He smiled and added, "For all we know, it might just be a—huh?"
But before he could finish, his expression froze.
And not just his—everyone around them suddenly felt something. A palpable shift in the air. Faces darkened.
"That's… the Nine-Tails' chakra?!"
If the situation earlier had simply raised alarms and suspicions about an intruder, then what they felt now could only mean one thing—
A full-scale crisis in Konoha!
"Why hasn't the Anbu sent word?!"
Hiruzen's face turned grim as he shouted while accelerating even more. One of the nearby Anbu dropped his head in shame.
"Hokage-sama… earlier he was with Jiraiya-sama and Captain Kakashi, so…"
"…"
Jiraiya, Kakashi, and Guy all looked mortified. None of them had anticipated that this was what would happen.
Hiruzen understood the implication—after all, if Naruto had been with them, there shouldn't have been any danger. Who could've guessed something would go wrong after?
Still, he couldn't help but shoot Jiraiya a glare before barking out a sharp command without looking back: "Move faster. We cannot let anything happen!"
"Yes, sir!"
Jiraiya didn't dare waste another second. Guy even considered dropping Kakashi so he could run ahead.
Thankfully, he didn't act on that impulse—besides, they were already very close to the scene.
With the whole group accelerating, it wasn't long before they arrived at the site of the incident!
To their relief, they could already see from afar that Naruto was with Uchiha Sasuke. However, the reddish chakra cloaking Naruto's body made it clear he was not in a good state.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the field, Kitagawa Gen was facing off against a masked man dressed in black.
But in the very next instant, everyone's eyes went wide.
"That's…"
"Just as I suspected—you should possess a space-time technique, just like the Fourth Hokage."
Before Sarutobi Hiruzen and the others arrived, Kitagawa Gen looked at the masked Uchiha Obito and spoke in a low voice.
"Your space-time technique seems to revolve around teleportation. Whether it's dodging my attacks or moving your own body, your true form only appears when you actually strike, doesn't it?"
"…Quite perceptive, brat."
Uchiha Obito paused before begrudgingly offering a word of praise.
Truthfully, he was more shocked than impressed. It had been a full ten years since someone last saw through the secret of Kamui this quickly.
Back then, it had been Namikaze Minato—and he had paid a heavy price for it.
"But unfortunately, so what if you've figured it out? Do you actually have a way to counter it?"
"Maybe I don't," Gen replied, shaking his head in feigned resignation, "but I don't need to defeat you. I just need to stall you."
He was trying to make Obito let down his guard.
"And another thing that's interesting… You called Kakashi-sensei a useless piece of trash earlier. That suggests the two of you know each other—and probably share some history."
He smiled slightly.
"Maybe some kind of grudge. Also, your Sharingan is in your right eye, and Kakashi's is in his left. Could there be some kind of connection there?"
At that, even Obito struggled to maintain his composure.
Sure, he could claim it was a coincidence—and after the Uchiha Massacre, it wouldn't be odd for Sharingan to have leaked—but this was pushing it.
Especially since he had just insulted Kakashi a moment ago. Whether it was true or not, this would definitely point Konoha in a dangerous direction.
He needed to maintain the persona of 'Uchiha Madara' to suppress Nagato—not be exposed as the nobody Uchiha Obito!
"I can't let this brat keep spouting nonsense!"
Obito's Sharingan spun rapidly. In an instant, his body began to twist and distort—but to his surprise, Kitagawa Gen moved even faster.
[Zzzzzzz—]
In the brief instant that Obito had lost focus, the boy had already turned into a streak of violet light and lunged straight at him.
Crackling purple arcs of electricity enveloped Gen's hand, reminiscent of Chidori.
"Ignorant brat."
Obito snorted coldly. He knew this boy had a knack for finding openings—and he could already sense the Konoha squad rapidly approaching.
But it didn't bother him. In his eyes, Gen was only giving him an opportunity.
"Then don't blame me—you brought this on yourself!"
As Gen closed in, Obito's figure paused slightly—he had entered the Kamui dimension.
At first, he'd only intended to test the waters. But now, he couldn't let this brat keep talking.
[Zzzzzzz—]
"…Huh?"
Obito froze.
Even inside Kamui, he could still hear the sound of crackling electricity?
"I've been waiting for you."
Suddenly, a voice rang out. Obito's Sharingan widened in shock.
Somehow, another Kitagawa Gen had already appeared inside the Kamui dimension—and this one was clearly different.
Chakra surged violently from his body, red markings spread across his face, and—most alarmingly—his purple lightning was already crashing down toward Obito!
"Damn it! I've been tricked!"
Panic rising, Obito's first instinct was to escape the Kamui space—but the Gen outside was simultaneously driving his own lightning-infused strike directly at Obito's chest.
There was no way out. He couldn't leave—not now.
He twisted his body, narrowly dodging the outside attack, and thrust his right hand forward. Sharp wooden spikes erupted from his palm—he had to eliminate the threat inside Kamui first!
[Boom—!]
But just as his wooden spike pierced through the shadow clone within Kamui, a searing bolt of purple lightning from the real Gen outside slammed hard into his face.
[Bang—]
Under the force of the Wood Release technique, Kitagawa Gen's Shadow Clone instantly burst into smoke.
At the same moment, Uchiha Obito's mask shattered into pieces!
Had he not dodged in time, his head might've been completely smashed in.
"Damn brat!"
Uchiha Obito gritted his teeth as he glared at Kitagawa Gen.
He had already figured out what had happened.
"That kid... used Earth-Style: Earth Wall to block my line of sight, then pressured me with a Lightning Clone, finally forcing me to use Kamui to teleport the kunai—only for him to transform a clone into the kunai itself?"
The tactic wasn't particularly complicated; it merely exploited an information gap. But the real issue was—
"How did that kid know about my abilities? Could it be... he deduced it even faster than Namikaze Minato?!"
Obito's face was full of disbelief, but now wasn't the time to ponder it further.
[Whoosh—]
With a series of sharp noises, several Anbu members landed around the perimeter, sealing off all exits. They stood tall on rooftops and eaves, blades drawn, eyes fixed on Uchiha Obito.
And not just them—Obito saw that Sarutobi Hiruzen and the others had arrived too.
Among the crowd, he spotted the person he least wanted to see—
"Kakashi…"
Kakashi still looked weary and drained, but he quickly followed after Guy into action.
Their expressions were odd, to say the least. They had all just witnessed Kitagawa Gen impale this man right through the chest—
And yet, he was fine. Only the mask had been destroyed.
"T-That's—"
When Guy and Kakashi saw the man's face, Kakashi's mind went completely blank. A strange, deep sense of familiarity hit him like a wave.
And it wasn't just him—Guy, standing beside him, wore a similarly puzzled look. He leaned over and whispered to Kakashi. "Kakashi… doesn't he look kind of familiar to you?"