Though he comforted Uchiha Obito with kind words, Madara was seething with anger inside. He didn't have much time left, and now the plan had hit a snag.
Upon hearing Obito's request, Madara didn't hesitate to agree. After all, he would never find another Uchiha easier to manipulate than Obito.
But once Obito left, Madara and Black Zetsu resumed their scheming — continuing to plan how to use Rin against him.
Rin's death was the trigger Obito needed to awaken his Mangekyō Sharingan. If she lived, Obito would be useless to them.
Meanwhile, far from Madara's cave, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, had also noticed that Minato had left the village.
"He's barely taken the seat of Hokage, and he's already abandoned his post? Looks like I still need to hold the reins of power in Konoha!"
He took a deep drag from his pipe. Amid the swirling smoke, Sarutobi wore a pleased expression — as if he had found a perfect, legitimate excuse for his actions.
If it hadn't been for the Third Great Ninja War going poorly, there's no way the position of Hokage would've gone to Namikaze Minato.
He himself could've held the role for decades more — and after retirement, wouldn't it be better to pass the title to his own son?
Of course, Sora knew nothing about any of this. And even if he did, he wouldn't care. Once he grew powerful enough, crushing them outright would be far more satisfying.
At this moment, Sora, Minato, and the others were wearing serious expressions as they stared into the distance — Kushina had sensed that enemies were approaching.
"There are twelve in total. One is the Mizukage, the others are all Jōnin. Should we wait for them here?"
The sensory abilities of the Uzumaki Clan were being fully utilized by Kushina. In an instant, she had assessed the strength of the approaching enemies.
"Yes. We'll fight here. Beyond this point is the ocean — it would only make them stronger," Minato replied without hesitation. Then he turned to Kakashi, Rin, and Sora. "You three aren't strong enough yet. Find a place to hide nearby. Once we've finished the battle, come out."
As he spoke, Minato quietly sighed with relief. Thank goodness Sora had brought Kushina along. Otherwise, even he might have had to retreat.
Jōnin weren't an issue — but the Mizukage could delay him. If that happened, Kakashi and the others might have been killed.
"Kakashi, take Rin and get out of here. Her safety is in your hands." Sora patted Kakashi on the shoulder, then turned to Minato. "I can handle myself. I'm staying to help."
Minato paused for a second, then nodded in agreement.
Though Kakashi didn't want to leave, he looked at Rin and had no choice but to comply.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
As soon as they left, Minato and Sora began preparing for battle.
Several shuriken were thrown into hidden corners. Each one had the inscription "Sword of Benevolence and Love" carved into it.
These were Minato's special kunai, marked with the formula for the Flying Thunder God Technique — enabling him to teleport at will.
The rest were kept for use during combat.
Unlike Minato, Sora huffed and puffed his way toward the direction the enemy would arrive from. From his portable space, he pulled out stack after stack of explosive tags, burying them all underground.
Minato and Kushina, watching from behind, were stunned. Kushina blinked and asked, "Sora, where did you get so many explosive tags?"
Though they didn't count them precisely, there were easily over a thousand.
"Haha!" Sora scratched his head awkwardly, realizing he hadn't told them yet. "That book Battle Through the Heavens: Shinobi Edition — I'm the author. I made some money and spent most of it buying these."
Minato and Kushina were even more shocked, but there wasn't time for questions — the enemy had arrived.
"So it's the Yellow Flash, Namikaze Minato? I didn't expect you to be the one who stole our Tailed Beast!" Yagura, the Fourth Mizukage, wore a dark expression. Still, with eleven Jōnin by his side, he felt confident.
"Hand over the Three-Tails now, and I'll let you leave. Otherwise, Kirigakure will go to war with Konoha."
"Pfft! Sorry, sorry! I couldn't help it!"
Seeing Yagura's grim face, Sora quickly apologized while wiping away a bit of drool.
That kind of talk, as if they could actually stop Minato? Let them go? He probably had no idea what Flying Thunder God really meant.
"Hmph. Refuse a toast, and you'll be forced to drink punishment. Attack!"
Yagura's small frame trembled with fury — like an angry, red-skinned radish. But his aura was nothing to scoff at.
Even Minato's face became solemn — this wasn't going to be an easy fight.
"There are explosive tags buried nearby! Be careful!"
Just as they charged forward, one of the Kirigakure Jōnin gave a warning, helping the team avoid Sora's traps.
"Water Style — Super Exploding Water Wave!"
"Water Style — Super Exploding Water Wave!"
"Water Style — Super Exploding Water Wave!"
...
All eleven Jōnin and the Mizukage began weaving hand signs at once. They knew that if they got too close, Minato wouldn't give them time to complete any jutsu.
So instead of closing the distance, they decided to launch a massive combined water-style assault — intending to overwhelm Minato in one blow. As for Sora and Kushina, they were completely ignored.
Sora looked like nothing more than a six-year-old child — easy to overlook. And as for Kushina, her identity as a Jinchūriki had been kept strictly secret by Konoha. No one knew her true strength.
In fact, this was her first time leaving the village since becoming the host of the Nine-Tails.
"You wish! Rasengan!"
With a sharp shout, Minato activated the Flying Thunder God technique via one of the special kunai. In an instant, he appeared beside Yagura and the others, the spinning Rasengan in hand.
He thrust it out — and the moment he did, he vanished again, reappearing at another kunai location, delivering yet another Rasengan.
In just a single breath of time, eight of the eleven Jōnin were dead.
The remaining three, terrified, abandoned their jutsu and used Body Flicker to escape.
They survived only because the locations they had retreated to weren't marked with Minato's kunai.
Yagura, however, took this opportunity to release his own jutsu. Unable to catch Minato's movements, he targeted Sora and Kushina with his massive water wave.
He wanted to use their lives to bait Minato out.
Unfortunately for him, he failed to account for one thing — Kushina's combat ability exceeded even Minato's!
"Water-Sealing Seal!"
With a soft chant, Kushina's slender fingers flew into motion. The overwhelming wave was instantly drawn into a sealing scroll, the crisis averted in seconds.
A moment later, Minato reappeared at Kushina's side, calmly staring down Yagura.
He didn't teleport to Sora because — at some point — Sora had already sprinted away… not to fight, but to reach the bodies of the fallen.