As everyone knows, fire consumes oxygen when it burns—and there wasn't much oxygen left in this room.
So Obito felt suffocated.
But the stronger suffocation came from within.
He didn't understand.
Why hadn't he seen Rin Nohara?
He'd clearly heard her voice.
He was sure she'd been calling out to him.
Obito's Sharingan flared blood-red. Moments ago, he'd used Kamui to evade his sensei's Rasengan, and to control the Nine-Tails, he'd had to deactivate his intangibility. Now, he couldn't immediately re-phase again.
He used a Body Flicker Technique to retreat, just as Minato finally arrived—only to meet Kazuki's Fireball Jutsu head-on. Obito had evaded it, but Kushina, lying behind him, couldn't.
Kushina clenched her fists, sweat pouring down her brow. She was at the most critical stage—she could feel the baby inside her struggling to enter the world. The experienced Sarutobi Biwako, who was supposed to deliver the child, was dead.
She was on her own.
And Kushina knew exactly what the masked man wanted—so she fought with everything she had.
"Where... where are you...?" Obito staggered forward, eyes red with panic. His mission? Irrelevant.
All he cared about now was that voice.
Kazuki watched him with a wry smirk. "That's Obito for you."
If it had been someone else—Orochimaru, for instance—trying to extract Kurama, this little trick of his would've never worked.
But this was Obito.
Konoha's #1 Hopeless Romantic. That's why Kazuki had decided to use Fireball Jutsu in that instant—to bait him emotionally.
And judging from Obito's reaction, it had worked.
Obito didn't think anyone had recognized him. After all, not even his best friend Kakashi, or his beloved teacher Minato, knew his true identity. In the shinobi world, Obito Uchiha was officially dead.
He wasn't prepared to be rational when Rin was involved.
Cold wind swept across the battlefield. Minato's kunai embedded itself next to Obito, snapping him momentarily out of his daze.
Right. Rin was already dead. Her body was buried. That much was certain.
The realization hit hard. Rage surged within him.
He'd been tricked.
But he had no time to process it.
Minato reappeared at his side, Rasengan aimed right for him.
And worse—far off in the distance—a blur was sprinting toward the scene: Hiruzen Sarutobi.
The Third Hokage.
The plan was falling apart.
Obito's key objective was to release Kurama, unleash him on the village, and keep Hiruzen occupied with the resulting chaos. That way, the old Hokage couldn't join the battle.
Obito would've had a clean one-on-one with Minato.
When he learned Jiraiya was around, he even brought in Orochimaru through a covert deal—just to ensure Jiraiya stayed busy.
Everything was supposed to go smoothly.
And then—Rin's voice.
Now it was all in shambles.
But more than the failed mission, what twisted Obito's insides was the humiliation—the raw, gnawing shame of being played.
Still, he wasn't stupid. With Hiruzen almost on the scene, he turned and fled.
Staying now would only make things worse.
And he knew who had delayed Hiruzen.
It could only be Black Zetsu.
This mission had been just him and Black Zetsu. The Akatsuki weren't involved—Nagato had the Rinnegan, yes, but his body was still too weak. Obito had chosen not to bring him.
Black Zetsu could stall Hiruzen—but not for long.
He had to move.
Obito turned and bolted, resolved to escape.
"Leaving so soon?" Kazuki muttered. He raised his hand and sent a Great Fire Dragon Technique after him in celebration—then another, and another, and another—hands weaving seals at lightning speed.
But he wasn't aiming at Obito directly.
Obito was already in Kamui phase, untouchable. He'd had just enough time after his last deactivation to reactivate it.
So Kazuki launched the fire dragons above him instead.
Didn't matter.
They were still locked onto Obito.
As Obito ran, his face contorted.
A sudden overwhelming sensation of pressure hit him—followed by nausea, dizziness, pounding headaches, and full-body fatigue.
He nearly tripped.
Then he sprinted even faster.
"Tch." Kazuki clicked his tongue. What a shame.
He'd almost made Obito embarrass himself in front of everyone.
If he'd managed that, Obito might've never dared to remove his mask again.
Come the Fourth Great Ninja War, he'd lift the mask only for the entire Leaf force to shout, "You're the one who shat himself in public back in the day!"
Obito would've coughed blood on the spot.
Minato chased him a short way, but then turned back. His expression was... strange.
Obito's exit had been bizarre—his body twisted as if he were a drunk performing interpretive dance. Minato worried he might double back, so he returned to protect his wife.
Orochimaru, seeing Obito retreat, knew the mission had failed.
So he left too.
Manda grumbled curses the entire way as he slithered off behind him.
Hiruzen finally arrived, having shaken off his pursuer. In the distance, even Kakuzu had chosen to withdraw.
In an instant, the chaos died down.
Kazuki exhaled long and slow.
Was that... a secret achievement? After all, both Minato and Uzumaki Kushina were still alive.
"Who the hell was that masked guy?" Jiraiya asked, frowning as he approached. He hadn't chased Orochimaru—he knew if Orochimaru wanted to escape, there was no stopping him.
That guy wasn't called Konoha's King of Running Away for nothing.
"Maybe it was Madara Uchiha..." Minato muttered, before dashing inside. A moment later, he called for med-nin. The atmosphere grew tense.
Kazuki kept a sharp eye on the ANBU around them. This was not the time for any surprises.
But... Obito hadn't released Kurama, right?
Then why did Minato seem so frantic calling for medics?
"This isn't going to go south anyway... right?" Kazuki muttered, suddenly uneasy.
If this situation turned into a disaster now, it would be the darkest punchline of all.