Uchiha Obito jolted awake from a nightmare, eyes darting around instinctively. His activated Sharingan and swirling tomoe clearly revealed how unstable his emotions were.
Soon after, Obito winced and shut his eyes. The source of pain was his right eye, prompting him to cover it with his hand reflexively.
Apparently, the dream had affected him badly, and unconsciously activating a Mangekyō-level phasing ability had put massive strain on his eye.
Without White Zetsu cells transplanted into his body, this was far too much for him to handle.
Just then, Minato Namikaze's gentle voice rang out: "Obito, you're awake? Are you okay? Feeling unwell anywhere?"
Hearing the voice, Obito looked up and realized he was lying on the ground. Beside him, Minato was watching him with concern—just seeing his teacher made Obito feel completely safe.
Minato had already deactivated his golden mode. While the power was intoxicating, he knew it wasn't his own—it was borrowed. After all, he wasn't a jinchūriki and couldn't take Kurama from his girlfriend. Once he confirmed there were no enemies and the area was safe, he had dismissed the mode.
Thus, Obito didn't know Minato had been in golden mode. He just shouted excitedly, "Sensei Minato!" then sat up and asked, "Sensei, why are we here? I remember... I was captured by some weird white creature. Was it you who saved me?"
Minato smiled and ruffled Obito's hair. "Of course. I told you—I'd protect all three of you. Thankfully, you had a Flying Raijin seal on you. That's how I was able to find you instantly."
Obito grinned and exclaimed, "Yeah! With that Flying Raijin seal, I feel totally safe! Hmph, last time that idiot Kakashi didn't want the seal. When we get back, I'll lecture him hard. He needs to realize it's the best protection Sensei could give us!"
He spoke proudly. While Kakashi hadn't actually objected, he had hesitated while Obito and Rin had agreed immediately. To Obito, that hesitation meant Kakashi was instinctively resistant.
Now that he'd been saved, Obito fully intended to gloat.
It wasn't anything serious—he just wanted to see Kakashi's annoyed face. That alone was as satisfying as drinking a cold soda in the heat of summer.
Minato couldn't help laughing. Seeing Obito was still the same made him feel relieved. He had checked Obito's body after rescuing him and confirmed nothing had been left behind—it all seemed normal.
Still, he'd need to be examined after returning to the village. Minato wasn't a medical-nin.
But since Obito was acting like his usual foolish self, Minato was reassured. The kid was already a bit dim—if anything had happened to his brain, that would've been a disaster.
Good thing this simple-minded boy was blessed by luck. At least he was reliable.
Then, Minato helped Obito to his feet, ready to use the Flying Raijin Jutsu to take him home.
It was only then that Obito noticed the chaotic mess around them. He was lying in a huge crater torn into the earth, as though some massive claw had ripped it open. Just seeing the size of those claw marks made his scalp tingle. He swallowed hard.
"S-Sensei Minato, w-what happened here? W-Was there a giant monster while I was unconscious?"
Minato simply smiled and told Obito not to worry, saying everything would be fine and he'd take care of it all back at the village.
Though his question went unanswered, Obito, basking in his teacher's sunny presence, chose to let it go. He followed Minato's multiple Flying Raijin jumps back to the Hidden Leaf.
Once back, Minato immediately sent Obito to the Hidden Leaf Hospital—Tsunade was already waiting.
Clearly, Minato had used the village network to contact Tsunade after regaining signal range, telling her to prepare for Obito's examination.
After handing Obito over, Minato also messaged Kurama through their link, sincerely thanking the Nine-Tails and praising the boost from his chakra.
His praise was so genuine that Kurama was visibly pleased—even if he'd never admit it. He huffed proudly, claiming that of course the chakra he gave wasn't junk—he was the strongest Tailed Beast, after all.
But then he added with tsundere flair that this had just been a temporary loan. If Minato ever wanted it again, it would have to be during another dire emergency—no exceptions.
Classic big fox energy.
Minato seemed to understand the subtext beneath Kurama's tsundere response and smiled.
Then, he teleported straight to Uchiha Kei, informing him of Obito's rescue and the battle with White Zetsu, even revealing he'd captured a few of them.
Kei was surprised but not shocked. This was Minato Namikaze—enhanced with Kurama's chakra no less. Of course he'd pull off something wild. He was a natural plot-breaking character.
Minato wanted Kei's opinion on what to do with the White Zetsu. Technically, he should report it directly to Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, but out of habit, he came to consult Kei first.
Especially now that Kei was a Jōnin, with high status in the village. In the past, he couldn't be told about such matters. Now, as close friends, there were no such limits.
Besides, this issue had come up while they were discussing strategies against Black Zetsu and White Zetsu. Naturally, upon returning victorious, Minato consulted Kei first.
After thinking it over, Kei told Minato that if he was willing, he could quietly hand two of the White Zetsu over to Orochimaru for research. He was candid about the reason—these unique beings could be key to allowing the Uchiha clan to use the Mangekyō Sharingan without side effects. If they cracked the mystery, they could prevent blindness.
That would be an epic buff for the Uchiha clan, especially now that some members already had Mangekyō Sharingan.
Once that happened, the Uchiha would become the village's dominant force—far surpassing other ninja clans. It could even threaten Minato's future Hokage candidacy.
After all, once a Uchiha awakened the Mangekyō, they rarely accepted being under others. Of course, if they were beaten in a fight, they would grudgingly accept it.
Kei laid everything out openly, not hiding a thing from his friend.
Minato, understanding all the pros and cons, smiled.
"Kei, if I can't win the Hokage position in the future, that just means I'm not good enough. If I lose, then so be it."
"Besides, Kei, you've seen that Obito has the potential to awaken the Mangekyō, haven't you? So handing White Zetsu over to Orochimaru is also for his sake, right?"
"Obito is a great kid—I believe in him. He's passionate and truly embodies the Will of Fire. I think he'll make a great Hokage one day. I won't just sit back and let him go blind."
With calm confidence, Minato once again showed his irresistible charm.
Kei wasn't surprised. This was Minato Namikaze—arguably the most beloved character in the entire series. Maybe not the smartest, but undeniably the most charismatic.
Minato immediately contacted Orochimaru and teleported to his lab, where he took out the three White Zetsu he had captured and handed two over, relaying Kei's message.
Orochimaru's eyes lit up with mad-scientist joy. He gratefully thanked Minato and locked the two Zetsu away.
Minato then brought the last one to Hiruzen Sarutobi and reported the entire mission.
Hiruzen was relieved to hear Obito was safe. He thought very highly of Obito—not just because he was Minato's student, but because his cheerful personality was so un-Uchiha. It reminded Hiruzen of the First Hokage.
To Hiruzen, that alone made Obito the perfect inheritor of the Will of Fire. And on top of that, he was an Uchiha—a huge bonus.
Obito had awakened his Sharingan with three tomoe in one eye and two in the other. That kind of talent made him the ideal Will of Fire successor.
If Obito weren't already Minato's student, Hiruzen would've wanted to personally raise him for the Hokage Guard, just like he would later do with Shisui.
No matter—Minato would likely become the Fifth Hokage, which would place Obito firmly in the Hokage's camp. To Hiruzen, that made Obito one of their own.
So when Minato returned with Obito safe, Hiruzen was genuinely overjoyed and heaped praise on Minato.
But just as the warm atmosphere settled in...
The Hokage's office door slammed open.
A cold, one-eyed old man stepped in—Danzo.
He immediately killed the mood.
"Hiruzen, you're too naive. According to Minato's account, Obito was with the enemy for some time. We have no way of knowing whether something was implanted in him—or whether he's been brainwashed or cursed."
"My recommendation: conduct a thorough examination. Especially of his brain. We must ensure no hidden information remains."
The temperature in the office plummeted.
Hiruzen frowned deeply. Minato kept his gentle smile, but his eyes were sharper than ever. The killing intent was barely restrained.
Seeing this, Danzo narrowed his eye and sneered coldly. "What? Minato, do you disagree with me? Watch your tone. I am one of the Hokage's advisors. I have the right—and duty—to make any suggestion necessary to protect the village."