NOVEL NEXT Chapter 158: Chapter 158: You Must Have Been a Loser Before
Under the pale light, Kushina gritted her teeth and suppressed her cries, putting all her strength into the effort.
Biwako and several medical staff focused intently on assisting with the delivery.
Suddenly, a loud, clear cry echoed in the room.
"It's born! It's born!"
"Kushina, it's a boy."
Biwako took the newborn and moved to a corner of the room to bathe him. A tired yet joyful smile spread across Kushina's face.
Minato's figure flashed beside her. Grasping her hands tightly, he said, "Kushina, you did great."
Kushina smiled weakly. "Minato, our baby is born—a boy."
Just as Minato opened his mouth to reply, a series of dull thuds sounded from behind them.
Both turned their heads sharply, only to see Biwako clutching her neck as she collapsed to the floor, blood spilling and quickly staining the ground red.
The other medical staff had also fallen, lifeless.
A man wearing a tiger-striped mask stood silently, one hand holding a kunai, the other cradling the newborn.
"Minato Namikaze, if you don't want this child to die, step away from the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki."
Minato's expression darkened.
He had meticulously set up a barrier around the area. How had this masked man managed to infiltrate?
The masked man didn't give Minato time to think. With a sudden movement, he tossed the baby high into the air, then raised his kunai to strike.
Swish!
In a flash, Minato used his unparalleled speed to snatch the baby away, mere moments before disaster could strike.
The masked man's voice remained indifferent. "As expected of the Yellow Flash. But still..."
A faint whiff of gunpowder filled the air. Minato's eyes widened. With lightning-fast reflexes, he tossed the baby's swaddling cloth behind him.
Boom!
The explosive tags detonated violently, reducing the wooden house to rubble.
"Damn it!"
Seeing the masked man and Kushina gone, Minato could only prioritize ensuring the safety of his newborn child.
"What are you trying to do?"
Weakly bound to a stone pillar, Kushina gazed at the masked man, her voice trembling.
The masked man, Uchiha Obito, scoffed. "Nine-Tails Jinchūriki, your death will serve a purpose. Don't resist—it will only bring you more pain."
With those words, he formed a series of hand seals, releasing the seal binding the Nine-Tails inside Kushina.
"Come out, Nine-Tails!"
A gentle breeze swept through, and the surroundings fell silent.
Obito frowned. This wasn't how things were supposed to go.
When the seal was undone, the Nine-Tails should have immediately burst forth. So why hadn't it?
"What's going on?"
Obito tried again, calling out, "Nine-Tails, the seal is gone! You're free to come out!"
From within Kushina, a low, disdainful snort echoed.
"Get lost, brat. Don't even think about using me!"
Obito froze, utterly dumbfounded.
He had planned to unleash the Nine-Tails to attack Konoha. Surely, this was in the fox's interest too, wasn't it?
Why would the Nine-Tails reject its freedom and stay dormant inside Kushina?
"Nine-Tails, are you sure you want to remain in the Jinchūriki? Don't you want revenge on Konoha for imprisoning you?"
The Nine-Tails snorted again. "Kid, I'm doing just fine where I am. Mind your own business."
As if to emphasize its point, an immense wave of chakra surged from within Kushina, shielding her entirely.
Seeing this, Obito was at a loss.
The Nine-Tails not only refused to escape its seal but was now actively protecting its Jinchūriki?
What kind of twisted situation was this?!
For the first time since inheriting Uchiha Madara's legacy, Obito felt his brain short-circuiting.
He had accounted for countless scenarios, but never had he imagined this.
If not for the assurance that his chakra was intact, he might have suspected he was caught in a genjutsu.
"What now...?" Obito muttered under his breath.
Without the Nine-Tails' cooperation, undoing Kushina's seal was meaningless. Extracting the fox by force using his Mangekyō Sharingan was possible, but time wasn't on his side.
It wouldn't be long before Konoha's forces caught up to him.
As Obito hesitated, a sudden whistling sound came from behind.
Reacting instinctively, Obito activated his intangibility, allowing a kunai to harmlessly pass through him and embed itself in the ground.
A lazy voice echoed from the shadows.
"No resistance when I attacked? It's as though your body is intangible... But earlier, you physically interacted with Kushina to undo her seal. Interesting."
From the shadows, Uchiha Mirai stepped forward, his voice calm and analytical.
"Your ability lets you shift between tangible and intangible states at will, doesn't it?"
A cold sweat broke out on Obito's brow.
He had simply evaded the attack on reflex, yet this man had deduced the core mechanics of his Mangekyō ability almost instantly.
Damn it!
He wasn't supposed to feel this way anymore. Not after everything he'd endured. And yet, this man's presence still weighed on him like an immovable mountain.
"Curse you!"
Obito clenched his fists tightly, anger and unease flaring within him.
Mirai smirked. "Judging by your reaction, I'm spot on."
Realizing his mistake, Obito quickly loosened his fists, forcing himself to appear calm.
"Trying to hide it now only confirms I was right," Mirai said, his smile deepening. "Let me guess—you must have been a loser back in the day, huh?"
"You dare!" Obito's composure snapped. "I am Uchiha Madara!"
"Go to hell!"
Fueled by fury, Obito unleashed his chakra, launching into a ferocious attack.
Mirai responded just as swiftly, hurling dozens of shuriken while teleporting away with the Flying Thunder God Technique.
Obito deflected the projectiles with his chain, but Mirai's voice rang out again.
"During your attack, you didn't phase out. So you have to become tangible to strike, don't you?"
"And that phasing ability—used offensively, it can distort space itself..."
"Not bad," Mirai concluded, a faint smile playing on his lips.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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