Biwako Sarutobi finally picked up the newborn child; the yellow-haired infant, with six whisker-like marks on his face, let out a cry.
Minato Namikaze was overjoyed, rushing in to exchange a smile with Uzumaki Kushina.
Uzumaki Kushina's face glowed with maternal radiance, and as she smiled, tears began to flow.
Suddenly, a black shadow flashed by.
The smile on Biwako Sarutobi's face froze as her entire body went limp and she collapsed to the ground.
The child she had been holding was snatched away by the appearing Uchiha Obito.
"Who are you?"
"Let go of my child!"
Minato Namikaze and Uzumaki Kushina were shocked at the sight, crying out in alarm.
Holding the infant in one arm, Uchiha Obito brandished a Kunai in the other, looking threateningly at Minato Namikaze.
"Fourth Hokage, step away from the Jinchuriki!"
"Otherwise, I'll kill this child immediately!"
Minato Namikaze hurriedly shouted:
"Wait!"
What Uchiha Obito failed to notice was that as he shouted those words, a trace of a smile flashed in Minato Namikaze's eyes.
Hearing Minato Namikaze's shout, Uchiha Obito subconsciously gripped the child tighter, readying himself for Minato Namikaze's attack at any moment.
After all, against Minato Namikaze, who held the title of 'The Ninja World's Fastest', even a moment's lapse in attention could lead to disaster.
Swish!
Minato Namikaze moved, but his actions were completely beyond Uchiha Obito's expectations.
Instead of rushing forward to grab the infant as he should have, Minato Namikaze vanished in a golden flash.
"Flying Thunder God Technique? Where?"
Startled, Uchiha Obito focused all his attention on his surroundings.
To his surprise, the infant in the swaddling clothes in his arms suddenly exploded.
Boom!
With a deafening roar, hundreds of exploding tags detonated instantly. The entire room where Uzumaki Kushina was giving birth was blown apart, flames soaring into the sky!
Meanwhile, Minato Namikaze, who had looked anxious just moments ago, was now standing outside the house holding the fire god sword, on high alert.
Everything inside that room had been a trap designed to lure Uchiha Obito in.
Except for himself, everyone else—including Uzumaki Kushina, Biwako Sarutobi, the attending medical Ninjas, and the Uzumaki Naruto in the swaddling clothes—were all Shadow Clone decoys.
The Shadow Clone transformed into Uzumaki Naruto even had hundreds of exploding tags attached to it!
It was all to give Uchiha Obito a special greeting for their long-awaited reunion!
...Over a month ago.
After the third question-and-answer test, Orochimaru returned to Konoha to guard against enemies who might appear on the night of Uzumaki Kushina's delivery.
Those involved in this ambush held a small meeting.
Participants included the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze.
The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Jiraiya.
Tsunade.
Orochimaru.
Homura Mitokado and Utatane Koharu.
Shikaku Nara and Kakashi Hatake.
Among them, only Minato Namikaze and the Sannin were the actual executors.
After all, these four were Konoha's few Kage-level powerhouses who were still in their prime.
Someone like Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was aging and physically declining, would not participate personally and would instead stay behind to guard the rear.
The others were just there to make up the numbers and to be informed of the major event about to occur as a gesture of transparency.
They were simply required to cooperate with the Village's operations.
Among them, Shikaku Nara held the most special position; he was the chief strategist for this operation.
"First of all, since Uchiha Obito's goal is to attack the Jinchuriki during childbirth and release the Nine-Tailed Fox,"
"we will use that point to set a trap for him first."
Shikaku Nara said calmly as he stood before a large whiteboard, drawing and writing with a black marker.
"Because Uchiha Obito's objective is clear, he won't have a second choice."
"Therefore, the first step we must take..."
"...is to 'tell' Uchiha Obito where the Hokage's wife will be giving birth."
Shikaku Nara wrote 'Nine-Tails' on the whiteboard, circled it, then wrote 'Uchiha Obito' and connected the two with a black line.
"Wait, how can we proactively give Uchiha Obito information?"
"What do you mean by that, Shikaku?"
Hearing this, Jiraiya asked with dissatisfaction.
As soon as he finished speaking, Jiraiya received a heavy punch to the head from Tsunade.
"Shut up and listen to him."
Beside the whiteboard, Shikaku Nara didn't mind; instead, he showed a smile and explained:
"Lord Jiraiya, that's not what I meant."
"When I say 'tell' Uchiha Obito, I naturally mean giving him false information."
"The true location of the Hokage's wife's delivery cannot possibly be leaked."
Jiraiya rubbed the large bump on his head, grimacing in pain, but he still stubbornly asked:
"Then how will you tell him? Are you going to post a notice saying 'The Hokage's wife will give birth here'?"
"Haha, Lord Jiraiya, if you were assigned to guard the Hokage's wife during childbirth, what would be the first thing you'd do?"
Shikaku Nara asked in return.
"Well, obviously I'd station heavy troops and set up layers of defense to ensure..."
Jiraiya started to speak as if it were obvious, but halfway through, he realized Shikaku Nara's meaning:
"You mean, use a large force to guard a fake location to trick Uchiha Obito into taking the bait?"
Shikaku Nara nodded with relief, thinking to himself that Jiraiya finally understood.
"So, we need to create a diversion to make Uchiha Obito believe the Hokage's wife will give birth at that location, forcing him to show himself."
Then, Shikaku Nara turned around and picked up the marker again to write three names on the whiteboard: Jiraiya, Orochimaru, Tsunade.
"As for the three Sannin, except for the fact that Lord Orochimaru's return to the Village hasn't been leaked, the whereabouts of Lord Jiraiya and Lady Tsunade haven't been hidden."
"Since Uchiha Obito dares to move against Konoha, he will certainly scout the Village's situation in advance."
"Once he knows Lord Jiraiya and Lady Tsunade are staying in the Village, he will inevitably become more cautious, and his strategy will change accordingly."
"Our greatest advantage is knowing Uchiha Obito's plan in advance; we shouldn't give up that advantage easily."
"Therefore, I ask you two to hide for the time being. I will arrange for Anbu Ninjas to transform into your likenesses and leave the Village to create an illusion."
Shikaku Nara's words were simple and easy to understand, and Jiraiya grasped them immediately, nodding seriously.
Tsunade was also quite concerned about the Village's major affairs, so she also nodded in agreement.
"So, when would be the best time for us to appear?"
Only Orochimaru asked with great interest.
He was quite interested in Shikaku Nara's plan and felt that a high-IQ talent like Shikaku was the type he greatly appreciated.
"Well, naturally, the more unexpected the place, the better!"
A cunning smile flashed in Shikaku Nara's eyes as he began writing on the whiteboard again.
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