Time Bomb

"Mio! Hurry up!" the beautiful blossoming medical ninja called from ahead.

[Rin was always so full of energy. It's like she shone as bright as the sun.]

"We shouldn't leave Kakashi and Obito alone together for too long. Who knows what kind of trouble they'd cause?"

[She'd say that, but the smile on her face was because she was excited to see them. The way her eyes crinkled a little each time she smiled was beautiful.]

"Ah, Mio! You're so slow," Rin would say and then slow down to match her friend's steps.

[Rin was kind and thoughtful. She was so easy to like.]

"So glad we finally have a day off. About time we get to take a break."

[She would say that, but her heart is always ready to protect Konoha. She was so strong. She loved everybody in the village. Every single one.]

[I wanted to be like her.]

[I thought, if we had more people like her, the world would be a better place.]

"Genma, please. At least tell me what happened to Team Minato? Kakashi wouldn't say a word to me since he returned. Why did he return alone?" Mio asked, frightened by her own question.

"Rin's dead."

[But the world isn't always fair, is it?]

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"What are you doing to Mother?" Naruto screamed while charging at the massive chakra ball surrounding his unconscious mother.

Sasuke was about to do the same, before he sensed the chilling presence in the corner. He thought best and held himself back from his pulsing urge to just get ahold of anything and destroy the thing that seemed to be causing Mother so much pain.

Summoning several shadow clones, Naruto split in different directions and leaped at the visible layer barricading him from the target, only to be pushed back by the same force field.

Sasuke charged for the half-faced man whom he recognized as Obito due to his already activated Sharingan.

The two exchanged a few strikes before retreating backwards, with Sasuke faltering a little before regaining his balance.

And it was then that the elder decided to enter a battle of genjutsu with the younger Uchiha. Sasuke was prepared, even if he hadn't fully awakened his Mangekyo Sharingan, he was prepared.

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["Naruto, when we get in there, go cause a big ruckus while I pinpoint and gauge Obito."

Sasuke knelt down on the grass as he looked ahead at the hidden cave from the outside. Naruto nodded understandingly.

"When he appears, I'll challenge him."

Naruto nodded once more. "How much time can you buy me?"

Sasuke contemplated. It was a losing battle if he were to challenge the opposing party head on. That was exactly what he was doing.

If Itachi praised this man's abilities this much, Sasuke knew it'll take more than him and Naruto even in their best shapes. To even stand a chance, they'd need an entire army of elite shinobi.

But defeating him wasn't the objective. Saving mother is. And that, even if there was no chance, they'd make one.

"At my best, five minutes."

Sasuke didn't want to admit it, but five minutes was already exaggerating. Mind games are a bit trickier especially with a foreign opponent. Well, this foreign opponent so happened to be a user himself. Even trickier. But he said five and that is what he'll promise.

"Then five minutes is enough."]

..........

The moment Sasuke and Obito locked eyes, Naruto began his plan.

Summoning more shadow clones, he prepared a few Rasengans in hands. Previous attempts only led to the barrier growing stronger and more protective.

Luckily, it appeared that the force field needed time to repair through balance. Thus, to break it, all he needed to do was disrupt the balance by injecting chakra from different directions to confuse the equilibrium state.

This would normally be the worse plan, but Naruto had the upper hand. He was a jinchuriki—the very thing everyone criticized, but Mother praised. While Sasuke is holding Obito immobilized with his Sharingan, he would break her free with his own specialty.

Just as he was about to bombard the force field with his wind style technique, shadow clones from the east side began disappearing, followed by more puffs of smoke in the north and then west. Only one side successfully attacked the barrier, causing a small ripple into the chakra stream, but definitely not enough to break it.

Naruto whipped his actual body around just in time to evade a series of close combat attacks aiming for his vitals. He nearly missed the attacker if not for the information of one surviving clone recognizing the attacker.

White hair and glasses, slim and tall.

"Kabuto! What are you doing here?"

Kabuto smirked. "Experimenting."

Naruto's hands balled into fists. "You helped us out once and I'm grateful. But if you try to stop me, I'll have to kill you."

A carefree expression landed on Kabuto's face as he raised both hands as if he'd just been falsely accused.

"There's no need for me to stop you. You two were already too late when you arrived. Why else do you think Obito would play that little game with Sasuke?"

"What do you mean by late?" Naruto bit out angrily.

"That woman surprisingly clings on to a very fine and vivid memory of her childhood friend and experiences. The more clearly she remembers, the easier we can extract the energy and focus of those memories to revive Lady Rin's soul."

Outrageous.

Naruto sped through a few hand signs and an army of clones appeared once more, preparing for another attack.

This time, they weren't interrupted, but still, to no avail. One round of shadow clones apparently only scratched the surface.

And so he tried again, followed by another group, and then another, consecutively attacking the stubborn barrier.

"Trust me, Naruto. Save your energy to try and save Sasuke if he manages to break free from Obito's grasp."

Naruto didn't budge from his position and continued. Whether his persistence was paying off or not, he wasn't going to wonder. For now, and until he had a better plan, he'd continue to attack the barrier to break Mother free.

"Right now your mother is in the process of exchanging her soul for Lady Rin's. It's pointless to stop it once it has begun."

Kabuto crossed his arms as he watched Naruto continue in his futile attempt. What a stupid boy, he thought. Wasting his time to save a useless woman while endangering his brother's life.

But those thoughts didn't linger for long as the bystander was surprised at the realization that Naruto actually managed to disrupt the chakra flowing pattern. Naruto noticed too.

Sure. Naruto was a boy of miracles, never ceasing to surpass expectations. But that was all the credit Kabuto was willing to give him. Well, for persistence, he thought, Naruto did deserve some extra reward.

"Just leave her be. She would want to rescue her best friend."

Naruto wasn't going to let those words stop him from rescuing her.

"Almost there!" Naruto yelled, not for Kabuto, but for Sasuke. He knew his brother was still fighting alongside him.

Just when the time came for the finishing blow, Kabuto threw out his form of a reward.

"If you force her out like that, she'll be stuck in a coma forever."

That did the trick. Naruto stopped immediately.

"Phew…" Kabuto sighed out in feigned relief. "Almost killed your own mother."

The man put a hand on Naruto's shoulder as the blonde slumped down on his knees at the bodily shock of retracting such a large amount of chakra in an instant. He barely managed to stop in time.

"Guess I should've said something sooner," Kabuto taunted as he patted Naruto's numb body. All that exertion really was taking a toll on his body, not to mention suppressing the fox and keeping his cool.

Now he could barely manage to stand. His vision was blurring as he was overcome with a small dizzy spell. But he forced his eyes to stay open, to keep his eyes on the one thing that still kept him going.

"Mother!" Naruto cried from the outside. He was on his knees begging her to hear him. He never imagined that a day would come that he would cry out to her like that ever again. At least he hoped such a day wouldn't come.

But he had only two minutes left.

"Mother Mio!"