Minato Makes His Move

Let us turn back time a little.

When the piercing alarm blared throughout the entire area, Kakashi's expression changed drastically as he ate.

Without hesitation, he tossed aside his bowl and chopsticks and raced toward Rin like lightning.

Since this was a close-protection mission, Kakashi had remained highly vigilant even during an ordinary moment like mealtime, never daring to stray too far from Rin.

By the time Kakashi reached Rin at full speed, only a little over ten seconds had passed.

Yet when he saw Nohara Rin, the sight before him left him dumbfounded.

It was not that Rin had been attacked or injured. Rather, seven White Zetsu had suddenly crawled out of Chizuru, who stood beside her!

These White Zetsu had developed from extremely tiny spores.

They had come from the string of prayer beads Chizuru had received a few days ago.

Although Chizuru had unknowingly washed away a great deal of the spores over the past few days, some had still remained.

Kakashi was no stranger to the appearance of these White Zetsu.

During the village's previous barrier upgrades, quite a few similar beings had been captured within the village.

But at this moment, Kakashi's heart was filled with confusion and unease—where had these spores come from?

Chizuru had been drained of a massive amount of Chakra by the White Zetsu. Weak and exhausted, she collapsed to the ground.

Yet Nohara Rin, who was equally shocked, did not panic.

She reacted swiftly, gathering powerful Chakra in both hands and forming it into incomparably sharp Chakra Scalpels.

Fearlessly, she slashed hard at the White Zetsu that had just crawled out.

Like starving wolves, these spore White Zetsu frantically absorbed the Chakra within Chizuru's body.

Their bodies continued to swell as Chakra poured into them, and in the blink of