A... a Shadow Clone?
Breathing lightly, Kushina slowly loosened her grip, struggling to keep her eyes open as she looked toward the wall to her right. In her eyes, the fiery smoke mixed with white mist was slowly dispersing.
But the Masked Man who had been standing there was already gone.
Clearly, it had been a Shadow Clone.
Damn it!
I underestimated Biwako Sarutobi!
In such a sudden, tense situation, she had managed to silently attach an Exploding Tag to my Shadow Clone. And in that instant, she had even chosen one with precisely the right amount of power.
Not too strong, not too weak—just enough to severely injure my Shadow Clone without affecting the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki...
At the same time, beneath the Masked Man's mask, his face had stiffened slightly. His hand was touching Kushina's shoulder, yet he was trapped by the Sealing Curse Mark Formula.
He had not even noticed what Biwako Sarutobi had just done! "Thud!"
Just as the fiery smoke and white mist completely dissipated, a heavy object suddenly hit the ground on the other side of the smoke.
The female medical attendant who had been keeping watch opposite Biwako Sarutobi suddenly collapsed. There was no trace of life left in her vacant eyes. As she fell, thick blood slowly flowed from her nose, dripping onto the floor and gradually spreading.
This is bad!
At that instant, the Masked Man's only exposed right eye, glowing scarlet, widened sharply in alarm.
"This ends here..."
At that very moment, Minato Namikaze's icy voice came from behind him. A three-pronged Kunai gleaming with cold light was already pressed against his neck, while a wisp of smoke slowly rose from the hand gripping it.
Then, as that wisp of smoke rose, without the slightest hesitation or mercy, the Kunai slashed