Pursuit, Poisoned

Kushina's Sealing Space.

Anju nearly had a heart attack too.

Though he no longer had a heart, the instinctive tension and pressure naturally made his consciousness feel that way. Perhaps it was an unconscious reaction.

But without a doubt, Anju's state of mind was also Minato Namikaze's state of mind.

He had been badly frightened as well.

Kushina had nearly been hacked to death.

The seal on her feet prevented Kushina's Tailed Beast Cloak from drawing out more Tailed Beast Chakra;

The seal above her head disrupted Kushina's Chakra, preventing her from using ninjutsu or severing the Adamantine Sealing Chains;

Besides isolating space-time traversal, the barrier around the compound could also slow specific targets.

If Minato Namikaze had not broken in and interrupted the chain of seals, the consequences...

"Minato! You can't let a single one of those ninja go! They were trying to murder your wife! Can you just let them go?"

After hearing Anju's telepathic words, Minato Namikaze pondered for a moment. His wife had been so, so, so... Forget it! Anyone who bullied his wife deserved to get beaten!

Minato Namikaze left Kushina on a hillside outside the village, then vanished in a flash, using the Flying Thunder God to return to the village. However, Minato failed to notice that Kushina had still been poisoned.

At this moment, the ordinary villagers had no idea what had happened. They only knew that the compound where the ninja lords who protected them lived had been blown up.

The Village Chief was the first to lead the villagers outside the compound. Ever since this group of Rogue Ninja had driven away the bandits who had occupied the village two months ago, they had finally lived peaceful lives.

These Rogue Ninja had been very easy to get along with and had never oppressed ordinary villagers like them.

Now that the compound where those ninja lords lived had been destroyed, it meant they had lost their protectors again. If bandits came back, they would return to their former miserable state.

At that moment, Minato arrived and pulled the Village Chief aside.

The Village Chief thought one of their protectors had survived, and his face immediately filled with joy.

After all, most of their protectors had been masked ninja. Now that another one had appeared, it would have been strange if he did not assume Minato was one of them.

"Tell me, when did this group of Rogue Ninja arrive?"

Upon hearing Minato's question, the Village Chief immediately wilted. He understood that Minato was not one of their protectors.

"Replying to you, my lord, they arrived two months ago."

Minato's expression changed drastically.

Kushina had accepted the mission over a month ago. In other words, someone in Konoha had intended to harm Kushina from the very beginning.

But...

Why?

Kushina was Konoha's Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, and she was also the widow of me, the Fourth Hokage. Why would someone in Konoha still frame Kushina?

Minato could not understand it.

But Minato Namikaze was merely a Chakra entity, and his way of thinking had already been fixed. His doubts were destined to remain doubts.

Minato did not make things difficult for the Village Chief. With a Flying Thunder God, he instantly teleported toward one of the ninja he had already marked.

Marking ninja had become extremely easy after Minato Namikaze acquired the Yin-Yang Sealing Bind.

Aside from the few ninja Minato Namikaze had bound, two others had merely been grazed by the Black Chains. Yet the Flying Thunder God marks sealed within those Black Chains had already been placed on them.

Minato Namikaze went after one of those Masked Ninja, only to discover upon arrival that the ninja had just three companions beside him.

In other words, they had scattered widely rather than moving together, which undoubtedly made Minato Namikaze's pursuit much more difficult.

Several Black Chains lashed toward the four Masked Ninja, but with a series of booms, the four Masked Ninja decisively ignited the Exploding Tags on their bodies after realizing that the Masked Man, Minato Namikaze, was pursuing them.

Seeing this, Minato Namikaze did not waste any time and instantly teleported toward another Masked Ninja.

This group of Masked Ninja also had four members. They were clearly moving at high speed, but Minato Namikaze's sudden arrival caught them off guard. By the time they spotted Minato Namikaze, two of them had already been bound by his Black Chains.

With two booms, the other two Masked Ninja blew themselves up.

Minato Namikaze did not dare lower his guard. He removed the Exploding Tags from the two ninja, but just as he was about to question them, he discovered that the two Masked Ninja were already dead.

"What the hell?!" Minato Namikaze was utterly shocked. Once sealed, they had practically lost control of their bodies, and even their Chakra had stagnated. How had they managed to commit suicide?

There was no time to think further. Minato Namikaze used the Flying Thunder God to return to the village ruins, then set off in pursuit in another direction.

With the Chakra supplied by Anju, Minato Namikaze's Flying Thunder God never stopped. Before long, he found another group of Masked Ninja.

This time, before Minato Namikaze could make a move, the Masked Ninja had already detonated themselves one after another.

Minato Namikaze's teeth ached. They were too ruthless!

These ninja were not weak at all. At the very least, they were Elite Chunin, yet they had simply blown themselves up. That was just too extreme!

After pursuing six groups of ninja in total, Minato Namikaze completely lost track of the remaining Masked Ninja.

Perhaps they had all gone into hiding. He knew that some of these ninja could use Sealing Jutsu. Once they hid themselves over such a vast area, finding them would be harder than ascending to heaven.

Unless he stayed here and stood guard, refusing to leave!

The only problem was Kushina.

Kushina was injured. There were no visible external wounds, yet even with Anju assisting her, why did she still look so weak?

A Jinchuriki's body had always been extraordinarily resilient. As long as the injury was not severe, recovery was usually very fast.

"Minato, leave more Flying Thunder God marks around the area, then take Kushina to a town and find a doctor."

Anju transmitted his voice to Minato once again.

Ten hours had passed since Minato Namikaze went after those ninjas, but Kushina's condition had not improved.

"What's going on?"

"Maybe she's been poisoned. My Chakra can't detoxify her; it can only delay the poison from taking effect."

"Damn it! Anju, keep Kushina stable. I'll find someone to save her right away!"

"No. You need to take her with you. You can't leave her alone. Kushina is extremely vulnerable right now."

Minato Namikaze shot the surrounding forest a resentful glare, then immediately used Flying Thunder God to return to Kushina's side.

He picked Kushina up. She was burning with fever, and there was a clear, faint purple wound on the top of her right foot.

"Anju! How is she now?"

"Very bad!"

"What can we do?"

"Find a doctor! It's not like I'm omnipotent!" Anju was nearly driven to tears by Minato Namikaze's stupidity.

"Right, right, right! Find a doctor!" After snapping out of it, Minato Namikaze looked into the distance. "Where am I supposed to find one?"

"Minato Namikaze! Are you really stupid enough to die? Go to any town in River Country! Also, disguise yourself immediately. Don't let any new rumors spread!"

"Oh." Minato Namikaze began using the Transformation Technique, taking on the appearance of the Scarface Man from the village.

Then, with a Flying Thunder God, he took Kushina to the nearest town in River Country.