Illegal Encounter After Running Away (4)

"By the way, Minato, when did you leave a Flying Thunder God formula on me?"

As they searched for traces of Hagoromo, Kushina seemed to suddenly remember something and asked Minato.

"Uh, well..."

Yes, Minato hesitated when it came to answering that question.

Had he somehow spotted a hint of distrust in Kushina's eyes?

It was like she thought he had used the formula he left on her to do something strange!

"N-Not long ago. It was when we last met. It was just in case... so that if something like this happened, I could find you as quickly as possible..." Minato hurriedly explained.

"Really?"

"Really."

It had to be true.

It was true to begin with.

Though two streams of cold sweat involuntarily ran down Minato's face. Huh, the temperature had only just risen above freezing today, but it seemed rather hot.

Well, Minato did feel a little guilty. He had no strange intentions, but for Kushina's safety, he had actually left the formula on her the very first time he learned the Flying Thunder God.

It really was only to protect Kushina. That was the truth. After all, incidents like Kumogakure's attempted kidnapping had happened before. But judging by Kushina's current tone, Minato felt it was best not to be too honest. If he told the whole truth, Kushina might just give him a punch.

After all, a formula like that made it seem as though Minato could monitor Kushina whenever he wanted. She definitely would not be happy about that.

Kushina gave Minato another suspicious once-over from head to toe before finally withdrawing her scrutinizing gaze...

Seeing her reaction, Minato immediately let out a sigh of relief.

Overall, Kushina still trusted Minato's character... though she had still been suspicious where she ought to be.

First, Minato Namikaze was a man. A certain silver-haired, naturally curly-haired, Dead Fish Eyes had taught the world that all men were beasts.

Second, and more importantly, Minato had a famously renowned teacher: Jiraiya, one of the Three Ninja. But in Kushina's eyes, Jiraiya was most famous not for his strength, but for certain aspects of his personality and hobbies.

Fortunately, Hagoromo's situation was more important right now, so Kushina had no time to fuss over such minor matters.

"Anyway, let's move quickly. I hope Hagoromo hasn't run into any danger!"

Only after Kushina finished speaking and turned away again did Minato's heart-pounding fear finally subside... He raised a hand and secretly wiped the cold sweat from his face.

But although Kushina said that, things did not go so smoothly. Three days passed without them finding any sign of Hagoromo, leaving Kushina increasingly anxious.

Though it had been rather reckless, Hagoromo had still taken Kushina away from the battlefield. His messy reverse summoning had saved both of them. Kushina herself was fine now, but if something happened to Hagoromo, she would surely blame herself.

"This won't do!"

On the third day, Minato decided they could not remain in this unfamiliar environment any longer. Though it somewhat resembled another dimension, and they had found no traces of other ninja activity, making the surroundings basically safe, this was still enemy territory. While he could swiftly take Kushina away if necessary, what if the space was sealed off?

In any case, they had to speed up the search for Hagoromo.

The solution came to Minato all at once. He slapped the forehead protector on his brow with his right palm. At that moment, he felt that both he and Kushina had been terribly foolish. Why did the two of them insist on searching for Hagoromo alone? They could simply get help.

"Kushina, wait here for a moment."

He said that to Kushina, then hurried away again without waiting for her response. This time, he was gone for quite a while.

But when he returned, he had brought someone with him...

Though Kushina did not know this person, her eyes immediately lit up when she saw him!

"Right! How did I not think of that? Minato, you're so smart!"

Minato smiled helplessly. It was not that he was particularly smart; both of them had simply fallen into a mental trap.

After glancing at Kushina, Minato turned to the person beside him. "Hyuga, I'm counting on you."

Ahem. When it came to searching in the ninja world, if you wanted the best, go to the Hyuga Clan of Konoha in the Land of Fire. Such a simple truth—why had they not thought of it before?

Their thinking had simply been too rigid.

"I understand, Lord Minato." This Hyuga Clan ninja had already been given a detailed explanation beforehand, so he naturally knew what he was supposed to do now.

Byakugan!

"Forty kilometers to the southeast, there are traces of residual Chakra."

Kushina and Minato exchanged a glance, then immediately sprinted toward the indicated location!

With the three of them averaging strength beyond that of a Jonin, their speed was naturally quite impressive.

Before long, the three arrived at the location. After confirming there were no enemies nearby, they began carefully examining the battlefield.

"The battle took place around two days ago. There are traces of Fire Release Ninjutsu all around, but judging from how the terrain was damaged, it seems he was fighting something." Such simple analysis and judgment posed no difficulty at all for a ninja of Minato's level. "Kushina, can you confirm whether this is Hagoromo's Chakra?"

"I remember Hagoromo being a Lightning Release user. Can he use Fire Release too?"

Kushina nodded and said, "Hagoromo possesses Chakra affinities for both Lightning and Fire. I also taught him how to use Fire Release Ninjutsu. Although he is exceptionally skilled with Lightning Release, he is actually quite proficient with Fire Release as well. But he is somewhat dissatisfied with Fire Release's destructive power, and he is more practiced with Lightning Release, so he basically uses Lightning Release in battle... But I can confirm that this is Hagoromo's Chakra."

Though Fire Release had considerable advantages in terms of area damage and scale, under normal circumstances, Fire Release Ninjutsu was less lethal against individual targets than Lightning Release. That was one reason Hagoromo used Lightning Release more often.

Of course, the more important reason was that his Lightning Release was simply too good. If not for his current injuries, he would rarely have used Fire Release at all.

There was a hint of excitement in Kushina's voice. This was the first trace Hagoromo had left behind that they had found in three days.

The battle had only taken place two days ago, so Hagoromo clearly had not had time to clean up the traces of the fight. To a ninja like the Hyuga, the residual Chakra was extremely obvious. Moreover, judging by the battlefield, Hagoromo seemed to have been at a disadvantage.

The traces of battle continued into the distance.

The three continued following the battle marks. Several more hours passed before the Hyuga ninja suddenly stopped and spoke.

"We found him!"