Grinding Two People's Favorability at Once

As they spoke, the group of Cloud Ninja had already burst through Uzumaki Kushina's front door.

Soseki's expression grew serious. "Damn it, we're not going to make it!"

"Haha, no need to worry." Asuma, on the other hand, looked gleeful. "Those Cloud Ninja are in trouble. I heard from the old man that that big sister's strength is super..."

Before he could finish, they saw several ninjas in black escorting a red-haired girl out.

Asuma: "???"

Seeing Soseki's strange look, Asuma quickly explained, "I get it. This must be the red-haired big sister's deliberate act, trying to lure out all the spies along this trail."

Soseki, however, shook his head slightly. If he wasn't mistaken, Uzumaki Kushina's strength was largely suppressed by the Nine-Tails at the moment.

After all, Uzumaki Mito was already too old when she transferred the seal, and while the Third Hokage and others were strong, their mastery of sealing jutsu couldn't compare to the Uzumaki Clan.

Most importantly, the complete Nine-Tails was sealed within Uzumaki Kushina, making the seal's strength even weaker than Naruto's in the future.

To prevent the Nine-Tails from breaking the seal, Uzumaki Kushina didn't dare to use any Chakra, which resulted in her not daring to resist even when captured by these weak ninjas.

It could be said that the Cloud Ninja were unknowingly dancing on the edge of death.

"So, the world always picks on the good guys," Soseki mused. Asuma, standing beside him, also realized something was wrong.

The big sister had fallen several times during the process, and the Cloud Ninja had roughly dragged her along the ground by the rope.

Even if they were acting, did they have to put in so much effort?

"This is bad, Soseki, that big sister might have been genuinely captured. We need to save her quickly!"

"Wait, don't be impulsive. Don't forget, they have a hostage right now!"

Thinking of this, Asuma became anxious. "Then what should we do? Damn it, I shouldn't have tested them. I should have just captured them directly. Even if I made a mistake, they could only scold me at most."

"You don't need to blame yourself too much. After all, this involves two countries. Without evidence, the higher-ups wouldn't directly arrest anyone."

"But it's too late to go back and find people now!"

Soseki's voice was calm and steady. "Don't worry, there's still a way."

Hearing Soseki say this, Asuma also calmed down. "Tell me, Soseki, what should we do?"

Soseki narrowed his eyes. "Let's continue to track them. When they reach the Konoha border, only one step away from success, that should be their most relaxed moment. Then, we'll cooperate to rescue the hostage immediately!"

Asuma couldn't help but retort, "But what if they're not relaxed?"

Soseki sighed helplessly. "In that case, I can only try to use genjutsu to attack their minds. Although I'm confident in my genjutsu, the enemy is still ninja, so I can't guarantee success."

"You must succeed!" Asuma said, then grumbled again, "I've been out so late, can't the old man hurry up and peek at me? Damn it, he must be using my absence to sneak peeks at others."

Unlike the worried Asuma, Soseki's expression hadn't wavered even slightly from beginning to end. Everything that was happening was within his expectations, including the other main character who hadn't appeared yet in this good show.

"Affection points are affection points, whether you're earning them from one person or two. So, don't disappoint me, Senior Namikaze Minato!"

Compared to Namikaze Minato, Soseki actually valued Uzumaki Kushina's... sealing jutsu more. However, Namikaze Minato also had the potential to develop into an excellent Tool Person.

Therefore, Soseki naturally didn't want to miss such an opportunity for "double affection points with one action."

"If Namikaze Minato makes a move, I won't have to exert much effort. I can just find the right moment to gain some experience. But what if... he doesn't arrive in time like in the original timeline?"

Soseki didn't believe that the river of fate would be as still as a stagnant pool, stirring not even a ripple. Believing too much in the future he knew would only put him in a passive and disadvantageous position.

So, even when participating in this known "future," he had made thorough preparations. Before deliberately guiding Asuma, he had already investigated the opponent's intentions and strength in advance.

"After all, I never said that an ordinary Chunin was beyond my capabilities. As a genius, breaking through during battle by 'going berserk' is quite reasonable, isn't it?"

Under the cover of night, the two followed closely behind the Cloud Ninja.

Asuma picked up a soft strand of red hair from the ground, his expression complicated. "Soseki, are these people really ninja?"

That big sister had dropped hair all the way, and it was bright red hair that stood out like firelight in the darkness, yet none of those ninjas had noticed a single strand.

He had initially worried that the Cloud Ninja were deliberately trying to lure them out, but now it seemed that those ninjas were genuinely weak!

Soseki remained silent. He finally understood why the Cloud Village liked to stir up trouble so much, yet always achieved so little – they were bad at fighting and addicted to it!

Upon realizing this, Asuma became eager and asked, "Soseki, should we get closer?"

Soseki was about to answer, but the fluctuations of Chakra from a distance made him lose focus for a moment.

It was the Chakra he had attached to Uzumaki Kushina's hair.

Although he wasn't a specialized sensory ninja, in this situation, if someone picked up the strands of hair that had fallen on the ground, he could still sense the Chakra fluctuations.

"Namikaze Minato? It seems I have to hurry. Otherwise, once he gets here, there won't be anything for me to do!"

With that thought, Soseki no longer hesitated. "Of course, we need to get closer, and we should take the opportunity to launch a surprise attack!"

Asuma's eyes widened. "But didn't you say we should wait until they get close to the Konoha border?"

Soseki's expression turned serious as he earnestly deceived him, "I overlooked an important detail earlier. These Cloud Ninja might have arranged for reinforcements outside the barrier in advance. If a fight breaks out at the border, it might be noticed by Cloud Ninja outside the barrier. If they charge into the barrier regardless of the consequences, the adults in the village won't have time to react even if they receive the news."

"Therefore, it's best for us to choose a location that is relatively close to the border but where the battle situation won't be noticed from outside the barrier to launch our attack."

"I understand," Asuma nodded as if enlightened, praising, "You always think of everything, Soseki."

"Alright, watch my hand seals later. Once I complete the hand seals, you immediately snatch that big sister back."

"Understood!"

Thanks to Liu Daohai for the 300 reward and "I never said I wasn't happy" for the 100 reward.