Rescue

Those few pure-red strands of hair lay silently on the ground, like the dawn shining through the darkness of night, dazzling beyond compare.

At the sight of the hair, Ye Zi's gloomy expression eased slightly. He quickly picked it up and examined it for a moment. Once he confirmed that it belonged to Kushina, the killing intent in his eyes grew even sharper.

Without the slightest hesitation, he put the hair back where he had found it. Fortunately, he had a habit of carrying a ninja tool pouch with him. He took out a kunai, stuck it into the soil beside the hair, then rose and chased after the enemy ninja who had taken Kushina.

He wasn't arrogant enough to believe he could rescue Kushina by himself. Being able to hold the enemy back would already be a blessing, so the hair had to remain there to show the pursuing Konoha ninja the way. At most, he could leave behind a kunai to make the marker more obvious. He couldn't leave any more conspicuous marks along the way, or it would slow him down.

Just who exactly was Kushina...?

After spending more than a year together, Ye Zi couldn't understand why enemy ninja would dare risk infiltrating Konoha Village just to abduct a girl who had only recently graduated from the Ninja Academy. The fighting had only just calmed down, and the slightest mistake—just one spark—could ignite another great war.

The only thing he could be certain of was that Kushina possessed enough value to make the enemy go to such lengths.

Searching for strands of hair along the way had cost him quite a bit of time. Fortunately, Kushina's hair was pure red rather than black, so it wasn't too difficult to spot after night fell.

Even so, after chasing for several hours, Ye Zi still hadn't seen anyone. If this continued and the enemy crossed the border, there would be no saving the situation.

Meanwhile, the Cloud ninja who had abducted Kushina had been moving at full speed from the very beginning. Kushina, however, didn't possess the same physical strength and endurance as they did. As they neared the border, she finally reached her limit.

"Useless." The Cloud ninja responsible for dragging Kushina along cursed coldly. He looked toward the tall figure ahead and asked, "Lord Jiu Xiao, we're already this far. Those Konoha people won't be able to catch us. Should we slow down?"

The Cloud ninja known as Jiu Xiao had coarse features and a dark complexion. A vicious cross-shaped scar marked his right eye, and his expression was cold as ice. Even his face alone radiated an extraordinary, chilling presence.

Hearing his subordinate's question, Jiu Xiao paused. He, too, figured that the Konoha ninja probably couldn't catch up this far. Besides, after half a day of traveling at full speed, his three subordinates were beginning to show signs of fatigue. Thus, he agreed with the suggestion.

He glanced at Kushina, who hung her head as if she might collapse at any moment, and said coldly, "Slow down. We're almost at the border. Don't let your guard down."

"Yes." The three Cloud ninja visibly relaxed. Traveling at full speed for so long had indeed made them tired, let alone Kushina, whose physical strength and endurance were comparatively weak. If not for the Uzumaki clan's innate constitution, an ordinary person would probably have been in mortal danger after such a journey.

What they didn't know was that, behind them, a lone wolf was clinging tightly to their trail.

Half an hour later, the Cloud ninja were walking as leisurely as if they were out for a stroll, as though they could already see the completion of this difficult mission. Their vigilance had also dropped sharply. Only Jiu Xiao, with the vicious cross-shaped scar, remained fully alert.

Compared with the Cloud ninja's ease, Kushina's consciousness had grown hazy, and her heart was filled with despair.

"Someone... please save me."

Through her swaying vision, she could see only the gloomy road. Then, vaguely, a blurred figure suddenly appeared.

Black hair, black eyes, blending into the night—clear yet indistinct. That trembling figure in the darkness, that face which was sometimes clear and sometimes blurred, seemed close enough to touch, its expression still cold and indifferent.

"Ye... Zi."

A glimmer of light quietly appeared in Kushina's dim eyes. Her weak voice trembled and blurred.

"Ye Zi?" The Cloud ninja dragging Kushina heard the indistinct murmur and couldn't help turning back to look at her.

"Stop!"

At that moment, Jiu Xiao, who had been walking at the very front, suddenly stopped. One hand gripped the hilt at his waist as he abruptly turned to look behind him.

Seeing Jiu Xiao react this way, how could the other three not know that someone had caught up? Their hearts jolted, and they hurriedly turned to face the darkness behind them on guard. They saw only a figure leap several times through the trees, as though descending from the heavens, before landing on the ground not far from them.

"One person? And just a brat?" Seeing that their pursuer was only a Konoha brat, the three Cloud ninja relaxed slightly. They had thought a large group of Konoha ninja had caught up.

"I caught up."

Ye Zi breathed slightly harder as he looked toward the familiar figure ahead and shouted, "Kushina, are you all right?"

Unlike before, his voice was truly filled with anxiety and urgency, rather than the indifference he had always shown toward everything.

Hearing that familiar yet unfamiliar voice, Kushina slowly turned her head. She had thought she was seeing an illusion, but there really was Ye Zi.

"Ye... Zi!"

It seemed that seeing Ye Zi meant she had already been saved. Kushina's eyes slowly widened, and a trace of joy flashed across her dirt-streaked little face.

"You think you're saved?"

The cold voice beside her mercilessly shattered Kushina's fantasy.

Jiu Xiao stepped past Kushina and stared coldly at Ye Zi, whose face was filled with killing intent. "Not a bad expression. Since you dared chase after us alone, I assume you've already prepared yourself to die, haven't you?"

As he spoke, Jiu Xiao slowly drew the short blade from his waist. His eyes grew incomparably cold and deep.

"You three take the target through the border quickly. I'll deal with this brat. If nothing unexpected happens, more pursuers will probably arrive soon."

"Yes!"

Although they didn't know why Jiu Xiao had deliberately stayed behind just to deal with a brat, they obeyed his order. They dragged Kushina along and decisively quickened their pace.

"Damn it!"

Ye Zi stared at the short blade in the man's hand, his expression solemn. His purpose was only to hold the enemy back. If one of them stayed behind, that would have been ideal. But in his calculations, simply because he was a brat, the one left behind shouldn't have been the strongest among them.

Yet the person who had stayed behind was precisely the strongest one!

Under the moonlight filtering through the trees, the short blade glinted with a razor-sharp edge. To Ye Zi, it was no different from the scythe of the Grim Reaper.

Without a doubt, this man was the one who had killed the Konoha ninja whose bodies had become corpses. Every one of them had died from a single slash to the throat—clean and decisive. However, the Konoha ninja had suffered many other minor injuries before their deaths, so it could be determined that this man's blade wasn't yet so fast that no one could react. Otherwise, he wouldn't have needed to ambush them from the shadows and kill them in one stroke.

"There is no chance of victory... No, the chance is just very, very low."

Ye Zi's expression was extremely grim. Forget holding this man back; merely surviving against him would already be difficult. If that was the case, there was no way he could stop Kushina from being taken away.

He silently took out a kunai and gripped it in his hand, clenching his teeth as he forced himself not to look at Kushina being led away. Instead, he stared intently at the man, whose chilling killing intent had begun to spread. That tangible killing intent pressed against him so intensely that the air around them seemed to grow viscous.

Jiu Xiao seemed to have absolute confidence. He didn't attack immediately. Instead, he watched Ye Zi, whose breathing had already evened out, and a trace of approval flashed through his eyes. To have caught up at such speed without his breathing becoming disordered was enough to prove that this brat was no ordinary child. As for age, it had never been an indicator of strength.

What a pity. This possible Konoha genius was still far too young. The price of recklessly chasing after them would be a heavy one indeed!

"Do you know why I stayed behind?" Jiu Xiao raised his arm slightly, killing intent covering his face. "Because I know the others aren't your match! Unfortunately, you ran into me. Die here!"

Just as he was about to strike, he suddenly stopped. A rapidly moving figure landed beside Ye Zi. Ye Zi's attention had been completely drawn by Jiu Xiao, and by the time he noticed the swiftly approaching figure, it had already reached his side.

Ye Zi's heart instantly accelerated, and he was about to attack the figure when its voice made him forcibly halt the thought.

"Where's Kushina?" When Minato looked toward Jiu Xiao, whose body was filled with killing intent, his expression instantly became as solemn as Ye Zi's. With a single glance, he knew that the man ahead was incredibly strong!

"Another brat." Jiu Xiao frowned. It would have been easy enough to deal with a pursuing Konoha Jonin, but he hadn't expected two brats to catch up—and both of them seemed far from ordinary.

Seeing Minato catch up, joy flashed through Ye Zi's eyes. He pointed in one direction and said in a tone that brooked no argument, "Kushina was abducted by three Cloud ninja. Go after them quickly. I'll hold this man back."

"But..." Minato hesitated. He didn't believe Ye Zi could deal with the man before them, and there was a high chance he would be killed.

"Stop dithering! If we're even one minute late and Kushina is taken out of the country, everything will be over." Seeing Minato still hesitating at a time like this, Ye Zi couldn't help shouting angrily.

At his words, Minato gave Ye Zi a deep look, and determination flashed across his face. He couldn't let Ye Zi down after Ye Zi had staked his life on this. He had to rescue Kushina!

Once he had made up his mind, Minato shot forward like an arrow loosed from a bow, ignoring Jiu Xiao's presence as he headed in the direction Kushina had been taken.

"How dare you ignore me!"

Anger flashed across Jiu Xiao's face. Astonished by Minato's speed, he blurred and appeared beside Minato, bringing his blade down with precise and vicious timing.

Yet faced with this fatal slash, Minato didn't even look back. His eyes remained fixed ahead. At that moment, Ye Zi stepped between them. With a clang, sparks flew through the night as Ye Zi blocked the blow with his kunai, while Minato plunged into the darkness without looking back.

"Good. Very good."

Watching Minato leave at astonishing speed, Jiu Xiao's mouth released a grim killing intent.

Ye Zi's arm trembled. He could feel the heavy force transmitted through the kunai, while the cold gleam of the short blade stabbed painfully against his skin.

So strong!

Against someone this powerful, even escaping was probably nothing more than a pipe dream...

Why... had I staked my life on staying behind to face such a powerful enemy?