Rescuing Kushina

Something... felt off.

Uchiha Gen halted.

The route he had taken here had been far too quiet. Only when he reached this place had there suddenly been more people.

Had the people near the Senju Old House been drawn away by something?

[Haruno Sakura (Ninja Academy Student) has been unequipped.]

[Uchiha Madara (Youth) has been equipped!]

A pair of crimson Sharingan emerged. Uchiha Gen turned to inspect his surroundings, then used Sensory Ninjutsu. Combined with the Sharingan's perceptive power, he gathered all the information around him within a few breaths.

The next second, he decisively turned around and sprinted back toward the Senju Old House.

Meanwhile, Kushina, who was returning to the Senju Old House by another route, stared in terror at several masked men in black who had appeared before her.

This was the Senju Old House. How had anyone infiltrated it?

Where were Sister Tsunade and Grandma Mito? And the Anbu Ninja guarding this place?

Why weren't they here?

"Capture her, then withdraw immediately."

The tall, burly man in black at the lead spoke in a muffled voice.

Kushina had not even graduated yet and was not even a Genin. She was captured by the men in black in just a few moves.

Two minutes later.

Uchiha Gen leaped over the weathered stone walls of the Senju Old House and entered the residence, where he picked up a lock of beautiful red hair from the ground.

Damn it. It seemed he was still a little too late.

His Sharingan spun, its powerful perception rendering every detail inside the house crystal clear.

"The traces were left not long ago, and the attackers withdrew in a hurry. They seemingly had no time to clean up. Their methods were crude, too—they didn't even notice the clues Kushina left behind. Or perhaps they were so focused on speed that even if they found them, they deliberately ignored them to save time."

Following the clues, Uchiha Gen tracked them to another alley outside the Senju Old House. As he pursued them in that direction, he formed hand seals with one hand.

While running, a powerful male crow with sleek, glossy feathers appeared beside Uchiha Gen.

"Go notify the Great Elder and Teacher Orochimaru. Kumogakure is secretly kidnapping people from the village. Request reinforcements."

Uchiha Gen gave the order to the Ninja Crow leader. Watching it flap into the sky, he moved his feet and used the Body Flicker Technique to race into the distance.

At the same time.

A handsome blond youth also spotted several strands of red hair on the ground while heading home, as well as a figure only slightly older than himself moving in the direction indicated by the red hair.

"That's... Senior Uchiha Gen from the previous class. And this red hair on the ground... Kushina is the only one in the village with hair like that!"

Concern showed in Minato Namikaze's eyes, but it was soon replaced by determination. He quickly followed in Uchiha Gen's direction.

Uchiha Gen had naturally noticed Minato Namikaze trailing behind him.

"Tch, as expected of the future Yellow Flash. His speed is already enough to barely keep up with me. Even if he never learned the Flying Thunder God in the future, his own speed would absolutely be top-tier."

Two blurred figures sped along.

Kumogakure's people had indeed timed things precisely, and they were moving quickly.

Uchiha Gen and Minato Namikaze pursued them at full speed, even chasing them beyond Konoha's borders, yet they still could not catch up.

Not until night quietly fell and a crescent moon climbed over the mountaintop.

Uchiha Gen suddenly stopped and used the tactical hand signals taught at the Ninja Academy to signal Minato Namikaze behind him.

"Stop."

"Hide."

"Follow."

"I take the left, you take the right."

"I'll feint. You rescue her."

Minato Namikaze, trailing behind, nodded lightly and slipped sideways into the nearby grass. His movements were light and nimble, making not the slightest sound.

"We've already run beyond Konoha's territory. We can relax for the moment."

"We'd better not let our guard down too much."

"It's fine. We've come this far. Once we continue on our way, we'll reach the border by tomorrow. The Third Lord has already arranged for a team to meet us there. After the few of us earn this great merit, who knows what kind of rewards we'll get!"

"Heh, Konoha's higher-ups really are idiots. The plan actually worked. We captured this Uzumaki Clan woman, so the village won't even need to choose its future Jinchuriki anymore. Once the rewards come through, I'll get the chance to train in more powerful ninjutsu. At that point, becoming a Jonin will be just around the corner!"

The three Kumogakure Ninja walked while chatting quietly. Their eyes occasionally swept the surroundings warily, and they looked quite excited.

"All right, break time is over. Let's keep moving. Stay alert."

The tall Kumogakure Ninja at the lead glanced at the sky and rose from the ground.

To draw Konoha's attention, all the stronger and more important members of the Kumogakure Delegation had remained behind. They had even spread news related to the Six Paths Tools and the Second Hokage's corpse, luring away important Konoha members such as Mito Uzumaki and Tsunade.

Precisely because of that, the ones left behind to carry out the operation were not actually particularly outstanding in strength within this delegation.

That was why the Kumogakure Ninja leading the team had been somewhat worried.

But fortunately, everything was going smoothly for now.

"Whoosh!"

"Whoosh!"

Two blurred figures flashed forward at high speed, instantly ambushing and taking out the last two Kumogakure Ninja in the squad.

"Who goes there?!"

The Kumogakure Ninja leader jolted in alarm. With Kushina slung over one shoulder, he leaped up onto a high tree branch.

At that moment, a figure wielding a Ninja Sword swept past like a gale, accompanied by the flash of scarlet eyes.

"Sharingan!"

The Kumogakure Ninja cried out in shock. As he instinctively drew his blade to block Uchiha Gen's attack, he also tried to avoid Uchiha Gen's gaze.

The Sharingan's fearsome reputation had echoed throughout the Ninja World for a thousand years. Everyone knew that when facing an Uchiha who had activated the Sharingan, one must never meet their eyes.

However, he was clearly being overly cautious. Uchiha Gen's One-Tomoe Sharingan did not provide much of a boost to genjutsu yet, and his own skill in genjutsu was not particularly high. To be safe and avoid alerting the enemy, he had not used it.

The force of their clash sent tiny sparks scattering as the edges of their Ninja Swords collided.

Kushina stared blankly at the young Uchiha standing before them with a blade in hand. Before she could react, her body suddenly felt light as Minato Namikaze rescued her.

"We came to save you, Kushina."

A faint, gentle smile rested on Minato Namikaze's face as he spoke to her.

Under the moonlight, his glossy golden hair swayed in the night breeze.

Not far away, Uchiha Gen fought the Kumogakure Ninja with his Ninja Sword in hand. The two figures darted rapidly through the forest, the sound of clashing blades ringing out without end.