"Were We Attacked by Enemies?"

"Slurp—"

At Ichiraku Ramen, the three of them were bent over their bowls, devouring the pork ramen they could never get tired of.

Even Kushina, who had seemed a little standoffish at first, had gradually warmed up after sharing several meals with them and was no longer so reserved.

A seemingly carefree blond big brother sitting beside two honor students—it looked just like a scene where good kids were being led astray by an outsider.

"Another bowl!"

Namikaze Yoru had already finished his fifth bowl of ramen, while Kushina had already admitted defeat. Minato had fallen even earlier. He certainly lived up to his title as the "fastest in the Shinobi World."

After finishing his sixth bowl, Namikaze Yoru patted his half-full stomach and finally ended the meal, thoroughly satisfied.

As usual, he let Minato walk Kushina home, then strolled around the village as if out for a casual walk, quietly keeping an eye on several areas of particular interest.

When his Mind's Eye of the Kagura swept over Uzumaki Kushina's home, he sensed several unfamiliar ninja inside her little house, each with considerable chakra.

"I knew it. Doing it while I'm there is much faster than doing it along the way."

He intensified his Mind's Eye of the Kagura and matched each chakra signature hidden inside Kushina's home. He confirmed that the ninjas were members of the Cloud Village delegation.

As expected, his "Black Brother" passive had triggered. Everyone coveted other people's bloodlines; if they could snatch one, they would. And a bloodline ninja like Kushina, who had lost her backing, was especially tempting prey to them.

In truth, only Konoha could be so indifferent. Other villages took bloodline ninjas very seriously—as long as they weren't as addled as the Mist Village.

With several bloodline ninjas, it was fairly easy to build a clan through having children. At any rate, Japan had always been quite open-minded about that sort of thing.

The corners of Namikaze Yoru's mouth lifted slightly. But he knew that Kushina being kidnapped alone wouldn't cause much of a stir. He might as well add another log to the fire in Konoha.

He ducked into an alley, quickly formed Hand Seals, and made a Shadow Clone. His real body then used "Earth Style: Earth Fish Camouflage" to move stealthily.

He arrived at the Senju Clan's old grounds. The place was much quieter now, and the sprawling compound felt rather empty.

"Exchange for the Kaguya Clan Primary Bloodline."

Namikaze Yoru closed his eyes and sensed the change for a moment. The enhancement from the basic Kaguya Bloodline was not particularly significant.

If he had to describe it, his bones had become considerably stronger. But he still couldn't pull out bones to use as blades and regenerate them quickly like Kaguya Kimimaro.

For now, by driving chakra through his body, he could barely force his bones out of his skin and produce Bone Spikes.

"That'll do."

Having confirmed what the basic bloodline could do, he didn't need the Kaguya Bloodline to grant him much combat power. He only needed to separate its effects from himself and muddy the waters.

He made his way to Nawaki's home with practiced ease. As a classmate and friend from the same year, Namikaze Yoru had visited many times, though he had always entered through the front door.

After using the Transformation Technique to change his appearance and build, he put on a mask he had prepared in advance. Only then did Namikaze Yoru begin his operation.

He climbed in over the outer wall. The familiar layout came into view. Several training outfits hung in the open area, still damp, while Senju Nawaki was lounging on his side in the living room.

Nawaki had no idea disaster was about to strike. He was in the first-floor hall, holding a manga and grinning to himself, muttering something under his breath from time to time.

Namikaze Yoru quietly formed Hand Seals, carefully controlling his chakra output.

"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough (Mini, Reduced-Power Version)."

A sudden gust blew the manga in Nawaki's hands, making its pages flap noisily. The evening chill was already setting in, and Nawaki pulled his clothes tighter around himself.

Perhaps he was too absorbed in the manga, or maybe Nawaki was simply too thickheaded to care. Even after tightening his clothes, he did nothing else.

Namikaze Yoru was speechless. If the timing weren't so bad, he would have rushed in and kicked him.

"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough (Reduced-Power Version)."

He continued blowing wind at Nawaki, who was sitting in the living room. At last, Nawaki looked up toward the corridor outside and muttered to himself:

"Why did the wind suddenly pick up?"

His expression turned a little serious. After thinking for a moment, he looked out into the corridor and said, "Is it going to rain?"

He set down the manga and walked over to the veranda outside the living room. He glanced at the outdoors, where the wind had died down a little, and blurted out, "I'll deal with it if it rains."

With that, he started to close the veranda's shoji doors, apparently intending to ignore it.

Hidden in the darkness, Namikaze Yoru was already losing patience. If he kept dragging things out, he would waste this perfect opportunity. Nawaki really wasn't following the script at all.

"Hyah—"

He darted out and kicked Nawaki hard in the kidneys, sending him flying sideways into the open area.

Before Nawaki could recover, Namikaze Yoru charged in after him and drew a kunai, stabbing viciously.

Nawaki had already come to his senses and recovered his instincts as a ninja, though he still looked disbelieving.

As the young heir of the Senju Clan, he couldn't believe anyone would dare assassinate him in Konoha. Had the village been breached? Or was Konoha about to go after the landlords and decided to use him as a test case?

"Water Release: Water Wave."

The instant he landed, Nawaki had no time to think further. He moved quickly, using Water Release to attack his assailant while urgently calling for help.

Having been attacked on his own clan's grounds in Konoha, Nawaki couldn't be sure how many ninjas were on the other side. After all, it would be absurd for someone to come alone.

In Nawaki's eyes, the attacker seemed flustered when he heard him call for help. In his panic, the man threw his kunai at Nawaki.

Nawaki was wearing casual clothes at home and had no ninja tools on him. Seeing that the kunai was coming in weakly, he reached out and caught it.

The kunai spun once in Nawaki's hand before he thrust it toward the unarmed enemy ninja.

Seeing the kunai coming, the other man raised a hand to meet it. To Nawaki's bewilderment, the kunai slammed into the man's palm.

"Clang—"

The sound of metal striking metal rang out. The kunai in Nawaki's hand was blocked, and a long bone spike had appeared in the other man's palm. Perhaps the impact had been too strong; fine cracks now covered the tip of the spike.

"Bone Spikes? You're a ninja from the Kaguya Clan!"

The disguised Namikaze Yoru feigned panic and hurriedly withdrew the bone spike. A few tiny bone fragments had broken off the tip and quietly fallen to the ground.

"Illusion Technique: Fox Heart Technique!"

Caught off guard, Nawaki was trapped by the illusion for a moment. Though he quickly broke free, the assassin in front of him had vanished without a trace.

Only then did the guards stationed on the clan grounds and the Konoha Anbu finally arrive.