Chase Battle

"Got them. Pull back."

"Konoha ninja aren't all that."

The Mist Village ninja, carrying the bound Kushina over his shoulder, raced through the night, not missing the chance to mock Konoha's mediocrity as he went.

In their eyes, a lone bloodline-limit ninja with no backing wasn't worth Konoha stirring up a major fuss over.

Surely they wouldn't overturn the freshly signed treaty over this? Pushing too hard might even offend Cloud Village, breaking the battlefield stalemate.

One could say Cloud Village had already seized the perfect moment, place, and alignment—their inclination alone was enough to tip the scales of victory, no matter what threats or bribes the other side threw at them.

So what if they casually bagged a "trophy"? As long as it didn't stir too big a wave, once this Uzumaki clan member was brought back to Cloud Village, Konoha would have no choice but to swallow the bitter loss.

Bound hand and foot, Kushina's face was stubborn and defiant. No matter how the Cloud ninja threatened or coaxed, she stayed silent, searching for a chance to escape.

But as a girl not yet graduated from the Ninja Academy, her struggles against three grown Cloud ninja were pitifully weak—the Black Skin Athlete was not to be underestimated.

For now, Kushina could only hope the village would notice quickly and send someone to rescue her.

Yet, for some reason, her mind kept replaying the image of that "Little Blondie," impossible to shake.

Inside Konoha.

Having seen Kushina home, Namikaze Minato felt a vague unease, as if something was about to slip away from him.

This feeling was rare, but he couldn't pinpoint the cause. Restless and anxious, he suddenly spotted a flood of Anbu ninja darting between the village buildings, as if searching for something.

Watching the ninja weave through the streets and alleys, Minato suddenly remembered—the last time he'd felt this intuition was when his parents had left for a mission and never returned.

He spun around and jogged back to Kushina's house. The interior was pitch black, as if she'd already gone to sleep.

The silence inside was eerily unnatural. The unease gnawing at him drove Minato to knock on the door.

"Creak—"

The moment his hand touched the door, it swung open on its own.

"Kushina?"

Minato called out tentatively. No answer came from inside, only a faint echo.

He stepped in slowly and found the room in complete disarray—clearly the scene of a struggle, with signs of at least several people.

"Could Kushina have been taken by the Anbu?"

"Don't be stupid. If the Anbu made a move, would Kushina even have a chance to fight back?" A flat voice sounded right by Minato's ear.

"Who's there... Brother Yoru? What are you doing here?"

"Late at night, you're not home, and you come running back to Kushina's place. I figured you were about to confess, so I came to watch the show."

"I wasn't—"

"Save it. If I'm not wrong, Kushina was snatched in the chaos. If you don't chase them now, by the time you catch up, she'll have two kids with a Cloud ninja."

Namikaze Yoru cut off Minato's explanation, and those few words snapped Minato's nerves to attention.

"There's a strand of Kushina's red hair she tore off." Minato quickly calmed down, sharp eyes catching the clue. "They left from this direction."

Yoru nodded. It seemed this clan junior of his, as long as he kept a cool head and didn't let his mind wander, was remarkably reliable—no need for reminders.

The two followed the trail of red hair, tracking it all the way to the village border, where they spotted quite a few Anbu ninja still searching.

"What do we do?" Minato was still mulling over a plan when he saw Yoru stride straight ahead.

The Anbu ninja, seeing Yoru appear with Minato in tow, recognized them as village kids even if they weren't familiar. They relaxed their guard slightly and warned them to head back to the village quickly.

Yoru put on a panicked expression, and Minato played along, his face equally frantic as he blurted out:

"It's like this—our friend was kidnapped."

"I understand. The Anbu will handle this. You two should return—"

Mid-sentence, Yoru suddenly struck, throwing a heavy punch into the Anbu's gut. The force of the blow made the ninja grunt and collapse on the spot, knocked out cold.

"Huh?"

"Don't 'huh' me. If you dawdle any longer, you'll be the one the Anbu drags back."

With that, Yoru vanished into the dense forest. Minato, even if he felt this was a bit reckless, gritted his teeth and followed.

In Yoru's perception, the Cloud ninja were taking a short rest in a nearby grove—probably because carrying Kushina as dead weight slowed their full-speed escape.

By now, the three Cloud ninja had recovered their stamina and were about to move on. Even though they were still deep in the Land of Fire, they were confident no one would notice, and by the time Konoha discovered anything, it would be tomorrow morning.

Just then, Kushina, who had been cooperating, suddenly started struggling. The Cloud ninja, not in the mood to indulge her, prepared to knock her out and carry her off.

A flash of gold erupted from behind the tree Kushina was leaning against! A sharp kunai sliced through, and the Cloud ninja's hand was severed in an instant.

"Ah—enemy attack!"

The bloodcurdling scream alerted the other two Cloud ninja. They closed in quickly, staring at their comrade's severed hand, eyes scanning the surroundings with sharp intensity.

But the forest held nothing but the rustle of wind and grass—no sign of anyone, only the gruesome severed hand on the ground.

One kept watch while the other crouched down to staunch the bleeding and bandage their teammate.

Before the bandaging was complete, the grass suddenly rustled, and a figure in an Anbu Captain uniform slowly emerged, speaking to the three: "Daring to kidnap a Konoha ninja, you'd best surrender now—my squad has this place sealed off."

"Hah! Save your breath. Is Konoha trying to break the newly forged Treaty?" the leading Cloud Ninja retorted, surprisingly bold and threatening in turn.

"Rustle, rustle~"

An abrupt sound of someone pushing through dense foliage rang out, and Namikaze Minato appeared as if he had just arrived, looking travel-worn and rather disheveled.

"Minato? Get out of here!" the Anbu Captain urged sharply, ordering him to leave.

Seeing how tense the Anbu was toward the newcomer, the two Cloud Ninja still capable of fighting exchanged a glance and read each other's intent.

They struck simultaneously—one lunged at the Anbu Captain to block his path, while the other grabbed for the suddenly appearing Minato, aiming to take him hostage.

The Cloud Ninja tasked with obstructing the Anbu saw that the Captain didn't dodge or evade, and alarm bells rang in his mind—he sensed something was wrong.

The next moment, a bloodcurdling scream came from behind him. The seemingly harmless Namikaze Minato had driven a kunai precisely into the Cloud Ninja's chest, blood spurting forth.

And the "Anbu Captain" before him, sliced through by the blade, vanished with a "poof" into a puff of white smoke.

The surviving Cloud Ninja was stunned by the sudden reversal. Before he could react, a pair of large hands burst from the ground, reaching for his ankles.