Minato, Could It Be That You...

"Hm?" Jiancheng suddenly sat up in his sleep, sensing something. Still in his pajamas, he left his room.

Lanyu and two other Uchiha Jonin who were staying in the clan compound came out as well.

The four of them looked toward the Forest of Death and activated their Sharingan...

Without the Sharingan, they would have seen nothing but an ordinary night sky. But through the Sharingan, a bright red orb had appeared, shimmering like an eye!

"Is a clan member calling for help? Here in Konoha?" Lanyu frowned at the sight.

"It's coming from the Forest of Death... Could a young clan member have wandered in there by mistake?" Jiancheng speculated.

"Clan head, this could be one of Shimura's schemes!"

One of the Jonin immediately voiced his concern.

"Don't jump to conclusions... Lanyu and I will go take a look. The rest of you stay here in the compound." Jiancheng had his own doubts, but he couldn't believe that Konoha High Command would really turn against the Uchiha, let alone start a fight with them.

Jiancheng and Lanyu hurried to the outskirts of the Forest of Death.

"Hmm? This is... something Akaseki left behind... Who's there?" Lanyu said. Seeming to sense something, he immediately looked to the side. The three tomoe in his Three-Tomoe Sharingan began to draw together.

Just then, a young Uchiha with a Three-Tomoe Sharingan emerged from the shadows.

"Brother Lanyu, it's me," Kagami said.

Seeing that it was Kagami Uchiha, Lanyu finally relaxed.

"Kagami... Did you come because you sensed a clan member's warning, too?" Lanyu asked.

"No, I was already here. I saw that kid give the warning, so I waited for you." Kagami's words seemed to come out of nowhere.

"What happened? Where's Akaseki? Who's the enemy?" Jiancheng asked with a frown.

"People from Kumogakure broke through the barrier and snuck in. There are three of them."

Kagami had barely started when Lanyu cut him off. "Kumogakure? They dare set their sights on the Uchiha? What does the Third Hokage think? Let's not forget, if it weren't for us back then—"

"Brother Lanyu!" Kagami interrupted him. "Don't get worked up. Let me finish... Their target obviously isn't the Uchiha Clan. It's that orphan from the Uzumaki Clan. After the Third Hokage discovered them, he wanted to use this opportunity to see whether she was suitable to become the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. That's why they're only following her and haven't acted yet."

"As for Akaseki... he just happened to be there." Kagami sounded somewhat relieved. At least it proved that Akaseki was a kindhearted person.

Everyone had seen what happened, including the Third Hokage.

"So Akaseki just happened to discover the enemy's trail, left a Warning Eye, and followed them on his own?" Jiancheng understood now.

Since Akaseki had been able to leave a Warning Eye, he couldn't have been captured along with the others.

"More or less." Kagami was a little vague.

That was roughly what had happened, but there were a few differences. Akaseki hadn't discovered the people from Kumogakure. Instead, Minato Namikaze had found the red strands of hair Kushina had dropped along the way, and Akaseki had noticed Minato following her.

Otherwise, the people from Kumogakure had actually spotted Akaseki, who seemed to be resting at the time. They had only refrained from attacking after confirming he hadn't woken up.

Why had Konoha let Minato and Akaseki follow her without immediately rescuing her?

The answer was right there in the question...

"The Third Hokage... Heh. He actually made this kind of thing a test for a Jinchuriki?" Lanyu said scornfully.

"No, he only wanted to see whether she was suitable to be a Jinchuriki. If she wasn't..." Kagami offered an explanation on the Third Hokage's behalf.

"If she isn't, then he can take our suggestion and let the Uchiha Clan become the Jinchuriki instead, right? After all, once you awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan, you can suppress a Tailed Beast's power!" Lanyu said bluntly.

Kagami: ...

Giving the Uchiha control over a Tailed Beast's power?

There wouldn't be a problem with the hardware, but the software... As it was, everyone already thought the Uchiha were all mentally unstable!

An Uchiha Jinchuriki?

Maybe they should just set the Nine-Tails free...

Even with Lady Mito personally teaching Kushina Uzumaki, the Third Hokage still didn't trust her completely.

That "doubt" wasn't about whether she would defect. It was about her temperament. The basic requirement for a Jinchuriki was the "hardware"—their body—but what needed even more scrutiny was the "software"—their character.

The Third Hokage had discovered the Cloud Ninja who had snuck in from the start. He simply wanted to use the situation to observe Kushina's reaction.

After discovering that Minato had followed her, the Third Hokage was actually pleased. If a Jinchuriki had important bonds with other people, that was ideal...

So he didn't stop Minato and instead continued following them.

And then...

Akaseki had followed them, too?

Shimura Danzō had immediately tried to stop him and warned the Third Hokage that letting the Uchiha Clan get involved with a Jinchuriki was extremely dangerous. But after hesitating briefly, the Third Hokage still refused and simply continued following them.

At that moment, Akaseki was in the Forest of Death, following the traces left by the "enemy"...

The Sharingan wasn't the Byakugan; it couldn't see things far away. But it could observe details, and combined with what Akaseki had learned in tracking class, that was enough for him to follow the trail.

"Hm?"

Akaseki hadn't followed for long when the trail suddenly disappeared.

The next moment...

Without warning, Akaseki drew the Kunai strapped to his leg and stabbed behind him!

Smack—

His opponent blocked the strike at the wrist and immediately said, "Shh! It's me!"

Only then did Akaseki realize that the person who had sneaked into the Forest of Death wasn't someone else... It was Minato Namikaze!

"Are you... going to become a rogue ninja?" Akaseki cried out in shock.

Minato: ...

"Get a grip! We Uchiha may be blessed with exceptional talent, but ninja talent varies from person to person. It's not like ordinary people can't become ninja!" Akaseki immediately scolded him.

Minato was going to become a rogue ninja...

Could he actually be jealous of me?

Hearing Akaseki's words, even Minato could barely keep his composure. "I... What are you even talking about? It's Kushina..."

"Kushina Uzumaki? What about her..." Akaseki said, stunned.

"Kushina's in danger. Hurry and look along the trail for any red strands of hair!" Minato cut him off before Akaseki could brand Kushina a rogue ninja, too.

Minato hadn't been following the enemy directly. He had found the clues Kushina had left behind. He'd been a step too slow finding her hair here, which was why Akaseki had caught up...

Akaseki still didn't fully understand what was going on, but when he heard Minato's words, he nodded immediately. "Leave it to me!"

Through the Sharingan, Akaseki quickly spotted a red strand of hair nearly a hundred meters away, with chakra still clinging to it. It must have been torn out only moments ago...