Minato, could it be that you...

"Hmm?" Jiancheng sat up in his sleep, suddenly feeling a premonition, and left his room still wearing his pajamas.

Emerging alongside him were Lanyu and two other Uchiha jonin who were currently within the clan grounds.

After the four of them came out, they all looked toward the direction of the Forest of Death and activated their Sharingan...

If they didn't have the Sharingan, looking in that direction would reveal nothing but a normal night sky, but through the perspective of the Sharingan, a bright, shimmering red orb—resembling a Sharingan—had risen there!

"A clansman calling for help? Inside Konoha?" Lanyu frowned at the sight.

"It's the direction of the Forest of Death... Could a young clansman have wandered in by mistake?" Jiancheng speculated.

"Clan head, it might be a conspiracy by Shimura!"

An anxious jonin spoke up immediately.

"Don't talk nonsense... Lanyu and I will go take a look; you all stay put in the clan grounds." Although Jiancheng had his own doubts, he didn't believe the Konoha higher-ups would truly act against the Uchiha or go so far as to start a conflict with them.

Immediately, Jiancheng and Lanyu rushed to the outskirts of the Forest of Death.

"Hmm? This is... left behind by Akaseki... Who is it?" Lanyu said, seemingly sensing something. He looked to the side, and the three tomoe of his Three-Tomoe Sharingan showed faint signs of converging.

Just then, a young Uchiha, also possessing a Three-Tomoe Sharingan, stepped out from the shadows.

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

Seeing that it was Kagami Uchiha, Lanyu finally relaxed.

"Kagami... did you also come because you sensed a clansman's warning?" Lanyu asked.

"No, I was already here. I saw that child's warning, so I waited for you," Kagami said cryptically.

"What exactly is going on? Where is Akaseki? Who is the enemy?" Jiancheng frowned.

"It's people from Kumogakure. They broke through the barrier and three ninja snuck in."

Before Kagami could finish, Lanyu couldn't help but interrupt: "Kumogakure? They still dare to set their sights on our Uchiha? What is the Third Hokage thinking? Don't forget, if it weren't for us before..."

"Brother Lanyu!" Kagami interrupted: "Don't be impulsive, let me finish... Their target is, of course, not our Uchiha clan, but that orphan of the Uzumaki Clan. After Lord Third discovered them, he wanted to take the opportunity to test whether she is suitable to be the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, which is why he is only tailing them and hasn't acted yet."

"As for that child, Akaseki... it was just a coincidence," Kagami said with a hint of gratification—at the very least, this proved that Akaseki was a warm-hearted person.

This scene, including the Third Hokage himself, was being observed by everyone.

"So, Akaseki just happened to discover the enemy's tracks, and after leaving the Warning Eye, he followed them himself?" Jiancheng understood now.

Since Akaseki was still able to leave the Warning Eye, he certainly hadn't been captured along with them.

"More or less," Kagami said somewhat vaguely.

The situation was roughly like that, though with a slight discrepancy—what Akaseki had discovered wasn't the Kumogakure ninja, but rather Minato Namikaze, who had found the red hair strands Kushina Uzumaki left along the way, and Akaseki had then discovered Minato, who was in pursuit.

Otherwise, the Kumogakure ninja had actually already spotted Akaseki, who appeared to be resting at the time, but they didn't act because they confirmed he wasn't awake.

As for why Konoha allowed Minato and Akaseki to follow without immediately intervening to save her?

The answer lay in the question itself...

"The Third... Heh, to actually use such a thing as a test for a Jinchuriki?" Lanyu said with a hint of sarcasm.

"No, he just wants to see if she is suitable to be a Jinchuriki. If she isn't..." Kagami offered an explanation on behalf of the Third.

"If she isn't, then accept our suggestion and let our Uchiha clan be the Jinchuriki, how about that? After all, once you awaken the Mangekyo Sharingan, you can suppress the power of a Tailed Beast!" Lanyu said bluntly.

Kagami: ...

Give the Uchiha the power to control a Tailed Beast?

The hardware was fine, but the software... In the eyes of others, the Uchiha clansmen were all mentally ill!

An Uchiha Jinchuriki?

Maybe it would be better to just set the Nine-Tails free...

Even for Kushina Uzumaki, who was personally taught by Mito, the Third Hokage didn't fully trust her.

This "suspicion" wasn't about whether she would defect, but a doubt regarding her temperament—as a Jinchuriki, the baseline requirement was the "hardware," meaning the body, but what needed to be tested more was the "software," meaning her mental fortitude.

The Third Hokage had discovered the infiltrating Cloud Ninja from the start, but he wanted to take the opportunity to observe Kushina's subsequent reactions.

And after discovering that Minato had followed, the Third was actually somewhat pleased—if the Jinchuriki had significant bonds with others, that would be for the best...

Therefore, he didn't stop Minato and instead continued to tail them.

And then...

Akaseki had actually followed as well?

Although Shimura Danzō immediately wanted to stop him and warned the Third that it was extremely dangerous to let the Uchiha clan get involved with the Jinchuriki, the Third, after a moment of hesitation, still didn't agree and simply continued to tail them.

At this moment, Akaseki was in the Forest of Death, tracking the traces left behind by the "enemy"...

Although the Sharingan was not the Byakugan and could not see distant scenes, it was capable of "detailed observation." Combined with the knowledge he had learned in his tracking classes, Akaseki was able to track them along the way.

"Hmm?"

Akaseki had not been following for long when he suddenly discovered that the tracks had vanished.

The next moment...

Without any warning, Akaseki drew the kunai from his leg holster and thrust it behind him!

Clap—

The opponent blocked his wrist and immediately whispered, "Shh! It's me!"

Only then did Akaseki realize that the person sneaking into the Forest of Death was none other than... Minato Namikaze!

"Are you... planning to become a rogue ninja?" Akaseki exclaimed in shock.

Minato: ...

"Get a grip! Even though we of the Uchiha Clan are uniquely gifted and talented, ninja aptitude has always varied; it's not like you ordinary people can't be ninjas!" Akaseki immediately scolded.

Minato wanting to become a rogue ninja...

Could it be that he is actually still jealous of me?

Hearing Akaseki's words, even Minato couldn't keep his composure: "I... what kind of nonsense is that! It's Kushina..."

"Kushina Uzumaki? She..." Akaseki paused upon hearing this.

"Kushina is in danger. Hurry and search along the path for any more red strands of hair!" Minato interrupted before Akaseki could label Kushina a rogue ninja as well.

Minato wasn't directly tracking the enemy, but had discovered clues left behind by Kushina. He had been a step slow in finding the hair here, which was why Akaseki had caught up...

Although he didn't fully understand the situation yet, Akaseki nodded immediately upon hearing Minato's words: "Leave it to me!"

Through the perspective of his Sharingan, Akaseki immediately spotted a red strand of hair imbued with lingering Chakra about a hundred meters away, which must have been torn off only moments ago...