Rescue Mission

"Whether a ninjutsu is powerful or weak, it is a good ninjutsu as long as it can defeat the opponent. Furthermore, there are no weak ninjutsu, only weak ninja."

"A C-rank ninjutsu, in the hands of an expert, can erupt with power exceeding S-rank. I hope you can make good use of every ninjutsu you have learned." Hiruzen Sarutobi taught Qingyun time and time again, leaving a warmth in Qingyun's heart.

The image of the weak and incompetent old man from the original work did not match the person before him at all.

"After this period of study, you have improved a great deal. Next, there is something I must entrust to you! I am issuing a mission to you." Hiruzen Sarutobi was very direct, handing a scroll straight to Qingyun.

Qingyun felt a bit strange, as previous missions had always been assigned to squads, yet this time, it was only him.

Qingyun read the contents of the scroll and said with some urgency, "What!? Teacher, why didn't you tell me about such a major matter sooner?"

The scroll in Qingyun's hand was actually a distress signal. This signal was clearly the one used by his own squad, which meant that his team had encountered some kind of danger.

"I only received it a short while ago. Kushina Uzumaki of our village's Uzumaki Clan has been abducted, and Minato went to rescue her. Who would have thought that so much time has passed without a single reply."

"Minato left in a hurry without completing any of the village's departure procedures, so Danzo is trying to label him a missing-nin." The Third Hokage said with some embarrassment.

This? Danzo is truly tiresome! Qingyun couldn't help but think to himself. How is it that this guy has to make everyone feel disgusted?

"Minato is the hope of Konoha, and I trust him. It is not appropriate for the Anbu to handle such matters, so I hope the two of you can complete this mission together," Hiruzen Sarutobi said.

"The two of us? Besides me, who else is there?" Qingyun asked.

"It is, of course, me."

Qingyun turned his head and found that Senju Yoshihime, with her purple hair, was already waiting there.

"How is it that your presence is almost non-existent?" Qingyun was somewhat surprised. After all, he considered himself a sensory-type ninja; even though his attention was on the Third Hokage, he should have noticed her.

"You have been training desperately for these past few months, and I have been doing the same. My strength has also made significant progress." Yoshihime was not lying; Qingyun could clearly see that her chakra was even more vigorous than before.

"Rescue Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki! The mission rank is tentatively set at B-rank! But you are very likely to encounter powerful ninja! You must be careful!" Hiruzen Sarutobi cautioned.

"Teacher, who exactly abducted Kushina? And in which direction did Minato head?" Qingyun immediately asked the most critical questions.

Yoshihime said, "Qingyun, follow me."

She then grabbed Qingyun and ran toward the edge of the village. Upon reaching the perimeter, Yoshihime pointed to a tree in the middle and said, "Minato and I were fighting there. Minato discovered something, and then he ran off toward the southeast."

"What did Minato discover?" Qingyun immediately walked to the side of the tree and discovered what appeared to be some red hair on the ground.

Red hair? It must be Kushina Uzumaki's hair. These are likely clues she left behind on purpose, Qingyun thought.

"What is this?" Qingyun noticed some footprints on the ground and utilized his One-Tomoe Sharingan to examine them.

There were only two sets of footprints, which indicated that there was only one person who kidnapped Kushina, and the other was Minato.

A single person dared to come directly to Konoha to kidnap Kushina? And they succeeded? This person's strength must be formidable, and to be so confident suggests they are definitely a seasoned ninja, Qingyun analyzed carefully.

"They headed toward the southeast?" Qingyun shook his head and asked, "Yoshihime, did you see with your own eyes that Minato ran toward the southeast?"

"Yes, because it was urgent, he ran straight toward the southeast," Yoshihime said.

It is very likely he left some clues. Qingyun believed that although Minato was anxious, he had not lost his composure; otherwise, he would not have become Hokage in the original story.

Heading toward the southeast, Qingyun indeed discovered Minato's signals on a tree.

These were the standard navigation signals for Konoha ninja. Qingyun and Yoshihime naturally trusted them implicitly and followed the direction Minato had indicated.

However, this time, they had not traveled long before Qingyun and Yoshihime realized they had walked into a trap.

Suddenly, they were surrounded by a group of ninja—either rogue ninja or missing-nin.

"Ha! Senju Yoshihime of Konohagakure and the Third's little disciple, Qingyun. Who would have thought you would deliver yourselves to our doorstep so easily?" the rogue ninja said smugly.

"It isn't easy to capture you inside Konoha, so we deliberately used Konoha's signals to lure you outside the village. Now, you won't be able to escape even with wings."

The rogue ninja didn't say much more; he waved his hand, and his subordinates rushed toward Qingyun and Yoshihime.

"Leave one alive! Kill the rest!" Qingyun was naturally polite when dealing with friends, but he had no mercy for enemies who dared to scheme against him.

"Fire Style: Great Flame Technique!" Qingyun opened with a powerful technique of the Sarutobi Clan, the intense fire rushing rapidly toward the enemies.

These enemies were clearly of a higher caliber; facing Qingyun's fire, they immediately used Earth Style: Earth Wall!

It was impossible for them to use Water Style; only someone like the Second Hokage could use Water Style freely on land.

The Great Flame Technique instantly scorched the Earth Wall until it was red-hot.

"Haha!" these rogue ninja said triumphantly, "Two little brats, and you dare to fight us!? You truly overestimate yourselves!"

"Ha! If you ask me, these two kids should be lying on the ground begging for mercy by now!?"

The rogue ninja were completely off-guard. In their eyes, no matter how strong a Konoha Genin was, how strong could they really be? A genius who hadn't fully grown was nothing more than a prisoner to them.

Little did they know, the scene that followed the next second made their jaws drop.

"Boom!" Qingyun slammed a heavy punch into the Earth Wall. Months of grueling training had made his physique much stronger; he already possessed Chakra Enhanced Strength, and after practicing for so long, the power had become even greater.

Qingyun didn't even use Armament Haki Hardening this time, yet he shattered the Earth Wall with a single punch.

"No way! The Earth Wall was shattered with one punch!?"