How Could You Treat a Rogue Ninja Like This!

Seeing that kunai, Yue Uchiha's eyes sharpened. His gaze locked onto the weapon instantly, and his body instinctively recoiled.

Almost at that same millisecond, a flash of golden light appeared out of thin air at the kunai's position.

Minato Namikaze's cold, stern face lifted abruptly. A violent Rasengan had already condensed in his hand, and he smashed it mercilessly toward Yue's chest!

"Caught you, Yue Uchiha!" Minato's voice was as cold as frost.

Everything happened too fast—too fast for a normal person to even react.

But just as Minato's Rasengan was about to strike Yue, an orange figure suddenly lunged from the side as if possessed!

"Don't you dare hurt him!!"

Without a second thought, Naruto pulled out a kunai, used all his strength to brace against Minato's wrist, and even threw his own body in front of Yue Uchiha.

"What?!"

Minato's azure pupils constricted violently.

His attention had been entirely on Yue Uchiha; he never expected this blonde teenager who suddenly appeared to risk his life to protect an A-rank missing-nin.

Moreover, the boy even wore the Konoha mark on his forehead.

Damn it!

If this Rasengan connected, the teenager would be dead or crippled!

In a split-second decision, Minato displayed reflexes that were beyond the reach of ordinary men.

He forcibly twisted his wrist, shifting the trajectory of the Rasengan by several inches.

"Boom!"

The Rasengan grazed Naruto's shoulder and slammed into the nearby metal wall, instantly gouging a massive crater into the thick structure as the violent airflow sent Naruto flying.

"That was close..." Minato dispelled his chakra with lingering fear, his eyes fixed on Naruto, who had been knocked to the ground by the blast.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Naruto scrambled up, looking disheveled, and roared angrily at Minato, "He just saved my life! And he's a comrade from Konoha, why would you ambush him?! And that Rasengan of yours..."

Naruto suddenly froze, staring blankly at the Konoha forehead protector on Minato's brow.

Minato froze as well.

He looked at Naruto's blonde hair, which was identical to his own, then at the Konoha forehead protector the boy wore. A strong sense of absurdity and an indescribable... familiarity welled up in his heart.

Since when did Konoha have someone like this?

"Comrade?"

Minato took a deep breath, quickly calming himself down.

He knew this wasn't the time to dwell on the boy's identity. If he didn't explain clearly, this hotheaded youth would likely be completely manipulated by Yue Uchiha.

"Kid, I don't know who you are, but you've been deceived by him."

Minato stood straight, his gaze passing over Naruto to lock onto Yue Uchiha behind him.

"He is no longer a comrade of Konoha. He is an A-rank, highly dangerous missing-nin wanted by the Konoha high command: Yue Uchiha."

"Miss... missing-nin?"

Naruto was stunned. He looked back at Yue Uchiha, his eyes full of disbelief. "Old man, he's lying, right?"

Yue Uchiha shrugged. "He isn't lying. I am indeed a missing-nin. As for why I left the village, I don't want to say."

"Wh-why?"

Naruto seemed to have suffered a massive blow. Extremely sensitive to the words "Uchiha" and "missing-nin," his voice began to tremble. "Everyone is doing just fine in Konoha, why would you have to become a missing-nin? Sasuke too..."

Seeing Naruto fall into confusion, Minato took the opportunity to step forward. "I am an Anbu of Konoha, and we are currently executing a classified mission ordered by the Third Hokage. No matter where you come from, please step aside now and do not interfere with our mission."

Naruto gritted his teeth and spread his arms, blocking the way firmly. "So what if you're Anbu? Even if he is the missing-nin you say he is, if he hadn't acted just now, I would have been sliced in two by that puppet! How can comrades of Konoha try to kill each other without even asking what happened?!"

"Naive."

Just then, Yue Uchiha's slightly mocking voice came from behind Naruto.

Minato's eyes turned cold, knowing he couldn't let this person of unknown origin disrupt the situation any further.

His figure instantly left a golden afterimage in place. Like a gale, he forcibly bypassed Naruto's defensive line, his custom kunai carrying sharp killing intent as it struck directly toward Yue Uchiha's throat!

"So fast!" Naruto couldn't even turn his head; he only felt a blur before his eyes.

"My apologies, Yue Uchiha. As for your reasons for defecting, once we return to the Konoha interrogation room, there will be plenty of time for you to explain slowly!"

"Puchi!"

Minato's movements were fluid, and the kunai pierced accurately into Yue Uchiha's shoulder.

However, the expected scene of blood spraying did not occur; there wasn't even the slightest resistance from muscle.

"Bang!"

Accompanied by a burst of blinding white smoke, the "Yue Uchiha" struck by Minato transformed into a mass of chakra with a dull thud, dissipating completely into the air.

Minato's movements stiffened abruptly, his azure pupils shrinking sharply: "Shadow Clone?!"

Not only Minato, but even Naruto, who had just turned around to intercept him, was dumbfounded. He stared blankly at the puff of white smoke as it gradually dissipated: "Old man... was that a Shadow Clone?"

Minato quickly straightened up, scanning the empty ruins around him, his expression turning grave in a rare display of seriousness.

As the "Yellow Flash" renowned throughout the ninja world, he had actually been played right in front of his own eyes by the most basic Shadow Clone technique!

Was it at the exact moment that blond kid collided with my Rasengan and kicked up all that dust that he formed the hand seals?

Minato's brain raced, instantly reconstructing the scene in his mind.

Yue Uchiha had utilized the blind spot created by Naruto's impact and the momentary chaos to not only pull off a perfect escape, but he had also deliberately left a Shadow Clone behind to spout nonsense, completely stalling the prime window for pursuit!

Escaping from the Yellow Flash twice in a row—this level of skill could rank among the elite Jonin.

"Indeed, one can never underestimate any ninja."

Minato gripped the kunai in his hand, cast a complicated look at the still-dazed Naruto, and let out a long sigh.

He couldn't exactly just leave this blockhead to his own devices.

Meanwhile, in the ancient city of Rōran, among the upper-level architectural complex hundreds of meters high.

The real Yue Uchiha moved like an agile night cat, weaving silently through the intricate, purple-black metal pipes.

"Pop."

A slight ripple stirred in his mind as he instantly received the memories transmitted back from the Shadow Clone below after it dissipated.

"Oh? Was I found out that quickly? As expected of the future Fourth Hokage; his reflexes and judgment are truly monstrous."

As Yue moved at high speed, the corners of his mouth curled upward. "Still, thanks to that blockhead Naruto's righteous intervention, this ten-second window was more than enough."

As a transmigrator with a god's-eye view, Yue Uchiha was perfectly clear about the core objective that had driven him to risk being hunted down by Minato Namikaze and infiltrate the Land of Wind alone.

The "Dragon Vein"!