Night Raid!

Uzumaki Kushina had not even stepped through the door yet, but her voice had already echoed throughout the entire courtyard. Having successfully passed the Ninja Academy graduation test, Kushina Uzumaki's face was full of smiles, her joy so overwhelming that she couldn't wait to share it with her family.

"I did it! Kuming, Grandma, Sister Tsunade, I did it!" Another deafening shout rang out, and when she received no response, Kushina Uzumaki shouted even louder this time.

"Boom!"

Just as Kushina thought there was no one home, a commotion erupted from the dojo. Hearing the strange noise, she immediately ran toward the training hall.

"Rip!" The door to the dojo was pulled open by Kushina. The very moment it slid aside, a figure flew out rapidly from within, soaring directly into the courtyard.

"Boom!"

"What was that?" Kushina Uzumaki only felt something flash before her eyes; she hadn't seen clearly what it was at all. When she turned back, she was shocked to see Uzumaki Kuming lying on his back in the yard, the immense force of his impact having left a depression in the lawn.

"Kuming? Why is it you? Are you alright?" Seeing her younger brother in such a disheveled state, Kushina's heart tightened, and she asked with concern.

"Clatter!"

"Damn, Grandma is taking this a bit too seriously..."

Uzumaki Kuming struggled to crawl out of the crater, small clumps of dirt falling from his body as he moved. He sat up, shook his head slightly, and then stood up as if nothing had happened.

"I'm fine, it's nothing."

"Sister, did I hear you say you passed the school's graduation test?"

Just as Uzumaki Kuming spoke, Uzumaki Mito stepped out from the dojo. Despite having just acted as a sparring partner for Kuming, Mito was still wearing her long dress. Residual fluctuations of chakra still lingered in the dojo, yet Mito's clothes were perfectly neat, looking nothing like someone who had just finished a battle.

In contrast, Uzumaki Kuming looked much more battered, his clothes riddled with holes and his face and arms covered in minor scrapes.

"Oh? Kushina is back? Has the test been passed?"

The once stern-faced Mito immediately broke into a smile upon seeing Kushina at the door. She reached out to pat Kushina's small head, crouching down slightly to ask, while simultaneously beckoning Kuming to come over.

"Kuming, your chakra control still needs improvement. During our sparring just now, I noticed you were still wasting far too much chakra."

"That kind of combat habit is not a good one, you know."

Seeing Kuming arrive before her, Mito placed her palm against his chest. A deep green light emanated from her hand, and the wounds on Kuming's body healed at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Kuming nodded thoughtfully at Mito's words, though he quickly pushed those concerns to the back of his mind. He asked Kushina excitedly, "Sister, you passed the exam, right? Did you get the forehead protector? Can I see it?"

Kuming felt quite thrilled; as a veteran anime fan, he was genuinely looking forward to seeing the real thing, given the special symbolic significance of the forehead protector.

"Of course I passed~ Here, this is the forehead protector!" Kushina hadn't been wearing it when she returned, but hearing her brother's interest, she immediately took it out of her pocket and placed it in Kuming's hands.

Looking at the slightly heavy forehead protector in his palm, Uzumaki Kuming couldn't help but drift into a daze. Mito and Kushina ignored his distraction and began chatting amongst themselves.

"So this is the forehead protector? It's a bit different from the ones I bought back in the day."

"I wonder where one could get an Akatsuki cloud cloak? If I could wear that, it would look incredibly cool!"

"Good stuff, though it would look even sharper with a slash across it!"

As Kuming stared at the forehead protector, all sorts of strange ideas bubbled up in his mind.

"Since you're back, let's have dinner. Today is your birthday, and also a big day for you to officially become a ninja."

"To celebrate, I've already arranged a grand feast!"

"Come, come, let's go eat."

Mito smiled warmly, taking Kushina's hand and heading toward the dining room. Hearing this, Kuming suppressed the urge to scratch a line across the forehead protector and immediately followed them. He had spent the entire afternoon practicing taijutsu with Mito, and his stomach was already growling.

To celebrate Kushina becoming a genin, Mito had arranged for the help to prepare a meal early, and even the usually busy Tsunade had returned home for the occasion. Everyone enjoyed the dinner thoroughly, and afterward, Kuming went alone to the hidden compartment in the study to delve into sealing jutsu.

It must be said that in the study of ninjutsu, Kuming—who had transmigrated into this world—showed patience and interest far beyond his peers. Most children were restless, and very few could sit quietly to read, let alone sit still to study complex sealing jutsu; at his age, there wasn't a second one like him.

Kuming's mature mindset gave him a massive advantage at the start of his ninjutsu training. While other children were still playing and only just encountering ninjutsu at the age of eight, he had already been studying for four or five years. It was foreseeable that when Kuming entered the Ninja Academy, he would undoubtedly be another world-renowned genius.

"That kid is really interested in sealing jutsu, isn't he?" Tsunade lay lazily on the tatami mat, picking her teeth with a bamboo toothpick after a satisfying meal. Beside her, Kushina was diligently refining her chakra.

"Yeah, I don't know why, but he's always had such a passion for ninjutsu."

Although Kushina had her eyes closed while refining chakra, she didn't miss a beat in her conversation with Tsunade.

"Strange little brat."

"Well, Kushina, I'm going to rest now. You should get to sleep early too~"

In Konoha, now shrouded in night, evening activities were actually very limited. People who had finished dinner either walked around the village to digest their food or returned home early to engage in activities couples enjoyed. Tsunade, who neither liked to stroll nor had a partner, was bored to the point of drowsiness after her meal.

"Okay~" Kushina gave Tsunade a sweet smile and watched her leave the room.

Meanwhile, at the other end of the courtyard, Kuming was busy flipping through the sealing jutsu scrolls passed down through the generations of the Uzumaki Clan in the hidden room of the study.

"My study of sealing jutsu has hit a bottleneck. If I want to improve my strength quickly, I can't just hang myself from one tree."

"With Mito's help, my taijutsu is improving at a decent pace, but without having fought against peers, I have no idea where I truly stand."

"Judging by Kushina's current strength, she shouldn't be far from genin level."

"In an era like this, it's impossible to survive without some real power!"

Uzumaki Kuming had been in this world for four full years. Although he had lived a secluded life, seizing every opportunity to become stronger, a vague sense of crisis had always lingered in his heart. As Kushina grew older day by day, Kuming could feel that crisis creeping closer and closer.

Konoha began to settle into the deep of night. The streets were largely deserted, and only a few sparse streetlamps along the main thoroughfares remained lit, leaving the entire village in a heavy, silent stillness.

Kushina Uzumaki had long since fallen asleep, and Kuming, slumped over his desk in the dark study, had also drifted off, his head heavy with exhaustion.

"Whoosh!" Under the moonlight, a dark figure flickered through the night. After a few agile leaps, the silhouette landed softly within the grounds of the Uzumaki residence. The figure seemed intimately familiar with the layout of the estate, navigating through the shadows with ease until reaching the door to Kushina Uzumaki's room.

"This is the place!" A low, masculine voice emanated from the shadow. The man carefully slid the door open, then lunged toward Kushina, subduing her in an instant.

"Wha—" Kushina jolted awake from her slumber, but the moment she opened her eyes, a sharp chop to the neck rendered her unconscious. Yet, the very moment the man had breached the estate, Kuming, sleeping in the dark study, had already sensed his presence.

Although the intruder's movements were minimal and his actions highly covert, within the range of Kuming's Mind's Eye, the intruder stood out as clearly as a full moon in the dark of night.

"An intruder?" Kuming snapped awake. He sensed the intruder quickly reach Kushina's room and then immediately depart with her in tow.

"How is this possible? This is the residence of Mito Uzumaki; who could possibly bypass the barrier here?"

Anxious, Kuming forced himself to calm down instantly. He had been about to dash toward Kushina's room, but halfway there, he realized something didn't add up and abruptly changed course, sprinting toward Mito Uzumaki's room instead.

"Rip!"

"Grandma Mito! Sister has been abducted!" Kuming anxiously slid open Mito Uzumaki's door, but upon entering, he was met with an empty room. The bedding was neatly laid out on the tatami mats, and there was clearly no one sleeping there.

"Not here? How can this be?" Kuming stared at the scene in the room, stunned for a moment. Then, gritting his teeth and steeling his resolve, he leaped onto the roof. After carefully sensing the residual chakra left by the enemy, he gave chase in the direction they had fled. Though young, Kuming was already highly proficient in the manipulation of chakra.

Using chakra to traverse the rooftops was child's play for him.

Kuming whistled across the rooftops, his body wreathed in faint flickers of lightning with every leap. Despite his small stature, his speed was remarkable. Before long, he could clearly sense Kushina's chakra once again.

"Caught up! There are actually this many of them?" Kuming's Mind's Eye range had expanded to a radius of 40 meters, and his sensory field was so subtle that those within it remained completely unaware of his presence. While there had been only one intruder earlier, the enemies had now converged.

It was a four-man ninja squad, and the leader was none other than the Kumogakure delegation envoy who had visited the Ninja Academy that morning.

Kuming slowed his pace from a distance. The enemy had the advantage in numbers, and he knew he stood no chance in a direct confrontation. All he could do now was trail them from afar and leave markers along the way.

This scenario—why does it feel like something from the original story? How was the crisis resolved back then? As the enemies regrouped, they clearly paused to rest and discuss their plan for exiting the village, giving Kuming just enough time to think. The abduction tonight was steeped in strangeness.

For the enemy to pull off such a feat in the heavily guarded Konoha, and to ignore Mito Uzumaki's defensive barrier to enter the residence so easily, the entire affair reeked of something abnormal. Furthermore, it was too convenient that Mito wasn't home; under normal circumstances, she would never leave the estate so easily.

Besides, it was the middle of the night. Even if Mito were busy, she would still be sleeping. It was impossible that a ninja of her caliber had been sent out of the village on a mission by the Third Hokage.

"The Third?" At this thought, a flash of inspiration struck Kuming. He seemed to grasp why such a bizarre event had occurred tonight.

"Could it be?" Just as Kuming was pondering, the enemy made their move. The four-man squad, carrying the unconscious Kushina, dashed rapidly toward the village gates. Sensing their intent to leave, Kuming prepared to give chase, but the moment he took a step forward, he felt someone grab him from behind.

Silent and soundless, a figure had appeared behind him, seizing him just as he was about to depart. Kuming's Mind's Eye hadn't detected the person at all.

"Who goes there!" The sudden situation caused Kuming's nerves to snap taut. Without even looking back, he lashed out with a kick aimed at the person's groin.

"Smack!" The kick was blocked. Kuming used the momentum to roll forward, putting distance between himself and his original position. As he did, he caught a glimpse of the person.

"Grandma Mito? It's you!"