Kidnapping

"Bastard! Abusive, power-tripping bureaucrat dogs! Damn it!!"

Rain-Fire Border.

A Konoha ninja squad was escorting battlefield supplies when one of the girls cursed as she kicked at the weeds by the roadside.

Bang!

She had not noticed the stone hidden in the clump of weeds, and her toes made solid, intimate contact with it.

Although she kicked the stone away, her toes, unreinforced by Chakra, turned red. The faint pain only made her angrier.

"Damn Uchiha!!"

"Mikoto... aren't you insulting yourself too?"

The girl beside her said, "Sensei said this wasn't Lord Kamizuki's request. Besides, transporting supplies is an important mission too."

"We're clearly the same age. Isn't calling him 'Lord' way too strange?"

"Hehe, maybe after a while, we'll have to call you Lady Mikoto."

The girl draped an arm over her shoulders and smiled. "You're a genius who awakened the Three Tomoe Sharingan!"

"Don't people always say that even jonin wouldn't dare fight a Three Tomoe Uchiha one-on-one?"

Mikoto's cheeks reddened slightly, and she shook her head. "That's too exaggerated... I don't even know what happened then..."

After awakening her Three Tomoe in that burst of intense emotion, Mikoto had passed out because she could not bear the strain. It was a sign that her body could not withstand the Pupil Power.

If there had not been so many witnesses, even she would not have known that she had awakened the Three Tomoe.

As she spoke, the girl looked at Mikoto's reddened toes peeking out from her ninja sandals. "Come to think of it, you and Lord Kamizuki are twins. Don't you have that terrifying physical constitution too?"

Mikoto shook her head. "No..."

"Actually... when I was little, some people in the clan said that I took away his talent for learning ninjutsu. Especially now..."

"They think that if my brother could use ninjutsu normally, he might have become a legendary powerhouse. They think I held him back."

"I really want to prove... that I'm not a burden to him!"

"Mm! I believe you'll definitely become an even greater ninja than Lord Kamizuki!" the girl said with a smile.

"Thank you, Ayaka!"

"Forget surpassing him. Face reality—Kamizuki is on a completely different level from us."

The young ninja walking ahead gave a soft snort, his eyes filled with unwillingness. "After becoming a ninja and encountering other strong people, you understand even more clearly just how far he has gone."

"He's a great figure who stands alongside Lord White Fang, renowned throughout the Shinobi World. We're just grunts transporting supplies."

"Heh... Mikoto, you're different. With his protection, you'll become one of the village's higher-ups sooner or later."

Ayaka stomped her foot in displeasure. "That's far too discouraging! Yoshino, have a little faith in yourself! As long as we work hard, we can definitely do it!"

Yoshino had a blade of grass in his mouth and curled his lips. "If hard work mattered, there wouldn't be such a thing as genius."

As they walked, Mikoto suddenly sensed that something was wrong and moved to the front of the group.

"What is it?"

Yoshino's expression tightened, and Ayaka moved closer from behind. The three formed a small defensive formation.

The Sharingan appeared. Mikoto still could not properly endure the Pupil Power of the Three Tomoe, and a stabbing pain rose in her head.

"It's too quiet. Something's wrong. Let me—"

Whoosh!!

The sound had barely stopped when Mikoto turned around in disbelief. Ayaka was gripping a kunai, one end buried in Mikoto's waist.

A companion who had spent more than half a year with her and cared for her deeply had actually attacked her!

Ayaka's hand trembled, and tears streamed uncontrollably down her face. "I'm sorry... I'm sorry, Mikoto..."

"For—"

Slash!!

Mikoto spun around, her short blade slicing across Ayaka's throat as blood sprayed into the air.

I don't want to hear your reasons.

The crying girl's eyes lost focus, and her body fell backward.

Mikoto did not look at her again. Her scarlet eyes turned toward Yoshino.

Yoshino voluntarily stepped back two paces. "It wasn't me. If you don't trust me—"

"Get down!"

Mikoto lunged forward, pressing one hand onto Yoshino's shoulder as her short blade cleaved toward the ninja behind him.

Thud—

Yoshino turned around and stared at the dead ninja, still shaken.

"That forehead protector... Why are Kumogakure ninja here? Has the Land of Lightning joined the war too?!"

Mikoto pulled out the kunai. The wound was not deep, but the numbness spreading through it... was poison!

One figure after another emerged from the dense forest, forming an encirclement.

"Calling it joining the war would be an exaggeration. This is merely revenge."

A tall Kumogakure ninja stepped forward and said in a deep voice, "Uchiha Kamizuki killed my family. I want him to experience the pain of losing family."

"Originally, I intended to kill you... but unfortunately."

"Hehe."

Mikoto sneered, her bloodstained hand gripping the hilt of her blade. "You couldn't deal with my brother, so you could only target his little sister."

"No need to use such high-sounding excuses. You're nothing but cowards who bully the weak and fear the strong."

"You're right, if you want to put it that way."

The Kumogakure ninja charged at her, his face twisted viciously. "If you want to blame someone, blame yourself for being the weaker one!!"

—

—

Konoha.

While the outside world was tearing itself apart, Konoha Village still looked as peaceful as a secluded paradise.

The Konoha villagers carried out their usual bullying, and Bloody Habanero gave them their usual lesson.

Kushina tidied her messy hair. Today's little punks had not been much of a challenge. They said they would bring their ninja brothers tomorrow—hopefully that would be more interesting.

Still...

She casually glanced at the cherry blossom tree by the street.

Whenever she was bullied, there would always be that annoying blond guy standing there.

She heard he had graduated early... How nice.

I want to become a ninja and go out to have fun soon too, but the Third Hokage won't allow it. Hmph! Stubborn old man!

I'll ask Sister Tsunade when she comes back...

When Kushina returned to the empty house, she habitually called out that she was home, but no one answered.

A trace of loneliness appeared on her little face.

Grandma Mito was gone, Sister Tsunade had gone to the battlefield, and even Nawaki, who occasionally came to play with her, was...

It was so lonely.

Suddenly.

The Uzumaki Clan's innate senses made her notice unfamiliar, icy Chakra suddenly appearing in the air.

"Motoha! Gunxi! Is anyone there?!"

She called out the names of her guards, but received no response.

She abruptly looked up and met several pairs of cold eyes.

Their faces were covered by masks, most of their bodies hidden in the darkness. The forehead protectors they wore reflected the faint twilight.

That was...

Kushina's pupils shrank sharply as agonizing memories from several years ago flooded her mind—the village being destroyed, her clansmen being slaughtered.

Kumogakure!!

"You—"

Before she could finish speaking, several Kumogakure ninja rushed forward. One flashed behind her, drove a knee into her spine, and forced her to the ground, while another struck the back of her neck with a precise hand chop.

Kushina's hands were tightly bound, just like back then...

She tried to gather Chakra and resist, but she had only recently become the Nine-Tails' jinchuriki. To stabilize the seal, most of her power was being used to suppress the Nine-Tails, leaving her unable to use it at all.

Moreover, the Kumogakure ninja who attacked were all jonin-level elites. Against her, someone who could not even use ninjutsu, it was a complete crushing victory.

"Got her!"

Moonlight shone through the window frame, illuminating the wreckage scattered throughout the room.