At sunset.
Tsunade had finally finished a day's worth of paperwork. She rose from her office chair and stretched lazily, her heart filled with anticipation.
Of course, she wasn't looking forward to tails and bells that evening. She was looking forward to the barbecue!
Besides, Sakumo was treating today... She was going to make sure she got her money's worth!
But before Tsunade could call out to Ye Ning, who was dozing off, a hurried knock sounded at the door.
"Lady Tsunade, Senior Minato says he has something urgent to report!"
Minato?
Something urgent?
The only emergency involving Minato that came to Tsunade's mind was one concerning Kushina, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.
Had something happened to Kushina?
Tsunade's relaxed expression instantly tightened. She hurriedly called Minato inside.
Before Minato could say a word, Tsunade anxiously asked:
"What happened to Kushina?"
Her question left Minato stunned.
Huh?
Something happened to Kushina too?
Minato shook his head sharply, quickly realizing that Tsunade had misunderstood. He hurried to explain:
"It's not Kushina. It's Obito."
"Obito?"
Tsunade searched her memory and vaguely recalled Obito's face.
"That Uchiha kid... What happened to him?"
"Obito's missing!"
Minato paused, then added:
"We agreed to meet at the training ground this morning, but Obito never showed up. So I went to the Uchiha Clan compound to check on him, only to find that he wasn't home. Kakashi and Rin have been looking for him since this morning, but they still haven't found any trace of him. They even searched the Uchiha Clan compound, but no one had seen him."
At that, Ye Ning, who had been dozing on the sofa, suddenly sat bolt upright.
The dying man sat up with a start!
"Minato, you're saying Obito's missing?"
Although he was puzzled by Ye Ning's intense reaction, Minato nodded earnestly.