Tracking!

"Wait, what is this sudden palpitation? Am I just worrying over nothing, or has something truly happened?"

Li, who was almost home, was suddenly struck by a sense of unease. Though it lasted only a fleeting moment, it left him flustered, and he pulled back the foot he had been about to set inside his doorway.

"Could it be that something has actually happened to Kushina Uzumaki?"

The more he thought about it, the more panicked Li became. Finally, he gritted his teeth and turned back. After all, Konoha was only so big; if he was just worrying over nothing, he could treat it as a walk to clear his head. However, even as he thought this, the closer he got to Kushina Uzumaki's residence, the more frantic his heart beat. His pace quickened unconsciously, eventually breaking into a full sprint.

Upon arriving at Kushina Uzumaki's home, Li immediately saw that the courtyard gate, which had been tightly shut, was now wide open. Without a second thought, he rushed inside and looked around; the courtyard was deathly quiet.

"Kushina Uzumaki!" Li gritted his teeth, knowing that something had likely gone wrong. He had only just left; even if Kushina Uzumaki wanted to rest, she would have needed at least half an hour to wash up. But it had only been ten minutes, and now the courtyard was empty, and her bedroom door was thrown wide open. Li ran over to look inside—there was no one there, and even the bedding was perfectly neat.

"Sand Ninja!" A flash of killing intent crossed Li's eyes. Kushina Uzumaki was his reverse scale; no one was allowed to touch her. Without hesitation, Li vaulted out of the house and chose a path to pursue them. To avoid the heavily guarded areas of Konoha, there was only one route: the path leading to the back mountains. That territory was near the Uchiha clan grounds, a place Konoha didn't care to manage and the Uchiha didn't bother to oversee.

Sure enough, not long after entering the back mountains, Li spotted a strand of red hair on the ground. Amidst the withered branches, this red hair was striking. Li picked it up, knowing he was on the right track.

Ding! Main quest issued: Rescue the kidnapped Kushina Uzumaki. Quest completion reward: 5,000 points. Quest failure: Deduct 5,000 points from the host. If points are insufficient, items of equivalent value will be deducted!

Hearing the system prompt, Li narrowed his eyes slightly. He had no extra thoughts; right now, he only wanted to save Kushina Uzumaki, even if this quest didn't exist.

"Haha, the ninjas of Konoha are truly stupid. They think that by keeping an eye on Elder Chiyo and the others, they can prevent everything. Little do they know, in order to seize this perfect jinchuriki, a large group of ninjas is already waiting outside Konoha. Now, as long as we complete this mission brilliantly, we will surely be received by the Kazekage upon returning to the village. Our good days are coming!" The Sand Ninja carrying the bound Kushina Uzumaki couldn't help but laugh triumphantly. He really hadn't expected the mission to succeed so easily.

"Hmph, the Hokage of Konoha is probably still staring at Elder Chiyo and the others right now!" the other ninja chimed in.

The Sand Ninja's plan was simple: when they came to sign the war reparations treaty, they split into two groups. One group was led by Elder Chiyo, who was responsible for signing the treaty, while the other was responsible for kidnapping Kushina Uzumaki. Of course, these two genin were only meant to scout the path. Even if discovered, they could make excuses to muddle through; after all, they were only genin, and if Konoha didn't want to start a war, they wouldn't pursue it too deeply. But clearly, the two genin wanted to earn merit, and seeing that Kushina Uzumaki had no guards around her, they simply snatched her away.

With her hands and feet bound and a rag stuffed in her mouth, Kushina Uzumaki struggled constantly, emitting muffled, sobbing sounds. She felt deeply aggrieved; she hadn't expected that shortly after Li warned her before leaving, someone would come to kidnap her.

I wonder if Li will come to save me? Did he see the hair I left behind? But that should be impossible. Li has already gone home; he might even be sleeping comfortably right now. No one in Konoha likes me, and no one takes me seriously. The hair I left behind will probably just be blown away by the wind in the end! The more she thought about it, the more aggrieved Kushina Uzumaki felt. Her eyes were red and swollen; if her mouth hadn't been stuffed, she would have been crying by now.

"I'm very close now; they should be just ahead!" After picking up another strand of hair from the ground, Li felt a lingering warmth. Clearly, it had been dropped only a short while ago. Thinking of this, Li didn't delay and increased his speed once more. He was not far from the outer perimeter of Konoha now; if he didn't hurry, the chance to rescue Kushina Uzumaki would become a distant hope.

In the forest just outside Konoha, dozens of ninjas were hiding behind tree trunks, vigilantly watching the village entrance. They were waiting for the right moment to smuggle Kushina Uzumaki out in one go.

"We're almost out of Konoha. Once we leave, our mission will be a perfect success. Lord Kazekage will definitely promote us!"

Hearing the ninja's words, Kushina Uzumaki felt so anxious that tears were about to spill. She knew that she likely had no hope of being saved today. Once they left Konoha, even if the Konoha ninjas discovered she was missing, it was a question of whether they would come to save her, and even if they wanted to, there would be no way to track them.

"That's far enough, you rats!"

At that moment, Li finally arrived. With a leap, he landed in front of the two genin, blocking their path. After such a long pursuit, Li was slightly out of breath. Fortunately, he exercised his stamina daily; otherwise, he really wouldn't have known if he could have caught up to them.

"Mmph! Mmph!"

Seeing Li appear, Kushina Uzumaki's eyes widened. She wanted to call for help in her excitement, but with her mouth stuffed, she could only emit muffled, indistinct whimpers.

"Kushina Uzumaki!" Seeing Kushina Uzumaki tied up like a dumpling with a cloth strip in her mouth, Li's eyes flared. He looked at the two Sand Ninja and said coldly, "I'll give you two choices. First, release that girl right now and commit suicide. Second, let me slaughter you myself!"

The two Sand Ninja had been a bit afraid when they were intercepted, thinking the Konoha ninjas had discovered them. But upon seeing it was just a small brat, they both laughed. The Sand Ninja carrying Kushina Uzumaki pointed at Li and said to his companion with disdain, "Hey, this guy who doesn't even have a forehead protector wants us to commit suicide. Did I hear wrong, or did he speak wrong?"

At a glance, Li looked like a six or seven-year-old kid, the kind who hadn't even finished school yet. For such a brat to tell them to commit suicide was as ridiculous as a lamb telling a tiger to do the same.

"You go, or should I?" the ninja not carrying Kushina Uzumaki tilted his head and laughed at his companion.