Red Hair

"What?" the two exclaimed.

A sense of foreboding instantly took hold of them. An enemy invasion? And they had killed people?

But how had they bypassed the barrier and evaded the Konoha Military Police Force?

Without hesitation, Uchiha Matsuri and Minato Namikaze asked in unison, "In which direction did they go?"

"Southwest, about 1.5 kilometers away," Kiba Inuzuka replied.

Without a moment's delay, Minato Namikaze and Uchiha Matsuri bolted toward the southwest.

"Hey, wait for me!" Kiba Inuzuka shouted, immediately sprinting after them in the same direction.

One and a half kilometers to the southwest.

Standing before a desolate residence, Minato Namikaze couldn't help but freeze at the scene before him.

In front of the house, several Konoha Anbu lay scattered, their masks still on. Meanwhile, the front door stood wide open, showing clear signs of having been forced entry.

Having used the Flying Thunder God Technique, Minato Namikaze had arrived a dozen seconds before Uchiha Matsuri.

"What happened here?" A dozen seconds later, Uchiha Matsuri arrived at the residence as well. Seeing the murdered Anbu on the ground, he furrowed his brows.

After stepping forward to inspect them, Uchiha Matsuri shook his head. "These Anbu are already dead."

"Who could have launched a surprise attack on this residence and killed these Anbu in broad daylight..." Minato Namikaze muttered.

Half a minute later, Kiba Inuzuka ran up to them, panting heavily. Just as he was about to scold the two for leaving him behind, Minato Namikaze suddenly spoke up:

"Matsuri, Kiba, do you know what place this is?"

"No idea." At this, Uchiha Matsuri shook his head; he had never been to this extremely desolate and remote area before.

"I think... I think I smell Kushina Uzumaki," Kiba Inuzuka said, clutching his ninja hound.

"What, Kushina?" Minato Namikaze and Uchiha Matsuri exclaimed simultaneously.

"And Kushina's scent, along with the scent of those four strange chakras, headed toward the northeast," Kiba Inuzuka added.

"Are they Cloud Ninja?" Uchiha Matsuri whispered to himself.

If it was indeed Kushina Uzumaki, Uchiha Matsuri, having read the original Hokage series, understood the situation.

It seemed that because Kushina Uzumaki's chakra was not only powerful but also unique, it had become a target for Kumogakure of the Land of Lightning (who were struggling to control the Eight-Tails at the time). Thus, the Cloud Ninja had infiltrated Konoha to kidnap Kushina Uzumaki, who had been under constant Anbu surveillance and stripped of her freedom.

"Cloud Ninja?" Minato Namikaze asked, puzzled.

"Minato, Kiba, let's hurry and rescue Kushina," Uchiha Matsuri said urgently.

"Matsuri, have you lost your mind!" Kiba Inuzuka exclaimed upon hearing Uchiha Matsuri's plan to save Kushina Uzumaki. "They were able to kill several Anbu! We're only Genin; how could we possibly stand a chance against them?"

"How will we know if we don't try?" Uchiha Matsuri countered.

"Instead of risking a pursuit, I think we should report this to the Hokage immediately and let him send people to hunt them down," Kiba Inuzuka argued stubbornly.

"There's no time." Leaving those words behind, Uchiha Matsuri ran toward the northeast.

"Minato..."

"Kiba, go notify the Hokage quickly. Matsuri and I will head out first." Seeing Uchiha Matsuri already moving, Minato Namikaze hurried to follow.

A dozen kilometers away.

Four Cloud Ninja were holding Kushina Uzumaki captive, sprinting toward the northeast.

Because her chakra had been sealed, preventing her from using her own ninjutsu, Kushina Uzumaki could only watch helplessly as she was dragged away.

"Someone... someone save me," Kushina Uzumaki whispered powerlessly to herself.

Damn it, what do I do? Even if someone comes to save me, they won't know which direction I've been taken... Kushina Uzumaki thought. If I'm actually taken out of the Land of Fire, it'll be over.

As she thought this, Kushina Uzumaki inadvertently caught sight of her red hair. Right, I have an idea.

Taking advantage of the Cloud Ninja's distraction, Kushina Uzumaki plucked a strand of hair and dropped it onto the road.

"I hope they notice my hair," Kushina Uzumaki thought, a pale smile appearing on her face.

"Damn it, I can't sense their exact location at all." Even after activating his Two-Tomoe Sharingan, Uchiha Matsuri still couldn't detect the enemy's position.

Compared to the Byakugan, which possessed formidable scouting capabilities, the Sharingan was not a sensory-type Kekkei Genkai; its ability to perceive chakra pathways only functioned within a relatively small range.

A few seconds later, Minato Namikaze arrived using the Flying Thunder God Technique.

Seeing Minato arrive, Uchiha Matsuri asked anxiously, "Minato, where is Kiba?"

Since the Sharingan was unreliable, they had to rely on the nose of the Inuzuka Clan.

"I sent Kiba to notify the Hokage," Minato Namikaze replied, his expression unchanged.

"Huh?"

Hearing Minato's words, Uchiha Matsuri nearly coughed up blood in frustration.

Out of the three of them, they only had one person with strong sensory abilities, and he had sent him away.

"That's it then." Uchiha Matsuri slapped his forehead and stopped the pursuit.

Seeing Uchiha Matsuri's slightly dejected expression, Minato Namikaze asked in confusion, "What's wrong, Matsuri?"

"Big Brother, we don't even know the exact location of those people, how are we supposed to chase them..." Uchiha Matsuri said, feeling discouraged.

Honestly, when I was watching the original Naruto series, I never realized Minato Namikaze was such a chuunibyou.

"..." Hearing Uchiha Matsuri's words, Minato Namikaze, who had been momentarily muddled by his anxiety, suddenly realized his mistake. Immediately, Minato Namikaze asked anxiously, "Should I head back now and bring E here..."

"It's too late." Suddenly, as if remembering something, Uchiha Matsuri bolted toward the northeast, "I remember now."

"Remember what?" Minato Namikaze activated the Flying Thunder God Technique and gave chase.

"Red hair," Uchiha Matsuri said. "Follow this path and see if we can find red hair."

"Red hair?" Although puzzled, Minato Namikaze did not ask further due to the urgency of the situation.

"Minato," Uchiha Matsuri said suddenly, "you move faster than me with your Flying Thunder God Technique, you go ahead and pursue them."

"Alright."

Watching Minato Namikaze's figure fade into the distance, Uchiha Matsuri muttered to himself, "I hope Minato can save Kushina Uzumaki just like in the original story."

In a forest in the northeast of the Land of Fire, four Cloud Ninja were sprinting while carrying Kushina Uzumaki, though their speed had slowed significantly compared to a few hours ago.

As the sun set, the cries of crows echoed from the depths of the woods.

"Captain, we've been running at full speed for over seven hours now. If any Konoha ninja were chasing us, they should have been left far behind by now," one Cloud Ninja panted.