Rescuing Kushina

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique."

Yueshu spat a fireball from his mouth, sending it flying toward Minato Namikaze.

"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough."

Minato wasn't about to be outdone. He quickly formed the hand signs, then blew a powerful gust of wind from his mouth.

The wind and the fireball collided, but neither overpowered the other. Instead, they canceled each other out.

Yueshu shifted his footing, drew the short sword from behind his waist, and charged straight at Minato.

Minato reacted quickly, immediately gripping his Kunai to defend himself.

Unfortunately, Yueshu's swordsmanship was superb. In a single move, he broke through Minato's defense, and his next strike stopped just a few centimeters from Minato's eyes.

Minato lost this match.

"I won again."

"Next time, I'll definitely win!"

Yueshu smiled at the faintly frustrated look on the Fourth Hokage's face.

So even the most famous genius in the Naruto World could make a face like that. Minato Namikaze, hailed as the purest kind of genius, was being outclassed by him now. Yueshu couldn't begin to describe how good it felt.

They reached out and formed the Seal of Reconciliation, bringing today's lesson to an end.

This time, Minato had something to take care of and didn't walk home with Kushina and Yueshu. The two of them were left to wander the streets of Konoha together.

"Come to think of it, I still don't know what your dream is, Yueshu. You're so strong—do you want to become Hokage, too?"

As they walked, Kushina suddenly asked.

It was dusk. The blue sky had turned red, and fiery clouds drifted lazily overhead.

"Me?"

Yueshu paused, not expecting anyone to suddenly ask him that.

"Yeah. Do you want to be Hokage?"

Yueshu looked at Kushina's round little face, then smiled.

"I'm not planning to compete with you for the Hokage position, so don't worry."

"Even if you did, I wouldn't lose to you!"

Kushina puffed out her cheeks, making her round face look even rounder.

Yueshu looked at Kushina, then glanced toward Hokage Rock. The three carved faces stood out clearly. They were the first three Hokage in Konoha's history.

"Hokage, huh? It really is a great job. Strong, responsible—almost like a hero."

"Right?"

"But..."

"I'm not the kind of person who wants to be a hero."

Yueshu looked at Kushina.

"As for my dream, I guess it's just to open a little shop and live a peaceful life. Isn't that wonderful?"

Kushina looked at Yueshu and lowered her head, seeming unhappy.

"I'm going home."

Kushina's voice reached him. Yueshu turned to look at her as her red hair swept past his eyes, leaving him with only her back.

Kushina didn't even acknowledge him. She simply ran off.

Yueshu sighed. He understood why. She was a child, after all. It was only natural to feel upset when someone didn't value the person she held in the highest regard.

There was no point in chasing after her now. It would be better to smooth things over at school tomorrow.

Thinking that, Yueshu headed home.

"What do you mean, you don't want to be a hero!"

"Idiot, idiot!"

Kushina jogged along, thinking of Yueshu's face as she kept muttering that he was an idiot.

Everyone wanted to be understood. Yueshu had been the first person to approach her after she came to Konoha and help her. He meant a lot to her, like a really good friend. But now, her best friend hadn't understood her at all—instead, he'd said the exact opposite of what she believed. The disappointment hit Kushina all at once.

A strange feeling had suddenly arisen between friends, and Kushina, who had always been alone, didn't know what to do with it.

"Idiot!"

Perhaps she had run herself tired, because Kushina slowed to a walk.

Step by step, her red-haired figure made her way home beneath the evening sky.

"Hmph. The Hokage is the strongest and most amazing person in the village. You're such an idiot, Yueshu."

As if to vent her frustration, Kushina shouted at the gate.

"Not necessarily."

A mature male voice came from nearby, and Kushina immediately grew wary.

"At the very least, the strongest people in the village didn't notice us."

As soon as the words fell, Kushina saw a few shadows flash past. Then weakness washed over her, and her vision slowly went dark.

"Good. We've got the target. Withdraw at once, before Konoha realizes what's happened."

Night fell. One by one, figures appeared from the shadows. They removed their disguises and put on the Forehead Protectors bearing the symbol of Kumogakure.

They had come to Konoha for one simple reason: to find a suitable Jinchuriki vessel. Kushina was their ideal candidate.

"Quest triggered: Rescue Kushina Uzumaki, who was kidnapped by Kumogakure. Quest reward: one draw."

Yueshu had only just gotten home and was about to start cooking when an electronic voice sounded.

Without hesitation, he sprang up and ran straight outside.

Of all times, why now? Things had been so peaceful lately that I'd completely forgotten about this!

Yueshu gritted his teeth, clenched his fists, and ran with all his might toward Konoha Gate.

Meanwhile, the jolting sensation slowly woke Kushina.

As soon as she came to, she realized that her mouth had been gagged and her arms were tied. She couldn't muster even a shred of strength.

Konoha was slowly receding in the distance, its lights still glowing. Someone was taking her away, and an inexplicable panic gripped her.

After steadying herself, Kushina gritted her teeth and forced down her panic. Then she lifted her limp arms with great effort.

There wasn't much she could do, but luckily, her hair was long enough to reach her arms. She could get to it without much effort.

As chakra slowly gathered with her thoughts, Kushina cut off a few strands of her bright red hair and let them fall to the ground.

The ninja who had kidnapped her seemed to be in a hurry and had no time to keep an eye on her, giving Kushina an opportunity.

With tears welling in her eyes, Kushina suppressed her fear. Every so often, she cut off a little more of her hair and let it fall to the ground.

I'm going to become the first female Hokage!

That was what Kushina told herself as she watched Konoha grow farther away and its lights grow dimmer.

For some reason, at that moment she thought of someone who didn't want to be a hero—the first person to stand up for her and become her friend.

"I'm not the kind of person who wants to be a hero."

Yueshu's words echoed in her ears, and Kushina's gaze dimmed.

"What! Kushina's been kidnapped! What were you people doing? I was only away for a little while. What on earth were you doing?!"

At that very moment, the elderly Mito Uzumaki stood in the Hokage's office, furious.

"Send out every available person right now! If anything happens to Kushina, I don't care who's responsible—I'll go there myself!"

Mito Uzumaki roared. The Hokage's office fell silent. Even the Third Hokage didn't dare say a word.

Mito Uzumaki was an experienced Nine-Tails Jinchuriki who could use some of the Nine-Tails' power. If she took matters into her own hands, the Third Shinobi World War could break out at any moment. With the Second Ninja War having only just ended, no one could bear responsibility for that.

"Who would do this?! The Second Ninja War just ended, and they still dare pull something like this!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen was furious too, but he managed to calm himself and immediately sent out every ninja to search for Kushina. Konoha Gate was also sealed off completely.

Unfortunately, it was already too late.

Konoha had disappeared from view. All around them was a dark forest, and they were almost out of the Land of Fire. There was little light left in Kushina's eyes. She had been dropping her hair along the way to call for help, but it seemed no hero would come to her rescue this time.

"They shouldn't be able to catch up now that we've made it this far. I thought it would be difficult, but it was easy enough."

The three Kumogakure ninja exchanged smiles. They were about to cross the border when a shadow flashed past them.

"Who's there?!"

The Kumogakure ninja immediately went on guard. A flash of blue-white light shot toward them, and a figure charged in their direction.

"Rasengan!"

As the shout rang out, one of the Kumogakure ninja was struck and sent flying.

"Damn it!"

The other two ninja reacted at once and launched a counterattack, not even bothering to look after Kushina.

Seizing the opportunity, Yueshu didn't even try to defend himself. He rushed straight toward Kushina.

A Kunai came down, and blood spurted. Yueshu gritted his teeth and endured the pain, then swept Kushina into his arms and fled to the side.

"Damn it, they've taken the target! After them!"

In an instant, the two remaining Kumogakure ninja began chasing Yueshu.

Kushina heard his ragged breathing, and the light returned to her eyes. She looked up at his clear, youthful face, damp with sweat, his gaze fixed intently ahead.

"Are you an idiot?"

Yueshu glanced at Kushina, then freed one hand to gently remove the gag and untie her hands.

"You're in quite a state, Red Hot Habanero."

Yueshu carried Kushina in his arms, leaping through the forest one step at a time.

"Why did you..."

Kushina's voice was weak; her body still hadn't recovered.

Yueshu smiled. The wind rushed past his ears, and two figures were closing in behind them.

"Why?"

"Because I don't want to lose you."

"And you wanted a hero to appear, so I came."

Yueshu's expression turned serious. The Kumogakure ninja were about to catch up, and he wasn't fast enough to outrun them.

If they caught up, Yueshu wouldn't stand a chance against them alone. He was injured after snatching Kushina back from them by surprise, to begin with.

He couldn't win in a head-on fight. The enemy had to be at least top-level Chunin to infiltrate Konoha and kidnap a Jinchuriki. At best, Yueshu could fight at a Chunin's level. He had no chance of winning outright, and he couldn't match their experience either.