Rain hammered against the Cloak, producing dull, muffled thuds.
Namikaze Minato stood in the mud, his golden hair soaked through and plastered to his forehead, thin streams of water sliding down his sharply defined cheeks.
His gaze pierced through the curtain of rain and settled on the woman sitting quietly inside the carriage.
There were no Forbidden Experiment materials as he had expected, nor were there heavily guarded escorts.
There was only Konan. Or rather, a lifelike Konan made of countless sheets of paper.
"You crossed the line."
Konan's voice was soft, yet it was like an icy needle piercing the roar of wind and rain.
Minato did not move. Flying Thunder God Kunai scattered around him glinted beneath the Lightning, maintaining an absolutely sealed encirclement.
"What is in the carriage?" he asked, his voice weighed down by the rain.
"Legal supplies," Konan answered, her tone as calm as if she were stating a fact that had nothing to do with her.
She drew a Scroll wrapped in oil paper from her sleeve and gently unfurled it.
"A special medical supply purchase by the Medical Division under the Amegakure Daimyo Residence from Kazama Logistics Park within the Land of Fire. This is the purchase contract, and this is the customs clearance document. Both bear the seal of the Land of Fire's border tax official."
Minato looked at the documents. The writing was somewhat blurred in the darkness, but he recognized the official format and seals at a glance. They were genuine.
"'Special Nutrient Solution'?" Minato read the name of the cargo aloud, his gaze sharpening again. "As far as I know, this is a core material for Orochimaru's Forbidden Experiments."
"We call it 'Highly Active Cell Culture Medium,'" Konan corrected. "It is used to treat severely wounded patients whose Meridians