Imminent Crisis

Kushina Uzumaki, nestled in Chiyu's arms, had dozed off again, burying her head against his chest.

Feeling Kushina Uzumaki's steady breathing, Chiyu seemed to have been pumped full of energy. His whole body was brimming with strength, and he felt as light as air.

An indescribable sense of happiness filled Chiyu's heart.

By the time Chiyu returned to Konoha, it felt as though only an instant had passed. He sighed inwardly at how quickly time had flown.

The moment he returned to Konoha, Chiyu's smile vanished, and he wore an expression that warned strangers to keep away.

Several ninja guarding Konoha's gates noticed Kushina Uzumaki in Chiyu's arms and immediately surrounded him.

"Chiyu, what happened? Why did Kushina Uzumaki return from outside the village with you?"

With the situation growing increasingly tense, every Konoha ninja had to register before leaving the village.

Chiyu swept his cold gaze over the ninja surrounding him. "Kushina was abducted by Kumogakure ninja within Konoha. Have you really not discovered that even now?"

"What?!"

The group of ninja was utterly shocked.

Kushina Uzumaki being abducted was not what mattered to them. What mattered was that she had been abducted within Konoha.

One of the ninja immediately rushed toward the Hokage Office, intending to report the matter to Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Ignoring the others' questions, Chiyu simply continued walking forward.

Seeing Chiyu ignore them, one ninja immediately became displeased and demanded, "Hey, Chiyu! What do you mean by leaving without answering our questions?!"

Without even turning his head, Chiyu replied coldly, "What would change if I answered you? As ninja responsible for guarding Konoha, you knew nothing about this matter. I don't know whether you're incompetent or neglecting your duties, but either way, I don't seem to have any obligation to answer you, because you aren't my superiors."

Ignoring their flushed and embarrassed faces, Chiyu continued onward.

Chiyu arrived at Mito Uzumaki's residence.

Mito Uzumaki had already returned to the residence by then.

When Mito Uzumaki realized that Kushina Uzumaki, who should have returned long ago after completing her mission, still had not come back, she immediately went to find Hiruzen Sarutobi and told him about it.

Hiruzen Sarutobi promptly sent Anbu to question Kushina Uzumaki's two companions. Once he learned that Kushina Uzumaki had left long ago, Hiruzen Sarutobi realized something had happened and had already dispatched nearly all the Anbu to search for her.

Meanwhile, Mito Uzumaki remained in her residence, worried about Kushina Uzumaki's safety.

The moment she heard movement at the entrance, Mito Uzumaki impatiently opened the door.

When she saw Kushina Uzumaki sleeping soundly in Chiyu's arms, Mito Uzumaki immediately breathed a sigh of relief, the weight in her heart finally lifting.

With an expressionless face, Chiyu said, "Lady Mito, I've brought Kushina back. She's very tired, so please take her to her room and let her rest."

Mito Uzumaki carefully took the sleeping Kushina Uzumaki from him. She had been focused only on Kushina just now, but after turning her attention to Chiyu, she noticed that he was covered in signs of battle, with many holes burned into his clothes.

Mito Uzumaki asked worriedly, "Chiyu, are you injured?"

"I am not injured. I still need to go to the Hokage Office to report this matter to Lord Hokage, so I'll take my leave first."

Chiyu bowed to Mito Uzumaki and departed.

Mito Uzumaki watched Chiyu's departing back, her gaze flickering slightly.

Not long after Chiyu left the Hokage Office, an Anbu appeared before him. "Chiyu, Lord Hokage wants to see you immediately."

Chiyu followed the Anbu to the Hokage Office.

When he entered the Hokage's office, Hiruzen Sarutobi and Orochimaru were both inside.

Chiyu bowed. "Lord Hokage, Teacher Orochimaru."

Hiruzen Sarutobi walked up to Chiyu and asked solemnly, "Chiyu, what exactly happened?"

Chiyu told Hiruzen Sarutobi everything that had occurred.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression turned extremely grim, while Orochimaru's expression also became very serious.

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Orochimaru. "Orochimaru, what do you think of this matter?"

After pondering for a moment, Orochimaru said, "No matter what, one thing is certain. Enemy ninja have already infiltrated Konoha. Otherwise, they could not have abducted Kushina so easily."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression darkened. "It seems they can no longer hold themselves back."

Chiyu continued, "Lord Hokage, I brought back the heads of the three Kumogakure ninja."

Chiyu took out a scroll and handed it to Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's spirits lifted as he praised, "Well done, Chiyu! With their heads, Sensor Ninja can analyze the memories in their brains and obtain intelligence."

Hiruzen Sarutobi immediately summoned an Anbu ninja and instructed him to deliver the scroll to the Sensor Ninja for analysis.

Chiyu continued his report. "Lord Hokage, there is another matter I need to report. While carrying out a mission to eliminate pirates, I discovered three ninja hiding among them.

"Since I did not know the identities of those three ninja, though they seemed to be trying to infiltrate the Land of Fire, I did not kill them. I captured them alive instead."

Chiyu used the Summoning Jutsu to summon the White Snake.

"White Snake, spit out those three ninja."

"Yes, Lord Chiyu."

The White Snake opened its jaws, its abdomen writhing as it spat the three ninja out from its belly.

Unfortunately, the ninja whose spine Chiyu had broken with the back of his blade had been crushed to death in the White Snake's cramped interior.

However, the other two ninja were still alive, and they had already awakened.

The moment they saw Chiyu, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and Orochimaru watching them—especially Chiyu—they recoiled in terror.

Hiruzen Sarutobi summoned another Anbu. He had the dead ninja taken away for the Sensor Ninja to analyze the memories in his brain, while the other two living ninja were taken to the interrogation division to be questioned by interrogation ninja.

Hiruzen Sarutobi walked to the map before his desk and asked Chiyu, "Chiyu, where did you encounter those pirates?"

Chiyu pointed to a location on the map.

Seeing the place Chiyu indicated, Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes immediately narrowed.

Orochimaru's hoarse voice sounded. "It seems... Kirigakure intends to join the fray as well."

The location Chiyu had pointed to was beside the Land of Waves, and to the right of the Land of Waves was the Land of Water.

At present, the Land of Fire had little contact with the Land of Waves.

The Land of Waves instead had a very good relationship with the Land of Water.

Therefore, if Kirigakure ninja from the Land of Water wanted to land along the coastline of the Land of Fire, they would have to pass through the Land of Waves.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression grew increasingly unsightly. Kirigakure joining in meant that four of the Five Great Ninja Villages had become hostile to Konoha.

Once war broke out, Konoha would have to face the four great ninja villages of Cloud, Stone, Sand, and Mist.

Moreover, this would be a war that covered the entire Land of Fire and threatened Konoha itself.