Chapter 46

"Uchiha Yan, you handed me this chance yourself. If you don't know how to value it, don't blame me for moving fast."

At the same time, inside the Hokage Office.

Through his crystal ball, Hiruzen Sarutobi used the Telescope Technique to watch Minato's every move and every change in his expression.

Seeing Minato follow the path he had laid out, the old man couldn't help smiling with satisfaction. Every step went exactly as I expected.

"Minato, I've put the opportunity right in front of you. Whether you seize it is up to you."

Of course, Kushina hadn't pulled out the red hairs scattered on the ground herself.

The Third Hokage had secretly collected them long ago. He had prepared well in advance for this plan.

And the person scattering them wasn't Kushina, but one of the Third Hokage's Shadow Clones.

The old man still hadn't given up on bringing Minato and Kushina together.

He figured that if he could use Minato to tie Kushina down, she would develop a sense of belonging to Konoha.

Uchiha Yan was certainly capable, but there were too many unknowns about the boy. The Third Hokage couldn't be sure of him, much less control him for now.

Minato Namikaze was different. He was a promising young man raised on the Will of Fire.

And a devoted admirer of his.

"But..."

The Third Hokage shifted the Telescope Technique toward another location.

In the image, several Hidden Cloud ninja were holding Kushina captive. They had already left the Konoha Barrier behind and were racing into the distance.

"Danzo, are you behind this again?"

"You've gone too far this time."

"It seems I've been too lenient with you."

The Third Hokage knew exactly what had happened. The Hidden Cloud ninja had slipped through the Konoha Barrier unnoticed and abducted someone from the village only because Danzo had helped them from the shadows.

Without him, they never could have pulled it off.

If the Third Hokage hadn't wanted to use this opportunity for his own purposes, he would have stopped them long ago.

"So who are you after this time? Kushina, the Jinchuriki? Or... Uchiha Yan?"

Just then, the image in the crystal ball shifted to Uchiha Yan as he shot through the gap in the barrier at astonishing speed.

The Third Hokage understood at once. "So Uchiha Yan is your real target?"

"No."

He shook his head, narrowing his eyes. "You want both Kushina and Uchiha Yan, don't you?"

"You won't get them that easily. Heh."

Unwilling to leave it to chance, the Third Hokage decided to go himself.

He took two squads of Anbu elites and hurried out of the Hokage Building in pursuit.

In the forest northwest of Konoha, four Hidden Cloud Jōnin raced through the trees with Kushina in their custody.

Their leader looked anxious. "Move! We need to get farther away before Konoha reacts. Once we meet up with Sarudo's team, we'll push straight out of the Land of Fire."

"If Konoha realizes what happened, we won't get away."

From the moment he had seized her, he had known that this little girl from the Uzumaki Clan really was the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.

This was far more serious than abducting a backup vessel.

He even suspected Konoha might already be watching them. Pursuers could appear behind them at any moment.

"Captain, doesn't this feel too easy?" one Hidden Cloud Jōnin muttered. "We just happened to find a gap in the Konoha Barrier? That's too much of a coincidence."

Another replied, "Didn't they say the information came from a spy?"

"A spy? You believe that? A village barrier's weak points aren't that easy to figure out."

"True."

There was no arguing with that.

"Quit dragging your feet and move faster! Six more kilometers and we'll meet Sarudo's team. Stay focused!" the leader roared. Carrying Kushina, he bounded from branch to branch, moving almost as fast as flight.

Conspiracy or not, once they got her away, none of it would matter.

Kushina had actually been awake for a while.

In fact, she had never truly lost consciousness.

So someone really did come after me. No wonder Yan kept warning me to be careful. He must know something.

Fine. I'll use this chance to deal with these fools and send a warning to whoever's behind them. I'm not someone to mess with. Hmph!

Then another thought crept in. Yan should have noticed I'm not where I'm supposed to be, right? Will he come save me?

That was right.

Kushina had let herself be captured from the very beginning.

Otherwise, how could they have taken her away so easily and quietly? She had mastered the Spirit Refining Method, the Basic Body-Tempering Technique, and the Mind's Eye of the Kagura. She could hold her own among Elite Jōnin.

Besides, she and the Nine-Tails had already reached an agreement. She could draw on his Chakra to unleash even greater power.

Even if she really had been ambushed and knocked unconscious, the Nine-Tails inside her wouldn't have sat idle.

He could take control of her body and fight at any time.

Kushina, Uchiha Yan, and the Nine-Tails had agreed on those rules long ago.

Deep in the northwestern forest, a figure suddenly appeared.

Uchiha Yan's Shadow Clone landed on the trunk of a thick tree. Before he had even caught his breath, he closed his eyes.

Mind's Eye of the Kagura.

His senses spread outward like ripples, locking onto every trace of Chakra within more than ten kilometers. He deliberately limited the range; otherwise, he could have searched even farther.

"Found them."

He opened his eyes and looked straight north.

He activated the Perfect Substitution Technique and vanished. When he reappeared, he was already beyond the limits of his previous sight. After several more teleports, he came to rest on a branch. His Sharingan slowly turned as he looked down at the concealed Hidden Cloud squad.

A smile tugged at his lips. "Oh, so this is where you're hiding?"

Before his words had faded, his spiritual energy and Chakra surged together.

Madder World.

Sarudo's squad heard the voice and instinctively looked up, straight into a pair of golden-red Three-Tomoe Sharingan.

Sarudo's expression changed sharply. "Something's wrong!"

"Attack!"

At his shout, three Jōnin and four Elite Chunin sprang into action, hurling ninjutsu at Uchiha Yan's Shadow Clone.

Lightning Release: Lightning Ball!

Lightning Release: False Darkness!

Lightning burst across the clearing.

But screams came first.

Sarudo's pupils contracted. He knew those voices all too well—they belonged to Saha and the others!

Pfft!

A chill pierced his chest.

He looked down. A hand that seemed far too young had punched through his chest from behind, wrapped in razor-sharp Wind Release Chakra.

A soft voice came from behind him. "Wind Release: Wind Demon Blade."

Sarudo's life drained away like sand through his fingers.

At last, he saw what had happened around him.

Four Elite Chunin lay dead by their comrades' blades. The other two Jōnin were badly wounded and sprawled on the ground, pools of blood spreading beneath them.

Uchiha Yan's Shadow Clone stood behind him, pulling back his blood-covered hand.

At the same time, inside Konoha.

The Eight Trigrams Seal on Kushina's stomach flashed for an instant as its trigger condition was met.

The Nine-Tails inside her noticed what she had done and rolled his eyes.

"Boring."

The plump fox rolled over and settled into a new position. He went back to drinking cola and munching potato chips, turning a page of his manga with one paw.

He couldn't have been more at ease.

"An illusion? You've got to be kidding. How can an illusion this powerful even exist? Who are you?"

With effort, Sarudo turned his head and looked behind him. A youthful face came into view—Uchiha Yan's.

Sarudo froze, his face full of bitter regret. "I never thought I'd fall to some kid from the Uchiha clan... I let my guard down."

With that regret, his consciousness sank into darkness.

"Captain Sarudo!"

"Damn it!"