Chapter 49

What was this person's goal, then?

Were they after Kushina?

Or were they after Uchiha Yan?

And what role had Minato Namikaze been made to play in all this?

Also, the old Third's timing just now had been far too convenient.

He had arrived practically right on Minato's heels.

And the Third had clearly interrupted him on purpose when he tried to ask about the hair.

So... was that strand of hair planted by the Third? A thought popped into Minato's mind. Was he setting me up?

And Kushina too?

What does he want?

In that instant, Minato thought of many things.

The perfect image of the Hokage he held in his heart had begun to crack.

A seed of suspicion had been planted just like that.

With Minato's mind, once that filter shattered, the seed would sooner or later grow into a towering tree, until he saw through every last secret the Third had.

How could the Third have known that Minato had already imagined so much?

He turned toward "Uchiha Senichi" beside him and asked curiously, "I didn't expect you to make it here too, Senichi. You were pretty fast."

"We were fortunate to have you this time. Otherwise, the consequences for Kushina and young Xuan would have been unimaginable."

Yet a storm was raging in the Third's heart. Judging by the way Senichi acted just now, has he actually reached Kage level? Could he have awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan?

But that doesn't make sense...

He hadn't heard of Uchiha Senichi losing anyone important in recent years.

"Uchiha Senichi" shook his head, his tone calm. "It was mainly thanks to Xuan. Besides, considering Xuan's relationship with this young lady, this was my duty to begin with."

"Oh? Xuan?" Hearing that, the Third couldn't help giving Uchiha Yan another look.

What he was truly more curious about was how Uchiha Senichi had gotten to the scene so quickly.

Shouldn't this man have been on duty with the Konoha Military Police Force?

The Third swept his gaze over the battlefield several times before suddenly recognizing several unusually shaped kunai.

"Those are... Flying Raijin Kunai? Xuan, have you learned the Flying Raijin Technique?"

There was no way he could be mistaken. Although the markings on them were somewhat different, he remembered that trident-like shape perfectly. Flying Raijin coordinates had to be inscribed on specially made kunai like these to work.

Minato Namikaze froze when he heard that.

"What? Uchiha Yan can use Flying Raijin too? And he's already using it in actual combat?"

He suddenly recalled the scene. He had been too far away to see clearly before, but now that he thought about it carefully—the method Uchiha Yan had used to deal with those two Cloud ninja, wasn't that the Flying Raijin Technique?

That's incredible. He can actually use it directly in battle.

Minato couldn't help admiring him.

He was learning the Flying Raijin Technique as well and had already found the threshold. But when it came to actual combat, he was still far from ready and needed much more practice.

The problem was, he had possessed this technique for two whole years. How long had Uchiha Yan had it?

Even estimating generously, it couldn't have been more than a year. Maybe even less.

Yet the gap between them...

I've lost. Now I understand why Kushina chose you. You really are worthy of her.

Minato conceded it in his heart.

Uchiha Yan was a monster. Minato couldn't compare to him yet.

But he wouldn't simply admit defeat.

From now on, I'll have to work even harder to catch up to you. Not for Kushina—I just want to have a proper match with you.

Minato secretly made up his mind.

As for Kushina, he knew he had completely lost his chance. He wasn't someone who couldn't accept defeat or who would cling to her endlessly. From now on, he would no longer hold any hopes for Kushina, unless Uchiha Yan wronged her.

These thoughts flashed through Minato's mind in only an instant.

Hearing the Third's question, Uchiha Yan grinned and scratched the back of his head.

"Yeah, I only got the hang of it a few days ago. I'm still not that used to it."

"When I received Kushina's emergency signal, I followed the traces she left and came after her."

The enemy outnumbered us, and I figured I couldn't handle them alone. So I took a gamble and used the Flying Raijin Technique to pull my dad over as backup.

Honestly, I wasn't sure it would work. I didn't expect it to actually succeed.

I got lucky this time. I'll need to practice more in the future—what I can do now is nowhere near enough.

After hearing Uchiha Yan's words, the Third's eyelid twitched. Who are you trying to fool? You've had the Flying Raijin Technique for less than a month, and you're already using it this smoothly, yet you dare say you're not good at it?

Isn't that just humblebragging?

If you're not good enough, then there probably isn't anyone in the entire Ninja World who is.

Besides, he always felt that Uchiha Yan still had more cards up his sleeve.

Unfortunately, he had no proof, and it wasn't appropriate to ask further under the current circumstances.

He turned to Uchiha Yan and Uchiha Senichi. "Since the enemies have all been dealt with, leave the battlefield to the Anbu. They can investigate what exactly is behind this incident."

"Cloud ninja dared to enter the village and abduct someone. They've gone completely lawless. I need to get to the bottom of this and root out the vermin in the village."

"Otherwise, the village's children may suffer again in the future."

It sounded perfectly righteous.

But in truth, he wanted even more to see exactly how Uchiha Senichi and Uchiha Yan had taken down this group.

There had to be useful clues to be found on the bodies.

"Alright, then we'll leave it to you, Lord Hokage. We'll be going now."

Uchiha Senichi nodded, called over Uchiha Yan and Kushina, then asked Minato, "Kid, do you want to come with us?"

"You may have arrived a step too late this time, but just for the way you risked your life for your companions, you deserve some praise."

"You've got guts, kid!"

As he spoke, Uchiha Senichi gave Minato a thumbs-up.

Taking the opportunity, Uchiha Yan ran off to retrieve the Flying Raijin Kunai he had thrown out.

The Third and the others didn't stop him.

Minato felt a little embarrassed by the praise and nodded shyly. "I didn't really help with anything."

"Besides, as a Konoha ninja, these are things I should do. It's nothing."

At that moment, the Third hurriedly interjected, "Minato, I have something to discuss with you. Senichi, you can go on ahead."

He couldn't let Minato return with Kushina and the others.

Otherwise, the Third feared that all his arrangements would be exposed.

Keeping Minato behind would let him patch up the holes and seal everything tight.

"Alright, we'll be going, then."

Uchiha Senichi replied and left with Xuan and Kushina.

Uchiha Yan reached out and pinched Kushina's cheek, his tone reproachful. "Don't ever do this again, understand? You should have told me beforehand. Wouldn't that have let me catch the person behind this?"

Kushina stuck out her tongue, smiling sheepishly as she clung to his arm and acted cute. "Alright, alright, I know I was wrong! I promise there won't be a next time!"

She turned to the "Uchiha Senichi" beside them, a blush rising to her face as her voice softened. "Sir, thank you for coming all this way to save me. I'm really sorry to have troubled you."

"Pfft—"

Uchiha Yan and "Uchiha Senichi" both burst out laughing at the same time.

Kushina froze and blinked at them, completely baffled. What had she said that was so funny?

Uchiha Yan leaned close to her ear and muttered a few words in a low voice.

"Ah?!"

Kushina's eyes flew wide as she stared at "Uchiha Senichi," her face instantly turning crimson.

What had she just been doing...?

Once she realized, she glared at Uchiha Yan in embarrassment and irritation.

He quickly covered her mouth and warned her in a low voice, "Don't shout. I don't want anyone to know my real trump card yet, so don't spill everything."

"Alright..." Kushina pulled his hand away and answered helplessly.

But inwardly, she was mortified—she had looked just like a foolish young wife meeting her in-laws. It was utterly humiliating.

After returning to the village, Uchiha Yan's real body accompanied Kushina back to her home.