Minato in the Bushes, Kushina in His Arms

Ten kilometers outside Konoha Village, in a dense forest.

The night was deep, and the moonlight was obscured by heavy clouds.

"Let me go! You bastards!"

A girl with vivid red hair was thrown hard onto the grass. Her hands were bound by specially made chakra ropes, and her fair little face was smeared with mud. Despair and unwillingness filled her eyes.

Kushina Uzumaki.

As a candidate for the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki, she had only recently been brought to Konoha. But because of her distinctive red hair and special constitution, she had been targeted by Hidden Cloud Village spies lying in wait and kidnapped from the village under cover of night.

Three burly Hidden Cloud chunin surrounded her, their eyes greedy.

"This is the Uzumaki Clan's constitution? What an incredible amount of chakra. Once we bring her back to the village, Lord Raikage will reward us handsomely!" The leading Hidden Cloud ninja sneered and reached for Kushina's hair. "Stop struggling, brat. Those Konoha idiots haven't even noticed us."

Kushina bit her lip, tears welling in her eyes. She hated her red hair, and she hated this cold-hearted Konoha even more. Was she really going to die here today?

In the bushes less than thirty meters away.

A blond boy was lying in the grass, holding his breath. Minato Namikaze gripped the kunai in his hand tightly, his palm drenched in sweat.

He had tracked her all the way here by following the red hairs Kushina had dropped.

"There are three chunin, and I'm just a student who hasn't even graduated." Minato's mind raced as he calculated his tactics. "I can only rely on surprise. First, use explosive tags to distract them, then cut the ropes and take Kushina away..."

Minato took a deep breath, his gaze turning resolute. He would appear when Kushina was at her most desperate and become her hero.

"Now!"

Minato's leg muscles tensed as he prepared to leap from the grass.

Rumble—!!!

Without warning, the entire earth let out a violent groan!

Minato had only leaped half a meter into the air when the terrifying tremor beneath his feet sent him flying. He crashed back into the bushes in a miserable heap.

"What's going on? An earthquake?!" The Hidden Cloud ninja were horrified and unable to keep their footing.

The next second, the soil beneath their feet exploded.

A massive wooden dragon over two meters in diameter, covered from head to tail in sharp spikes, roared as it burst from the earth! Its rough surface glimmered with heart-pounding chakra light. Opening its bloody maw, it bit down on the Hidden Cloud leader who had been about to grab Kushina's hair.

Crack!

The sound of shattering bones rang with startling clarity through the night sky. The Hidden Cloud leader did not even have time to scream before the wooden dragon bit him cleanly in half, spraying blood across the ground.

"Wood... Wood Release?!" The remaining two Hidden Cloud ninja were terrified out of their wits and turned to flee.

"Do you think you can escape?"

A cold, domineering voice came from above the treetops.

Clap!

The sound of hands pressing together rang out.

Countless arm-thick vines instantly shot from the ground, coiling around the fleeing Hidden Cloud ninja's ankles like venomous snakes. The vines suddenly tightened, hoisting both men upside down into the air. Then sharp wooden spikes pierced straight through their hearts.

Instant kill.

Three Hidden Cloud chunin were wiped out in less than three seconds.

Kushina sat frozen on the ground, looking up at the figure who lightly leaped down from the treetops.

The clouds parted, and moonlight poured down.

Nawaki Senju, clad in a tattered Hokage robe, landed steadily in front of Kushina. With a casual wave of his hand, a wooden spike precisely cut through the chakra ropes binding her.

Without wasting words, Nawaki stepped forward. Before Kushina could react, he bent down and swept her up in his arms.

A standard princess carry.

Kushina's entire body stiffened, her mind going blank. She stared dazedly at the handsome face so close to hers. The boy carried a faint scent of blood mixed with the fresh fragrance of grass and wood, and those deep eyes were watching her.

"The Uzumaki and Senju have always been one family." Nawaki's lips curved into a domineering yet gentle smile, his voice low and powerful. "From now on, I'll protect that red hair. You're under my protection."

Thump. Thump.

Kushina's heartbeat skipped a beat. Her pale little face rapidly turned bright red, visible to the naked eye, and even the tips of her ears burned. Instinctively, she buried her head in Nawaki's chest and clutched his clothes tightly with both hands.

On this night when she had been at her most desperate and helpless, this boy, like a god descending from heaven, had crushed her enemies with absolute violence and given her an irreplaceable sense of security.

Meanwhile, in the grass thirty meters away.

Minato lay sprawled in the mud, still clutching that kunai tightly in his hand. His mouth hung slightly open, two blades of grass stuck in his blond hair, and his whole body seemed utterly disheveled in the wind.

What just happened?

What happened to my huge chance to save the beauty?

I even took out my explosive tags. Where did this guy come from?!

Minato looked at Kushina in the distance, nestled in Nawaki's arms with a shy, flushed face, and felt something inside him shatter with a soft snap.

At the same time, system notifications rang wildly in Nawaki's mind like a barrage of firecrackers.

[Ding! Detected that the host has successfully intercepted a key destiny figure: Kushina Uzumaki!]

[The original destiny line (Minato Namikaze saving the beauty) has been completely shattered!]

[Kushina Uzumaki's current favorability: 80 (heart stirred, willingly submissive).]

[Family bond successfully established! Family prosperity has greatly increased!]

[Congratulations, host, for obtaining an S-rank interception reward: Sage Art: Chakra Refinement Technique!]

[Congratulations, host, for unlocking the S-rank Wood Release ultimate technique—Deep Forest Emergence!]

Listening to the notifications in his mind, Nawaki's smile became even brighter. Holding Kushina in his arms, he turned his head and casually swept his gaze over the patch of grass where Minato was hiding.

Minato's hair stood on end, and he hurriedly lowered his head.

"Come on, I'll take you back to the Senju Clan Compound." Nawaki withdrew his gaze and carried Kushina toward Konoha's gates.

That Minato kid can wait his turn. All the good things in this shinobi world belong to the Senju Clan.

Nawaki raised his head and looked toward Hokage Rock towering high in the distant night. Having just unlocked Deep Forest Emergence, terrifying power capable of reshaping the terrain surged within him.

Third Hokage, Danzō, I'm back.

I hope you're ready to face the Senju Clan's wrath.