A Martial Artist Encounters a Kidnapping

Under the moonlight, shadows flickered through the forest as the trees swayed gently in the wind. Five figures raced through the woods, three in front and two behind.

Hidden Cloud Village ninjas again. Minato Namikaze was furious. He knew Hidden Cloud Village had its sights set on Kushina, but he had not expected them to be this persistent, actually sending ninjas to infiltrate the village again in an attempt to abduct Kushina like they had five years ago.

In a sense, it had been Hidden Cloud Village's operation five years ago that had brought him and Kushina together. Hidden Cloud Village could be considered their matchmaker—but matchmakers like that should be sent to meet the Sage of Six Paths as soon as possible.

The Hidden Cloud Village ninja in front was secretly fuming as well. "Damn brat. A Jonin who's never been tempered by war dares to keep chasing us?"

Even so, he had no intention of stopping to fight back.

For one thing, this was Konoha territory. Now that they had been exposed, they could only leave as quickly as possible. For another, he really was no match for his pursuer. If Minato Namikaze had not been worried about Kushina's safety, he might have been taken down in their very first exchange.

Just then, a figure jogged past ahead of them.

"Perfect opportunity!" The leading Hidden Cloud Village ninja used the Body Flicker Technique to appear behind the figure, pressing a kunai to his throat and taking him hostage.

Sure enough, the two pursuers stopped.

"It's him." Minato Namikaze knew Setsuna, a "celebrity" at the Ninja Academy. He glared sharply at the three Hidden Cloud Village ninjas holding the hostage. "You're attacking a student from the academy? And you call yourselves ninjas?"

Kushina waved her fist viciously beside him. "You scum, what else can you do besides kidnap hostages?"

The leading Hidden Cloud Village ninja sneered. "Heh. Ninjas are weapons that will do anything to complete their missions. Don't you even have that much resolve?"

As he spoke, he looked at the youth he was holding hostage, who stood half a head taller than him, and could not help mocking him. "Still in the Ninja Academy at his age? It's a waste of resources for trash like this to become a ninja. Why not let me kill him for you? Maybe you'll even thank me for it."

"Don't lump Konoha together with your Hidden Cloud Village. Everyone is important to the village!" As Minato Namikaze spoke, he secretly formed hand seals behind his back with his left hand. As long as he summoned a creature and secretly left a Flying Thunder God mark on the enemy, he could kill him instantly.

"If everyone is so important, then get the hell out of here and let us leave!" the leading Hidden Cloud Village ninja snarled. He applied a little pressure with his right hand, intending to cut a bloody mark across the youth's neck—preferably enough to make him cry and beg for mercy.

But the moment he exerted force, he froze. His kunai would not pierce through. It was as if it was pressed against not a fragile neck, but a block of iron.

Then Setsuna suddenly asked, "Senior Minato Namikaze, this isn't a drill, is it?"

Minato Namikaze was not surprised that Setsuna recognized him. After all, he had been something of a prominent figure at the Ninja Academy back then.

Before he could answer, the Hidden Cloud Village ninja beside him laughed. "Scared stupid? You thought this was a drill?"

For some reason, the Hidden Cloud Village ninja holding Setsuna hostage suddenly felt a sense of dread.

"Heart Elbow Strike!" Setsuna's left arm suddenly swept backward, his elbow slamming into the Hidden Cloud Village Jonin's chest like a cannonball.

The clothing on the Hidden Cloud Village Jonin's back exploded as a ripple of air spread outward, snapping a tree as thick as a bowl around its middle behind him.

"Is that... an Air Cannon?!" Minato Namikaze and Kushina stared wide-eyed. They had never imagined that an ordinary elbow strike could be this powerful. It had passed through a human body and shattered a tree with the vibration of the air.

As for the Hidden Cloud Village ninja who had taken the blow, there was no need to describe his fate. Every bone in his body had shattered, and he slumped limply against Setsuna's back.

Setsuna whispered into his ear, not caring whether he could still hear him. "Taking a martial artist hostage is very dangerous. Next time... in your next life, don't do it again."

The remaining two Hidden Cloud Village Chunin snapped out of their shock. Looking as though they had seen ghosts, they fled blindly deeper into the forest.

Setsuna grabbed the boneless Hidden Cloud Village ninja's corpse and hurled it at one of them. Then he leaped onto the corpse's back and glided through the air.

The slower of the two heard the whistling of something cutting through the air behind him and instinctively looked back. The sight scared the soul out of him—their captain had become an airborne skateboard.

He had no time to dodge. The captain's corpse slammed into him and sent him flying, tearing him apart midair.

The last Hidden Cloud Village ninja saw his companion's grisly end, then saw the distance between himself and Setsuna steadily shrinking. At last, rage overcame fear. He stopped, turned around, and formed hand seals. "You bastard, I'll fight you to the—"

However, he had only formed his second seal when Setsuna caught up and kicked him apart.

A dead silence fell over the forest. Minato Namikaze and Kushina stared at the scene in shock, feeling as though their entire understanding of the world had been rearranged. Perhaps only the Third Raikage possessed that kind of explosive power.

The thought that they had instinctively compared the Third Raikage to a Ninja Academy student who had not even graduated yet made them both feel as though none of this was real.

Setsuna calmly avoided the rain of blood and looked at Minato Namikaze with innocent eyes. "Senior Minato Namikaze, could I trouble you to handle the aftermath of these invaders? I haven't finished training today, and I still need to continue my night run."

Minato Namikaze nodded instinctively. "Oh, right. Okay. Go ahead."

Setsuna adjusted his breathing and continued running forward.

Only after Setsuna left did Kushina turn to Minato Namikaze with a stunned expression. "Minato Namikaze, are the Ninja Academy graduation requirements really that ridiculous now? Even a genius like him can't graduate?"

Minato Namikaze gave a bitter smile. "It's because he has no talent for ninjutsu. He can't even use the most basic Three Body Technique. Every day, he only does the most tedious physical training. No one knew his taijutsu had reached this level."

As he spoke, Minato Namikaze imagined himself in that Hidden Cloud Village ninja's position. If it had been him, could he have completed his hand seals before Setsuna attacked?

After thinking about it briefly, Minato Namikaze secretly sighed. Looks like I still need to develop a ninjutsu that requires no hand seals. It would work perfectly with the Flying Thunder God Technique.

Kushina sighed as well. "This is the first time I've realized taijutsu ninjas can be this strong. Ordinary Jonin can't even form hand seals in front of him."

"Taijutsu ninjas are indeed very strong in one-on-one combat." Minato Namikaze nodded, then added, "But in large-scale wars, taijutsu ninjas have far less room to make an impact."

Looking in the direction Setsuna had gone, Minato Namikaze sighed. "No matter what, I think I need to recommend to Lord Hokage that the Ninja Academy's graduation requirements be changed."