Mito Uzumaki

Though Quanzhen Swordsmanship came from a low-powered martial arts world, its strikes flowed without end once unleashed. Bolstered by Qingyun's Internal Force, it grew even more powerful, easily rivaling an ordinary B-rank Secret Technique.

The masked Ninja's pupils contracted at the sight of Qingyun's Sword Technique. He channeled Chakra over his Tachi, blocking Qingyun's relentless attacks.

"Interesting. Fine Swordsmanship, but what will you do if I attack that girl?"

As he spoke, the masked Ninja continued swinging his Tachi to fend off Qingyun's attacks while forming hand seals with one hand.

Seeing the masked Ninja form one-handed seals, Qingyun felt a surge of unease. Assuming the Ninja intended to use Ninjutsu against him, he hurriedly gathered his Internal Force to counter with a technique of his own.

Suddenly, Qingyun noticed that the masked assassin's sequence of seals was different. This is bad. He forcibly interrupted the Fire Release: Flame Bullet he was preparing, swinging the Azure Edge Sword fiercely to drive the Ninja back while gathering a large amount of Internal Force in his feet, ready to rush toward Kushina.

Sure enough, just as Qingyun gathered Chakra in his feet, his vision blurred, and the masked Ninja vanished from sight.

Qingyun's face tightened with anxiety. Cursing inwardly, he raced toward Kushina.

At the last possible moment, Qingyun stepped in front of Kushina, holding the Azure Edge Sword across his chest.

Clang!

The masked Ninja's Tachi struck the Azure Edge Sword head-on. Although Qingyun blocked the attack, its tremendous force sent him flying.

Qingyun rolled several times across the ground before finally dissipating the impact. He slowly rose, a trace of blood seeping from the corner of his mouth. Propping himself up with the Azure Edge Sword, he stared coldly at the masked Ninja. "Despicable."

The masked Ninja sneered at Qingyun's words. "A Ninja uses any means necessary to complete a mission. What's so wrong with that?"

As he spoke, he formed seals again and used the Body Flicker Technique to appear behind Kushina, slashing his Tachi viciously at her.

Qingyun's expression turned frantic. With no time to worry about anything else, he instantly activated his Sharingan. His eyes turned blood-red, two tomoe spinning within each pupil.

With his Sharingan active, Qingyun felt the world around him become perfectly clear. He could see the masked Ninja's every movement and even predict where his attacks would land.

Using the Golden Wild Goose Technique, he blocked the masked Ninja's attack once more before it could land. At the same time, he formed one-handed seals. "Fire Release: Flame Bullet!"

A fireball unlike that of the Great Fireball Technique shot toward the masked Ninja.

The masked Ninja's pupils contracted when he saw Qingyun's eyes become Sharingan. But he had no time to ponder why Qingyun had awakened them at such a young age, much less a Two-Tomoe Sharingan. He used the Body Flicker Technique to evade the Flame Bullet, then stood some distance away, staring at Qingyun in astonishment. "A Two-Tomoe Sharingan. What incredible talent!"

"Qingyun, are you all right?"

Only then did Kushina come back to her senses. Everything had happened in a flash. Sensing something behind her, she turned to find Qingyun staring coldly at the masked Ninja with blood-red eyes. A trace of blood still lingered at the corner of his mouth; he had clearly suffered internal injuries.

"I'm fine. Kushina, go!"

Qingyun did not turn around. He merely urged Kushina to leave as quickly as possible.

Hearing this, Kushina looked at Qingyun risk his life to protect her and felt deeply moved. She fought down the urge to stay and help him, turned, and started running again!

Qingyun did not look at Kushina. His eyes remained fixed on the masked ninja, his right hand gripping the Azure Edge Sword while his left poised to form seals, ready for an attack at any moment.

Yet the masked ninja seemed lost in thought. He ignored the fleeing Kushina and continued staring blankly at Qingyun.

The surroundings were utterly silent. As a faint breeze blew past, Qingyun rapidly formed seals with his left hand. "Lightning Release: Earth Flow!"

A streak of electricity immediately raced along the ground toward an empty spot. Qingyun then used the Golden Wild Goose Technique to rush toward the point where Earth Flow would strike.

Just as Earth Flow reached that empty spot, the masked ninja arrived there. But he reacted swiftly, using the Body Flicker Technique again to escape its range and appear behind Qingyun.

Seeing the masked ninja vanish from Earth Flow's range, Qingyun sensed something behind him. He forced himself to turn, slashing the Azure Edge Sword fiercely behind him.

Clink!

Another sharp metallic sound rang out. The masked ninja blocked Qingyun's attack, then disappeared again.

Qingyun's eyes darted about, scanning his surroundings. But the masked ninja did not reappear. Realizing something was wrong, Qingyun raced in the direction Kushina had fled.

As he ran, he pondered the masked ninja's identity. By now, Qingyun could already tell something was off.

If he really came for me, why does he keep attacking Kushina? With the speed of his Body Flicker Technique, he's had plenty of chances to kill me. Yet he's deliberately holding back, ignoring me and turning to attack Kushina instead.

It's as though he keeps forcing me to rescue Kushina. This doesn't seem like an attempt to kill me. It's more like...

When Kushina's stumbling figure came back into view, the masked ninja was just swinging his Tachi at her.

Qingyun had no time to think. He raced toward Kushina at full speed and appeared in front of her again just before the masked ninja's Tachi reached her.

This time, however, the distance had been too great. Qingyun only managed to get in front of Kushina; he had no time to gather his internal force and use Quanzhen Swordsmanship. The Tachi slashed viciously into him.

Squelch!

Pain flared through Qingyun's chest. His left hand clamped tightly around the Tachi's edge, refusing to let the masked ninja pull it free.

"Qingyun..."

Kushina turned and saw blood pouring from a wound in Qingyun's chest, quickly staining his entire body red. Yet even then, he kept a death grip on the Tachi, preventing the other man from attacking her. After freezing for a moment, she screamed and turned back to support Qingyun.

The masked ninja looked at Qingyun with conflicting emotions in his eyes and said quietly, "Does this girl really matter that much to you? You could have abandoned her and escaped on your own just now."

Qingyun stared hard at the masked ninja. He gave a dry cough, coughing up the blood that had pooled inside him, before saying slowly, "She's one of the few friends I have. They're the reason I don't feel alone in this world. I won't let them die. I don't want to feel that loneliness again!"

Nearly five years had passed since he had transmigrated into the world of Naruto. For the first three years, loneliness had surrounded him every moment. Only after Minato appeared had he felt any warmth in this world.

As for Kushina, Qingyun had initially avoided getting too close to her. He knew she would become the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, and with his own unusual identity, he did not want to get caught up in too much trouble.

But Kushina's stubbornness had gradually led Qingyun to accept her as a friend. Remembering how Kushina's experiences in the Original Story resembled his own, Qingyun felt a kinship with her and a deep sympathy for this girl who was strong on the outside but soft within.

She had become Qingyun's second friend after Minato Namikaze. He did not want his friends to die before his eyes. If Minato Namikaze and Kushina vanished from his world, Qingyun feared he would go mad.

The most frightening thing in the world was not never having something, but having it only to lose it, forced to watch helplessly as it slipped away, unable to hold on.

That was the main reason Qingyun had risked his life to save Kushina.

At his words, conflicting emotions filled the masked Ninja's eyes. He released his grip on the Tachi, leaving it in Qingyun's hand, then disappeared into a cloud of smoke with a poof.

Qingyun watched the white smoke warily. But when it cleared, his eyes widened as he stared in disbelief at the figure before him.

A beautiful woman with the same red hair as Kushina stood before them.

"G-Grandma Mito? Why is it you?" Kushina stammered as she looked at the beautiful woman before her.

Mito Uzumaki. So my earlier suspicion was right. She had plenty of chances to kill me, but never took them. Instead, she kept forcing me to rescue Kushina.

This wasn't an assassination attempt against me. It was a test.

Qingyun pulled the Tachi from his body and tossed it onto the ground, then dropped to a sitting position and began gasping for breath!

He had held up while the danger was immediate, but now that his taut nerves suddenly relaxed, Qingyun could no longer endure it. He kept panting heavily.

"Qingyun, are you all right? Grandma Mito, why did you do this?"

Kushina glanced anxiously at Qingyun as he sat on the ground gasping for breath, then turned to Mito Uzumaki with an angry expression and demanded an answer.