Hiruzen Sarutobi's order arrived instantly, alarming the entire Hidden Konoha. Despite it being night, a large number of ninjas rushed about, searching everywhere.
In a jungle.
Two figures flashed by in an instant.
"Etc!"
Mirei Uzumaki, her eyes flashing, and her hands rapidly Hand Seals while she closed her eyes.
After a breath, she opened her eyes, a hint of joy on her face.
"Great! We can sense a little bit of direction now. Let's notify everyone quickly!"
Standing beside her was Minato Namikaze. Upon hearing her words, his eyes flickered slightly, and he said, "No, we should hurry and catch up. The Kumogakure Surprise Attack Force is very fast. By the time you notify everyone, they may have completely left your sensing range for Kushina."
"But... the two of us going after them?!"
"Yes, I'm here, it's alright."
Minato Namikaze smiled, which inexplicably eased Mirei Uzumaki's mind, and she nodded gently.
Then, the two quickly flew off in the direction that Mirei Uzumaki could sense.
The relationship between Mirei Uzumaki and Kushina Uzumaki is not as simple as that of ordinary cousins; in fact, the two are remarkably similar in many ways.
If Uya hadn't been so prejudiced that she was certain Kushina was the first to arrive in Konoha, she might not have been able to tell the two apart if they had the same name.
However, regardless of the circumstances, Nine-Tails Jinchuriki Kushina, which doesn't change the fact that it still makes the subsequent plot more unpredictable.
Uya always felt that many things seemed to have been altered, and even the appearance of Mirei Uzumaki was manipulated by some force behind the scenes. Uya once suspected Madara Uchiha, but later shook his head.
Because it makes no sense for Madara Uchiha to manipulate such things.
Just like in the original story, they left a hair mark as evidence...
In the jungle, Uya was holding a few strands of bright red hair in his hand. At the same time, he went to a treetop and picked up another strand.
Although Kushina's hair was bright red, in such a forest, a single strand of red hair was so insignificant that most people would not even notice it!
However, although Uya's perception-type barrier cannot perceive color, he can clearly sense even an ant within a radius of one mile.
With this, Uya easily found the mark left by Kushina and tracked it down.
Despite the Kumogakure Surprise Attack Force's incredible speed and Uya's distraction from constantly sensing the surrounding environment, Uya continued to close in!
This alone shows just how fast Uya is now!
In the dense forest.
More than ten Kumogakure were running rapidly, their bodies crackling with arcs of lightning as they moved through the forest.
One of them was carrying a girl bound by ropes; it was none other than Kushina.
Kushina's hands were tied behind her back, her fingers only able to touch her own hair. Cloud Ninja, she kept tearing off strands of hair as marks and throwing them into the woods.
However, even she herself found it hard to believe that such a mark could be discovered.
It was incredibly difficult to spot even a few strands of her hair in the dense jungle.
"We're already quite far from Konoha, at this distance... even the marks on Mirei and me shouldn't be able to sense it anymore..."
As the Cloud Ninja dragged her forward, farther and farther away, Kushina's heart sank lower and lower until it sank into the abyss.
But she didn't give up. She kept pulling at her hair, throwing it onto tree trunks and onto the ground, hoping someone would find it.
"These Cloud Ninja are fast too. Even if they discover the mark I left, they'll have a hard time catching up. Am I just going to be taken to Kumogakure like this...?"
Kushina couldn't speak because a sealing talisman was stuck to her mouth. This talisman was also restricting her Chakra. Of course, if she could move her hands, she could easily break this seal, which she considered incredibly weak.
Even though she couldn't move her hands, she was able to break the seal little by little.
The problem is, even if she manages to break through, she won't be able to escape from these Cloud Ninja. Almost every one of them is Elite Chunin Cloud Ninja, and they are extremely fast.
They could even be considered speed-type Special Jōnin.
The leading ninja was an Elite Jonin Kumogakure from Kumogakure, a figure of some renown in the Shinobi World.
" Uya should be home by now. I wonder if he'll even notice I'm gone... But even if he does, it'll be too late to chase after him, and I don't even know if he'll be able to spot my mark."
Kushina whispered these words to herself, but she gritted her teeth and refused to give up, continuing to try to break the seal that restricted her Chakra.
Finally, thanks to the Uzumaki Clan's mastery of Sealing Jutsu, she broke the seal and instantly freed herself from the ropes, attempting to escape.
Whoosh!!
However, in the next instant, all the Cloud Ninja stopped in their tracks, turned around, and surrounded her once again with a few flashes.
The Cloud Ninja were far faster than her.
"She broke the seal."
"As expected of a ninja from the Uzumaki Clan, what should we do?"
"Knock her out, or cripple her completely. It doesn't matter what happens to the Jinchūriki, as long as the seal is intact and we bring the Nine-Tails back safely."
Several Cloud Ninja stared at Kushina with a hint of coldness in their eyes.
Kushina, standing in the middle, gritted her teeth. She was actually very confused as to how the Cloud Ninja knew her identity.
It's important to know that almost no one in Konoha knows she is the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, not even the Sannin.
It's utterly unbelievable that these Cloud Ninja from other villages knew this!
"Hurry up, or the Konoha Ninja will catch up."
The leader of the Cloud Ninja Surprise Attack Force looked around the field and spoke coldly.
A ninja standing nearby nodded and prepared to step forward, knock Kushina unconscious, and then carry her away.
Kushina Cloud Ninja, ready to fight back.
Whoosh!!
Even without relying on the Nine-Tails ' power, Kushina's strength was still at the Chunin level, and she managed to barely dodge the attack from a Cloud Ninja.
But the Cloud Ninja's expression remained completely calm. Even if he were all alone, let alone surrounded by their men, he wouldn't be worried.
Because he's fast enough!
Just as Kushina leaped high from the treetop, intending to jump to another tree, lightning crackled around the Cloud Ninja, and his body suddenly transformed into a blur, rushing directly towards Kushina in mid-air.
Kushina was in mid-air and had no way to dodge this attack. Moreover, the speed of the Cloud Ninja was far too fast for Kushina, after all, they were Cloud Ninja Surprise Attack Force, ninjas who were experts in speed.
Cloud Ninja couldn't react to the Kushina's movements at all, and a sense of unwillingness and despair flashed through her mind.
If they were caught again and knocked unconscious, they wouldn't even be able to leave a mark, and there would be no chance of being rescued.
But in the very next instant...
Kushina closed her eyes, a strange ripple suddenly spread from the sky! (To be continued.)