After hearing Araki's words, Minato's expression became even more serious. All the past events began to connect, and his thoughts continued to expand.
Aside from two attacks on Kumogakure that he was unaware of, he had experienced everything else.
The mere mention of that trip to the border, and the strange behavior of Sunagakure at the time, allowed him to understand what Araki was saying.
" Kushina was attacked twice by ninjas from Kumogakure, both times within Konoha. There has been no explanation since, and it's unclear how the Kumogakure ninjas managed to infiltrate Konoha."
"When Kushina was on a mission with us, she went to the border of the Land of Fire and was kidnapped by the ninjas of Sunagakure at all costs. In the end, there was no explanation, and they already knew about it as soon as we arrived there."
"Now Kushina has come to Kumogakure with us again to participate in the Chunin Ninja Exams, and we've been attacked again, but we've managed to evade it once more. But who arranged for us to come here to participate in the Chunin Ninja Exams?"
Minato muttered to himself, one sentence after another, his brain racing. He vaguely sensed that there seemed to be an invisible hand manipulating everything within the upper echelons of Konoha.
Chapter 69 Trap
Konoha: Nobody knew I could use Wood Release! Chapter 69: Trap
At this moment, Minato's expression was extremely serious. His mind was in turmoil as he pondered the matter of Kushina.
Just let these things go.
It's terrifying to think about!
This could very well involve the higher-ups of Konoha!
If it were just one or two simple things, that would be fine, but now, with so many things piled up, it's hard not to overthink it.
"I don't know who arranged for us to participate in the Chunin Ninja Exams, but when I learned that we were coming to Kumogakure, I started thinking about this question. Maybe it has something to do with Kushina," Araki said in a deep voice.
"They're definitely related!"
Minato said with absolute certainty that if he hadn't known about these things, he might have thought that it was all just Araki's delusion, or that Kushina had some kind of paranoia. But after learning about these things, he felt more and more that this matter was not simple.
"So, when you asked Jiraiya-sensei that question, it was because you were already thinking about it?"
"That's right." Araki nodded, quite satisfied with Minato's reaction. After all, Minato was a smart man. If you wanted to fool a smart man, you couldn't just talk about it. The more you talked, the more problems might arise. It would be counterproductive. It was better to let Minato experience it for himself.
"I didn't understand before, but now I do. Since this is a possibility, did Jiraiya-sensei think of it?" Minato muttered, stroking his chin in confusion.
"I don't think so," Araki shook his head and said, "Judging from Jiraiya-sensei's attitude towards us during this time, he treated this as the purest Chunin Ninja Exams and hoped that we could perform well in the Chunin Ninja Exams. He didn't think about anything more than that."
"I think so too..." Minato's azure eyes were filled with contemplation.
"It's not just a feeling, but also an information gap." Araki continued, " Jiraiya-sensei doesn't know about the intruders from Kumogakure, just like you. It's not that we deliberately concealed these things, but when these events occurred, our relationship with you and Jiraiya-sensei wasn't what it is now. Naturally, there was no need to bring up the past at this point in time, so we could only silently experience it."
"I understand that." Minato appeared very rational. This kind of thing is not hard to understand. Even he did not reveal everything about his past after meeting Araki and Kushina. To be concerned about such things would make him seem very petty.
"But..."
When Minato got to this point, his tone suddenly changed, and his brows furrowed even more, as if he had thought of something.
"I still have a few doubts. There are three things we know for sure."
"The first one is the invaders from Kumogakure."
"The second incident was the crazy incident involving the ninjas of Sunagakure on the border of the Land of Fire."
"The third thing is the current Chunin Ninja Exams."
"If all three of these things are related to Kumogakure, then we can attribute these things to Kumogakure. But what about Sunagakure?"
Minato fell into deep thought. He keenly noticed the problem and key point of the matter: the three issues were different for the person who wanted to plunder Kushina.
"Could it be that both Sunagakure and Kumogakure want Kushina?"
Minato's thoughts raced, and after saying that, he silently added in his mind, "Not Kushina, but the Nine-Tails."
"Is there another possibility?" Araki didn't answer, but continued to guide Minato.
"You mean...?"
This time, Minato really didn't react in time. It wasn't that Minato's reaction speed was slow, but rather that at this stage, he had been thinking about this problem, but in his mind, there was no answer.
"What if Sunagakure and Kumogakure were together?" Araki nodded slightly.
"You mean the Sunagakure and the Kumogakure have formed an alliance?" Minato suddenly exclaimed, then calmly analyzed, "We can't rule out that possibility. The Sunagakure ninjas clearly don't care about being enemies with the Konoha. Even if it escalates into war, they can accept it. The only thing I find hard to understand is, what benefit do they gain from doing this?"
"Let's look at it from another angle. If Sunagakure obtains Kushina and hands her over to Kumogakure, could they gain Kumogakure's protection and form an Kumogakure with them?" Araki said calmly.
"This..." Minato's shock deepened. He realized that such a possibility existed, and it wasn't far off. After thinking for a moment, he said, " Araki, the possibility you mentioned does exist. We don't know the specifics right now, but I think that Sunagakure and Kumogakure are connected, and it's this connection that led to this."
"That's what I think too." Araki nodded.
"Actually, it's not just Sunagakure and Kumogakure that have connections. I think one or more high-ranking officials in Konoha also have connections with Kumogakure. They used Konoha's Nine-Tails Jinchuriki as a bargaining chip to gain benefits from Kumogakure. This is a typical act of selling out the village!" Minato said this with intense anger on his face. It wasn't just because this involved Kushina, but also because he had received the Will of Fire education since childhood and had a strong sense of belonging to Konoha. Now that he had discovered this, he simply couldn't accept such corrupt Konoha. This village was in stark contrast to the village he envisioned.
" Minato, I think the same thing you mentioned. I believe Jiraiya-sensei also considered this, which is why he specifically asked the Third Lord Hokage a question after that mission at the Land of Fire's border. However, nothing came of it, and I don't know if Jiraiya-sensei found that person." Araki said in a deep voice.
"You're talking about that 'traitor,' aren't you!" Minato still had a vivid memory of what happened on the Land of Fire's border. After all, it was their first mission, but it ended in a very comical way. Everything he knew afterward was only revealed to him after he woke up, so he felt very uninvolved. Of course, it was also after that incident that he learned that Kushina was the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki of Konoha. He then coldly said, "I will personally inquire about this matter with Jiraiya-sensei."
" Minato, don't get emotional. We expected this outcome. This isn't Jiraiya-sensei's fault, so there's no need to have any unpleasantness with Jiraiya-sensei over this," Araki immediately advised.
"I understand. I know what I should and shouldn't say. Jiraiya-sensei has been very good to us. I know it's not his fault. It's just that I didn't expect the village to be so corrupt." Minato stopped speaking abruptly. Details he hadn't considered before flashed through his mind. He looked up sharply, staring intently at Araki, his eyes wide with disbelief. " Araki, tell me the truth," he said. "When we first went on our mission, those Kumogakure ninjas we encountered right after leaving Konoha —were they after Kushina?"
"I don't know, I really don't know." Araki didn't speak this time. Although he had suggested interrogating Jiraiya-sensei, he had only tortured him, not interrogated him at all. He then explained, "I don't know if the Konoha Torture and Interrogation Force has reached any conclusions on this matter."
"No wonder you were so ruthless towards the ninjas of Kumogakure back then." As Minato relived the past, he gradually realized that many things he hadn't understood before now made sense. Back then, he wondered why Araki's behavior was so extreme, which led to a conflict with Araki, as he felt their thinking differed. Now, he gradually understood. Although he didn't verbally apologize to Araki, he completely agreed with Araki's actions. If given the opportunity again in the future, he might make the same decision as Araki.
"Let's not talk about the past anymore. Now that you have a basic understanding of these things, we can move on." Araki steered the conversation towards the future.
"What are your plans?" Minato asked, staring at Araki.
"Continue the Chunin Ninja Exams," Araki said, his eyes burning with determination.
"That's what I think too. If we back out now, it would make us seem guilty. We've already signed the life-or-death agreement on this Chunin Ninja Exams battlefield, so it's a very good opportunity for Kumogakure to make a move, but for us, isn't it also the best opportunity?" Minato's lips curled into a cold smile as he said, "In any other setting, we wouldn't be able to legitimately attack the Kumogakure ninjas. After all, we have to consider the political issues between villages, which could potentially trigger conflict or even sow the seeds of war. But on the Chunin Ninja Exams field, none of these problems exist."
"You mean..." Araki narrowed his eyes slightly. This was exactly what he was thinking, but it would have a different feel if he said it himself. He preferred Minato to say it. He was already very satisfied with the current situation. He said, "We may appear to be prey in the eyes of the Kumogakure, but in reality, we are the hunters who hunt the Kumogakure ninjas!"
"That's right!" Minato's excitement grew as well. "We were just discussing how the Chunin Ninja Exams proceed, and now Kumogakure has given us the answer. We just need to wait here and wait for them to come to us."
"As long as Kushina isn't taken away, they'll keep sending people in." Araki nodded in agreement.
"That's right, that's exactly what I mean. Rather than constantly changing locations, and potentially falling into their traps, it's better to set up traps here now and wait for the Kumogakure ninjas to take the bait." Minato said, patting his ninja tool bag. "I'll set up ninja tool traps here, and you set up poison traps here. Together, we'll ensure that those Kumogakure ninjas with improper intentions never return."
"No problem."
Araki was thinking of this outcome. The so-called ninja tool traps were physical traps, such as large pits that would make people fall in, filled with Kunai with sharp blades, or nets that could restrain them. In short, Minato was very good at this. The poison traps that he needed to set up were chemical traps. As long as the poison was triggered, then at least half the battle would be won.
"What about me?!"
Just then, Kushina, who hadn't spoken for a while, suddenly spoke up. Seeing her two companions, Minato and Araki, working so diligently for her sake, she felt a warm current well up in her heart, and her mood improved considerably.
"I can set up a sealing trap!"
Meeting their gazes, Kushina slightly puffed out her rather well-developed chest to project confidence, and said, "My Sealing Jutsu are more effective when pre-arranged, saving me the trouble of setting them up on the spot during battle."
Good heavens!
Araki couldn't help but exclaim in his heart.
Physical traps, chemical traps, and now there's a magical trap.
That completes the set.
The complete set.
"Then let's have a good hunt!"
Minato's eyes gleamed with intense excitement, and he was filled with anticipation for what might happen in the future, a stark contrast to his demeanor when he first entered the Chunin Ninja Exams arena.
In a sense, this is a change in belief.
He had previously believed that the Chunin Ninja Exams were crucial for improving their ninja rank and for the honor of Konoha.
But now that he's at this point in time, he understands that they're caught in a conspiracy orchestrated by an unseen force. This has changed his mindset, and he now hopes to hunt down the ninjas of Kumogakure to soothe his anger.
After Minato finished speaking.
The three of them then went about their separate activities.
In their respective areas of expertise, they began setting traps that would be fatal to the Kumogakure ninjas. Even the gentle Minato, under the influence of these emotions, did not show any mercy.
Gradually.
over time.
The Kumogakure ninjas waiting outside the arena had yet to receive any information about Nankain.
Anxiety began to creep into my heart.
Chapter 70 The Uninvited Guest
Konoha: Nobody knew I could use Wood Release! Chapter 70 The Uninvited Guest
Three hours later.
Araki and his two companions sat on the ground, having completed the traps they had set.
During the time it took to set up the plan, no one came out to disturb them. It was clear that the people who had just appeared were the ones responsible for kidnapping Kushina.
To some extent, this is not surprising, given the strength of these people, including Jonin like Nankain. It was expected that they would be easy to defeat.
However, they did not expect Araki to interrupt their offensive.
"I didn't expect it to go so smoothly. I thought someone would attack us while we were setting the trap, which made me quite nervous," Minato said with a grin. Actually, for him, it wasn't just about protecting Kushina. He and Araki, who knew the situation, would definitely be silenced after Kushina was kidnapped. So, in essence, he was also protecting his own life.
"Right now, the people remaining in this area should be the more genuine participants in the Chunin Ninja Exams. Those responsible for capturing us should have been wiped out just now, but if I'm not mistaken, more people might come in later," Araki analyzed seriously. "Based on my understanding of Kumogakure, they won't give up after just one failure; otherwise, the Chunin Ninja Exams wouldn't be happening now."
"I agree with you. If they had given up, none of this would have happened. The fact that things are in this situation shows that Kumogakure hasn't given up on the Nine-Tails." Minato's eyes flashed with determination. He was very unhappy about what was happening. This was no longer a simple matter; it involved the entire village.
"What do we do now?" Kushina's face was slightly pale. Setting up those barriers and seals had consumed a lot of Chakra, leaving her feeling somewhat weak.
"Waiting for a rabbit to run into a tree stump."
Araki uttered four words in a low voice, which represented their next goal. After all, staying here was far more suitable for them than going elsewhere, allowing them to wait more conveniently for things to happen.
As time went by, they had been at the Chunin Ninja Exams venue for more than six hours.
During this time, they waited quietly in place, and no one came to disturb them.
This is quite easy to understand.
After all, unless it was someone from Kumogakure specifically tasked with capturing Kushina, everyone else remaining here was participating in the Chunin Ninja Exams. Therefore, their target was the Kumogakure ninja who had previously been considered targets, since those people had special Kunai, which represented the tokens that allowed them to successfully pass the Chunin Ninja Exams.