After this happened, he felt it necessary to take some time to visit the Uzumaki Clan, hoping to find some answers there.
After all, even Kushina's current situation was troubling him. The fact that Kumogakure wanted to obtain the Nine-Tails from Kushina was not surprising to Araki. After all, Kumogakure already had the Eight-Tails, and it was perfectly normal for them to yearn for and pursue even stronger Tailed Beast.
What struck him as odd was that Konoha was behind all these events, and he didn't want to simply and crudely attribute them all to Danzo, even though Danzo was the most suspicious. He feared that such a preconceived notion would cloud his judgment.
To some extent, Araki was limited by certain preconceived notions. Just now, he realized that the Uzumaki Clan had not been wiped out. In any point in his reading of the Naruto story, and in his understanding of Naruto, he had never encountered the Uzumaki Clan. The few he knew about were only some descendants of the Uzumaki Clan.
Judging from the current situation, it's possible that it really does have something to do with the Uzumaki Clan!
Do you think they carry that special Kunai?
Just then, Kushina's voice slowly rang out, clearly reaching Araki's ears and pulling him back from his daze.
This brought his mind back to the Chunin Ninja Exams.
"I don't think so." Minato shook his head and said, "Judging from what they said at the beginning, it seems they didn't get the Kunai, which is why they're searching everywhere. If they had gotten it, they would probably hide. That's a very normal line of thinking."
"That's right." Araki had been silent until now, nodded and said, "The reason they don't believe our explanation is because we acted as if we weren't even looking for the Kunai. As a result, they thought we already had the Kunai and were just waiting for time to run out."
"I think so too." Minato nodded. From the fact that the other person kept asking him questions, it was clear that he still wanted to obtain the Kunai.
"Next, we..."
Kushina was about to ask her question, she suddenly widened her eyes and looked sharply behind her.
at the same time.
Minato and Araki also looked towards the entrance behind them.
"Someone's coming!"
Kushina's genitals contracted sharply. She kept controlling her senses, looking around, trying to anticipate the enemy's movements even with the traps she had set.
This action actually coincided with Araki's, but Minato and Kushina were unaware of Araki's sensory abilities.
While Araki was pondering, he had already sensed several auras approaching, but he didn't pay them much attention because these auras didn't seem particularly strong. Furthermore, they had set up traps here, and most importantly, these auras were outside the Chunin Ninja Exams arena.
However, at this very moment, these auras opened the entrance to the Chunin Ninja Exams arena and began to approach them.
Such behavior undoubtedly violates the rules of the Chunin Ninja Exams.
However, none of these Kumogakure ninjas cared, because they had another mission, and this mission was far more important than the Chunin Ninja Exams.
"Let's guess whose trap they'll fall into this time?"
Araki's voice rang out calmly, his face turning cold. When facing the first wave of Kumogakure ninjas, these people were all legitimate participants in the Chunin Ninja Exams, and they were all contestants they had seen before.
At least nominally, they are contestants.
However, there were two or three Chunin among them, and Nankain, Jonin.
However, in the context of the Chunin Ninja Exams, it's not particularly surprising that Nankain, as the chief examiner, was present. Therefore, this is all within the realm of explanation and cannot be said to have completely violated the rules of the Chunin Ninja Exams.
But now, these Kumogakure are brazenly walking in from Chunin Ninja Exams arena and heading in their direction, their goal quite clear.
This shows that they all came with a mission, and the target of that mission was Kushina, or rather, the Nine-Tails.
"Your."
Minato rolled his eyes helplessly. He was already in a tense state of combat readiness, but he didn't expect Araki's sudden teasing question to dispel the oppressive atmosphere and make him feel less urgent.
Under these circumstances, Minato suddenly became less tense.
Yes.
We've already set up the traps.
Even Nankain, Jonin, was unable to move after being poisoned with that kind of poison.
What else is there to be afraid of?
At that moment, Minato thought of the time when they encountered the Sunagakure ninjas at the border of the Land of Fire. The poison they released at that time had even caused Jiraiya-sensei to be unconscious for a considerable period of time, completely unable to control his body.
This made him marvel at the power of the Sunagakure ninjas' poisons at that time. No wonder they were able to fight against Konoha with such a small number of people, using their ability to control puppets and poisons, and not be at a disadvantage.
Based on this, Minato no longer had any worries.
As long as these people fall into the trap.
Then only one fate awaited them: death!
In a short time
Araki and his two companions stood quietly in place, making no movement whatsoever, simply waiting for the arrival of the Kumogakure ninjas.
This scene also came into the view of the Kumogakure ninjas.
"?????"
These Kumogakure ninjas didn't say anything, but a whole bunch of little question marks popped into their heads. Faced with such a strange sight, everyone had some odd thoughts in their minds.
It was as if they weren't hunters who came here to capture prey, but rather prey that the hunters were waiting for.
This idea seems extremely impractical.
However, these are their most genuine thoughts right now.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh...
These Kumogakure ninjas moved swiftly through the Chunin Ninja Exams arena, appearing not far from Araki and his companions in no time. After all, Araki and his group had only stopped at the main entrance and hadn't actually gone inside.
After the Kumogakure ninjas stopped, their gazes swept over Araki and his two companions, lingering most on Kushina, and they nodded from time to time.
"That's her!"
A dark brown-skinned woman among the Kumogakure ninjas glanced sharply at Kushina and immediately commanded in an unquestionable tone, "Take her away!"
"Yes!"
Following this command, the Kumogakure ninjas on the scene immediately rushed towards Kushina's direction. To them, even if the current situation was somewhat strange, she was still just three Genin who had come to participate in the Chunin Ninja Exams. Even if they all possessed the strength of Chunin, they had only just become Chunin.
only...
After issuing the order, the female ninja fell into deep thought.
Where did Nankain go?
"Based on the current situation, there are only those three Konoha Ninja here, and judging from their appearance, they are unharmed."
"There are indeed some signs of a fight here, but it was clearly not a large-scale one. It was probably left from a battle with other ninjas participating in the Chunin Ninja Exams."
What exactly happened?
The female ninja frowned deeply, unable to understand what was going on. After all, according to the information she knew, Nankain had personally led a team to find their target Kushina.
However, the target is still here, but Nankain has disappeared.
This is really weird!
Of course, she didn't even consider the possibility that Nankain might be killed. In her previous understanding and impression, Nankain was an extremely powerful Jonin who would never stumble in such a place.
"Smack!"
Just then, among the Kumogakure ninjas rushing towards Kushina, one of them stepped on a piece of wood on the ground, making a soft sound. A rope swept across the ground, and several Kunai were launched upwards from below.
Rest! Rest! Rest! Rest! Rest!
These Kunai all made a series of whooshing sounds as they flew out at extremely high speeds and very suddenly, catching the Kumogakure ninjas on the scene somewhat off guard.
Pfft! Pfft! Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!
The sounds of piercing echoed one after another, accompanied by cries of agony. At this distance, some of the Kunai that flew from the ground pierced the soles of the feet, while others hit vital points with remarkable precision.
Looks like you've won the lottery this time.
Araki turned his head to look at Minato beside him, a faint smile appearing on his lips. What these Kumogakure ninjas had triggered was precisely the trap set by Minato.
Chapter 72 I'll Fight to the End
Konoha: Nobody knew I could use Wood Release! Chapter 72 I'll play along to the end.
Just as Araki said, these Kumogakure ninjas fell into the trap set by Minato.
Minato's traps have a very obvious characteristic: they are set up using ninja tools. This physical attack method is very direct and effective, but once it arouses defense, it is difficult to achieve a second effect.
"Yeah, I thought it would be yours. Looks like these people aren't good enough!"
= Minato sighed and said that he did feel that the cost of Araki's traps was far higher than his own. In this respect, he felt that only a more powerful opponent was worthy of those poison traps, such as someone like Nankain.
As the traps were triggered, Kunai flew wildly through the air, their sharp blades slicing through the bodies of the Kumogakure ninjas, leaving trails of blood.
However, this physical attack is not easily fatal, since these Kunai launched from below, and their destructive power is inherently limited.
"Waaaaaah!"
The Kumogakure ninjas present immediately let out cries of pain after being stabbed. Under such a dense Kunai, almost everyone had more or less wounds on their bodies, but they were not fatally injured. Their gazes toward Minato and the other two became even colder.
You actually used a trap!
"That's utterly despicable and shameless."
"Kill them."
"Kill them all except that woman!"
"..."
The Kumogakure ninjas present immediately roared in anger, their hearts burning with fury. After all, this was originally a very simple task for them, requiring no special preparation whatsoever, as their opponents were just three simple Genin.
However, to their surprise, dealing with just three Genin resulted in each of them sustaining injuries.
This made them feel an indescribable sense of humiliation.
Under such humiliation and provocation, the anger in everyone's hearts intensified. If they didn't teach Minato and Araki, these two genin who made them grit their teeth Genin hatred, it would be difficult to quell their resentment.
certainly...
Their anger naturally extended to Kushina, but they dared not do anything to Kushina, since she was their mission target.
" Minato, you're handling these people, right?" Araki turned his head slightly to look at Minato and asked in a low voice.
"No problem." Minato nodded. From the way they had dodged the trap, it was clear that even if these people were at the Chunin level, they weren't particularly strong. Besides, not everyone was Chunin. Kumogakure didn't have enough Chunin to spare. The vast majority were Genin, mostly older, more experienced Genin who looked down on other Genin.
"I'll take care of that woman."
Araki's gaze fell upon the female ninja from Kumogakure who had remained motionless. Her skin was dark brown, and her explosive physique accentuated her well-defined muscles. It was clear from her facial expression that she was a relatively central figure in the group.