"Who?"
Kushina instantly became alert.
She knew that she had a special status, and there were many Anbu protecting her.
In addition, this was Konoha Village—logically speaking, there shouldn't be any danger.
But something was clearly wrong.
"Zizizi!"
A dazzling bolt of lightning suddenly tore through the roof, cutting a gap like a sharp blade.
Immediately after, two bodies fell from above, landing heavily on the wooden floor.
Large pools of blood oozed from their abdomens, staining the ground scarlet.
They wore masks on their faces.
Kushina's pupils shrank.
Because she recognized these two corpses.
They were Anbu—ninjas assigned to protect her.
"Be careful..."
Before she could react, two figures flashed into the room.
One of them appeared behind Rei (Ling Yi), while the other positioned himself beside Kushina.
A swift knife-hand strike knocked Rei out cold.
Kushina swung her fist at the masked man beside her.
But he simply tilted his head to the side, dodging effortlessly.
Then, he extended his palm and lightly tapped Kushina's shoulder.
"Lightning Style: Paralysis Technique."
A dazzling current of electricity surged through her body.
Kushina's limbs went numb, and she collapsed to the ground, powerless.
Before losing consciousness, she caught a glimpse of the man's face—
He was wearing a Konoha Anbu mask.
The masked man glanced down at her and muttered,
"Looks like I can't use this identity anymore."
Another masked figure let out a laugh.
"Tayura, you helped us kidnap the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki—do you really think you can still walk around Konoha like nothing happened?"
Before Tayura could respond, a deep voice came from outside.
"Leave quickly. Konoha will react soon."
After all, the Nine-Tails was Konoha's most valuable weapon.
And the Anbu stationed here reported their status every twenty minutes.
If it weren't for Tayura, the captain of an Anbu branch, betraying Konoha, they never would've been able to infiltrate this deeply.
Their time limit was clear—twenty minutes to escape.
"Understood." Tayura adjusted Kushina's unconscious body over his shoulder and looked toward the door. "Just don't forget your promise."
"Don't worry," the voice outside reassured him.
"Everything I promised you will be delivered."
"The escape route has already been arranged. Use Route 2."
At that moment, another masked man turned toward Rei, who was still unconscious.
"Boss, what about this little Hyuga girl?"
The deep voice outside responded without hesitation,
"Take her too."
Even though she wasn't from the main branch of the Hyuga Clan, and there was a high chance her Byakugan would be destroyed by the Caged Bird Seal if they tried to extract it—
She still had research value.
After all, it wasn't the first time Cloud Shinobi Village had set its sights on the Hyuga Clan's dojutsu.
"Got it."
The masked man grabbed Rei and vanished into the night.
"Once I stay behind, you all leave immediately," Clay, the leader of the operation, commanded.
"Yes."
To ensure the mission's success, Cloud Shinobi Village had sent a team of six for this operation.
Each of them was an elite battle-hardened ninja.
Among them, three were Jōnin, and three were Chūnin specializing in support skills.
With such a balanced formation, they had enough firepower to destroy a small country.
And with Tayura, a high-ranking Konoha Anbu captain, acting as a traitor, their actual combat strength reached seven.
Almost all of them were powerful enough to fight a Jōnin one-on-one.
But their operation involved more than just these seven individuals.
To secure their retreat route, create diversions, and confuse Konoha, Cloud Shinobi Village had mobilized hundreds of ninjas.
Countless scouts and spies had been deployed.
Many had already sacrificed their lives.
And only after countless sacrifices were these elite ninjas successfully inserted into Konoha.
With Tayura's help, they had eliminated the Anbu protecting Kushina.
Now, they just needed to use these twenty minutes to escape as quickly as possible.
Meanwhile, the leader of the mission, Elite Jōnin Clay, would stay behind to stall Konoha's pursuit.
Everything was for Cloud Shinobi Village's ultimate goal—
To bring the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki back to Cloud Shinobi Village.
There, they would use the special methods of their village to train a perfect Jinchūriki—
A living weapon with unstoppable combat power.
With time, the Land of Lightning would rise above all others.
They would surpass Konoha.
And they would rule the shinobi world.
For this ambition, Clay had already made up his mind—
He would fight to the death for his village!
As these thoughts swirled in his mind, he suddenly noticed a young man approaching the courtyard.
Hands in his pockets, strolling in casually.
Simu flicked the scroll in his hand lazily.
This was the new ninjutsu that Jiraiya had instructed Kushina to learn.
"I forgot to bring it to her earlier. But it shouldn't be too late now, right?"
He stepped up to the door and knocked.
"Kushina? I'm here to give you the scroll."
One second.
Two seconds.
Three seconds.
No response.
"...Weird. Isn't Rei here too? Why isn't anyone answering?"
Simu frowned slightly and sniffed the air.
A faint, metallic scent of blood lingered at the tip of his nose.
His expression darkened.
Something was very wrong.
Without hesitation, he kicked open the door and rushed toward the courtyard.
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