[NTU] [ARC-07-JOUNIN] Chapter : 119 (Patreon)

"Rin! Open the door, I forgot the key!"

Kushina, realizing she had been deceived by misleading rumors, returned to her home with haste. Despite not having her key, she didn't panic. She knew someone was in her (Minato's) home and began calling out.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

After knocking for a while with no response, Kushina sensed something was wrong. Concentrating for a moment, she shattered the door with a punch and carefully entered the house.

Ignoring the triggered seal traps thanks to her bloodline limit, she surveyed the room.

"Nothing unusual? Am I overthinking this?"

The room appeared untouched, with no signs of a struggle, but Lin was nowhere to be found. Kushina scoured the house, finding nothing out of place, which puzzled her.

"Did Rin go out on her own?"

But Rin was always obedient and wouldn't leave without any intimation to her.

"I’ll find out soon enough!"

Since Rin wasn’t in the house, Kushina expanded her search. Forming a seal, she spread her senses across Konoha, extending its range even further.

"No?"

Despite sensing all the chakra in Konoha, she found no trace of Rin, which darkened her expression.

"Still nothing!"

Even at the limit of her sensing range, she couldn't detect Rin’s chakra, but she did find something else.

"The traces of fighting here... they’re still fresh... this battle happened not long ago."

Near Minato’s house, the ground, walls, and grass showed signs of a recent fight. Kushina wasn't naive. Realizing Rin was in trouble, she knew anger would only make things worse. She became a red blur, disappearing from the spot.

"Who is it?"

The staff guarding the Hokage Building's reception room only saw a red blur zip by. Alert, they shouted loudly.

However, it was futile; Kushina had already entered the Sandaime Hokage’s office, obliterating the door in her haste.

"Kushina!"

Though the Sandaime Hokage recognized the returning Kyuubi Jinchuuriki, he feigned confusion.

Danzo Shimura, witnessing this, tried to suppress a grin, his face unaccustomed to showing emotion after years of stern expressions. He knew his earlier actions had taken effect.

"Sandaime, something terrible has happened—Nohara Rin is missing!"

Uzumaki Kushina was initially confused by Rin's disappearance. Seeing the Third Hokage, she calmed down slightly.

“I’ve sensed the surrounding areas of Konoha, but there’s no trace of Rin at all,” she reported. Then, noticing Shimura Danzo in the office, her expression turned dangerous, and her eyebrows arched with suspicion.

“Is it you? You’re the only one in Konoha who could take Rin away so silently!”

Instinctively, her body reacted before her mind, and she punched Danzo Shimura.

“Damn it!”

An angry curse formed in Danzo’s throat but was swallowed back by the force of Kushina’s punch.

Caught off guard, Danzo had no time to react. He never imagined Kushina would dare to create a scene in the Hokage's office, let alone attack him directly. It was intolerable, yet he couldn’t evade her nearly successful sneak attack.

Boom!

A loud explosion echoed from the Third Hokage’s office. The arriving staff were stunned, recalling familiar chaotic scenes just a few days before.

Danzo had no choice but to rely on the Third Hokage to block Kushina’s blow. Otherwise, the scene would have escalated even further.

“Uzumaki Kushina!!” Danzo roared, his voice filled with anger and fear, reverberating through the room. “Are you planning to rebel?”

He barked sharply from behind the Third Hokage, taking a stance as if ready to fight back, though he ultimately restrained himself, aware of the significant difference in their strengths. His face, however, was cold and severe.

Cough! Cough! Cough!

The Third Hokage, who had intervened to block Kushina’s punch, coughed harshly, drawing the attention of the other two.

‘This woman’s strength…’ Danzo thought, observing Sarutobi, the ‘Strongest Hokage,’ now injured by Kushina’s blow. Ambition sparked in his mind.

Hiruzen’s health was declining. Was this Danzo’s chance? With continued support for Orochimaru’s research on the First Hokage’s cells, could he one day...

“Enough!” The Third Hokage waved his hands to diffuse the tension. Though he had taken a punch from Kushina, it was delivered in anger and haste, so he managed to withstand it. He had inhaled a puff of smoke just before the impact, which caused his severe coughing.

“Everyone, calm down,” he commanded, asserting control over the situation.

“Tell me, was it you who kidnapped Rin for the Three Tails?” Kushina demanded, her tension easing slightly upon seeing the Sandaime Hokage wasn’t seriously injured by her punch. She glared at Danzo, who was hiding behind the Sandaime.

She remembered Danzo’s obsession with the Three Tails within Rin. Moreover, he had the capability to abduct Rin in Konoha Village while evading detection.

“Clearly, it was you who failed to safeguard the Three-Tails Jinchuuriki, resulting in her disappearance. This is your dereliction of duty, yet you blame me,” Danzo retorted, seizing the opportunity to manipulate the situation.

With the Sandaime blocking the punch for him, Danzo understood that the Third Hokage still had reservations about his chosen successor. “And here you are, wasting time arguing with me instead of taking action!”

“ANBU, what are you doing here? Why aren’t you organizing a search for the Three-Tails Jinchuuriki?” Danzo commanded the ANBU, who had gathered due to Sarutobi’s ‘attack.’

However, his order fell flat as the ANBU remained motionless, awaiting instructions from the Hokage.

“Go!” Sarutobi Hiruzen finally ordered, prompting the ANBU to leave a team behind to protect the Hokage before dispersing.

Kushina, uncertain whether Rin had indeed been captured by Danzo, looked at him with suspicion. Her sensing abilities could sense malice, but not specifics. Danzo always exuded an aura of malevolence, especially after their recent conflict.

“Kushina, you should join the search too,” the Sandaime Hokage urged. “With your sensing abilities and the ANBU’s tracking skills, we’ll find Rin soon. I’ll send additional teams to assist you.”

His words demonstrated his deep understanding of the Nine-Tails Jinchuuriki. Kushina didn’t disappoint, disappearing swiftly through the broken door, leaving chaos in her wake.

Inside the barrier, Obito, despite unlocking the three tomoe Sharingan in his anger, struggled against the root elites. Formerly a chuunin, even with White Zetsu's assistance, he was clumsy and faced considerable danger.

The situation worsened when a Nara clan member controlling Nohara Rin joined the battle, quickly subduing Obito with the Shadow Possession Jutsu.

Just as Obito faced imminent defeat, a scream of terror from the Yamanaka clan member controlling Rin delayed his end. Upon entering her mental space to facilitate the Three-Tails transfer, he encountered an unexpected surprise.

In his mental vision, a colossal monster emerged from the darkness, its single eye glaring at the intruder. A deafening roar expelled the Yamanaka from Rin’s mind.

As Rin regained control of her body, scarlet bubbles began to form on her skin. Her face transformed, assuming the appearance of a beast. She had donned the tailed beast cloak unique to Jinchūriki.

"Be careful! The Three-Tails is out of control!"

"What happened!!? Wasn't the Three-Tails supposed to fall into a deep sleep?"

During the transfer of the Three-Tails, unlocking the seal was a necessary step. However, they had a plan: the Three-Tails would fall into a deep sleep, waking only after the transfer was complete. But due to a certain arrogant fox, the Three-Tails woke up unexpectedly right when the seal was opened.

"Kurama, what do we do now? Should I leave this girl's body and escape?"

"If we do that, won't your Jinchuuriki die on you?"

Inside Rin’s body, on the head of the Three-Tails, was a miniature version of the Nine-Tails with fiery red fur, looking almost cute compared to its usual violent self.

"It's up to you."

"That doesn’t sound like you! I thought you’d cause a ruckus!"

Ordinarily, the Nine-Tails would have attempted an escape and cooperated with its main body inside Kushina to break free. However, considering Kushina’s formidable bloodline limit, its enthusiasm waned. According to its estimation, even with the Three-Tails' help, they’d be sealed by Kushina within a few rounds—especially with Namikaze Minato involved.

“Is this Isobu’s power? It’s really huge and strong!” Rin, newly freed from control, felt the explosive power within her, accompanied by a burning sensation on her skin. She murmured to herself, "Thank you, Isobu."

She touched her belly, expressing gratitude to the Three-Tails. Then, she broke free from all restraints and...

Boom!

In the blink of an eye, she was beside Obito, delivering a powerful punch to the Nara clansman controlling him, severely injuring him. She then smiled brightly at the wounded Obito.

"Obito, it's my turn to save you this time!" she said, grabbing him and running out of the barrier.

The stunned Obito could only follow her, step by step. Rin was fully aware of the situation. Thanks to Isobu, she had a substantial amount of chakra, but her combat experience was lacking. They had taken advantage of the element of surprise. In a real fight, she and Obito would be no match for their opponents.

"Stop them! Don’t let them escape the barrier!"

"Sealing team, prepare the seal again. Since the Jinchuuriki hasn't gone berserk, set up a new seal immediately."

As the on-site commander, Aburame Ryoma remained calm. Rin’s unexpected composure surprised him but also brought a sense of relief. This wasn’t the time for reflection; if those two escaped the barrier, he’d have to face the wrath of the Nine-Tails Jinchuuriki. The mere thought sent a shiver down his spine.