After making all the necessary arrangements, Minato Namikaze set off at full speed with Uchiha Maí through the small forest, chasing after the fleeing enemies.
As an elite jōnin, Minato's tracking and chakra-sensing abilities were top-tier, not much worse than Kakashi's ninken, Pakkun.
While following the traces left behind, Minato explained to Maí, who was running beside him:
"This ambush team looks familiar. The middle-aged man is their leader - Narita Daisaku, a jōnin from Kumogakure. He joined Kumo's ANBU a long time ago.
"I don't recognize the other four very well. At most, they should be chūnin-level. You can handle that.
"When we catch up, if they scatter, you only need to restrain one of them. No need to kill. I'll deal with the others and then come help you."
Maí nodded. He knew his value here - holding back a single straggler would already count as success.
"One jōnin leading four or five chūnin… that's clearly an elite squad," Maí said while running. "So why could a team like that sneak into the heart of the Land of Fire to ambush Tsunade-sama without ANBU noticing anything?"
ANBU's main duties were assassination, intelligence gathering, preventing foreign infiltration into Konoha, and eliminating enemy spies within the territory.
"I don't know," Minato replied, sounding almost numb. "But I'm used to this kind of thing. Back then, the situation was even more ridiculous than this."
There was no need to elaborate. Maí already knew exactly which incident Minato meant.
Kushina Uzumaki, brought to Konoha from the Uzumaki clan, had been groomed as the next Nine-Tails' jinchūriki after Uzumaki Mito. The Uzumaki were masters of sealing techniques and naturally possessed abnormally large chakra reserves, making them ideal hosts.
Kumogakure's tailed beast, the Eight-Tails, was second only to the Nine-Tails in power. Their sealing techniques were poor, and the previous jinchūriki's physical condition was unstable, causing multiple rampages.
Naturally, Kumo set its sights on Kushina and even sent ninja deep into Konoha to kidnap her.
If not for the young Minato tracking the trail of red hair Kushina tore off during her escape, the Eight-Tails' jinchūriki might never have been Killer B.
Something similar would happen again later - when a Kumo envoy attempted to kidnap Hinata. Hiashi Hyūga killed the kidnapper during the pursuit, yet Kumo refused to back down, forcing Konoha to hand over Hizashi Hyūga as a scapegoat.
It was absurd to the extreme. Konoha felt like an open park anyone could stroll through - less guarded than a public restroom.
"By the way, Maí," Minato said suddenly, "you saved Tsunade-sama immediately. That means you noticed the ambush early. How did you spot it?"
Taking the chance to test his student, Minato asked casually.
Maí kept up with effort and answered calmly:
"The road we took ran east to west, and the trees beside it were oriented north to south. Over the day, the sun rises in the east, reaches the south at noon, and sets in the west.
"In the wild, the sun-facing side of a tree is usually denser because of photosynthesis. That's a natural rule.
"But one tree by the roadside had thicker foliage on the shaded side. I suspected someone was using Transformation Technique to lie in wait, so I raised my guard."
In the end, the enemies had simply been careless.
Minato nodded slightly. The reasoning matched his own. This kid really had a future.
The two continued sprinting through the forest, exchanging brief words while tracking the enemy.
About half an hour later, Minato suddenly stopped, brows knitting as if he'd noticed something.
"What is it?" Maí asked.
"I think we don't need to chase anymore," Minato said gravely.
He pulled out a kunai and hurled it at an ancient tree about twenty meters away.
Smack!
Just before being hit, the tree transformed into a middle-aged ninja who slapped the kunai aside. It was Narita Daisaku - the Kumogakure jōnin who had led the ambush on Tsunade.
Clap. Clap. Clap.
Forced to reveal himself, Narita remained calm, smiling as he applauded.
"As expected of Namikaze Minato, one of Konoha's finest of the younger generation. You noticed our ambush with ease."
"I won't fall for the same trick twice," Minato replied coldly.
Another ambush?
Maí narrowed his eyes and quickly pieced it together.
After the assassination failed, Narita Daisaku had ordered an immediate retreat. But as a seasoned jōnin, he must have soon realized something was wrong with Tsunade's condition.
The revelation that Konoha's Princess suffered from a psychological disorder that drastically reduced her combat power would shock the entire ninja world. Kept secret and used as leverage against Konoha, it could bring enormous gains.
Narita concluded Minato wouldn't allow him to carry that secret back to Kumo. Greedy for more, instead of fleeing outright, he set a second ambush to kill the pursuers.
Narita glanced at Maí and frowned.
"One more pursuer than I expected - but it doesn't matter. A brat like this won't change anything.
"Five against two. We still have the advantage.
"Kid, if you die here, blame Namikaze Minato. If he hadn't brought you along, you wouldn't have to die."
"Numbers don't determine strength," Maí replied evenly. "Just like no matter how many rabbits gather together, they'll never defeat a tiger.
"My teacher is Namikaze Minato. Before we came, he personally said he could beat twenty of you with one hand. I just need to cheer and witness him create a miracle."
My teacher dares to eat shit!.jpg
Uchiha Maí fired back smoothly, conveniently dragging even more hatred onto Minato.
Narita Daisaku's gaze immediately turned hostile. Kids didn't usually lie - so this Namikaze Minato was outrageously arrogant.
Minato Namikaze: "..."
That wasn't me. I didn't say that. He's making it up.
At this point, Minato hadn't yet mastered the Flying Thunder God or the Rasengan. The enemy was a Kumogakure jōnin leading an elite squad. He believed he could win - but it wouldn't be easy.
So how did it turn into him crushing twenty people with one hand?
"Go, Sensei!" Maí shouted. "It's time to show them what real strength looks like!"
Once again, Maí piled the hatred onto Minato, then quietly retreated some distance.
Besides Narita, four chūnin were still hidden. Charging in recklessly would be too dangerous.
It was better to wait until Minato engaged them - and then enter the battlefield like an assassin at the right moment.
What followed next would be a relentless chain of battles.
(End of Chapter)