“Search over there.
The Uzumaki headcount doesn’t add up.
We’ve barely found any children’s bodies.”
The Kumogakure unit was led by a muscular, dark-skinned man with grey hair.
“Lord Raita, the sealing techniques we’ve found are all basic ones.
We haven’t found any of the Uzumaki Clan’s secret fūinjutsu.”
A Kumogakure shinobi spoke cautiously.
“Keep searching.
I’m going to speak with the Kirigakure side.”
Kirigakure was facing the same problem.
“Lord Hyō, neither the secret techniques nor the number of Uzumaki bodies add up.”
Hyō Yuki’s expression remained unchanged.
“Continue searching.
I’m going to meet with Kumogakure.”
The two commanders arrived at the dividing line almost simultaneously.
“Find anything?”
Raita asked directly.
Hyō Yuki didn’t bother hiding anything either.
“Nothing.”
“The two sides are too busy being suspicious of each other.
Our efficiency is terrible.”
“How about cooperating?”
“How?”
Raita had come with the same intention.
“We each make a copy of whatever Uzumaki secret techniques we find.”
Hyō’s voice was cold.
“And we wipe out the Uzumaki Clan completely.”
“I assume the Third Raikage gave you similar instructions?”
Raita grinned.
“Works for me.”
Meanwhile— beneath the Uzumaki Clan’s Mask Storage Temple.
This was where the Uzumaki Clan enshrined ceremonial masks connected to their gods and sealing arts.
Directly beneath it, the clan had constructed an underground emergency shelter.
Many people were hiding inside.
Most were women and children.
“First Elder, it’s gone quiet outside.”
Shigi Uzumaki lowered his voice.
“Should we go up and take a look?”
The First Elder shook his head.
“Those animals from Kumogakure and Kirigakure won’t leave until they find the Uzumaki Clan’s secret techniques.”
“All we can do now is wait for Konoha’s reinforcements.”
“I only hope our message actually got through.”
The attack had come too suddenly.
The Uzumaki Clan had barely had time to react.
And with Kumogakure and Kirigakure arriving fully prepared, Uzushiogakure’s defences had collapsed after only a period of resistance.
The Uzumaki Clan Head had led most of the clan’s adult men in holding off the enemy.
Meanwhile, the First Elder had taken the women, children, and a handful of guards into hiding to await Konoha’s rescue.
In the original story, by the time Konoha’s reinforcements finally arrived, the Uzumaki Clan had already been almost completely wiped out.
“First Elder…
I’m scared.”
“Don’t be afraid, children.”
The elder could only comfort them as best he could.
“Lady Mito and Konoha won’t abandon us.”
From the shadows above, Minato and Shikatoki had been observing everything.
“These people haven’t left.”
Shikatoki calmly analysed the situation.
“They’re still searching.”
“That means they probably haven’t found the Uzumaki Clan’s secret techniques.”
“Or, more likely…
there are still survivors.”
Minato smiled faintly.
“As long as there are survivors, that’s good.”
“Don’t celebrate yet.”
Shikatoki’s voice remained heavy.
“We have no idea when the reinforcements the Third Hokage promised will arrive.”
“Which means the two of us may have to deal with more than fifty enemy shinobi down there.”
“There are more than ten Jōnin among them.”
He looked at Minato.
“Do we actually have any chance of winning?”
He was asking Minato.
And himself.
The situation was genuinely terrible.
Based on what Shikatoki remembered from the original story, the hidden Uzumaki survivors would eventually be discovered.
Once that happened, how many people could he and Minato realistically save?
If they made even one mistake— they could die here too.
Both fell silent.
Minato could only pray that the enemy wouldn’t discover the shelter too soon.
Then—
“Lord Raita!
There’s a cellar beneath this place where they store masks!”
A cruel smile spread across Raita’s face.
Hyō Yuki also arrived.
“Open it.”
The entrance to the underground shelter was torn open.
Dozens of terrified faces were revealed beneath it.
“Heh.”
Raita sneered.
“You really know how to hide.”
“Get them all out!”
Kumogakure and Kirigakure shinobi brutally dragged the women and children out and threw them onto the ground.
“Old bastard!”
Raita stared at the First Elder.
“Where did the Uzumaki Clan hide its secret techniques?”
The elder’s expression didn’t change.
“I don’t know.”
“Heh.
You don’t know?”
Raita waved a hand.
A Kumogakure shinobi grabbed one of the children.
“For every five minutes you keep ‘not knowing,’ I’ll kill one.”
“We’ll keep going until you remember.”
“You bastard!”
The First Elder’s face flushed red with fury.
He surged to his feet, ready to fight.
A wave of cold spread from Hyō Yuki.
Ice instantly encased both of the elder’s legs.
“You executioners!”
The First Elder roared hysterically.
“Konoha will never let you get away with this!”
Hyō suddenly laughed. Visit g.com for the full chapter.
“Konoha?”
“Konoha can barely protect itself right now.”
“It’s being attacked from every direction.”
She smiled mockingly.
“Don’t tell me you’re still expecting Konoha to send people here to save you.”
“Please.”
“Don’t make me laugh.”
Her words caused the light in many Uzumaki eyes to dim.
“Those bastards…”
Minato’s expression darkened.
“They’re threatening children.”
Shikatoki’s mind raced.
Again and again, he searched for a way out.
And found nothing.
Are we really supposed to just watch?
Shikatoki asked himself.
Logically…
That might actually be the best choice.
Then images surfaced in his mind.
Mito Uzumaki patiently teaching him.
Mito carefully explaining fūinjutsu again and again.
Mito protecting him every time he experimented with Sage Mode.
And finally— the sorrow on Mito’s face before this mission.
Mito only looked young.
In truth, she didn’t have many years left.
Perhaps in only a few more years, she would die peacefully of old age.
And before that happened, was she really supposed to endure the destruction of her clan as well?
The more Shikatoki thought about it, the harder it became to remain calm.
A trace of madness gradually filled his eyes.
“Minato.”
“Are you willing to go crazy with me?”
Minato didn’t hesitate for even a second.
His gaze sharpened.
“Of course.”
“I don’t want to see Kushina cry.”
“Then we put ourselves on the edge of death and force a way out.”
Shikatoki’s expression became serious.
“Remember.”
“We only get one chance.”
“Don’t worry.”
Minato gave a faint smile.
“I may not have much else to brag about…”
“But when it comes to speed, I’m the fastest.”
Raita’s patience had finally run out.
“Kill one.”
“Let the old bastard watch.”
The Kumogakure shinobi holding the child grinned and raised his kunai.
“No!”
A three-pronged kunai suddenly tore through the air.
In the next instant—
Minato Namikaze and Shikatoki Nara officially entered the battlefield.
Minato caught the child in his arms.
Shikatoki grabbed the Kumogakure shinobi by the head.
The monstrous strength he had learned from Tsunade erupted.
Crack!
The man’s skull was crushed in Shikatoki’s hand.
The sudden, gruesome scene made everyone present instinctively take a step back.
Every eye locked onto the two newcomers.
“Two kids?”
Raita frowned.
“Konoha got here this quickly?!”
Hyō Yuki immediately scanned their surroundings, looking for hidden reinforcements.
Minato carried the child back toward the First Elder.
“It’s alright.”
He smiled gently.
“Don’t cry.”
“This will be over soon.”
The First Elder looked at Minato and finally released a breath he had been holding.
“Konoha came to save us!”
Minato nodded.
“Mm.”
“Protect the children and women.”
The news that Konoha had finally arrived reignited hope among the surviving Uzumaki.
They quickly formed a protective ring around the women and children.
“Black hair…
blond hair…”
Raita stared at the two boys.
The longer he looked, the more familiar they seemed.
Then he suddenly remembered the intelligence reports he had received before deployment.
“Minato Namikaze and Shikatoki Nara?”
“Oh?”
Shikatoki’s expression turned cold.
“We’re that famous already?”
“You know my name and you’re still standing here?”
“Why aren’t you running?”
Hyō and Raita exchanged a glance.
Their assessment of the danger immediately rose.
“Heh.”
Hyō’s tone was dismissive, though there was clearly some probing behind it.
“Just the two of you?”
“Who knows?”
Shikatoki answered casually.
“Maybe I brought plenty of people with me.”
Whether he was bluffing or not didn’t matter.
As long as those two hesitated because of it, the bluff had done its job.
“Damn it!”
Raita, being a classic Kumogakure brute, couldn’t be bothered thinking that hard.
“So what if more people came?”
“If we kill the two of you here, that alone will be a massive achievement!”
He raised his arm.
“Everyone, attack!”
Seeing Kumogakure move, Hyō immediately committed as well.
“Attack.”
“But stay alert for an ambush.”
More than fifty shinobi charged toward Shikatoki.
Shikatoki and Minato exchanged one glance.
Each created two shadow clones.
The four clones rushed toward the surviving Uzumaki and positioned themselves at the four corners around them.
The First Elder recognised the sealing technique immediately.
“Four Violet Flames Formation!”
Four dark-purple translucent barriers surged upward.
The surviving Uzumaki were completely enclosed within them.
“Konoha…”
The First Elder stared at the two boys outside the barrier.
“Did they really only send two children?”
The hope that had just risen in his heart seemed to flicker again.
Even so, he kept watching.
Hoping.
Praying that these two could somehow create a miracle.
After all, over the past several months— the names Minato Namikaze and Shikatoki Nara had spread far and wide.
“No more worries behind us.”
Shikatoki cracked his neck.
“Fight!”
He and Minato charged directly into the enemy formation.
Shikatoki relied on his monstrous strength to barely hold his ground.
Minato, on the other hand, moved through the battlefield with relative ease using the Flying Thunder God Technique.
“Move!”
“I’ll handle him!”
Lightning wrapped around Raita’s body.
He shot toward Shikatoki in an instant.
The moment they collided—
Boom!
A shockwave erupted around them.
Veins bulged along Shikatoki’s arm.
“Damn!
That strength is ridiculous!”
“Not bad, brat!”
Raita grinned.
His attacks came like a torrential storm.
Shikatoki was forced backward again and again.
With other Kumogakure shinobi attacking at the same time, he quickly found himself in a miserable position.
Minato was just about to move in and support him when— walls of ice erupted around him.
“I can’t let you interfere.”
Freezing air spread around Hyō Yuki.
Minato disappeared.
But every time he reappeared, the freezing mist seemed to follow him.
Combined with the coordinated attacks of Kirigakure shinobi, even Minato found himself repeatedly pushed into dangerous situations.
Both battles were going badly.
Inside the barrier, the surviving Uzumaki silently began to pray.
“Brat!”
Raita sneered as he attacked.
“When I first read the intelligence about you, I was genuinely shocked.”
“But now?”
“Looks like those idiots from Sunagakure exaggerated everything.”
“Where’s that amazing fūinjutsu of yours?”
“And what about those strange shadow techniques?”
“Were those reports all bullshit?”
Boom!
A heavy punch smashed Shikatoki through the air.
He slammed violently into a wall.
Blood sprayed from his mouth.
Shikatoki lowered his head and quickly assessed his body.
“Broken ribs…”
He grimaced.
“These Kumogakure maniacs are way too damn good at taijutsu.”
“Brat!”
“If this is all you’ve got—”
Raita’s body erupted with blue lightning.
“Then you can die!”
He appeared in front of Shikatoki in an instant.
Shikatoki crossed both arms in defence.
Bang!
He was blasted away again.
“Cough!
Cough!”
Minato wasn’t doing much better.
His face was covered in bloody scratches.
Fragments of ice clung to his clothes and skin.
“I’ve seen Tobirama Senju use the Flying Thunder God Technique.”
Hyō mocked him.
“His teleportation frequency was far higher than yours.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Running low on chakra?”
She smiled coldly.
“As expected.”
“All these so-called geniuses are nothing but exaggerations.”
Minato said nothing.
He waited.
Then seized a single opening.
His figure vanished.
In the next instant, he appeared beside Shikatoki.
Clang!
Minato blocked Raita’s attack.
The kunai in his hand snapped instantly.
Minato himself was sent flying.
“Another one coming to die?”
Raita’s expression didn’t change.
He raised a hand.
The Kumogakure shinobi stopped advancing.
Hyō also ordered the Kirigakure forces to back away.
“Konoha really doesn’t have anyone left to save the Uzumaki Clan, does it?”
Hyō’s voice was icy.
“It really is just you two.”
Shikatoki coughed.
“Yeah.”
“You guessed right.”
He wiped blood from the corner of his mouth.
“But the two of us are enough.”
“Even now you’re still saying something that stupid?”
Hyō shook her head.
“Hopeless.”
“Why waste time talking to them?”
Raita grinned savagely.
“Kill them.”
“We’ll take their corpses back and collect the reward.”
Lightning surged violently across his body as he walked toward the two boys.
“Die!”