A group of ninjas without forehead protectors was chasing Jin's trio.
The distance was closing rapidly.
They were about to catch up.
As they accelerated...
A ninja's hand had already touched Kushina's long hair.
The three turned back, faces filled with terror.
The chasing ninja revealed a savage grin.
Shatter.
A sound like glass breaking rang out. Something transparent in the surroundings seemed to shatter.
Uchiha Jin and the others vanished.
Directly in front, Jiraiya, clad in grey armor, leaned against a tree. He stared coldly at the group of ninjas.
On the tall trees, figures wearing green flak jackets stood on every branch.
The rogue ninjas stopped.
"Jiraiya!" One man among the group recognized Jiraiya instantly.
His gaze shifted to the left. A man wearing a grey high-collared coat that covered his mouth, sunglasses on his face, with his left hand resting on a scroll as tall as an adult.
"Shibi Aburame!"
The current head of the Aburame Clan.
His gaze shifted to the right. A man in white kimono with white eyes stood with his hands behind his back, watching them quietly.
"Yufang Hyuga!"
The current head of the Hyuga Clan.
"The Nine-Tails Jinchūriki really is heavily guarded."
The man chuckled low. These three were all Elite Jonin.
Plus so many Konoha ninjas.
The outcome was already decided.
"So the information about the Jinchūriki came from you."
They only took action because they received intel about Konoha's Jinchūriki.
Although the possibility was low...
What if they succeeded?
Stealing Konoha's Tailed Beast would be like cutting off one of Konoha's arms. Whether they fought or negotiated next, they would have the advantage.
Unfortunately.
This was just bait Konoha set specifically for them, and they bit hook, line, and sinker.
"I didn't expect to catch so many."
Even Jiraiya was surprised. He looked at Yufang Hyuga and held up three fingers.
There were actually three Jonin.
Chakra volume didn't equate to combat power, but generally, those with massive chakra were Jonin.
"I just don't know if you have enough teeth to chew us!"
The leader roared. When they saw these people, they knew the mission had failed. Even their chances of survival were slim.
Battle erupted instantly.
On the other side.
"Sure enough! We were bait."
Jin cursed silently.
He looked back. Only three chasers remained.
Just now, a huge group of ninjas was chasing them, but the rest had vanished.
It was obvious.
If you're going to clean them up, clean them all up! Why leave three behind? What's going on?
"What happened?!" Kushina was still confused. She only saw Jin make the 'run' signal.
Then people started sprouting from the ground.
Minato explained to Kushina.
"Ichiro Yamada set a trap in advance. We stepped into it."
More accurately, they came for Kushina, but he didn't point that out.
Jin just glanced at the two. Minato was truly gentle. Phrasing it like that was to protect Kushina's feelings.
He didn't say anything more.
His mind was rapidly analyzing how they became bait.
The original story didn't have this plot point. It seemed his influence was changing more and more factors.
Soon, his thoughts cleared.
From the start, the village was ready to go fishing. The bait was set as Kushina, and he and Minato were just collateral damage.
They accepted the mission today, but the enemy's preparations couldn't have been made today. Otherwise, they couldn't have mobilized so many people on such short notice.
If Kushina hadn't brought up taking a mission, Jiraiya probably would have actively swapped missions for them.
The moment they took the mission, it all began.
"No wonder Jiraiya agreed so readily."
Generally, Genin did D-Rank missions for at least a year.
They had only been doing them for a few months.
So this was waiting for us?!
Was Kushina's kidnapping by Kumogakure in the future also a fishing expedition?
Is a Jinchūriki that easy to use as bait?
Did you ask Kushina? Even if you don't care about Kushina, consider me, the innocent bystander dragged into this!!
"There are only three left behind us. We shook off the others. Do we counterattack now?"
After being comforted by Minato, Kushina was eager to try.
The corner of Jin's mouth twitched.
Kushina was truly stupid. She still hadn't realized she was used as bait.
Looking at Minato's confused expression, he was also wondering why there were so few enemies.
Jin: "..."
Usually so smart, why can't he react now?
"Don't think so much. One for each of us! Beat them to death!"
After speaking, Jin stopped abruptly. A thin wire flew out from his sleeve, wrapping around a tree. As he fell, the wire swung him backward.
One ninja was caught mid-air, completely unable to react, and Jin kicked him square in the body.
"Get down!"
Jin dragged the enemy ninja down to the ground.
The remaining two ninjas landed on a tree branch, about to support their companion.
Minato and Kushina appeared between them simultaneously.
Bam! Bam!
They kicked the two away, one to the left, one to the right.
Jin landed on the ground. The ninja he kicked down was nowhere to be seen.
"Hey! Are you a Jonin or a Chunin?"
Jin suddenly asked.
The ground rippled like water, and a man with an honest-looking face rose from the earth.
"I am a Chunin."
He actually answered.
However.
"However, just right. I need to see my actual strength."
Jin crouched low, pulling a kunai from his leg pouch.
His strength on paper was Special Jonin, but actual combat might be different.
As for sparring with Might Duy and the others in the village, they all held back. He couldn't accurately gauge his own level.
It could only be considered practice, not a true measure of his tier.
This ninja in front of him was just right—a mere Chunin.
Soru!
Jin's figure instantly appeared in front of the man. A horizontal kick shattered the man into pieces.
But what scattered was mud.
Earth Clone Technique.
However, what flew out of the mud made Jin's pupils shrink.
Rapidly burning paper.
Explosive Tags!!!
"You Motherfucker!! Tekkai!"
BOOM!!
Amidst the explosion, Jin only had time to cross his arms over his chest. The blast wave sent him flying, and he landed face down, motionless.
"Earth Release: Earth Flow Spears!" (Doryūsō)
Sharp earth spikes erupted from the ground.
Jin blocked the sudden spikes with his kunai in time, sparks flying. He pushed off the spikes with all his might.
His figure vanished instantly.
Hiding in the dense foliage, Jin controlled his breathing rate.
There were burn marks on his body. The explosive tag had hurt him.
But it hadn't reached the point of affecting his combat ability.
"This is a Chunin!!"
Jin cursed under his breath. He had almost been killed instantly. Being threatened with death by a Chunin made him indignant.
"I failed the Jonin exam."
A voice came from above, causing Jin's pupils to contract.
"Earth Release: Earth Dungeon!" (Dorō Dōmu) The honest-looking man hung upside down from a tree, his hands facing Jin. A dome made of rock and earth trapped him.
"It's over."
The man formed hand seals rapidly.
He took a deep breath and blew forcefully into the earth dungeon.
"Earth Release: Sandstorm Stone Technique!"
Stones hidden within the sandstorm, each with the power of a shuriken, instantly pierced Jin's body.
"I..."
Jin looked at him in disbelief, revealing the despair before death.
Suddenly, it turned into a grin.
"Caught you!"
Poof!
The pierced Jin turned into white smoke.
Two arms holding kunai grew out of the tree, followed by Jin's upper body.
"Demonic Illusion: Tree Binding Death!"
The kunai pierced the opponent's body. Poof! The man turned into a wooden log.
The man's figure reappeared on a distant tree, clutching his shoulder. Blood flowed freely from the wound.
Although he used the Body Replacement Technique in time, he was a step too slow and took a heavy hit.
Jin couldn't worry about the man right now. He looked down.
An explosive tag was burning rapidly.
"Heh, sure enough."
BOOM!!
Amidst the firelight, Jin used Soru to appear on the ground first, avoiding the explosion damage.
"Why is your strength so high for a Chunin?"
Jin looked at the man on the tree with confusion.
He could insta-kill a Chunin like Inoue Satoru.
The man didn't understand why Jin asked that. Since the opponent wasn't moving, he didn't attack rashly.
But the sudden disappearance of his companions gave him a bad feeling.
Still, he patiently answered Jin's doubt.
"I assume the Chunin you met were those in the village who rarely went on missions? Those people are just theorists. In actual combat, they are useless. Bullying kids is fine, but if they really went to the battlefield, surviving would be pure luck."
Their village had such Chunin too, but they were the minority.
After all, the combat power gap between a Chunin forged in slaughter and a Chunin who taught in the village was vast, even if they held the same rank. They just specialized in different directions.
Asking a battle-hardened Chunin to teach would likely produce weird students anyway.
"I've learned something." Jin nodded and actually turned around to leave, exposing his back to the man.
"What do you mean?" The man was full of confusion. Why did this brat give up the fight?
Jin stopped, waved his hand, and looked back at him sideways.
"You're already dead."
"What?" The man's eyes widened. Pfft! He spat out a mouthful of blood. Blood flowed from his eyes, ears, and nose.
"Poison on the kunai!"
He hurriedly searched his ninja pouch for an antidote pill.
"It's useless. That's snake poison specially mixed by an Elite Jonin. Unless a Medical Ninja treats you immediately, ordinary antidote pills won't work."
Orochimaru's meticulous concoction. Enemies ate it and went silent.
The man quickly swallowed the antidote pill, but as Jin said, it had no effect.
His body fell limply from the tree.
Victory decided.