Chapter 217: A Change in the Weather
"Hokage-sama, everything has been confirmed. The nearest Cloud Village outpost is over ten kilometers away. They shouldn't be able to detect us."
Sakumo Hatake nodded gravely. "We still need to end this quickly. It is only a matter of time before the Cloud discovers us."
Under the cover of night, Sakumo led the Konoha pursuit battalion, moving rapidly through the darkness.
Although he desperately wanted to avoid entering Kumogakure's sphere of influence, a forward search team had reported finding traces of the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. After hesitating repeatedly, Sakumo finally decided to take the risk: a rapid in-and-out operation to capture the target and retreat back to the Land of Fire.
While the Land of Hot Water was recognized by all villages as Cloud territory, it wasn't technically the Land of Lightning itself. There was still some diplomatic buffer room. Ninja from other villages often took missions here without sparking immediate war.
At the back of the formation, Minato Namikaze and Mikoto Uchiha exchanged a glance, their expressions complicated.
Meanwhile, Hiroto Uzumaki and his sister Kayo Uzumaki had been away from the Cloud for a week. Following Dana's suggestion, they had first gone to the Land of Iron. After searching most of that country with no results, they traveled through the Land of Rice Fields and finally circled back to the Land of Hot Water.
Kayo had then suggested sneaking into the Land of Fire. She was extremely dedicated to finding Kushina.
"Have you thought about how to persuade the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki once we find her?" Hiroto asked.
"What 'Nine-Tails Jinchuriki'? Her name is Kushina! She's an Uzumaki just like us! Brother, you can't call her that!" Kayo scolded him.
Hiroto sighed helplessly. "Fine. Do you have a plan to convince Kushina?"
"Actually, I already convinced her last time," Kayo said without hesitation. "It was just that I wasn't strong enough to protect her then. This time, I will definitely bring Kushina back to the village."
Hiroto remained noncommittal. Naturally cautious, he wasn't as optimistic. But seeing his sister's eagerness, he didn't want to dampen her spirits.
"The border of the Land of Fire is just ahead. Let's rest for half a day and sneak in tonight. With my sensory abilities, avoiding Konoha ninja will be easy. They won't detect us."
Hiroto nodded. actually, before they left, Dana had specifically instructed them not to enter the Land of Fire unless they had concrete leads. But with the aid of the Mind's Eye of the Kagura, Hiroto felt the risk was manageable.
The siblings found a cave and ate some dried rations.
Around midnight, they packed up and prepared to move. Kayo closed her eyes as per routine, then reopened them, activating the Mind's Eye of the Kagura.
She froze.
Seeing her reaction, Hiroto asked, "What's wrong?"
"There is a massive chakra reaction crossing from the Land of Fire into the Land of Hot Water! Thirty... no! Forty-two people!"
Hiroto's expression darkened. "Are they coming for us?"
Kayo shook her head. "No, they are over ten kilometers away and moving in a different direction. But there are many familiar chakra signatures... ones I sensed back in Konoha. I think... the Hokage is among them!"
Hiroto quickly analyzed the situation. A force of this size, led personally by the Hokage, entering the Land of Hot Water in the middle of the night? Nine times out of ten, they were hunting the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.
It certainly couldn't be an invasion of the Cloud with just forty people.
Hiroto and Kayo looked at each other.
"We follow them!" Kayo declared. "If we trail them, we will definitely find Kushina!"
"First priority is to notify the village!" Hiroto corrected sternly. "We need to let the village know Konoha's movements. Then we think about Kushina. Konoha sending this many elites into the Land of Hot Water is a major incident. Regardless of their goal, the Cloud must know."
Kayo nodded, understanding the gravity. She took out a Communication Snail. Although she couldn't contact the village directly from this distance, she could relay the message to a nearby Cloud outpost.
Elsewhere, Nagato and Kushina had left the caravan. They had sold the bear skins and other goods to the caravan leader at a discount, traveling light once again.
Nagato took the money from the sale, plus a portion of the original mission reward, and handed it to Kushina.
"Here. This is your share."
Kushina tried to refuse, but eventually accepted it with a blush.
"At daybreak, we'll head to the town to buy necessities," Nagato said. "Does your new house have bedding?"
As they chatted, the Nine-Tails suddenly spoke in Kushina's mind.
"Kushina. Malicious intent is approaching."
Kushina stiffened and immediately relayed the warning to Nagato.
In the distant forest, two members of the Inuzuka Clan crouched in the shadows.
"Is that them?" one asked.
"General Iwa says so," the other replied, petting his large ninja dog. "The scent on the clothes Hokage-sama provided matches the woman perfectly."
Konoha had come prepared. They had secured several items of clothing Kushina wore before her capture. Relying on the Inuzuka ninken's sense of smell, they had tracked the caravan all the way here.
"The message has been sent back. We just need to keep eyes on them. Do not engage rashly."
The other nodded.
"Why are they wearing sunglasses at night?"
"Who knows? Maybe they think it looks tough? That guy is really built, though a bit short."
The two Inuzuka crouched in the bushes, waiting patiently. It looked like the targets were setting up camp, and the main pursuit force was only a few hours away.
Just as they relaxed, the unknown muscular man traveling with the Jinchuriki suddenly stood up.
"Eh? Are they leaving?"
Before they could react, the man extended both hands toward their hiding spot.
"Bansho Ten'in! (Universal Pull!)"
In an instant, an irresistible suction force grabbed them. The two Inuzuka watched in horror as they were dragged through the air, flying straight toward the enemy.
Smack! Smack!
As if they had delivered themselves to him, Nagato caught them mid-air, his thick, muscular arms clamping around their necks like iron vices.
"What?!"
The two Konoha ninja were terrified.
Because of Nagato's height, the two adult ninja were forced to their knees while Nagato stood holding them by the throats. It was a bizarre and humiliating sight.
Seeing their masters captured, the two ninja dogs from the forest rushed out, growling and circling Nagato, but they were too afraid to attack.
"My chakra... it's disappearing!"
The Konoha ninja tried to struggle, but they found their bodies draining of strength. Their chakra flowed out of them like water, leaving them as helpless as lambs awaiting slaughter.
Nagato sighed. "Ninja dogs? So it was scent tracking... hard to shake that off. You found us but didn't attack... you must be waiting for reinforcements."
Watching Nagato take down two adult ninja in seconds, Kushina's understanding of his strength was refreshed once again.
Inside her mind, the Nine-Tails scoffed. "That's nothing. Those are the Old Man's eyes."
Holding one ninja in each hand, Nagato hesitated for a moment. He considered using the Human Path to rip out their souls and read their memories—a technique he had instinctively understood after his eyes changed. But he had never tested it on a human before; the animals he tested it on had all died instantly.
Nagato didn't fear killing, but his dream was to eliminate pain. Influenced by the teachings of his mentor, "Rai-Fu" (Dana), he rejected senseless slaughter.
So, instead of soul-ripping, he chose Genjutsu.
Without removing his sunglasses, the Rinnegan behind the lenses flashed. The two ninja, their chakra drained, offered no resistance.
The two massive ninja dogs barked frantically, preparing to lunge.
"Shut up."
Nagato glanced coldly at the beasts with his Rinnegan. The dogs instantly whimpered in terror and cowered on the ground.
That command carried the Rinnegan's innate suppression over beasts—another ability Nagato had discovered recently.
After extracting intelligence from the dazed Konoha ninja, Nagato sighed and turned to Kushina.
"The main force is approaching. We can't go to the town anymore."
Kushina looked down, guilt written all over her face. "Nagato-kun, I'm dragging you down..."
"I decided to help you a long time ago. Stop saying useless things. Let's move."
Shouldering their packs, Nagato looked at the two whimpering giant dogs. A sudden idea struck him. Under the dogs' fearful gazes—wanting to run but daring not to—Nagato placed his hands on their heads.
He closed his eyes. No hand seals were made.
A moment later, the dogs' eyes changed, morphing into the ripple pattern of the Rinnegan.
"These eyes brought many abilities that feel as natural as breathing," Nagato mused. "Like this. I can temporarily control them. They'll make good mounts."
Nagato vaulted onto the back of one ninja dog. The massive beast easily supported his weight. Kushina followed suit, hopping onto the other.
"That's such a magical ability," Kushina marveled. "The one before was amazing too."
Nagato rubbed his nose, looking a bit embarrassed. "Hehe! Sensei always said I was a genius."
Growing up, Nagato lacked peers. He instinctively felt he was strong, but he had no frame of reference.
Even without the Rinnegan's recent evolution, Nagato was someone who had mastered all five basic nature transformations and nearly all common ninjutsu in just over a year.
Only in moments like this did Kushina remember that Nagato was actually younger than her.
In her mind, the Nine-Tails grumbled. "Arrogant brat!"
It wouldn't admit that when Nagato said "Shut up" earlier, its own heart had skipped a beat.
"I don't know if my ability to control beasts works on Tailed Beasts," Nagato said thoughtfully as they rode. "If the beast inside you ever goes berserk, maybe this is a way to stop it. I have a feeling this power over beasts can be much stronger; I just haven't developed it properly yet."
The Nine-Tails roared in the sealed space. "Damn brat! Don't you dare plot against me! You'll never get the chance!"
"Hmph! As if I would ever go berserk and give you an opening!"