Chapter 11 — "Did the Enemy Break In?"
Slurp—
Inside Ichiraku Ramen, the three of them were buried in bowls of endlessly comforting chashu ramen.
Even Kushina, who had been a bit reserved at first, had relaxed after eating together several times and was no longer so stiff or guarded.
Two model students sitting beside a seemingly laid-back blond big brother—the scene looked exactly like good kids being led astray by an outsider.
"Another bowl!"
By now, Namikaze Yami had already finished his fifth bowl. Kushina had long since waved the white flag, while Minato had fallen even earlier—truly living up to his reputation as "the fastest in the ninja world."
After polishing off his sixth bowl, Yami patted his still-not-quite-full stomach and finally ended the ramen run in contentment.
As usual, he had Minato walk Kushina home, while he himself wandered through the village like someone taking a casual stroll—though in truth, he was quietly checking several key locations.
When Kagura's Mind's Eye swept across Kushina's house, Yami immediately detected several unfamiliar chakra signatures inside—each of them notably strong.
"Just as I thought. There's no such thing as 'by the way'—nothing's faster than doing it yourself."
Increasing the sensitivity of Kagura's Mind's Eye, Yami matched those chakra signatures one by one and confirmed that they belonged to members of the Kumogakure envoy.
So the passive skill of those dark brothers had finally triggered.
Bloodlines always smelled sweeter when they belonged to someone else—and if you could snatch one, you snatched one.
Especially someone like Kushina, a bloodline ninja who had just lost her backing—she was prime pickings in their eyes.
In truth, only Konoha could afford to be this careless. Any other village—unless they were as brain-dead as Kirigakure—valued bloodline ninja immensely.
A handful of bloodline carriers were more than enough to breed an entire clan. As for the ethics of it… this world was surprisingly open-minded.
The corner of Yami's mouth curled upward slightly.
But he knew that Kushina being taken alone wouldn't cause much of a stir.
So—he decided to throw more fuel onto the fire.
Turning into a narrow alley, he quickly formed seals and created a shadow clone, while his main body slipped away using Earth Release: Underground Projection Fish Technique.
His destination was the former Senju clan grounds.
The place had grown quiet—too quiet. Vast grounds that once bustled with life now felt hollow and empty.
"Redeem: Kaguya Clan—Basic Bloodline."
Yami closed his eyes and felt the change.
The boost from a basic Kaguya bloodline wasn't dramatic.
If he had to describe it, his bone density and strength had increased noticeably—but nowhere near the level of Kaguya Kimimaro, who could pull bones from his body as weapons and regenerate them instantly.
At best, Yami could now force chakra through his bones, briefly extending them outside his body to form crude bone spikes.
"That's enough."
After confirming the limits of the basic bloodline, Yami nodded. He didn't need the Kaguya bloodline for raw combat power—just something he could separate from himself to muddy stagnant waters.
He moved with practiced ease to Nawaki's residence.
As a classmate and friend, Yami had been here many times—though always through the front door.
Casting a Transformation Technique to alter his appearance and donning a pre-prepared mask, Yami finally began his operation.
He flipped over the outer wall and landed inside.
The familiar layout greeted him. Several half-dried training outfits hung in the open yard, and inside the house, Senju Nawaki was sprawled lazily in the living room.
Completely unaware of the disaster about to befall him, Nawaki lay there on the first floor, grinning stupidly at a book in his hands, muttering to himself from time to time.
Yami quietly formed seals, carefully controlling the chakra output.
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough (Mini—Reduced Version)."
A sudden gust swept through the room, rustling the pages of Nawaki's manga. With night falling and the air growing chilly, Nawaki tugged his clothes tighter around himself.
Perhaps he was too absorbed.
Or perhaps Nawaki's legendary lack of awareness was at work.
After adjusting his clothes, he… did nothing else.
Yami's forehead twitched.
If the timing weren't wrong, I'd kick you right now.
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough (Reduced Version)."
Yami continued using Wind Release to buffet Senju Nawaki, who was sitting in the living room. At last, Nawaki lifted his head and glanced toward the outer corridor, muttering to himself:
"Why did it suddenly get windy?"
His expression grew a little serious. After a moment's thought, he looked outside again and said,
"Don't tell me it's about to rain?"
Setting the book aside, Nawaki stood up and stepped onto the corridor. Seeing that the wind outside had already weakened, he blurted out,
"I'll deal with it if it starts raining."
With that, he reached for the sliding shōji door, clearly intending to close it and ignore the matter entirely.
Hidden in the shadows, Namikaze Yami was reaching his limit. If this dragged on any longer, the perfect opportunity would be wasted—Nawaki really did not follow any script at all.
"Yah—!"
Yami flashed out in an instant, slamming a heavy kick into Nawaki's side and sending him flying sideways into the open yard.
Before Nawaki could fully regain his bearings, Yami pressed in aggressively, drawing a kunai and stabbing down without hesitation.
Nawaki snapped out of his confusion at last, his ninja instincts kicking in—though disbelief still flickered across his face.
As the young heir of the prestigious Senju clan, someone actually daring to assassinate him inside Konoha?
Had the village been breached?
Or was Konoha about to purge its own nobility and start with him?
"Water Release: Water Turbulent Wave!"
The moment he hit the ground, Nawaki didn't dare think further. His movements were swift as he fired off a Water Release attack at the assailant while simultaneously calling out for help.
Being attacked within clan territory, Nawaki couldn't be sure how many enemies were present. After all, if only a single ninja had come, that would be absurdly reckless.
In Nawaki's eyes, the attacker seemed to panic when he shouted for aid, even throwing the kunai in his hand at him in a flustered, poorly aimed toss.
Nawaki was dressed casually at home and happened to be unarmed. Seeing the weakly thrown kunai, he reached out and caught it cleanly.
The kunai spun once in his grip, and he thrust it back toward the apparently unarmed attacker.
The assailant actually raised a hand to meet it.
In Nawaki's baffled gaze, the kunai slammed hard against the attacker's palm.
Clang—
The sound of metal striking metal rang out. Nawaki's kunai was stopped—and from the attacker's hand jutted a long bone spike. Perhaps due to the force of the impact, fine cracks now spread across the tip of the bone.
"Bone spikes? You're a ninja of the Kaguya clan!"
The disguised Yami deliberately put on a panicked act, hurriedly retracting the bone spike. Because of the collision, several tiny fragments of bone quietly fell to the ground.
"Genjutsu: Fox Mind Technique!"
Caught completely off guard, Nawaki was trapped in the illusion for a brief moment. Though he broke free quickly, the assassin had already vanished without a trace.
Only then did the guards of the clan grounds—and Konoha's ANBU—arrive belatedly on the scene.