Seeing that Kunai, Uchiha Yue's eyes narrowed as his gaze instantly locked onto it, his body instinctively retreating backward at high speed.
At almost the exact same millisecond, a golden flash appeared out of thin air at the Kunai's position.
Minato Namikaze's cold face suddenly looked up, a violent Rasengan already condensed in his hand as he slammed it mercilessly toward Yue's chest!
"I've caught you, Uchiha Yue!" Minato's voice was as cold as frost.
Everything happened too fast—so fast that a normal person wouldn't have had time to react at all.
But just as Minato's Rasengan was about to hit Yue, an orange figure suddenly crashed in from the side like it had gone mad!
"Don't you dare hurt him!!"
Without even thinking, Naruto pulled out a Kunai and used all his strength to block Minato's wrist, even using his own body to shield Uchiha Yue.
"What?!"
Minato's deep blue pupils suddenly constricted.
His attention had been entirely on Uchiha Yue, and he never expected this blonde teenager who had appeared out of nowhere to risk his life to protect an A-Rank Rogue Ninja.
Furthermore, there was a Konoha mark on his forehead.
Damn it!
If this Rasengan hit, this teenager would be killed or crippled!
In a choice made within a thousandth of a second, Minato displayed neural reflexes that were beyond the reach of ordinary people.
He forcibly twisted his wrist, wrenching the Rasengan's trajectory a few inches away.
Boom!
The Rasengan grazed Naruto's shoulder and smashed into the nearby metal wall, instantly gouging a huge crater out of the thick structure, while the violent air current sent Naruto flying.
"That was close..." Minato dispelled his Chakra with lingering fear, his eyes fixed on Naruto, who had been knocked to the ground by the air current.
"What are you doing?!" Naruto scrambled up in a mess and roared angrily at Minato. "He just saved my life! And he's a Konoha comrade, why did you ambush him?! And that Rasengan..."
Naruto suddenly froze, staring blankly at the Konoha Headband on Minato's forehead.
Minato was also stunned.
He looked at Naruto's blonde hair, which was identical to his own, and then at the Konoha Headband on his forehead. A strong sense of absurdity and an indescribable... sense of familiarity welled up in his heart.
When did Konoha get such a person?
"Comrade?"
Minato took a deep breath and quickly calmed down.
He knew now wasn't the time to obsess over this boy's identity; if he didn't explain clearly, this hothead would likely be completely manipulated by Uchiha Yue.
"Young man, I don't know who you are, but you've been tricked by him."
Minato stood up straight, his gaze passing Naruto to lock firmly onto Uchiha Yue behind him.
"He hasn't been a Konoha comrade for a long time. He is Uchiha Yue, an A-Rank extremely dangerous Rogue Ninja wanted by the Konoha higher-ups."
"Rogue... Rogue Ninja?"
Naruto was stunned. He turned back to look at Uchiha Yue, his eyes filled with disbelief. "Uncle, he's lying, right?"
Uchiha Yue shrugged. "He's not lying. I am indeed a Rogue Ninja. As for the reason I left the village, I don't want to say."
"W-why?"
Naruto felt as if he had been dealt a massive blow. Being extremely sensitive to the words "Uchiha" and "Rogue Ninja," his voice began to tremble. "Everyone is fine in Konoha, so why do you have to be a Rogue Ninja? Sasuke is also..."
Seeing Naruto fall into confusion, Minato took the opportunity to step forward. "I am from Konoha's Anbu, and we are carrying out a classified mission ordered by the Third Hokage. Regardless of where you come from, please step aside now and do not interfere with our mission."
Naruto gritted his teeth and spread his arms, blocking the way. "So what if you're Anbu? Even if he is the Rogue Ninja you say he is, if he hadn't acted just now, I would have been split in half by that Puppet! How can Konoha comrades try to kill someone without even asking questions?!"
"Pedantic."
Just then, Uchiha Yue's slightly mocking voice came from behind Naruto.
Minato's gaze turned cold, knowing he couldn't let this person of unknown origin disrupt the situation any further.
His figure instantly pulled out a golden afterimage, bypassing Naruto's defense like a gale. The special Kunai in his hand carried a sharp Killing Intent as it closed in on Uchiha Yue's throat!
"So fast!" Naruto didn't even have time to turn his head; he only felt a blur before his eyes.
"Forgive me, Uchiha Yue. As for your reasons for defecting, you'll have plenty of time to tell them once we're back in the Konoha Interrogation Room!"
Puchi!
Minato's movements were fluid as the Kunai accurately pierced Uchiha Yue's shoulder.
However, the expected scene of blood spraying did not occur, and there wasn't even the slightest resistance from muscle.
Bang!
With a burst of blinding white smoke, the "Uchiha Yue" struck by Minato turned into a mass of Chakra with a dull thud and completely dissipated into the air.
Minato's movements froze, and his blue pupils suddenly constricted. "A Shadow Clone?!"
Not just Minato, but even Naruto, who had just turned around to stop him, was dumbfounded. He stared blankly at the gradually dissipating white smoke. "Uncle... was a Shadow Clone?"
Minato quickly straightened up and looked around at the empty ruins, his expression turning uncharacteristically grim.
As the "yellow flash" famous throughout the Ninja World, he had actually been fooled right to his face by a basic Shadow Clone!
"Was it the moment this blonde boy knocked away my Rasengan and kicked up the dust that he wove the signs?"
Minato's mind worked rapidly, immediately reconstructing the scene from moments ago.
Uchiha Yue had used the blind spot created by Naruto's impact and the brief chaos to not only perform a perfect escape but also intentionally leave a Shadow Clone behind to talk to them, completely stalling his best chance for pursuit!
Escaping twice from the yellow flash... this level of skill would rank among the best even among Elite Jonin.
"As expected, no Ninja can be underestimated."
Minato gripped his Kunai tightly and gave Naruto, who was still in a daze, a complicated look. After a long moment, he sighed.
He couldn't really just leave this blockhead behind.
...
Meanwhile, in the Roran Ancient City, amidst the towering structures hundreds of meters high.
The real Uchiha Yue was like a nimble night cat, silently weaving through the intricate network of purple-black metal pipes.
Bang.
His mind stirred slightly as he instantly received the memories sent back after the Shadow Clone below dispelled.
Oh? Seen through so quickly? As expected of the future Fourth Hokage, his neural reflexes and judgment really are at a monster level.
While moving at high speed, the corners of Yue's mouth curled up slightly. "However, thanks to that thick-headed Naruto's righteous rescue, this ten-second gap is already enough."
As a transmigrator with a God's Perspective, Uchiha Yue was very clear about his core objective for risking pursuit by Minato Namikaze to infiltrate the Land of Wind alone.
The "Dragon Vein"!