Naruto: By lying low and hiding, he eventually became the leader of the Legendary Sannin.

After careful consideration, he immediately ran towards Kushina's house.

Based on the situation when Kushina left with him, it's unlikely that she would have gone off to other places since she had already bought the gift in advance.

So after they separated, her only route of movement was from the mission center to her home.

Then there are two routes: from her house to Kagura-sensei's house.

When the three parted ways, it wasn't too late.

Although it was New Year's Eve, there were still quite a few people on the streets of Konoha.

Putting himself in their shoes, if he were one of those robbers, he certainly wouldn't have chosen to abduct Kushina on the street.

Therefore, the most likely location for the crime is Kushina's house.

So without any hesitation, having figured this out, he rushed over.

Upon arriving at Kushina's house, Minato pushed open the door without hesitation.

The door in front of him was obviously not locked, and it opened easily with a gentle push.

He quickly went inside and immediately began to observe the interior.

There were no signs of a fight as expected, but the windows in the room were open.

He hurried over to check, and after a careful search, he finally found a red hair outside the window.

Upon seeing those familiar strands of hair, his eyes narrowed, and he had already made his judgment.

Meanwhile, in the woods outside Konoha Village.

At this moment, Kushina was being held hostage by three genin from Kumogakure and was running towards the outskirts of Konoha.

Kushina seemed to have lost her strength and could only be taken hostage and sped away from Konoha Village.

But out of the sight of those three genin, Kushina, who had lost all her strength, was secretly pulling out her own hair and throwing it by the roadside.

At this moment, however, she was thinking of Kagura.

"Teacher, you must see the clues I left behind!"

Chapter 40 Where did that Jonin go?

Kushina had no idea where the people who had kidnapped her came from.

In order to better infiltrate Konoha, these people removed their headbands in advance.

After living in Konoha for a few years, she gradually forgot the painful experiences she had originally had in the Land of Whirlpools.

Although she lost her parents, Mito Uzumaki and Tsunade gave her plenty of love and care.

Moreover, unlike other places, Konoha Village gave her a sense of peace and warmth that she couldn't find anywhere else.

Having lived in this environment for several years, my experience in the Land of Whirlpools seems like a long time ago.

So after saying goodbye to Minato and Hiashi, Kushina went straight home without any precautions, just like any other day.

Just like people living in China, they never imagine encountering dangers like bomb attacks in their daily lives.

Kushina never imagined that she would encounter any danger in Konoha Village.

So when she returned home full of joy, only to be ambushed by people lying in wait, her mind was still blank.

The ambushing people seemed to know her abilities very well, giving her no time to retaliate, and immediately launched a sealing ninjutsu.

This appears to be a small-scale sealing technique that can only be applied to an individual.

As the enemy tore open the scroll in his hand, a formation of countless strange characters spread out densely throughout the room, centered on Kushina.

In just a few breaths, those strange symbols surged into Kushina's body like a tidal wave.

As the sealing technique was successfully released, Kushina couldn't help but let out a muffled groan.

She felt the surging chakra within her body disappear as the sealing technique was released.

Having lost her chakra, all her strength was drained away, and she collapsed to the ground.

Seeing that they had succeeded, the three did not hesitate for a moment. One of them immediately grabbed Kushina with one hand and rushed out of the window.

All of this was accomplished in just a few seconds, without attracting anyone's attention.

These Cloud Village ninjas who infiltrated Konoha had obviously scouted the village beforehand.

Under the cover of night, the three kidnapped Kushina and left the village along a secret route.

They seemed to have mastered the guard route of Konoha Village, and did not encounter a single Konoha ninja throughout the entire process.

As she watched Konoha Village recede further and further away, Kushina felt a sense of unease creeping into her heart.

However, her childhood experiences prevented her from panicking too much.

Although she had lost all her strength and was unable to resist, she could still move her hands.

While the ninja who had kidnapped her was focused on the journey, she secretly plucked out strands of her hair and scattered them on the road, hoping that Kagura-sensei would notice and catch up with her.

Just as she secretly plucked out another hair and threw it away, the three men suddenly stopped in their tracks on a wide-open, flat area.

"It should be here."

"Yes, that's right, this is the rendezvous point we agreed on before."

"But where is the contact person?"

"Hmm... the target returned a little earlier than expected, and we also arrived a little faster than the originally planned time."

"Wait a minute, someone should be here soon."

Hearing the conversation between the three, Kushina's heart sank.

When she was first taken hostage, Kushina still had some expectations for the guards of Konoha.

Although she had lost the ability to resist, she could tell that the three people who had taken her hostage were at most genin level.

Of course, if someone is at the Jonin level, they don't need to use sealing techniques to seal their abilities.

As a ninja village in the Land of Fire, Konoha naturally has its own defensive forces.

Such an enemy could be easily dealt with by any of Konoha's guards.

However, these people were clearly prepared, as they managed to evade numerous patrolling guards along the way.

In the ninja world, anyone who can become a Jonin is basically recorded by villages around the world and treated as a person of special concern.

Therefore, in order to avoid attracting the attention of Konoha, Kumogakure sent three genin with the sealing scroll on this mission.

After all, compared to Jonin, Genin-level ninjas from other countries would hardly attract any attention even if they infiltrated Konoha.

Now, they are clearly waiting for the successor who is waiting outside the village.

If I'm not mistaken, the recipient should be a Jonin-level person.

If I were to fall into the hands of a Jonin, my chances of returning would be extremely slim.

Thinking of this, Kushina felt a sense of panic and kept praying that Kagura-sensei would arrive as soon as possible.

On the other side, not far from Kushina, a blond-haired boy was following the route the three had taken.

He would stop from time to time during his pursuit, as if searching for something.

A short while later, he picked up a red hair from the ground.

After examining it closely, he calmly and resolutely continued chasing in one direction.

Shortly after, Minato, who was running at high speed, suddenly stopped.

He immediately hid behind a large tree and cautiously peeked ahead.

Not far from him, three tall figures were standing on an open space.

One of them was holding a girl hostage.

Upon closer inspection, the girl was none other than Kushina Uzumaki, the very person he had been searching for.

Upon finally finding Kushina, Minato showed no joy on his face, but instead frowned and began to ponder.

Finding the person was nothing; rescuing them was his ultimate goal.

After thinking for a while, he had already made up his mind.

On the other side, the three genin also felt a little doubtful.

Logically speaking, even if they arrived earlier than planned, the Jonin should have been much later than expected.

You know, as a ninja, you've never heard of being late when you're on a mission.

Just as one of them was about to say something with some doubt, a soft sound suddenly rang out from the dense forest beside them.

The three, who were already on guard, reacted immediately, each drawing their kunai from their waists.

Under the moonlight, several shurikens, gleaming coldly, flew towards them.

However, the shuriken were rather slow and did not pose much of a problem for them.

"Ding! Ding! Ding!"

With several loud noises, the group swung their kunai and easily knocked the shuriken away one by one.

The person holding Kushina hostage might be wary of the hostage.

Instead of using kunai to deflect the shurikens like his companions, he leaped to a tree to dodge them.

Just as the remaining two were deflecting the shurikens, a figure suddenly emerged from the woods and rushed towards the two on the ground.

Minato leaped high into the air, his hand seals already completed.

With a deep breath, he unleashed a massive fireball at the two genin on the ground.

This was the ninjutsu he learned from Kagura: Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique.

Without any resistance, the enormous fireball instantly engulfed the two figures.

After the fireball disappeared, only two charred figures could be seen lying on the ground.

Upon seeing this, the last person hiding in the tree quickly put down Kushina and was about to launch an attack on Minato, who was still in the air.

Just as he was about to exert force with his feet, a figure silently appeared behind him.