Naruto: All My Targets Are Ninjutsu.

Several grass ninjas who had dodged the shuriken were caught off guard. The moment their feet stepped into the lightning spider web, they let out a shrill scream, their bodies convulsing violently as they were paralyzed and collapsed to the ground!

The others retreated to avoid the lightning or used wind-style ninjutsu to try and dispel it.

However, some of the kunai that Minato Namikaze had just thrown were attached with explosive tags. These tags exploded a few seconds later, kicking up clouds of dust and temporarily blocking the pursuers' sight and footsteps.

Boom boom boom—!

Amidst the sounds of lightning and explosions, Minato Namikaze used a Body Flicker Technique to catch up with Yu Mikami and the others, and together they raced towards the dense forest outside the village!

—If you're going to put on a show, you have to go all the way. Since you've decided to shift the blame to the Hidden Cloud Village, you can't use the Flying Thunder God Technique unique to Konoha.

However, the fact that Minato Namikaze could use Lightning Release ninjutsu surprised Yu Mikami, who couldn't help but ask him about it while running.

"Ah, yes."

Minato Namikaze nodded: "I consulted the Third Hokage before and learned a little bit, but I'm not good at this kind of ninjutsu. I can only use it temporarily to cover my tracks... Don't get distracted. We're still within the control of Kusagakure. Let's get out of here first!"

……

To be fair, the average quality of the ninjas in Kusagakure isn't great, but their numbers are quite large.

During the retreat of Mikami Yu and his group, some Grass Ninjas fired signal flares, causing a continuous stream of Grass Ninjas to rush out from their hiding places and surround and intercept them. The total number of them was estimated to be several dozen.

Angry roars, hurried footsteps, and the sound of ninja tools cutting through the air rose and fell in waves.

"The enemy is over there!"

"Don't let them get away!"

"Grab them! Save the blood pack!"

Faced with this relentless pursuit, Mikami and his companions had to stop from time to time to exchange a few blows with Kusagakure, try to kill a few of them, and then continue on their way.

Since they are currently playing the roles of Cloud Village ninjas, most of their signature abilities are not readily available. So, apart from Minato Namikaze's Lightning Release and Yu Mikami's Water Release, the other two are basically fighting solely based on taijutsu and ninja tool throwing techniques. This gives Kusagakure a strange sense of confidence, as they feel that the opponents are not very strong and that they can take them down with just one more charge.

After a chase, they arrived outside Kusagakure Village.

The roadside was littered with the corpses of the grass ninja.

The remaining Grass Ninja sensed something was wrong and stopped one after another, thinking they needed to go back and report. If they continued chasing like this, they might all die before they could stop the Cloud Ninja team.

As for the "blood packs" being stolen...

What does that have to do with them? The "blood packs" are reserved for those in higher positions; ordinary ninjas like them can't get them.

With a monthly salary of only a few thousand taels, why risk your life?

Chapter 170 All-out attack! Straight to the Third Raikage's throne!

Inside the council hall of Kusagakure Village.

The atmosphere was somewhat somber.

"...You mean, the people from Kumogakure secretly infiltrated Kusagakure, kidnapped Kana Uzumaki, and killed nearly twenty of our ninjas?"

An elder with white hair and beard, his face deeply lined, spoke in a low voice, filled with barely suppressed anger.

"more than."

The grass ninja who came to report said in a low voice.

"What do you mean, 'more than'?"

"Based on the count of the corpses and missing persons at the scene, there may be more than thirty Grass Ninja who have been killed by the attackers..." The Grass Ninja Jonin in charge of the report said, cold sweat already seeping from his forehead.

"More than thirty?!"

At this moment, another burly elder jumped up and slammed his fist on the heavy wooden table with a loud "bang": "This is simply outrageous! Do these dark-skinned barbarians from Cloud Village really think that Grass Village is made of mud?! This is too arrogant!"

"I propose a full-scale attack, heading straight for the Third Raikage's throne! Let him see that we Kusagakure people aren't pushovers!"

Upon hearing this,

The other elders of Kusagakure exchanged glances: "Ahem... Elder Takeda, you seem to be going a bit too far. What do we Kusagakure have to fight Kumogakure head-on? Their Raikage is known as the 'strongest spear,' capable of piercing through a thousand-strong Iwagakure army by himself, let alone us."

"What can we do then? Are we just going to swallow this bitter pill?"

"...There's nothing we can do about it. Acting rashly will only plunge the village into utter ruin. The most urgent task now is to immediately organize a manpower team and search for that group of ninjas with all our might! Even if we can't bring them back, we must confirm their identities! That's the key to everything!"

After an emergency discussion, the elders of Kusagakure made a decision: on the one hand, they organized several elite teams to track down the whereabouts of Mikami Yu and his group; on the other hand, they dispatched messengers to Kumogakure as quickly as possible to deliver official documents to the Raikage and inquire whether the matter was related to them.

In addition, the village's internal security needs to be strengthened to prevent any further leaks of the remaining "resources"!

After the resolution was made, the Jonin responsible for reporting felt as if he had been granted a pardon and immediately took his leave. Only the elders in the room remained, looking at each other in silence.

Once upon a time, Kusagakure was a powerful force that dominated the ninja world. It is said that it almost controlled the world in the past. But now it can only survive by being attacked by the three kingdoms of fire, earth, and cloud. It is even occasionally affected by the mentality of the neighboring Amegakure, which is really annoying.

"You all say..."

"If we reactivate that thing, would there be a chance for Kusagakure to regain the glory recorded in the ancient texts...?"

Someone spoke softly, stirring up everyone's emotions.

……

Meanwhile, in a secluded mountain forest a hundred miles away from Grass Village.

Yu Mikami released the five people he had just rescued from inside "Little Green's" belly, and then woke up the two red-haired ones one by one.

Minato Namikaze, who was standing nearby, coughed lightly and said, "You two are members of the Uzumaki clan, right? Could you tell me your names?"

"..."

The two red-haired women exchanged a glance. The red-haired woman spoke softly, her voice somewhat hoarse and deep: "My name is Uzumaki Kana, and this is my companion, Uzumaki Naoto... Thank you for your help, gentlemen of the Cloud Ninja. May I ask your name?"

Instead of answering the question directly, Minato Namikaze pressed further, asking, "How did you end up in Kusagakure's hands?"

“Well… I came to the Land of Grass more than ten years ago and lived here for a while. A year ago, they discovered me and brought me to Kusagakure. As for him, he was captured two months ago because of his red hair, which led them to discover that he had the bloodline of the Uzumaki clan.”

Kana Uzumaki then offered a few more explanations.

Speaking of which, she and Naoto Uzumaki weren't from the same generation of Uzumaki clan. The latter was a few years younger and was born after the destruction of Uzumaki Village. She was born from an unknown marriage between a Uzumaki clan member who had been living elsewhere and a local commoner, so she wasn't pure-blooded.

The main reason Kusagakure captured Naoto Uzumaki was to use him and Kana Uzumaki to have several children with "physical healing" abilities, to be used as new blood donors.

In the original timeline, Kusagakure's objective should have been achieved. Karin Uzumaki possessed the same constitution as Kana, becoming the second blood donor for Kusagakure after her. However, Naoto Uzumaki, who was suspected to be the child's father, died midway through the process, possibly for some reason.

And now...

"Miss Kana, Mr. Naoto, we are actually not from Kumogakure, but from Konoha."

Minato Namikaze deactivated his transformation jutsu and gave a reassuring smile. "From now on, you are safe. Konoha will not stand idly by in the face of what Kusagakure has done to you. Now, please allow us to treat your injuries."

The two whirlpools were clearly still somewhat hesitant about Minato Namikaze's explanation.

but……

The character models of Minato Namikaze and Yu Mikami were so beautiful that even though they had some doubts, the two of them lowered their guard a bit. Yu Mikami took the lead, first taking out alcohol and gauze from the medical kit to clean the wound, and then using healing magic to treat it.

"that……"

Kana Uzumaki glanced at the row of tiny, not-yet-fully-healed wounds on her wrist, then at Yu Mikami, and mustered her courage to say, "My blood has a rapid healing effect. If you need it, you can..."

"Don't worry, Miss Kana. In Konoha, there is no such barbaric practice of healing by drinking other people's blood. Your ability is precious, but it should never be used in this way. Rest well. When we return to the village, I will arrange for you to meet with the Hokage and the other members of the Uzumaki clan."

Minato Namikaze patted Kana's arm and said.

"Other members of the Uzumaki clan? You mean... Sister Kushina?"

"You know Kushina?"

"Ah."

Kana Uzumaki nodded vigorously, a faint light shining in her dim eyes, as if she had a glimmer of hope: "When Uzumaki Village was still around, I saw Kushina a few times. Later, I heard that she was taken to Konoha... Is she alright now?"

"She's doing well! If Kushina knew that some of her clansmen had survived, she would be extremely happy!"

Minato Namikaze sounded somewhat pleased. After all, he was Kushina's boyfriend. For Kushina, who was the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki and whose movements were subject to many restrictions, meeting someone she knew from the same clan was an immeasurable comfort.

After some processing.

Minato Namikaze gestured to Shiguro Aburame to move the two whirlpools aside, put on his Kumogakure headband again, woke up the other three, and briefly questioned them.

Chapter 171 Settling the Whirlpool and Demanding Ninjutsu: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet and Water Severing Wave! (Two-in-One)

Of these three, one is from Konoha named Shirakumo Hayama, who was recently captured while on an investigation mission in the Land of Grass. His ninja number matches Konoha's records, but it's currently uncertain whether he has been targeted by the Grass Village with any special abilities.

The other two are from Amegakure and Iwagakure respectively, and their experiences are similar to those of Shirakumo Hayama. The one from Iwagakure is suspected of possessing the Lava Release Kekkei Genkai.

Lava Release is a bloodline limit formed by the combination of fire and earth.

Depending on the ratio of fire and earth chakra, this bloodline limit has two different manifestations—

The first is the "Lava Faction," represented by Roshi, the Four-Tails Jinchuriki, whose fire attribute is dominant and manifests as high-temperature magma with a more aggressive nature.

The second type is the more common "limestone faction," represented by the black earth of the leg shadow, where the earth element is dominant, manifesting as volcanic ash that restricts the enemy's movement.

The most likely reason Kusagakure captured this Iwa ninja was to use him to replicate the Lava Release bloodline limit in Kusagakure. Unfortunately, this goal was thwarted before it could be achieved.

Minato Namikaze pondered for a moment and decided to bring them all back to Konoha first, have the intelligence team handle them, and then decide how to deal with them afterward. Should they be imprisoned in Konoha, attempted to turn them into rebels, or have their memories sealed and released back to their respective villages...?

The decision must be made by the Hokage himself.

Kana Uzumaki and the others did not object to this decision.

Opposition is futile; after all, they are still prisoners, only their superiors have changed from Grass Ninja to Konoha Ninja. At least for Uzumaki Kana right now, she doesn't see her future as any brighter…

present.

The group rested for a while, ate something to replenish their energy, and then set off again after a short rest.

With the increase in the number of people, and the subjective intention to conceal their identities, Minato Namikaze naturally could no longer use "Flying Thunder God" on the way back.

Instead, he deliberately collected all the "Flying Thunder God Kunai" he had left behind, and then led his team to detour towards the Land of Lightning, creating the illusion that the "Cloud Ninja" had quickly retreated to the Land of Lightning to report back after succeeding in their mission, in order to mislead the Grass Village.

Along the way, they encountered several more Kusagakure tracking teams.

These squads had clearly received a death order and were searching with great effort, but facing a team of four Jonin, it was like moths to a flame.

Minato Namikaze killed most of the pursuing Grass Ninja, saving only a small number to serve as "eyewitnesses." After several encounters, the Grass Ninja's pursuit intensity noticeably decreased; clearly, the excessively high casualty rate had caused them pain and fear.

Until then,

Minato Namikaze seized the opportunity to turn to the Land of Fire, and after several days of travel, the group returned to Konoha, weary from their journey.

After returning to the village.

Kana Uzumaki and the others were immediately taken to the intelligence department and the medical department for identity verification, physical examination, and intelligence questioning.

This is a basic procedure for ninjas coming from outside the village and cannot be skipped. However, it can be done more gently depending on the situation, instead of having the Yamanaka clan search their souls directly.

As a Konoha ninja who had returned from missing, Shirokumo Hayama's release was relatively straightforward; he was released after it was confirmed that he was not suspected of being turned.

Kana and Naoto underwent a more thorough examination, particularly regarding the information they had received during their imprisonment and their respective physical conditions. The final conclusion was that both were severely depleted and required a long period of rest and recuperation, but there was no suspicion of espionage or potential threat.

This report was quickly delivered to Hiruzen Sarutobi's desk.

then,

On the morning of that day, two days later.

Minato Namikaze, accompanied by Yu Mikami, and Kana and Naoto, who had just washed up and changed into clean clothes but still looked exhausted, entered the Hokage's office.

Several people were already sitting in the office.

Hiruzen Sarutobi naturally sat in the main seat, his expression somewhat serious; Tsunade stood by the window with her arms crossed, her golden ponytail shining brightly in the sunlight; while Kushina stood next to Tsunade, staring intently at Kana, her eyes slightly red, her hands unconsciously clenched.

"Hokage-sama, Tsunade-sama, Kushina."

Minato Namikaze bowed to Yu Mikami.

The two whirlpools followed suit.

Kana glanced at Kushina, seemingly seeing a shadow of her childhood playmate from over a decade ago in her.

"Good job, Minato, Yu. You did an excellent job on this mission."

Hiruzen Sarutobi first offered a few words of praise, then turned his gaze to Kana and Naoto, his tone becoming even gentler: "Kana, Naoto, welcome to Konoha. I am Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage of Konoha."

"Minato has already given me a general report on your situation. Konoha will never forget the atrocities committed against you by Kusagakure. Rest assured, you are absolutely safe here. You are guests of Konoha, and also family."

"Thank you, Lord Hokage."

Kana and Naoto were still a little reserved.