As Second Body kicked open the door, she saw Konoha's F4, lacking one member, all of whom were drawn by the commotion at the entrance and turned to look at her.
"Second Body, you're getting more and more unruly. How can you kick open a door? Did you learn that from Tsunade?"
Utatane Koharu frowned. One Tsunade was enough for them; they couldn't possibly handle another Uchiha Rei. They absolutely had to extinguish this improper habit of kicking doors.
"Well, didn't Sensei say he had something urgent for me? So I rushed over, and accidentally didn't control myself. My foot touched the door before my hand, since it's common sense that feet are longer than hands, right?"
Second Body argued with a straight face. How could she admit fault to a mere Konoha elder?
"Alright, Second Body didn't do it on purpose. But next time, don't be so hurried."
Hiruzen Sarutobi covered for his disciple. Perhaps he had already grown accustomed to Tsunade's style, so one more wouldn't make a difference now.
"Hmph!" Utatane Koharu didn't expect the monkey to defend Uchiha Rei, thwarting her plan.
"Sensei, what exactly is it?"
"This is a distress signal Minato just sent back, but it doesn't record what he encountered. It was extremely urgent; it looks like he ran into an ambush."
Hiruzen Sarutobi picked up a piece of paper with a cipher on it and handed it to Uchiha Rei to examine. As an Anbu, Second Body naturally understood the meaning of this basic cipher.
"The last place they sent a message from was a river called Black Canyon River in the western part of the Land of Rain. They went downstream from there and lost contact."
Hiruzen Sarutobi took a deep puff from his pipe. He couldn't imagine what kind of enemy could have trapped Jiraiya and Minato Namikaze.
"So you called me here to rescue them?"
Second Body guessed that Jiraiya and Minato Namikaze were likely ambushed by Black Zetsu. Currently, in the Ninja World, only Ōtsutsuki Isshiki, Uchiha Madara, and Yahiko possessed such strength.
Ōtsutsuki Isshiki, being a reclusive coward, wouldn't appear without absolute certainty, as he couldn't defeat a Kaguya who had consumed the divine tree fruit after her unsealing.
Uchiha Madara wouldn't bother with such juniors. Although Jiraiya and Minato Namikaze were strong, they weren't strong enough to warrant Uchiha Madara's intervention.
Finally, there was only Yahiko. The deluded Yahiko probably did this to clip Konoha's wings, and at this time, it was quite reasonable for him to do such a thing.
"Yes, this is the last known coordinate of their disappearance. You must rescue Jiraiya and Minato Namikaze. I'm counting on you."
The Third Hokage handed the mission scroll to Uchiha Rei, mainly because he couldn't find any other suitable personnel. Others probably couldn't rescue Jiraiya and the others either.
"Alright, but once this mission is complete, you have to let me rest for one—no, three months!"
Second Body first held up one finger, then thought about it and added two more. Three months of rest would be enough for her strength to greatly increase.
"A month and a half at most. You know that during wartime, everything is extremely urgent. If you rest for three months, how will other Konoha Ninja view that?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi cut the time in half directly. Although he didn't want Uchiha Rei to gain merits on the battlefield, some difficult tasks that didn't involve accolades still needed to be done. This was to cultivate the next Hokage for Konoha.
"No! At least two and a half months. After all, the front lines have been at a standstill for three months, so what's wrong with me resting for two and a half months?"
Second Body would not work herself to death every day without pay. What was the point of risking her life? When she became Hokage, these bad habits must change.
"Then let's meet halfway, two months. You know the armistice agreement isn't reliable. The Four Great Shinobi Villages are untrustworthy; they can tear it up at any time."
Hiruzen Sarutobi argued logically. He also needed to arrange for Uchiha to intern in various departments. How could he let her waste time? This was for the sake of cultivating the next Hokage for Konoha.
"Fine, but I won't repair the barrier then." Second Body took the mission scroll and left. She had to be quick, otherwise Jiraiya and Minato Namikaze would be in danger.
You know Naruto hasn't been born yet. If Minato dies, where would Naruto reincarnate?
She didn't need to bring anything. All her equipment and supplies were in the alternate dimension connected by the Adamantine Bracelet, readily available, which was extremely convenient.
She sent a Shadow Clone back to tell Pakura that she was on a mission, then used Flying Thunder God to arrive at the village gate to register her departure. Since the Third Hokage had already given instructions, she was naturally given a green light.
Second Body's Flying Thunder God range was quite impressive. In one jump, she reached the border of the Land of Fire, and in another, she arrived in the western part of the Land of Rain.
Afterward, she summoned Nue and flew towards the target location. Nue's flying speed was naturally lightning-fast, and with the boost from her Wind Release, she didn't have to worry about air resistance.
She traveled at nearly Mach 10, reaching the river named Black Canyon River in just over ten minutes.
As the name suggested, this place had high mountains and deep valleys, with hardly any sky visible above the river. Coupled with the turbulent river and continuous heavy rain, it was indeed somewhat dangerous.
However, that was for ordinary people. Second Body controlled Nue and headed downstream, while simultaneously amplifying her perception, fully sensing any abnormal areas.
Although she was powerful, she hadn't lost her vigilance. Who knew if a monk might suddenly rush out from somewhere while she was being careless and try to implant a Karma seal on her?
That Black Zetsu dared to ambush them, knowing that Minato Namikaze could use the Flying Thunder God Technique, and even prevented them from sending messages back or escaping. That means he must have a way to counter space-time Ninjutsu.
And this method, when first developed, was definitely not just for dealing with Minato Namikaze. It must have been aimed at him.
"Black Zetsu's desire to destroy me is unyielding. I only scared him once or twice, he's truly petty."
Uchiha Rei complained about Black Zetsu's pettiness. She, Uchiha Rei, had never thought of killing Black Zetsu, after all, his filial piety was commendable.
From Black Zetsu's perspective, it was simply the Naruto version of Chenxiang saving his mother. Although Ōtsutsuki Kaguya was a bit naive, she wasn't entirely evil.
However, if Ōtsutsuki Kaguya wanted to kill her, then Kaguya would undoubtedly be a great villain. Second Body felt that she could still try to trick Kaguya.
As the flow of the Black Canyon River grew stronger, Second Body also realized they were nearing the designated location. She used Cursed Energy to mask her Chakra fluctuations.
She had to be careful. What if this was Black Zetsu's conspiracy? He might just be trying to lure her out and kill her. Black Zetsu could certainly come up with a strategy of encircling a point to strike at reinforcements.
Logically speaking, Black Zetsu should have calculated that with Jiraiya and Minato Namikaze trapped, Uchiha Rei would come to their rescue, so he would definitely set up an ambush somewhere.
To be honest, if Second Body used her Cursed Energy to its full extent, no one in the Ninja World could hide from her perception. This was also why Uchiha Rei dared to come to the rescue.
If she were Black Zetsu, to deal with herself, she would definitely contact the Four Great Shinobi Villages and reap the benefits of their conflict, which would be the best choice.
Second Body only needed to pay attention to any traces of Sealing Technique or ambushes by experts from the Four Great Shinobi Villages along the way. These generally couldn't escape her perception.
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