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"Not bad," one of the previously silent men said as he lifted his head and looked straight at Hiruzen. "No wonder this is an A+ mission."
The moment their eyes met, Hiruzen's heart sank.
Damn. Genjutsu.
A strange force wrapped around his mind the instant their gazes locked.
As the Professor of Ninjutsu, he knew exactly what that sensation meant.
Genjutsu. And not some low-tier trick either.
But why hadn't he sensed any chakra?
And the man didn't have a Sharingan. How could an ocular illusion be this powerful without one?
"Be careful! Their techniques are strange and strong!"
A jonin nearby hadn't sensed any chakra fluctuations either. That alone made his skin crawl. But it was already too late. His vision began to blur.
Fortunately, he heard Hiruzen shout "genjutsu" just in time. He grabbed Hiruzen's shoulder and synchronized their chakra flow, breaking the illusion through interference.
Once they broke free, several others quickly followed.
"Oh?" The man who cast the illusion looked genuinely surprised. "Didn't expect natives of this world to figure out a way to break it."
"Guess I underestimated you."
As he spoke, the shinobi who hadn't broken free suddenly turned and attacked their own comrades.
"You figured out how to disrupt my genjutsu?" he said lightly. "You don't actually think that means you've figured out my ability, do you?"
"Let me enlighten you. Anyone who falls under my illusion becomes my puppet."
"…."
The only woman on their team covered her face in helpless embarrassment.
You really sound like a villain right now.
Well… to be fair, we are the villains.
Inside the seal within Kushina Uzumaki, Kurama frowned as he observed the outside world.
"Who are these people? Those clothes aren't from this world…"
He knew what clothing in the Naruto world looked like. These people didn't fit at all. If anything, their outfits resembled something from another group he'd seen before.
"Enough playing around," the quiet man in the team finally said. "Grab the girl and get out. If we're surrounded, even we'll have trouble."
"Got it."
"Okay."
"Mm."
Kurama's eyes narrowed.
Take my jinchūriki?
Wasn't Kushina supposed to be kidnapped by Cloud ninja when she was still in the Academy?
"Wait."
A thought struck him.
Wasn't Mito Uzumaki supposed to still be alive at this point? When he left for that mission, she was perfectly fine. By his estimate, she should've lived at least until Kushina graduated.
But now?
Kushina had only just arrived in Konoha, and she was already the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki.
Is the plot seriously moving this fast?
While Kurama was lost in thought, the intruders smashed through Konoha's encirclement and seized Kushina.
Sensing danger, Kurama was just about to leak some chakra to help her break free—
Then he paused.
A spark flashed through his mind.
Wasn't this the perfect chance to escape the seal and finally live freely?
Yes.
Decision made.
Freedom, here I come.
He pulled his chakra back in.
"???"
Hiruzen stared, dumbfounded, at the flicker of fox chakra cloak that suddenly flared up around Kushina… and then vanished just as abruptly.
What the hell was that?
Had the Nine-Tails been controlled too? Otherwise how could she have been captured so easily?
That didn't make sense.
When he saw the chakra cloak appear, Hiruzen had actually felt relieved. He'd even braced himself for the worst, prepared for the Nine-Tails to rampage and devastate Konoha if necessary.
He hadn't expected this.
"What's with this girl?" The man holding Kushina frowned. That burst of Nine-Tails chakra had sent a chill down his spine.
"She's the core objective of an A+ mission," the captain snorted. "You think she'd be worth that many points if she were ordinary?"
"Target secured. We're leaving."
"....."