For Captain Reiraku of Kumogakure to gain Kushina's trust was only the first step. To take away the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki—someone under heavy surveillance by Konoha—without restraint, she would have had to bypass multiple layers of security.
Among those defenses, the most reliable and efficient force was undoubtedly Konoha's ANBU.
And yet…
That strongest line of protection had failed to fulfill its role.
Most likely, Konoha's surveillance had already been quietly eliminated before Reiraku ever approached Kushina.
The reason Kushina followed her without suspicion was precisely because the ANBU neither intervened nor raised any alarm, leading her to believe everything was safe.
On top of that, this was Kumogakure's forward base—who would have imagined that an enemy could infiltrate it so deeply?
To say Kumogakure bore no responsibility at all—Minato simply couldn't believe that.
Breaking through layer after layer of defense to reach Kushina… this had all the signs of an inside job.
"Captain Minato, we've found all eight bodies," a Konoha squad leader reported.
"…Let's take a look."
When Minato saw the corpses of the eight fallen ANBU, his expression darkened further.
Each of them had been stationed at different positions, yet the enemy had pinpointed their exact locations and eliminated them one by one.
Every single one had been killed in a single strike—so swiftly that none had the chance to send out a warning.
Just how well did the enemy understand Kumogakure's defensive layout and Konoha's ANBU deployment? The entire situation felt as if some hidden organization had planted agents within both villages, waiting patiently for this exact moment to bare its fangs.
"The enemy's plan is meticulous… and cunning," another squad leader said grimly.
"But we don't even know who they are. We can't even confirm how many of them there are."
A thin sheen of sweat appeared on Minato's forehead. Based on everything they knew so far, they had no idea of the enemy's numbers, their structure, their current location, or even how they had infiltrated the camp—let alone how they had escaped with Kushina.
Too many unknowns.
They were like blind birds crashing about in the dark, directionless and desperate.
To gain more information, they would have to wait.
But right now, time was the one thing they couldn't afford.
It had only been about twenty minutes since Kushina's disappearance. If they moved fast enough, there was still a good chance they could catch up to her.
The key was knowing which direction the enemy had gone.
At that moment, Kakashi suddenly crouched down and began examining the bodies closely. After a moment, he spoke in a low voice, "Sensei… I might be able to track them."
Without hesitation, he formed hand seals and summoned a small ninja dog with brownish fur.
"Yo, Kakashi. Long time no see," the dog said casually.
"Pakkun, I need your help. Track where the enemy went." Kakashi gestured toward the row of fallen ANBU.
"Easy enough," Pakkun replied, stepping forward to sniff the bodies and the surrounding ground. But after a moment, he hesitated. "Hmm… this scent is strange…"
"The killer… are they even human?"
"What do you mean?" Minato asked.
"There's a plant-like smell… mixed with the scent of soil… and something else I can't quite identify. But one thing's missing—there's no trace of a living human's scent."
"Then where did they go?"
Pakkun spread his small paws helplessly. "Underground."
"The trail disappears beneath the earth. And their scent blends too closely with the forest itself—it's hard to pinpoint a direction."
"Pakkun… you said they?" Kakashi caught the wording immediately.
Was there only one enemy?
"…Maybe two," Pakkun said uncertainly. "But no more than that."
Two people…?
Just two enemies had infiltrated Kumogakure's camp, wiped out Konoha's ANBU, and abducted Kushina?
"Then what about her?" Minato quickly took out a lake-blue fish-shaped hairpin and held it in front of Pakkun. "This companion of ours was taken. Please help us find her."
"Oh, her scent is clear enough." Pakkun lifted a paw and pointed decisively to the east. "That way."
"Good. We move immediately."
With that, Minato gathered the shinobi from the remaining six squads. After a brief exchange with Shimizu and Dodai, they set off at once in pursuit of Kushina.
Shimizu wanted to go with them, but he understood why Minato had chosen to leave him behind.
It wasn't just about assisting Kumogakure in continuing the mission—it was also about uncovering the truth.
There were two crucial questions he needed to confirm:
First—was the Third Raikage truly doing as Kumogakure claimed, personally leading the charge as bait to draw Iwagakure's forces here?
Second—was Kumogakure involved in Kushina's disappearance and the deaths of Konoha's ANBU?
If the worst-case scenario proved true, then anyone remaining in this camp would be in grave danger. And if there was anyone capable of uncovering the truth under such circumstances, it was Shimizu.
On the other hand, if Dodai's claim was genuine—if Kumogakure's leadership truly knew nothing—then this could very well be a scheme designed to drive a wedge between the two villages.
And if they hastily withdrew all their forces now, abandoning the mission to rescue the Third Raikage…
Then the truth behind all of this might remain buried in the shadows forever.
"The responsibility here is enormous…" Shimizu let out a long, heavy breath.
Dodai, the Kumogakure commander, felt the same weight pressing down on him. "If this isn't handled properly… the alliance between Kumo and Konoha could fall apart."
He hesitated before adding, "Konoha wouldn't really believe that we'd do something this foolish… would they?"
Objectively speaking, he had a point. It was Kumogakure that had requested to borrow the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki in the first place, and they had already put forward the appropriate bargaining chips. To then turn around and sabotage everything in a way that harmed both sides would be nothing short of stupidity.
And yet… the Nine-Tails was not something that could be measured purely in terms of cost and benefit.
What if Kumogakure had truly gone mad?
"…Sigh." Seeing that Shimizu remained silent, Dodai gave a wry smile. "I just hope Konoha will believe us. Even if we did have ulterior motives, at the very least we'd wait until Miss Uzumaki helped Lord Raikage escape danger, wouldn't we?"
"In this situation, what possible benefit is there for us?"
So the Third Raikage really was in peril?
It sounded plausible enough. After a brief pause, Shimizu replied frankly, "The reason I'm staying is to represent Konoha—and to help Kumogakure through this crisis."
Dodai exhaled deeply. "But without the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki, how are we supposed to activate the sealing array?"
"Then we abandon it," Shimizu said without hesitation.
"…That may be our only option." Dodai nodded reluctantly. "But if we give up the sealing array, there's no way we can hold back Iwagakure's army with the forces we have here."
Shimizu's gaze sharpened slightly. "Why does Kumogakure only have fewer than five thousand shinobi on the front lines?"
By his estimation, Kumogakure should have at least twenty to thirty thousand regular shinobi, if not more. Facing an army of over ten thousand from Iwagakure, the sheer difference in numbers alone created an overwhelming disadvantage. How could Kumo possibly hold them back?
Even fighting head-on would be suffocating under that pressure.
"Kirigakure has been repeatedly harassing our borders," Dodai explained. "Lord Raikage believes they'll eventually launch a full-scale attack, so we've been keeping a large portion of our forces in reserve to guard against them."
So Kirigakure had been stirring trouble on Kumo's side… No wonder there had been so little news of them on Konoha's end.
After a moment of thought, Shimizu said, "Then the only option is to try and split their forces, and look for an opportunity to extract the Third Raikage."
Dodai nodded slightly. "We were planning to set up explosive tag traps around the original sealing array. Lord Raikage will definitely head there first…"
"But the terrain is too open—it'll be hard to retreat," Shimizu murmured. After a brief pause, he pointed toward a distant valley. "We should move ahead of time and set up an ambush there. Use a large number of explosive tags to cut off Iwagakure's advance—it won't stop them entirely, but it could delay their pursuit."
That valley was the only viable ambush point along the Third Raikage's retreat route. However, it wasn't a mandatory path. Even if Iwagakure were blocked there, they could simply detour and resume the chase without losing too much time.
Worse, it would expose the fact that Kumogakure still had reinforcements hidden nearby, eliminating any chance of setting further traps.
And as for luring the enemy into the sealing array again… that would become nearly impossible.
After all, they only had one shot.
Kumogakure had already paid a considerable price to convince Iwagakure that their earlier defeat was due to a genuine strategic blunder, and that the Third Raikage had truly fallen into danger.
"Or…" Shimizu added calmly, "you could choose to make your stand in that valley and engage Iwagakure directly. That's also an option. You're the commander here—I'll support whatever decision you make."
At this camp, Kumogakure only had about two thousand shinobi. The Third Raikage's forces numbered just over a thousand, while the rest were scattered across other battlefields.
In total, they barely reached three thousand.
Against an army of over ten thousand, they were at a crushing disadvantage.
Still, with the element of surprise, it wasn't entirely hopeless.
But if they lost…
It wouldn't just be the initial two thousand used as bait.
They would lose nearly four thousand troops in one blow.
"Commander Dodai, we're running out of time," Shimizu reminded him quietly.
Time—more than anything else—was slipping through their fingers.
"…Shunshin Shimizu… no, I'll just call you Shimizu," Dodai said after a moment, his voice low. "If it were you, what would you choose?"
Shimizu paused briefly before answering, his tone steady and analytical. "You only have a few hours to prepare—that's far too little. On top of that, it's unclear how much combat strength the Third Raikage's forces still have. Rushing into battle like this, any traps we set likely won't be very effective… and with the numerical disadvantage…"
He shook his head slightly. "I don't think highly of a battle fought under these conditions."
Dodai gave a slow nod. "I was being too greedy… I kept thinking this might be our only chance, so I wanted to take down as much of Iwagakure's army as possible."
"That's unlikely," Shimizu said plainly.
"…We spent so long preparing this plan, only for it to come to nothing," Dodai murmured, bitterness creeping into his voice.
Shimizu remained calm. "As long as your people survive, and the sealing array still exists, there will be other opportunities in the future."
"…You're right."
At last, Dodai made his decision.
"We'll prioritize rescuing Lord Raikage."