Chapter 25 — Kushina Kidnapped
Early morning, Senju compound.
In the room on the right wing, the space was decorated in soft pink tones, filled with the youthful aura of a girl.
Kushina stretched lazily, her sleepy eyes still half-closed. A faint smile hung on her lips—she had clearly enjoyed a good night's rest.
Ever since meeting Kinoshita Hikaru and the others, Kushina had gradually stepped out of her past pain. Each day became incredibly fulfilling, and this kind of life left the young girl deeply satisfied.
She walked to the mirror and carefully combed her red hair, treating it like a treasured possession, her face full of happiness as she recalled Hikaru's words.
"Kushina, your hair is so beautiful—like flames. I wish I had hair like that too.
…Everyone, I've decided. From now on, Kushina's hair will be the symbol of our squad. Burning like fire—fierce and sincere toward our comrades. How about it?"
"Good x8!"
"Hikaru-kun is so gentle…" Kushina murmured softly, staring at her reflection. Her cheeks flushed slightly as she drifted into a daze.
A moment later—
She let out a startled cry. "I'm going to be late!"
Kushina hurried out of her room…
…
"Everyone ready? Training's about to begin. Put on your weights."
After school, the ten of them gathered together and took out their scrolls, equipping their weighted gear.
Kushina reached for her ninja pouch—only to grab empty air.
"Oh no… I rushed out this morning and forgot it."
She froze in place, completely flustered, anxiety filling her heart.
When the others finished putting on their weights and noticed her standing there blankly, Kinoshita Hikaru smiled.
"What's wrong, Kushina?"
"You didn't 'forget' on purpose to skip training, did you?" Uchiha Shigeru said dryly.
Everyone: "…"
They were already used to Shigeru's sharp tongue, but it still irritated them—especially Kushina, whose face instantly turned bright red.
"That's nonsense! I just left in a hurry this morning and forgot!" After saying that, she secretly glanced at Hikaru to make sure he wasn't angry. When she saw that he wasn't, she quietly let out a sigh of relief.
"You guys go ahead. I'll go grab the scroll and come right back," Kushina said.
Everyone looked at Uchiha Shigeru.
"Tch—why are you all staring at me? I was just joking," he muttered irritably.
Hikaru smiled. "Let's run a lap first, then we'll go find Kushina."
"Okay!"
"Let's go!"
The group dashed off at full speed. After finishing a lap, they arrived at the Senju compound.
"Kushina—!"
They shouted her name, only to be informed by the guards that Kushina had never returned.
Hikaru's heart skipped a beat.
He knew that Kushina had once been kidnapped by Kumo ninja when she was young—but the timing shouldn't be now.
His expression turned serious.
"Everyone, let's retrace the route from the academy. I suspect Kushina may have encountered danger."
Uchiha Shigeru snorted dismissively. "There are Uchiha guards stationed all over Konoha. What danger could she possibly run into? I think she's just avoiding training."
"Bastard! Kushina is our comrade—a comrade for life! How can you doubt a teammate like that?!" Hikaru exploded in anger.
"That's right. I believe Kushina isn't that kind of person," Nara Shikaku said.
"Let's move," Namikaze Minato urged impatiently.
"Hiashi, we're counting on you."
"Leave it to me. Byakugan… activate."
The veins around Hyuga Hiashi's eyes bulged as he scanned the surroundings.
After a short while, he shook his head slightly. He hadn't found Kushina.
"Shigeru, summon the ninja cat. Track her scent."
"Yeah, yeah." Uchiha Shigeru gave a small huff and formed hand seals—Boar–Dog–Rooster–Monkey–Ram.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
"Meow~"
The ninja cat, Daiju, appeared. Fat and round like a ball of meat, it trembled slightly the moment it saw Hikaru.
"This kitty can't eat any more meat…"
Everyone: "…"
The ninja cat clan was the Uchiha clan's contracted summons, serving them exclusively. Everyone was familiar with Daiju—and had all cuddled it before. Especially Kinoshita Hikaru, who often treated Daiju to meat and had successfully fattened it up.
"Do you still remember Kushina's scent? Help us find her—or I'll make sure you eat meat every single day," Hikaru threatened.
"Meow~"
Daiju's body swayed slightly. Remembering Kushina's scent, it lowered its head and sniffed the ground.
"Follow me."
With that, it dashed forward. The group hurried after it.
As they continued along the trail, everyone's expressions grew increasingly grave. Their hearts sank—
They had already left Konoha.
"Stop."
The others looked at Kinoshita Hikaru in confusion.
"If I'm not mistaken, Kushina has already encountered danger. If we keep going, we'll be putting ourselves at risk as well. If anyone doesn't want to continue, step forward now. Don't feel burdened—just treat it as going back to report the situation."
"Hikaru…" Namikaze Minato's face was filled with anxiety.
Hikaru raised a hand to stop him and looked at everyone.
"Idiot! What are you saying? We're a unit—how could we possibly leave?" Uchiha Shigeru shouted angrily, guilt surfacing in his heart for having doubted Kushina earlier.
"That's right! Don't insult the friendship between us, bastard!"
"Although this isn't the optimal strategy, I'm not the type to retreat at the brink of battle," Nara Shikaku said calmly.
The others voiced their agreement loudly.
Hikaru met each of their gazes. Every single one of them was resolute.
"Good. You're right. In this world, there are always things we must protect—even if it costs us our lives. Maybe this is reckless, but what I want to say is… our comrade will be protected by us."
"Yeahhh!"
"Everyone, remove your weights. Full speed ahead. We have to save Kushina."
...
Time rewinds.
Kushina's face was flushed red, her eyes burning with anger as she ran toward the Senju compound.
"Stupid Shigeru! I'm so mad—he actually doubted me!"
After a short while—
Her expression turned bright and cheerful again.
"Hikaru-kun is so gentle. Hmph, he's a hundred times better than that stupid Shigeru—no, ten thousand times better."
She sprinted quickly, weaving through the streets at high speed.
"Clack!"
Kushina looked up. A window support rod had been blown loose by the wind and fallen.
"Screech—"
A white hawk cut across the sky with a sharp cry, its hooked beak curved like a blade, its eagle eyes razor-sharp.
She didn't stop, lowering her head as she kept running. But the short stretch of street suddenly felt endlessly long—she couldn't seem to reach the end.
And the street was completely empty.
At that moment—
Kushina sensed something was wrong. She halted abruptly and pulled out a kunai, her voice ringing out sharply:
"Who's there? Show yourself!"
An eerie voice echoed from the sky.
"Heh heh heh… sharp little girl. But you're too late."
After the voice faded, countless white hawks gathered together, slowly merging into the form of a man.
He wore a cloak and a mask that concealed his face, making his features impossible to discern.
"Damn it… it's genjutsu. But I never even saw the enemy."
Kushina felt panic rising. When had she been caught in the illusion?
The principle of genjutsu was to interfere with the target's chakra flow and control it, thereby manipulating the five senses.
It was typically cast through eye contact—she had never heard of being caught in a genjutsu without even seeing the opponent.
But it was useless to dwell on that now. Battles between ninja were battles of chakra. Once trapped in genjutsu, there were only two solutions.
The first was for a teammate to inject their own chakra to disrupt and dispel the illusion.
The second was to form hand seals oneself and forcibly halt or disturb one's own chakra flow.
Doing so would weaken or even break the effects of the genjutsu. This was the most common and widely practiced method of dispelling illusions.
"Allow me to introduce myself. I am a jōnin of Kumogakure—Iruwa Yoshi. I've come to invite you as a guest to Kumo. As for my genjutsu… it's not limited to just my eyes. My summoned beast can cast it as well."
Iruwa Yoshi pointed toward the white hawk.