In the Forest.
A group of ninjas without forehead protectors chased after Kin and his two companions.
The distance between them was closing rapidly.
It seemed they were about to catch up.
As the pursuers sped up, one of them reached out and brushed Kushina's long hair.
The trio turned around, their faces filled with terror.
The chasing ninjas grinned viciously.
Crack!
A sound like shattering glass echoed, and the surroundings seemed to fracture as if something transparent had broken.
Uchiha Kin and the others vanished.
Ahead, Jiraiya, clad in gray armor, leaned against a tree, his cold gaze fixed on the group of ninjas.
On the towering trees, figures in green flak jackets lined the branches.
The pursuers halted.
"Jiraiya!" One of the ninjas recognized him.
The man's eyes shifted to the left, where another figure stood—a man in a gray high-collared coat, the collar covering his mouth, sunglasses obscuring his eyes, his left hand resting on a scroll as tall as an adult.
"Aburame Shiko!"
The current head of the Aburame clan.
His gaze then turned to the right, where a man in white robes, his eyes pale and vacant, stood calmly with his hands behind his back.
"Hyuga Yoshikata!"
The current head of the Hyuga clan.
"The Jinchūriki of the Nine-Tails is indeed heavily guarded," the man muttered with a low chuckle.
These three were all elite jōnin-level shinobi.
Coupled with the numerous Konoha ninjas surrounding them, the outcome was already decided.
"So, it was you who leaked the Jinchūriki's whereabouts."
They had acted based on intel about Konoha's Jinchūriki.
The odds of success were slim, but what if they succeeded?
Stealing Konoha's tailed beast would cripple the village, giving them the upper hand in future negotiations or battles.
Unfortunately, this was nothing more than a trap Konoha had set for them—and they had taken the bait.
"I didn't expect to catch so many," Jiraiya remarked, surprised. He glanced at Hyuga Yoshikata and held up three fingers.
Three jōnin.
Chakra didn't always equate to combat prowess, but those with vast reserves were usually jōnin.
"Let's see if you can handle this!" the leader roared.
The moment they saw these reinforcements, they knew their mission had failed. Their chances of survival were slim.
The battle erupted instantly.
Elsewhere.
"So, we were the bait," Kin thought bitterly.
He glanced back. Only three pursuers remained.
Earlier, a large group had been chasing them, but now the others had vanished.
The truth was obvious.
Couldn't they have cleaned up properly? Why leave three behind?
"What's going on?!" Kushina was still confused. She had only seen Kin signal for them to flee before enemies began emerging from the ground.
Namikaze Minato explained, "Yamada Ichirō set a trap in advance. We walked right into it."
To be precise, the trap was meant for Kushina, but he didn't spell it out.
Kin shot them a glance. Minato was being considerate of Kushina's feelings.
He didn't comment further, instead analyzing how they'd become bait.
This scenario didn't exist in the original story. His actions were clearly altering events.
Soon, he pieced it together.
Konoha had planned this operation from the start, with Kushina as the bait. He and Minato were just collateral.
They had accepted the mission today, but the enemy's preparations weren't made on the spot. Otherwise, mobilizing so many ninjas would've been impossible.
If Kushina hadn't mentioned the mission, Jiraiya would've likely assigned them a different one.
The moment they took the mission, the trap was sprung.
No wonder Jiraiya agreed so readily.
Typically, genin were stuck on D-rank missions for at least a year.
They'd only been at it for a few months.
So this was the plan all along?!
Was Kushina's kidnapping by Cloud ninjas in the future also a setup?
Are Jinchūriki just that disposable as bait?
Did anyone ask Kushina? Or what about me, the poor guy dragged into this?!
"Only three left. The others fell behind. Should we counterattack?" Kushina, now reassured by Minato, was eager to fight.
Kin smirked.
Kushina was truly oblivious to being used as bait.
Minato, too, looked puzzled by the sudden reduction in pursuers.
Kin: ...
Usually so sharp, but now you're clueless?
"Don't overthink it. One each—take them down!"
Kin abruptly stopped, a thin wire shooting from his sleeve to wrap around a tree. As he dropped, the wire swung him backward.
One ninja, caught mid-air, was too slow to react. Kin's kick sent him crashing down.
"Down you go!"
Kin and the enemy ninja plummeted toward the ground.
The remaining two pursuers landed on branches, ready to aid their comrade.
Minato and Kushina appeared between them simultaneously.
Thud! Thud!
They kicked the two ninjas away.
Kin landed, but the ninja he'd kicked had vanished.
"Hey! Are you a jōnin or a chūnin?" Kin suddenly called out.
The ground rippled like water, and a burly man emerged, his expression disarmingly honest.
"I'm a chūnin."
He actually answered.
But...
"Perfect. I need to test my real strength anyway."
Kin crouched low, drawing a kunai from his leg holster.
On paper, his rank was special jōnin, but actual combat might prove otherwise.
His sparring sessions with Might Dai and others in the village had been restrained, making it hard to gauge his true level.
This chūnin was just the right challenge.
Shave!
Kin vanished, reappearing in front of the man with a sweeping kick that shattered his body into clumps of dirt.
Earth Clone Technique.
Something flew out of the debris, making Kin's pupils contract.
A rapidly burning piece of paper.
Explosive tag!!
"You bastard—Iron Body!!"
BOOM!!
The explosion sent Kin flying. He barely managed to cross his arms in defense before slamming into the ground, motionless.
"Earth Style: Rock Pillar Spears!"
Sharp stone spikes erupted from the earth.
Kin blocked with his kunai, sparks flying as he kicked off the spikes with both feet, vanishing again.
Hidden in the dense foliage, he controlled his breathing.
Burns marred parts of his body—the explosive tag had done damage, though not enough to hinder him.
"This is a chūnin?!"
Kin cursed under his breath. He'd nearly been killed by a chūnin, which stung his pride.
"I failed my jōnin exam," the man's voice came from above.
Kin's eyes narrowed.
"Earth Style: Earth Prison!"
The burly ninja hung upside-down from a branch, his hand aimed at Kin. A dome of rock and mud encased him.
"It's over."
The man's hands flew through seals.
He took a deep breath and exhaled sharply toward the prison.
"Earth Style: Wind-Enhanced Sand Bullets!"
The sandstorm concealed stones, each as deadly as shuriken, piercing through Kin's body.
"I—"
Kin stared in disbelief, his face twisting in despair before death.
Then, suddenly, it split into a grin.
"Got you!"
Poof!
The impaled Kin dissolved into white smoke.
From the tree, two arms wielding kunai sprouted, followed by half of Kin's torso.
"Demonic Illusion: Tree Binding Death!"
The kunai stabbed into the man's body—poof!—only for a log to take his place.
The ninja reappeared on a distant branch, clutching his bleeding shoulder.
He'd used the Replacement Technique in time but still took a heavy hit.
Kin didn't pursue. His gaze dropped.
Another explosive tag was burning.
"Tch. Of course."
BOOM!!
This time, Kin used Shave to evade the blast.
"Why are you so strong for a chūnin?" Kin asked, genuinely curious.
He could easily crush chūnin like Inoue Satoru.
The man didn't understand the question but didn't attack either. His missing comrades gave him a bad feeling.
Still, he answered.
"The chūnin you've faced must've been desk ninjas—all theory, no实战 (practical combat). They're good at bullying kids, but surviving a real battle? That's luck."
His village had such ninjas too, though few.
Chūnin forged in battle and those who only taught in the academy were worlds apart in skill, even if their rank was the same.
"Noted," Kin said, then turned to leave, exposing his back.
"What's this?" The man was baffled. Is this kid giving up?
Kin stopped and waved over his shoulder.
"You're already dead."
"What—?" The man's eyes widened. Gush! Blood sprayed from his mouth, his ears, his nose.
"The kunai... was poisoned?!"
He frantically rummaged for an antidote.
"Won't work. That's a special snake venom brewed by an elite jōnin. Unless you've got a medic-nin, regular antidotes are useless."
Orochimaru's concoction—one dose, and the victim never complained again.
The man swallowed the antidote, but as Kin said, it did nothing.
His body went limp, tumbling from the tree.
The battle was over.
(End of Chapter)