Under the moonlight, shadows danced in the forest, trees swayed gently with the wind, five figures darted through the woods, three in front and two behind.
"It's Kumogakure's Ninja again." Namikaze Minato was furious inside.
He knew Kumogakure had their eyes on Kushina, but he never expected them to be so persistent, actually sending Ninjas to infiltrate the village again, trying to kidnap Kushina just like they did five years ago.
Although, in a sense, it was precisely that action by Kumogakure five years ago that led him to meet Kushina, making Kumogakure somewhat their matchmaker, but this kind of matchmaker should be sent to meet the Sage of Six Paths as soon as possible.
The Kumogakure's Ninja ahead were also secretly furious, "Damn brat, a Jonin who hasn't experienced the baptism of war dares to chase after us like this."
Despite saying that, he had no intention of stopping to counterattack.
Firstly, this was Konoha's territory. Since they were exposed, they could only leave as quickly as possible.
Secondly, he truly wasn't a match for the opponent. If the other party wasn't worried about Kushina's safety, he might have been taken down in their first encounter.
Just then, a figure came jogging along the path ahead.
"Perfect opportunity!" The leading Kumogakure's Ninja used a Body Flicker Technique to appear behind the figure, holding a kunai to their throat to take them hostage.
Sure enough, the two pursuers stopped.
"It's him." Minato also knew about Setsuna, this 'celebrity' of the Ninja Academy. He glared at the three Kumogakure's Ninja holding the hostage and sternly rebuked, "Targeting a student from the Academy, can you even call yourselves Ninja?"
Kushina next to him waved her fist fiercely, "You scumbags, what else can you do besides taking hostages?"
The leading Kumogakure's Ninja sneered. "Heh, Ninjas are tools who will stop at nothing to complete their mission. Don't you even have that resolve?"
As he spoke, he glanced at the teenager he was holding hostage, who was half a head taller than him, and couldn't resist mocking, "He's still in the Ninja Academy at this age? A waste like this becoming a Ninja would just be a waste of resources. Why don't I just kill him for you? You might even thank me for it."
"Don't confuse our Konoha with your Kumogakure! Every person is important to the village!" Minato said, his left hand secretly forming hand seals behind his back.
If he could summon a summoning creature and secretly place a Flying Thunder God mark on the enemy, he could instantly kill them.
"If everyone is so important, then get lost quickly and let us leave." The leading Kumogakure's Ninja said viciously, his right hand applying slight pressure, intending to draw a line of blood on the boy's neck, preferably making him beg for mercy while crying.
But as he applied a little force, he froze. His kunai actually couldn't pierce through, as if what he was pressing against wasn't a fragile neck, but a block of iron.
Then, Setsuna suddenly asked, "Minato-senpai, this isn't a drill, is it?"
Minato wasn't surprised that Setsuna recognized him, after all, he was quite a famous figure back in his Ninja Academy days.
Before he could reply, the Kumogakure's Ninja next to him laughed. "Are you scared stupid? You still think this is a drill?"
For some reason, the Kumogakure's Ninja holding Setsuna hostage suddenly felt an ominous premonition.
"Heart Crushing Elbow Strike!" Setsuna's left arm suddenly snapped backwards, his elbow slamming into the Kumogakure's Jonin's chest like a cannonball.
The back of the Kumogakure's Jonin's shirt exploded, a ripple of air spread out, severing a tree behind him with the diameter of a bowl at the waist.
"This is... an air cannon!" Minato and the others widened their eyes, completely unable to comprehend how an ordinary elbow strike could be powerful enough to transmit through a human body and still sever a tree in the form of an air vibration.
As for the Kumogakure's Ninja who took this hit, his fate went without saying. All the bones in his body were shattered, and he slumped limply against Setsuna's back.
Setsuna whispered in his ear, regardless of whether he could still hear. "Taking a martial artist as a hostage is very dangerous. Next time... in your next life, don't do this."
The remaining two Kumogakure's Chunin snapped out of their shock. They looked as terrified as if they had seen a ghost, fleeing in panic deep into the forest.
Setsuna grabbed the boneless corpse of the Kumogakure's Jonin and threw it towards one of the fleeing figures.
He then jumped up, standing on the corpse's back and gliding through the air.
The slower one of the two heard the sound of something cutting through the air behind him and instinctively looked back. What he saw scared him out of his wits, as his captain had become an aerial skateboard.
He had no time to dodge, was hit by his captain's corpse, and was sent flying, his body breaking apart in mid-air.
The last Kumogakure's Ninja saw his companion's miserable state and saw the distance between himself and Setsuna constantly shrinking.
Finally, anger overcame his fear. He stopped, turned around, and started forming hand seals. "Damn bastard, I'll fight you with everything I..."
However, he had only formed the second seal when Setsuna caught up to him and kicked him, causing him to explode.
The forest fell dead silent. Minato and Kushina both looked at this scene in shock, feeling as if their worldviews had been completely rebuilt.
This kind of explosive power was perhaps something only the Third Raikage of Kumogakure could achieve.
Thinking that they had subconsciously compared a Third Raikage to a student who hadn't even graduated from the Ninja Academy, they both felt a sense of unreality.
Setsuna calmly avoided the rain of blood and looked at Minato with 'innocent' eyes. "Minato-senpai, could I trouble you to handle the cleanup for these intruders? I haven't finished today's training yet, and I still need to continue my night run."
Minato nodded subconsciously. "Oh, oh, sure, go ahead."
Setsuna adjusted his breathing and continued running forward.
After Setsuna left, Kushina looked at Minato with a shocked expression. "Minato, are the graduation requirements for the Ninja Academy so ridiculous now? A genius like him can't even graduate?"
Minato smiled wryly. "It's because he has no talent for Ninjutsu. He can't even use the Three Basic Techniques. He just does the most monotonous physical training every day. No one knew he had become this powerful in Taijutsu."
As he spoke, Minato mentally put himself in the position of that Kumogakure's Ninja, 'If it were me, could I finish forming the seals before Setsuna attacked?'
After a brief consideration, Minato sighed inwardly, "It seems I still need to develop a seal-less Jutsu, which would work well with the Flying Thunder God Technique."
Kushina also sighed. "This is the first time I've realized that Taijutsu specialists can be this strong. An average Jonin wouldn't even be able to form hand seals in front of him."
"Taijutsu specialists are indeed very strong in one-on-one combat," Minato nodded, then added, "But in large-scale wars, the role Taijutsu specialists can play is much smaller."
Looking in the direction Setsuna had left, Minato sighed. "No matter what, I feel I must suggest to the Hokage-sama that the graduation requirements for the Ninja Academy should be changed."