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Chapter 53
Konoha Forest Outskirts
"V-Vice Captain… what do we do now?"
In a corner Ling Yu couldn't see, a Hidden Cloud chūnin whispered to the jōnin beside him.
As he spoke, the chūnin's body slowly backed away—clearly, he had already lost the will to fight.
Though his voice was low, the surrounding ninja were all strong enough to hear it clearly.
In an instant, every remaining Cloud ninja's gaze turned toward the vice captain, waiting for his next order.
After their captain was killed, the leaderless Cloud ninja could only pin their hopes on the few remaining jōnin in the squad.
"Mission failed—retreat immediately!"
Without a moment's hesitation, the jōnin gave the order to withdraw.
Their captain had been instantly killed—that alone proved the enemy's overwhelming strength. Staying behind meant certain death. Retreat was the only sensible choice.
Even if mission failure brought punishment, survival came first.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh—
The moment they received the retreat order, the Cloud ninja sprang into action, fleeing toward the Land of Lightning at the fastest speed of their lives.
Faced with the bizarre and terrifying techniques Ling Yu had displayed, they had completely lost the will to fight. If they couldn't win, running was their only option.
"Want to run? Not so easy."
Ling Yu naturally noticed their retreat. Scooping up the two girls protected by his clone, he immediately gave chase.
"Eighty Gods Vacuum Attack!"
A powerful chakra fist tore through several-meter-wide trees, roaring straight toward the fleeing Cloud ninja.
"Ahhh—!"
One ninja struck by the fist wind was sent flying backward. His internal organs ruptured completely—he was dead before he hit the ground.
Ling Yu hunted the Cloud ninja through the forest like an eagle snatching chicks, all for the sake of avenging Kushina.
Terrified by Ling Yu's ruthless methods, the Cloud ninja scattered in every direction with no thought of resistance—only desperate flight, terrified that the next one to be hit would be them.
As the fleeing ninja broke through the forest and reached a vast open grassland—almost reaching the border of the Land of Fire—
Ling Yu lost interest in toying with them any longer. It was time to finish this.
In the forest, the Rinnegan's full power was hard to use effectively—he had been limited to taijutsu, picking them off one by one.
Now, with clear open ground and every Cloud ninja visible in his line of sight—
"If you love running so much… let's make it harder."
Locking eyes on every fleeing ninja across the grassland, a sinister smile spread across Ling Yu's face.
"Tenfold Gravity."
Activating the Rinnegan's ability, he instantly applied ten times normal gravity to all the escaping Cloud ninja.
"Ahhh—!"
"What kind of technique is this? Why is my body so heavy?!"
"Damn it! It feels like I'm carrying a boulder—I can't run!"
"Ahhh! I was so close to getting out!"
Under tenfold gravity, the remaining Cloud ninja crashed face-first into the ground before they could react.
"Damn you, Konoha brat! Since you won't let us go… then let's die together!"
Seeing how few of his comrades remained, the Cloud vice captain turned back, gritting his teeth as he glared at Ling Yu.
He had watched his brothers die one by one before his eyes—he had endured it.
But now, just as they were about to escape the Land of Fire, Ling Yu relentlessly pursued and cut off their escape. Their last hope had been shattered once again.
If that was the case… then mutual destruction it would be.
"Everyone—charge with me!" "He must be out of chakra by now! Kill him and we live—we can return to the Hidden Cloud safely!"
"Charge!!"
Remembering every move Ling Yu had used so far, the vice captain guessed he must be nearly out of chakra. He decided to risk everything in one final gamble.
With the vice captain's rallying cries, the remaining Cloud ninja surged forward like they had been injected with adrenaline—charging madly toward Ling Yu.
Some even abandoned defense entirely, covering their bodies with explosive tags and rushing straight at him.
"Lightning Style: Lightning Lion!" "Water Style: Water Severing Wave!" "Lightning Style: Furious Thunder Tiger!"
"Hahaha—coming to die? Then I won't hold back either."
Setting Kushina and Rina down safely, Ling Yu charged fearlessly toward the Cloud ninja.
He still had plenty of chakra left. With his Sage Body nearing full awakening, his reserves recovered extremely quickly.
"Eighty Gods Vacuum Attack!" "Super Strength Fist!" "Rasengan!"
…
Outside Konoha Village – The Forest Where Ling Yu Had Fought Earlier
"Haa… haa… this is…"
Minato ran through the giant hole blasted in the village wall, following his instincts until he reached this place.
"The battle was this intense… I hope Rina-chan isn't hurt."
Seeing the scattered corpses of Cloud ninja on the ground, worry filled Minato's heart.
Following the fresh footprints trampled across the branches, Minato set off again, chasing the trail.
But before he had gone far, a familiar figure came running toward him.
"Huh?! Ling Yu? Why are you here?"
Seeing Ling Yu carrying both Kushina and Rina in his arms as he ran toward him, Minato's heart shook.
Could it be… he killed all these Cloud ninja by himself? He rescued Rina and the others alone?
And Ling Yu didn't have a single injury—meaning he had saved the hostages with ease.
His strength has already reached this level?
In an instant, Minato's mind conjured the image of Ling Yu single-handedly defeating the Cloud ninja and rescuing the hostages.
"Rina's yours now. I'm taking Kushina back first."
Placing Rina gently beside Minato, Ling Yu gave him a quick instruction, then turned and left without looking back—still carrying the sleeping Kushina.
After effortlessly wiping out the remaining Cloud ninja, he had sensed Minato's chakra approaching. So he decided to hand Rina over to him.
To Ling Yu, Kushina was the one that mattered—Rina held no interest for him.
Now that Minato had arrived, he could offload this extra burden onto him.
Besides, handing Rina over to Minato was the perfect way to bring them together—preventing Minato from ever developing feelings for Kushina later.
Consider it a small compensation.
"Hey—Ling…!"
Minato reached out, wanting to stop him. He still wanted to ask what had happened to the Cloud ninja who kidnapped Rina and the others.
But seeing the unconscious Rina beside him, Minato ultimately said nothing. Silently, he lifted her onto his back and ran back toward Konoha.
He had rushed here in a panic, yet before he could even see the enemy, the hostages had already been saved by someone else. There was nothing left for him to do except carry the rescued girl home.
For a moment, Minato couldn't help but sigh inwardly:
As expected… I'm not the protagonist after all.
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