"What?! Kushina has disappeared?!"
The news of the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki going missing was transmitted to the Hokage through the fastest and most secure channels. By the time it reached Namikaze Minato, who was carrying out a classified mission near the Iwagakure front, more than half a day had already passed.
Following priority protocol, Minato immediately abandoned his mission and used space–time ninjutsu to appear before the Third Hokage as quickly as possible.
"She didn't disappear," the Third Hokage said inside the Hokage's office, his pipe still clenched between his teeth, worry evident on his face. "She was teleported away from the battlefield."
Had sending Kushina to the front been a mistake after all?
But who could have predicted that she would refuse to return to Konoha—and that Tsunade would shield her decision?
"In any case," the Third Hokage continued, "the only one who can locate her quickly is you, Minato. Head to the Land of Wind immediately. Find Kushina as fast as possible, and once you do—bring her back to Konoha at once."
Hopefully, nothing had happened to her.
Compared to Kushina, Hagoromo was, at best, a secondary concern—perhaps even an unspoken one.
"I understand," Minato replied, nodding.
The next instant, he vanished from the office.
After several consecutive jumps, almost without wasting any time, Minato appeared in front of Tsunade.
Yes—thanks to the Flying Thunder God jutsu, Namikaze Minato could freely traverse between battlefields.
Normally, this was not how he traveled. Using Flying Thunder God repeatedly over extremely long distances placed a heavy burden on his body.
But this was no time to worry about that.
He was deeply, intensely worried about Kushina's safety.
"Minato—you're here."
The battle had just ended. The sudden appearance of a figure instantly put everyone on edge, but once they recognized him, the tension vanished.
"Lady Tsunade," Minato asked bluntly, "what exactly happened? Where is Kushina?"
Even the Yellow Flash could be impatient when it mattered. No matter how rational a person was, emotions sometimes overruled reason.
Tsunade didn't waste words.
She gave Minato a concise explanation of the previous night's battle.
"So it was Hagoromo…" Minato murmured. "In that situation, his judgment was correct."
Taking Kushina off the battlefield had been the right call.
Unfortunately, Hagoromo couldn't use orthodox space–time jutsus, so he had resorted to a far more violent method.
"I think I understand the situation," Minato said. "Kushina should be safe. After arriving here, I can already sense the Flying Thunder God marker I left on her. I'll go check immediately."
Before Tsunade could respond, Minato vanished again.
The range of Flying Thunder God depended on the chakra expended. Generally, the farther the jump, the more chakra it consumed—but once a certain threshold was exceeded, pouring in more chakra wouldn't increase the distance by even a meter.
Minato's ability to sense his own markers worked the same way.
If the distance was too great, he simply couldn't detect them.
That was why he only sensed Kushina's marker after arriving at the command post.
He disappeared from the battlefield—
And reappeared inside a strangely unfamiliar space.
"…The Land of Rain?" Minato muttered, instinctively estimating the coordinates.
Then he saw her.
"Kushina! Are you alright?!"
Thankfully, she looked unharmed.
"Minato?"
In the eerie quiet of the area, Kushina was startled by his sudden appearance and voice.
"Couldn't you at least warn me before popping up?" she snapped. "If I weren't familiar with your chakra, I'd have attacked you just now!"
People could be scared to death, after all.
Minato was incredibly fast—but he also had a habit of startling people. Even Kushina, who knew him better than anyone, occasionally fell victim to it.
Minato smiled wryly.
That really wasn't something he could fix.
"You're not injured, are you?"
"Injured? No. But earlier I had to suppress the Nine-Tails again, so my chakra's pretty depleted. Compared to me, though… I'm more worried about Hagoromo."
"How is Hagoromo?" Minato asked.
For Konoha's leadership, Kushina's safety was the top priority. Hagoromo was, frankly, an afterthought.
For Minato, the comparison was the same—but Hagoromo was still a Konoha shinobi, and Kushina's student. He couldn't just ignore him.
"I don't know yet," Kushina replied. "We probably got separated when we arrived. I still haven't sensed him. He was already badly injured on the battlefield, and this place feels… wrong. Not safe."
Minato silently sighed.
From her tone alone, it was obvious—Kushina would never leave without Hagoromo.
"I'll send you back to Konoha first," Minato proposed. "I'll search for Hagoromo."
"How?" Kushina shot back immediately. "We've never been here before. We don't know the terrain. Your sensory ability isn't better than mine. Finding Hagoromo is my responsibility—he's my student. I'm not abandoning him."
Minato thought, Just as I expected.
Still, this was enemy territory. The sooner they found Hagoromo and left, the better.
After a moment's thought, Minato said, "Then wait here for a bit. I'll be right back, and we'll search together."
Before she could object, he vanished again.
He returned to the command post, reported the situation to Tsunade, and informed her that Kushina was safe—so Konoha wouldn't panic unnecessarily.
He finished the report quickly—
And hurried straight back.
Why the rush?
Because Minato knew Kushina's temperament all too well.
If he took even a little too long, she would definitely set off on her own.
"You're too slow, Minato!"
As expected, he was greeted with her complaint the moment he returned.
In truth, he was certain the entire trip had taken less than five minutes.
"I really was as fast as I could be," Minato said gently. "I still had to explain things to Lady Tsunade."
He explained himself—
But there was no irritation in his voice.
Because when it came to someone he cared about,
Minato Namikaze had more than enough patience.
◇ BONUS & SUPPORT ◇
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 10 reviews — drop a comment!
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ Read 70 chapters ahead on P@treon → patreon.com/Chakraflow789