The Stage is Set

Minato Namikaze, age fifteen this year.

Though he comes from a civilian family, he has surpassed many peers from ninja clans, earning the title of the greatest genius of the new generation.

As a special jonin, he has achieved several victories against jonin-level opponents, especially on the recent battlefield against Kumogakure, and his reputation is starting to spread throughout the ninja world.

Kumogakure's high command even issued an order.

Any ninja who encounters Minato Namikaze can abandon their mission immediately and must kill him at all costs to eliminate Konoha's future hope.

Inside the Ninja Academy's Sealing Jutsu Office.

Natsuhiko was sitting at his desk, tapping his fingers on the table, organising information about Minato Namikaze in his mind, and feeling a bit emotional.

This guy truly is a genius.

You have to know that although he became Jiraiya's disciple right after graduation, the Second Ninja War officially broke out that year, so Jiraiya had little time to guide his training, leaving him to fend for himself.

After the Second Ninja War finally ended, Jiraiya was enticed by the seductive troublemaker Nagato and stayed in Amegakure to teach for three years.

Waiting year after year, if Jiraiya doesn't come back soon, Minato will be Hokage before long.

What's the use of having such a master!?

Natsuhiko complained inwardly.

Not to mention, after Minato invented the Rasengan, his master even took it for himself and made it one of his main combat Jutsu.

It's hard to tell who the master is.

Although he hadn't met Jiraiya yet, Natsuhiko had a deeper understanding of his unreliability.

Then, he compared the current situation with the plot in his memory.

Nagato and Minato are about five years old, so they should be around ten now.

Jiraiya also mentioned that Nagato had mastered six nature transformations by the age of ten, which means he's probably still babysitting in Amegakure.

It's no wonder he didn't appear in the current conflict with Kumogakure; it's Orochimaru holding the frontline.

So, he's still indulging in raising Konoha's future big boss...

And Tsunade is continuing her charity gambling tour in the Land of Fire.

Among the Sannins, the most reliable one is Orochimaru!

Natsuhiko shook his head and smiled, bringing his wandering thoughts back to the most pressing issue.

The Kushina kidnapping incident.

However, he wasn't sure if his butterfly effect had caused the war between the Land of Lightning and the Land of Fire to last a year longer, leading to the kidnapping event that should have happened last year still not occurring.

But now, with the arrival of the Kumogakure delegation and Minato Namikaze, he felt as if the stage was set and just waiting for the main characters to perform.

So, although he couldn't be sure that the kidnapping event would still happen due to historical inertia, he decided to prepare anyway.

After all, Kushina is a crucial cornerstone in his plan.

Future Kushina, as the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, needs no further explanation. Even now, with Uzumaki Mito backing her, she provides significant protection to Natsuhiko's tavern.

If the kidnapping event happens and Minato doesn't rescue her due to the butterfly effect, Natsuhiko would have nowhere to cry.

First, the best approach is to prevent the kidnapping incident from happening.

Natsuhiko remembered that in the original work, the Kumogakure ninja targeted Kushina because of her particular chakra.

So, if Kushina doesn't come into contact with those Kumogakure ninjas, the kidnapping might not happen.

Unfortunately, Natsuhiko couldn't explain the source of his information. Otherwise, he could just have Mito or the Third Hokage assign bodyguards to Kushina for a while, eliminating any opportunity for the Kumogakure ninjas.

Therefore, Natsuhiko's current approach is to keep Kushina from wandering around Konoha, reducing her chances of being noticed by Kumogakure ninjas.

He looked at Kushina, who was reading a book, and suddenly spoke:

"Kushina."

"What?"

"Are you going to the Ninja Tavern tonight?"

"Hmm..."

Kushina put down her book, squinted her eyes and thought for a moment, then replied:

"I've been going there for several days in a row. Tonight, I'm planning to go shopping with Mikoto."

Then she heard Natsuhiko say leisurely:

"That's too bad. There's a double points event in the tavern tonight. If you don't go, your ranking might drop significantly."

"What, double points? Why didn't you tell me earlier? I can't let my Red Comet title fall out of the top ten! Looks like I'll have to hang out with Mikoto tomorrow."

Then Kushina said helplessly, "By the way, Natsuhiko, why does the tavern keep having events lately? Yesterday was buy ten packs, get one free, and the day before was a limited-time challenge. I hardly have time to hang out with Mikoto."

Because that's my purpose.

Natsuhiko thought to himself but smiled and said:

"It's almost New Year, so these are New Year celebration events, giving back to everyone."

"By the way, starting tomorrow, if you check in at the tavern for seven consecutive days, you'll get a limited edition New Year skin for Sarutobi Sasuke."

"Ugh..."

Kushina looked conflicted.

It seemed useless, but she really wanted it!

So she said helplessly:

"Looks like I'll have to postpone hanging out with Mikoto for a few more days."

Natsuhiko felt slightly relieved.

Keeping Kushina limited to home, school, and the tavern was the best he could do.

Additionally, to prevent cheating, the tavern had long been equipped with a barrier to nullify most sensory ninjutsu.

So even if the Kumogakure ninjas encountered Kushina in the tavern, they wouldn't sense her particular chakra.

But even so, he couldn't be entirely at ease.

After all, there was still a chance that Kushina might run into the Kumogakure ninjas on her way.

Therefore, Natsuhiko's second preventive measure was to enhance Kushina's strength.

He didn't expect Kushina to handle the incident on her own.

Although Kushina's strength had significantly improved due to their sparring, she still couldn't handle multiple Kumogakure ninjas alone.

Especially since those ninjas would be well-prepared for such a mission, not giving her any chance to resist.

Natsuhiko wanted to improve Kushina's strength to increase her chances of survival during the rescue, allowing her to buy some time in critical moments.

He looked at Kushina, who had picked up her book again.

"Kushina."

"What?"

"How about we spar in the small forest tomorrow morning?"

"Hmm... Natsuhiko, didn't we just spar a couple of days ago?"

Kushina put down her book again, feeling a bit speechless.

Why is Natsuhiko so energetic lately? She has always invited her to spar, and it is making her a bit overwhelmed.

Then she heard Natsuhiko say leisurely:

"Kushina, are you slacking off lately? Who was the one crying and begging for my help with training?"

"Who was crying and begging..."

Kushina muttered quietly, then said helplessly:

"Fine, we'll spar tomorrow morning."

Natsuhiko nodded slightly, showing a pleased smile.

Although it was a last-minute effort, it was better than being unprepared.

But now, it's time for today's main event.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter 130 is up on my Patreon.

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