The forest ahead felt wrong.
Minato slowed half a step—just enough for Kushina to notice.
She stopped abruptly, crimson hair swaying as her perception flared. Her expression tightened.
"Something's approaching," she said quietly. "A lot of it. Underground."
Hyuga Tokuma's veins bulged as the Byakugan activated to its limit. His gaze pierced straight through soil and stone.
"Confirmed," he reported at once. "More than a hundred targets. They're moving beneath us—about 1.2 kilometers ahead."
"Earth Release users?" Minato asked, already calculating vectors and distances.
"They look identical," Tokuma replied, tracking the mass. "White bodies. Irregular structure. Likely clones… or artificial beings."
A subtle shift passed through the escort team. Clones meant numbers—but also limitations.
Minato nodded once and issued orders immediately.
"Kushina, deploy the defensive barrier. Priority is protecting the younger ninja."
"Tokuma, Tekka, Shikaku—form an assault unit with me. We intercept head-on."
Uchiha Tekka stepped forward without hesitation. Tokuma followed suit.
But Shikaku raised a hand. "Minato—wait."
Minato turned.
"This many subordinates means Madara himself isn't here," Shikaku said quickly. "This is a blocking force. A deliberate delay."
He didn't soften the next words.
"You should leave now. Take Kushina alone to the Land of Whirlpools."
Minato's brows knit together. "That would leave—"
"There's no time," Shikaku cut in sharply. "Madara didn't mobilize this many pieces when he attacked Sunagakure or Takigakure. He's exposing himself now because Kushina is the key."
The logic landed heavily.
"If he stops you here, he wins," Shikaku continued. "If he doesn't—he loses the Nine-Tails."
Minato clenched his jaw.
Tekka stepped in, voice steady but resolute. "Leave this to us."
Minato met his eyes.
"For the Uchiha," Tekka said bluntly, gripping his kunai, "this isn't optional. If we don't earn undeniable merit here, we won't survive the aftermath—no matter who wins the war."
His gaze didn't waver.
"The Nine-Tails reaching the Sacrificial Shop safely is our last bargaining chip."
Tokuma added quietly, "Enemy chakra signatures are uniform. No elites detected."
Minato looked around. No fear. No hesitation. Only resolve.
He made his decision.
In a flash, he was beside Kushina. His hand closed around hers—and the world folded.
The battlefield vanished.
With the weaker ninja no longer limiting their pace, Minato moved at full speed. Forests blurred into streaks of green. Coordinates flashed through his mind—markers he had placed earlier without anyone noticing.
Half a day. That was all it would take.
Behind them, the clash erupted.
"Minato…" Kushina said softly as they ran. "I could've gone alone."
He didn't slow. "Not happening."
"I'm stronger than you think."
"I know," he replied calmly. "That's exactly why I'm here."
They pushed deeper into the forest—
—and Kushina's expression snapped sharp.
"Stop."
Minato halted instantly.
"There's a chakra ahead," she whispered. "Two kilometers. Extremely strong."
Minato moved without thought, placing himself between her and the direction she indicated. Kunai slid into his fingers.
"One enemy?" he asked.
"Yes." Her brow furrowed. "But it's… wrong. Immense vitality mixed with something cold. These energies shouldn't coexist."
Minato's pupils contracted.
Wood Release and Sharingan?
He didn't gamble.
Space twisted—Flying Thunder God activated—and they reappeared a kilometer away.
"We're changing routes," Minato said.
They ran again. Teleport. Sprint. Teleport.
Still—
"He's keeping up," Kushina said, disbelief creeping into her voice.
Minato stopped.
Impossible.
"No one keeps pace with chained Flying Thunder God jumps," he muttered.
Then realization struck.
"Kagura Mind's Eye," Kushina said grimly. "His perception range rivals mine. We never left it."
A clean mistake.
Minato assessed his reserves in a breath.
Not enough chakra left for a ten-kilometer jump with Kushina.
So he swallowed the high-grade recovery pill Tsunade had forced into his hand before departure—and turned.
"Over there."
Kushina hurled a kunai, pinning it into a tree trunk.
The bark warped.
A man stepped out of the wood itself.
A white spiral mask. A black robe. One exposed Sharingan, gleaming red. Beneath it—an unsettling flood of life force.
"Hi~" the man said cheerfully. "You're really fast, you know? I almost lost you."
Minato didn't answer.
Inside Kushina, the Nine-Tails roared.
"That chakra—!" Kurama snarled. "It reeks of him. Not Madara—but something twisted from him."
Kushina relayed the warning instantly.
The masked man tilted his head.
"Oh? So you can tell~" He chuckled. "That saves time. I just want the Nine-Tails. Hand her over?"
Minato's response was immediate.
Three kunai flashed through the air.
Tobi's hands blurred—five seals, impossibly fast.
Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence.
The ground exploded.
Colossal trees tore upward, roots and branches surging like living beasts. Chakra-draining bark lashed toward them from every direction.
Minato grabbed Kushina—
—but the forest followed.
Too wide. Too dense.
"Wind Release: Vacuum Great Sphere!"
The Spirit Bone in Minato's arm flared. The compressed gale obliterated everything ahead.
Simultaneously, crimson chakra chains erupted from Kushina's back, pulverizing the rear assault.
They carved out space—barely.
Tobi's voice echoed everywhere.
"Wood Release changes the battlefield itself, you know~"
Wood Release: World of Flowering Trees.
Gigantic blossoms burst open. Golden pollen flooded the air.
A barrier snapped into place around Kushina—just in time.
Minato scattered Flying Thunder God kunai in every direction, marking trees, stone, earth—
"Useless~" Tobi laughed lightly. "You burn chakra too fast. No terrain control. No field-clearing finisher."
Wood Release: Wood Dragon.
The dragon erupted forward—
—and was instantly bound by Kushina's chains.
She smiled coldly. "You're not the only one stalling."
"My job's simple~" Tobi replied. "Hold you here… until Madara arrives."
Minato didn't respond.
He was watching. Measuring. Waiting.
Then the forest closed.
Wood Release: Tree World Barrier.
The trees twisted inward, branches interlocking into a colossal dome. Sunlight vanished.
Silence fell.
Kushina exhaled slowly.
"…A Wood Release barrier."
Minato's eyes were steady.
"No," he said quietly. "A coffin."
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