Chapter 284

Just as the Third Hokage was comforting Uzumaki Kushina.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The gate of Minato Namikaze's house was knocked on by a group of masked figures.

"Who is it?"

Yeyuan Lin's doubtful voice came from inside the room.

Kushina Uzumaki's older sister had just left, and soon someone came to knock on the door; Yeyuan Lin felt something was off. She didn't open the door directly, but hid behind the door and carefully observed.

"Yeyuan Lin, Third Hokage, we have something to discuss with you; come with us."

Through the peephole at the door, she saw the visitor's attire; it looked like genuine ANBU gear, but she still didn't let her guard down.

"What is it?"

Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki's older sister had repeatedly warned that her situation was special, and she should keep her distance from people of unknown identity.

But Kushina Uzumaki's older sister isn't home now; how long can she keep stalling?

Seeing that they had no intention of opening the door, the ANBU member wearing an eagle mask gestured to his comrades.

Then, a pitch‑black shadow, constantly twisting and morphing, slipped through the crack of the door into Minato Namikaze's house.

And the shadow of Yeyuan Lin behind the door was connected together.

The process was extremely careful, for fear of triggering some trap they didn't know about.

It was the gate of a master of sealing arts; they dared not rashly barge in, but they could still try the method of controlling the opponent by slipping through a crack wide enough to slip a letter through.

Moreover, the effect seemed to be quite good.

Click!

As the lock turned, the long-closed door opened, and Yeyuan Lin's figure appeared at the doorway.

Looking at the three figures before her, Yeyuan Lin already sensed something was wrong, but now she couldn't even control herself to speak and call for help.

She could only move like a puppet on strings, stiffly following behind those three people toward her unknown fate.

"Let's go, first take the target to the prepared shielding barrier. Time is limited; the perception ability of the Nine-Tails jinchuriki is too exaggerated."

Accompanied by his subordinates, Aburame Ryoma didn't hesitate at all, rushing straight to the place they had previously prepared.

This time they spread the rumor that Namikaze Minato had met with an accident, using the pieces they had prepared for a long time—namely, those two gossipy women just now.

These two people had long been carefully selected by them, based on Uzumaki Kushina's activity patterns.

The information they received was also passed to them through their family members, with some guiding Genjutsu added.

Those two gossipy women duly transmitted the message they had prepared in advance to Uzumaki Kushina.

Moreover, despite her extraordinary perception, she couldn't detect anything amiss, because spreading such rumors is simply the nature of people like them.

They merely had her say that message when she encountered Uzumaki Kushina.

And a woman fallen in love is easily disturbed by that message, leaving the target's side.

……

Watching the departing figure, after expending great effort to calm Uzumaki Kushina, the Third Hokage's expression changed.

He directly gazed at a shadow inside the room.

As his gaze lingered, a figure clad in dark-section attire appeared in his office, kneeling on one knee, silently awaiting orders.

"Go fetch Danzo for me."

No matter how you look at it, this reeks of conspiracy; the Third Hokage knows without thinking that it's tied to his old partner.

As his subordinate's silhouette melted into a shadow in the wall corner, the Third Hokage's face grew grim beyond measure.

His childhood partner has become increasingly hard to control, now even daring to outwardly obey while secretly defying his decisions.

Thinking of this, the Third Hokage felt a headache; as a seasoned politician, he knew he needed a pawn like Danzo—many inconvenient matters were handled by Danzo, which was extremely convenient.

Just as he was pondering these things, in the Uchiha quarters, in an old Japanese-style residence, Obito lay on his bed, grinning foolishly as he looked at the photo in his hand.

To be precise, he was looking at the sweet smile of Yeyuan Lin in the photo.

Although he survived this ordeal, he lost an eye and the right side of his face became hideously disfigured; he didn't know whether Lin would despise him.

"Obito! Obito! The Yeyuan Lin you care about has met with disaster!"

"What?"

"What happened? Isn't Lin protected by her teacher, and also by Elder Sister Kushina?"

As for White Absolute, these past few days it has been acting with extreme caution, fearful of being discovered by Uzumaki Kushina; after giving its right hand to Obito, it hardly dares to move about, only daring to keep an eye on a few Leaf Village higher-ups.

Thus, whenever the other party moves, he notices, and is currently reporting to Obito the information he has gathered.

"Namikaze Minato seems to have gone to the Mist Ninja to discuss Lin's affairs; that woman called Uzumaki Kushina is too formidable—I dare not approach her, I only know she is not currently by Lin's side."

These days Lin has been under the protection of Teacher Minato and Elder Sister Kushina; he still isn't entirely clear on the whole story, and when he asks, whether it's Kakashi or his own teacher, they give vague answers, but the situation is not good, and he still senses it.

He never expected that, despite the protection of Teacher Minato and Elder Sister Kushina, Lin would still meet with an accident—and it happened right in Leaf Village.

Upon receiving the news, Obito dared not delay in the slightest, bursting out of his cottage like a gust of wind.

"Obito, where are you going? It's almost time to eat."

Just as he stepped out, his grandmother's voice came from behind him.

"Grandma, I have an urgent mission; I'm heading out first!"

After saying that, Obito paid no heed to the clansmen nearby who were astonished at his frantic appearance; instead, he inquired of the White Absolute that had once again possessed him.

"What exactly has happened to Lin? Haven't you figured it out yet?"

Even back when Teacher Minato and Elder Sister Kushina began 'protecting' Lin, he had asked White Absolute to investigate what had happened to Lin; but days have passed and this fellow still hasn't clarified the exact situation.

"Lin's situation is very dire; it seems to involve the Three-Tails, the balance between villages, and even war—the matter is highly classified."

Seeing that things had more or less progressed, White Absolute no longer concealed anything from Obito, but instead recounted in detail what had happened to Lin during this period.