Chapter 287: Provoked

Lin! Open the door, I forgot my key!

Kushina Uzumaki, having been deceived by those nonsensical messages, returned to her doorstep.

Finding she didn't have her key, she wasn't panicked at all—there was someone in the Minato household, so she simply started knocking on the door.

She had no embarrassment of forgetting her key and being locked out.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

After knocking for a while with no good response, Kushina finally realized something was wrong.

After focusing slightly, she threw a punch that shattered the door into pieces, then entered and carefully inspected the interior.

As for any seal traps triggered inside by her violent entry, she ignored them outright by relying on her own bloodline limit.

Anything unusual?

Could I be overthinking it?

The room's furnishings were as usual, showing no signs of violent intrusion—only Lin was missing.

After searching the house thoroughly front to back and finding nothing amiss, Kushina felt puzzled.

Could Lin have gone out on her own?

But Lin is an obedient good girl; she wouldn't disregard her own and Minato's warnings and leave here.

Just look around and you'll know!

Since Lin wasn't inside, Kushina decided to widen her search: she joined her index and middle fingers, formed a hand seal before her, and spread her sensory perception outward.

In an instant, her sensory range enveloped the entire Leaf Village, and its edge continued to expand outward.

None?

After sensing all the chakra in the Leaf Village and detecting nothing, Kushina realized something had truly happened, and her face darkened.

Still nothing!

She extended her perception to the limit, still finding no trace of Lin's chakra, but Kushina gained something else.

The battle traces here… are still fresh… the fight happened not long ago.

Near a concealed spot close to the Minato residence, the ground, walls, and bushes were in disarray—needless to say, a battle had taken place here.

And Uzumaki Kushina was no fool; seeing this state nearby, she immediately knew something had happened to Yeyuan Lin.

But in the current situation, getting angry would be useless and only make things worse; she instantly turned into a red blur and vanished from the spot.

Who is it?

The staff guarding the reception room of the Hokage building felt only a red-tinged blur flash past before them.

The highly vigilant man immediately shouted.

But all of this was pointless, for that blur had already entered the Third Hokage's office; without bothering to knock, Kushina slammed the door, shattering it to pieces.

Kushina!

Facing the returning Nine-Tails jinchuriki, the Third Hokage, though he understood, still put on a clueless expression as he looked at her.

And Shimura Danzo, who had witnessed all this, twitched the corner of his mouth, seemingly trying to express his pleasure, but his long-held stern face had lost that ability.

He knew his earlier words had taken effect; this couldn't be better.

Third Hokage, something's wrong—Yeyuan Lin is missing!

At this moment, Uzumaki Kushina, distraught over Yeyuan Lin's disappearance, felt at a loss until she saw the Third Hokage, which helped her regain composure a little.

I've already sensed the area around the Leaf Village—there's absolutely no trace of Lin.

Hardly had she finished speaking when she spotted Shimura Danzo also in the office; her whole demeanor shifted, her eyebrows shooting up, radiating a dangerous aura.

Is it you? In the whole Leaf Village, only you could silently take Yeyuan Lin away!

Her body seemed even more reactive than her consciousness, and she threw a punch straight at Shimura Danzo.

Damn it!

A furious shout got stuck in Danzo's throat.

Before his mouth could fully open, the incoming punch's wind blew his words straight back into his gut.

Facing this sudden attack, Danzo couldn't possibly dodge; he never imagined she'd dare cause a ruckus in the meeting room, let alone launch a direct assault on him.

It was simply intolerable.

But that near-sucker punch came so suddenly that this old man, long absent from the battlefield, had no way to evade it.

Seeing that Kushina was about to smash a punch into his face, Danzo was practically jumping with rage, yet utterly helpless.

Who made him face an exposed Kushina?

Boom!

A loud explosion rang out from the Third Hokage's office.

This left the newly arrived staff staring in shock, while a familiar scene flashed in their minds.

But unfortunately…

As for Shimura Danzo, at the critical moment he still needed the Third Hokage to block for him; otherwise, he'd likely reenact the meeting-room scene in the Hokage office once again.

Uzumaki Kushina!!

A shout filled with anger and lingering fear burst from Danzo's mouth, shaking the rafters.

Are you rebelling?

With that furious, angry roar, Danzo, hiding behind the Third Hokage, was like a little dog with its master nearby, yapping shrilly.

Looking at his stance, he seemed to want to counterattack.

But perhaps considering the vast power gap between them, he still kept his emotions in check.

But his face had already turned cold enough to almost freeze.

Cough! Cough! Cough!

Just at the critical moment, the Third Hokage, who had helped Danzo block this punch, let out a series of heart‑rending, lung‑tearing coughs, drawing the attention of the other two people present.

"This woman's strength……"

Seeing Sarutobi, who is called the strongest Hokage, reduced to this state by a single punch from the opponent, Shimura Danzo's eyes twitched, and inevitably a little scheming arose in his heart.

Rizhan's body is getting worse each day—has my opportunity arrived?

As long as I keep supporting Orochimaru's research on the First Hokage's cells, will I someday……

"It's fine!"

Seeing Shimura Danzo and Kushina's gaze, the Third Hokage waved his hands repeatedly.

He had just blocked a punch from Kushina; although she struck out in anger, it was a hasty blow, and he could barely manage to receive it.

It's just that I had just inhaled a mouthful of smoke into my lungs, and after taking that punch, I choked on that smoke, which is why I coughed so severely.