Deep within the forest—
A group of ninjas without forehead protectors were chasing after Gin and his two companions.
The distance between them was rapidly shrinking.
They were about to be caught.
As the pursuers accelerated—
One ninja's hand was already reaching out and brushed against Kushina's long hair.
The three turned back, terror clearly written on their faces.
The chasing ninjas grinned viciously.
"Crash!"
A sound like shattering glass echoed, as if something transparent around them suddenly broke apart.
Uchiha Gin and his companions disappeared without a trace.
Instead, standing ahead, leaning against a tree, was Jiraiya, clad in gray armor, coldly watching the approaching ninjas.
High up on the towering trees, numerous figures in green flak jackets were perched on the branches.
The enemy ninjas froze in place.
"Jiraiya!" one of the enemy ninjas cried out, recognizing him.
He shifted his gaze to the left, spotting a man wearing a high-collared gray coat, his mouth covered by the collar, dark sunglasses hiding his eyes, with one hand resting atop a scroll the size of an adult.
"Shihou Aburame!"
The current clan head of the Aburame Clan.
Looking to the right, he spotted another figure: a man dressed in pure white, wearing a traditional kimono, his hands folded behind his back, his white eyes cold and unblinking.
"Hyuga Yuhou!"
The current head of the Hyuga Clan.
"The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki is guarded tightly, huh..." the enemy ninja chuckled grimly.
Each of the three individuals before him was an elite jonin.
And with so many Leaf ninjas gathered here—
The outcome was already determined.
"So the intel about the Jinchuriki came from you after all," the enemy said bitterly.
They had only moved because they received intelligence about Konoha's Jinchuriki.
The odds were slim—
But what if they had succeeded?
If they could have stolen Konoha's tailed beast, it would've been like cutting off an arm—giving them the upper hand in war or negotiations.
Unfortunately—
This was bait, set specifically for them by Konoha—and they had swallowed it whole.
"I didn't expect we'd catch so many," Jiraiya said in surprise, glancing at Hyuga Yuhou and holding up three fingers.
Three jonin-level enemies.
While chakra level doesn't necessarily equate to combat power, most individuals with large chakra reserves were jonin.
"Let's see if it's enough to break your teeth!"
The enemy leader roared in anger. They knew the mission had failed the moment they saw who they were facing. Even survival seemed unlikely now.
Battle erupted in an instant.
Meanwhile—
"So we were the bait after all!"
Gin thought bitterly.
He glanced behind him—only three pursuers remained.
Earlier, a whole group of enemy ninjas had been chasing them, but now most had vanished.
It was obvious—
Why didn't they clean up properly? Why leave three behind?
"What's going on?!" Kushina asked, still dazed. She had only seen Gin signal for them to flee—
Then the ground began sprouting enemies.
Minato Namikaze quickly explained to Kushina, "Yamada Ichiro had laid a trap beforehand. We walked right into it."
Although he didn't spell it out, it was clearly aimed at Kushina.
Gin glanced at the two of them. Minato was so gentle—his phrasing was clearly meant to comfort Kushina.
Gin didn't bother elaborating.
Instead, he quickly analyzed how they had become bait.
This didn't happen in the original story—meaning Gin's presence was increasingly altering the timeline.
He soon pieced it together.
The village had planned this "fishing operation" from the beginning, using Kushina as bait. Gin and Minato were just caught in the net alongside her.
Though they accepted the mission today, the enemy's preparations had clearly been underway for much longer—there was no way they could have mobilized so many ninjas so quickly otherwise.
If Kushina hadn't mentioned accepting this mission, Jiraiya likely would've reassigned them himself.
Once they accepted the mission, the trap was sprung.
"No wonder Jiraiya agreed so easily."
Normally, genin would spend at least a year on D-rank missions.
They had only been at it for a few months—
Waiting for this moment, huh?!
Was the future event where Kushina was kidnapped by Cloud Ninja also a "fishing expedition?"
Was it really so easy to use a Jinchuriki as bait?
Had they even asked Kushina for her opinion? Or Gin's, since he was being dragged along?!
"Only three left chasing us now. Should we counterattack?"
Kushina, reassured by Minato's calming words, was now eager for action.
Gin grinned.
Kushina was still clueless—she hadn't realized she was being used as bait.
Looking at Minato's confused expression, Gin noticed he too was wondering why their pursuers had dwindled.
Gin: Really?
Normally so sharp—why the slow reaction now?
"No need to overthink it. One enemy each! Beat them to death!"
Gin skidded to a sudden stop, and from his sleeve shot out a thin wire, wrapping around a tree branch. Using it to swing backwards, he launched himself at an airborne ninja who hadn't reacted in time—
"Down you go!"
With a powerful kick, Gin drove the ninja toward the ground.
The two remaining enemy ninjas tried to intervene—
But Minato and Kushina intercepted them midair, kicking them flying with a loud "BANG BANG."
Gin landed. The ninja he had kicked down was nowhere in sight.
"Hey! Are you a jonin or a chunin?"
Gin suddenly asked.
From the ground, which rippled like water, a man with a simple, honest face rose up.
"I'm a chunin," he replied.
...He really answered?
Well then—
"Perfect. I needed a test dummy anyway."
Gin lowered his stance, drawing a kunai from his leg pouch.
On paper, his strength was labeled "special jonin," but real combat was a different story.
Back in Konoha, sparring with Might Duy and others hadn't truly tested him—everyone had held back.
This was a real opportunity—a mid-tier chunin to measure himself against.
"Shave!" (Soru, a fast-movement technique)
Gin appeared in front of the man instantly, landing a horizontal kick that shattered the man—
Into dirt.
Earth Clone Technique.
From the dirt, something flared up—
Exploding tags!!!
"You son of—! Iron Body!"
BOOM!!
The explosion sent Gin flying, arms crossed to shield himself, slamming into the ground motionless.
"Earth Style: Earth Lance!"
Spikes of rock shot up from the earth.
Gin barely blocked them with his kunai, sparks flying, then kicked off them at full strength—
And vanished into the dense trees.
Controlling his breathing, Gin hid among the branches.
Burns marked parts of his body—the explosive tag had done some real damage.
"This guy's just a chunin?!"
Gin cursed under his breath.
He had almost been killed!
"I failed the jonin exam," the chunin's voice floated from above.
Gin's pupils shrank.
"Earth Style: Earth Prison Technique!"
The burly man hung upside down from a tree, aiming his jutsu at Gin.
A stone and mud prison rapidly encased him.
"It's over," the man muttered, forming hand seals.
Inhaling deeply, he blew toward the prison—
"Earth Style: Sandstone Wind!"
Hidden among the sandstorm were sharp stones, each with the force of a shuriken.
They pierced Gin's trapped body.
"No way..."
Gin stared in disbelief, despair flashing across his face—
Before suddenly grinning.
"Got you!"
"Poof!"
The pierced "Gin" turned into a puff of white smoke.
From the tree, two arms holding kunai shot out—Gin emerged, half his body forming from the wood.
"Genjutsu: Tree Binding Death!"
The kunai stabbed through the enemy ninja's body—
"Poof!"
—only for the man to transform into a log using the Substitution Jutsu.
The real ninja, bleeding from his shoulder, appeared on a distant tree branch.
He had barely managed to substitute in time but was badly injured.
Gin didn't waste time—
He glanced down.
An exploding tag was burning fast at his feet.
"Tch. Of course."
BOOM!!
This time, Gin used "Shave" first, dodging the blast entirely.
"Why is it that you're so much stronger than other chunin?"
Gin asked curiously, looking at the enemy.
After all, he had easily slaughtered Chunin like Inoue Satoru before.
The enemy ninja, confused why Gin was stalling instead of attacking, answered honestly:
"You've probably only fought chunin who barely ever go on missions—those 'theoretical' ninjas. In real battle, they're useless. Sure, they can bully kids—but surviving an actual battlefield? Pure luck."
His village had such ninjas too—but they were rare.
Chunin who rose from real battles and those who taught at the Academy were worlds apart despite holding the same rank.
You couldn't ask a battle-hardened killer to raise students properly—and vice versa.
"Thanks for the lesson," Gin nodded.
Then—he turned his back and began to walk away.
"What the hell?" the enemy muttered, confused. Was the brat giving up?
Gin paused and beckoned him, smirking sideways:
"You're already dead."
"What?!"
The man's eyes widened—
"Pfft!"
Blood sprayed from his mouth. Blood poured from his eyes, ears, and nose.
"The kunai was poisoned," Gin said casually.
The enemy fumbled desperately for an antidote.
"It's no use," Gin continued. "That's specially formulated snake venom from a top elite jonin. Unless you have a medical ninja nearby, regular antidotes won't work."
It was concocted by Orochimaru himself—lethal and silent.
The man swallowed an antidote, but just as Gin said, it had no effect.
His body went limp, falling from the tree.
The battle was over.
(End of Chapter)