Fast, direct, and strike with overwhelming force. Then out again, just as fast, trying to clear the village before anyone could get organized.
The Hokage's home was there, and it was ludicrously easy to break through windows and doors and go charging through the house.
There was a ten year old boy that needed killing.
"They came from the South, crossing here," said Inoichi Yamanaka, pointing at a scale model of Konohagakure. "We mark five jonin, two chunin, and a genin."
"That's an odd group if they intend to steal something," said Minato. "A genin?"
"It might be the genin is a sacrificial lamb, to be used as an easily-killed distraction," said Inoichi.
"Find them," said Minato. "The genin most likely doesn't know anything of value, but if possible capture that one alive. Ibiki can likely draw out any details that might have been overheard."
"The last we know for sure is that the group split up here, just inside the market," said Inoichi.
"Hokage-sama," said a chunin runner. "One of the groups has split up and is now heading for the Uchiha compound."
Inoichi frowned. That made absolutely no sense. That was largely empty now. What could be the reason for going there?
Hinata startled up at the sound of breaking glass. Then apologized because she'd thought that Naruto had looked really uncomfortable like that, and it wasn't WRONG to want to put his head on her lap while she watched over him, right? Except that when she'd jumped up his head had gone thumping onto the ground.
"Huh?" asked a woozy Naruto.
Hinata looked for help, found none, and realized she was going to have to do it herself?!
Shaking, nervous, completely lacking in confidence that she could do this - Hinata prepared to try and defend the barely-conscious Naruto from whatever was attacking.
Minato rotated his neck, stretched a little, then straightened as the group leapt from one roof and charged towards him. He wasn't sure who was a jonin, and who was a chunin in this group. They were all fast. The kid who fell off the roof and crashed into some trashcans underneath - well. It was kind of obvious who the genin was.
Minato threw a spray of kunai out.
"Lion's Roar," called out one of those attackers, slowing slightly as he went through handseals.
Minato had already placed kunai around the area, the attack had been meant to distract from that. Now that everyone was in position, he simply used the technique that gave him that nickname of "Yellow Flash."
By the time the genin managed to get out of the trashcans and debris, the rest of his team was already littering the street.
The three remaining jonin found the room quickly enough.
"Y-y-you won't have him," said a clearly-frightened girl, trying to stand between them and their prey.
"Hey, that's a Hyuga, nice bonus," said one of the jonin. "We take her back, all will be forgiven."
"Easier to just take the eyes," said one of the other jonin, spiking his killing intent and using it as a weapon against the boy struggling to get up and the girl trying to defend him. As predicted, the girl gasped and dropped to her knees as the attack washed over her.
"This is anticlimatic and way too easy," said the leader, stepping forward with a knife. "I'll just take those eyes, then your life. Then your boyfriend can join you."
Naruto struggled up to one hand and his knees, focussing on the guy standing above Hinata. She'd tried. She was his friend, right. "No. Hinata is my-"
Beams of brilliant red erupted from Naruto's eyes.
A moment later, Kushina Uzumaki stepped in the doorway, dragging a ninja that had been trying to flee, and wrinkled her nose at the smell of burning flesh.
Obviously she was going to have to stress to Naruto - no fire techniques in the house.
"The genin wasn't even a real ninja, after we broke the genjutsu on him, he turned out to be a waiter from one of the border villages who'd apparently gotten a little too close to finding out what was going on," said Ibiki, a day later.
"Rock Village has publicly disavowed any connection to these missing-nin, though they have requested we send the bodies back," said Minato.
"Something amusing happen during all that?" asked Ibiki.
"Apparently Hinata Hyuga has been wandering around in a daze for most of this time," said Minato. "Some classmates ran into her, questioned her about it, and she told them about what happened. When she was trying to defend Naruto and was struck down, apparently Naruto declared that she was his - and promptly used a new fire jutsu to incinerate two of the attacking nin and send the third fleeing."
"At ten? He's pretty fast," said Ibiki, smirking.
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(Posted Wed, 01 Sep 2010 16:22)
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