The speed of the Kumo ninjas' escape made everyone from Konoha stunned.
This was probably the shortest time these Kumo ninjas had ever taken to complete a mission.
But considering their panic, it wasn't surprising.
Because standing in front of them was the Yellow Flash of Konoha.
Even if there was only a moment of hesitation, they would very likely lose their lives.
As a ninja, although you shouldn't fear death, this kind of death wasn't something anyone would willingly face.
What's more, according to the order issued by the Kumo ninja earlier, the team led by C retreated without fighting and wouldn't need to bear any responsibility.
In front of Minato, saving their own lives was more important than the mission.
"What happened?"
Minato turned his eyes and looked at Kushina beside him.
If Kushina wasn't in danger, Kakashi wouldn't have summoned him with the marker.
"I said it's okay," Kushina pouted.
Minato knew her character, so he looked at Kakashi and Nawaki instead.
Kakashi stole a glance at Kushina, his eyes still showing lingering concern.
However, Nawaki immediately replied: "I don't know why, but Kushina's chakra suddenly became very weak during the confrontation just now, and she showed signs of fainting."
"How could this happen?"
After understanding the situation, Minato looked at Kushina with concern. She had inherited the physique of the Uzumaki clan and had extremely strong vitality. In the past ten years, he had never seen her sick.
This kind of sudden fainting had never happened before.
In fact, Kushina was also a little confused about what had happened to her body.
"Kushina, come with me," Minato hesitated for a moment and gestured to her.
"You stay here for now," he said, glancing at Nawaki, Kakashi, and the other Konoha ninjas.
Nawaki nodded, and Kushina immediately followed Minato into a dense part of the forest.
After getting away from everyone's sight, Minato said, "I want to check your seal."
"Oh."
Kushina nodded, then unbuttoned the Chunin vest she was wearing, slightly lifted up her close-fitting clothes, and exposed her abdomen.
Minato quickly formed hand seals and pressed his palms on Kushina's abdomen.
When the seal was first completed, the Minato couple had discovered that the nature of the Nine-Tails' chakra had changed. In the past two years, Minato had been constantly studying it.
But so far, there had been no major progress.
He was worried that the abnormality in Kushina's body was due to the change in the nature of the Nine-Tails' chakra.
When Minato's palm was placed on Kushina's abdomen, the Eight Trigrams Sealing Style was suddenly revealed, and through his palm, a chill appeared in his consciousness.
The Nine-Tails' chakra had become colder than before.
This feeling was the same as the Nine-Tails' chakra in Minato's own body.
However, apart from some chill, Minato did not find any obvious abnormality in the sealing style.
"Wait."
After checking the seal, Minato noticed through careful perception that the energy in the seal on Kushina's abdomen was being transferred to other places in her body, although the flow was very weak.
The location of the energy transfer was not too far from the location of the seal.
"This..."
Minato's eyes widened when he noticed these subtle changes.
The next moment, surprise surged in his azure eyes.
He raised his gaze and stared at Kushina in front of him, saying: "Kushina, are you pregnant again?"
"Ah?"
Kushina was stunned at first, and then the expression on her pretty face changed drastically. She also stared at Minato and said: "What did you say?"
"Just now I realized that the power of the Eight Trigrams seal is transferring to other places in your body,"
Minato explained. Kushina was also a master of sealing techniques, so of course she instantly understood what he was talking about.
Because only in the case of pregnancy would the power of the seal be transferred to the fetus.
"You can't continue the mission. Come back to the village with me immediately."
Minato said firmly. He would take Kushina to Konoha Hospital for a checkup right away. In this case, Kushina would not be able to go on missions for some time, both for professional and personal reasons.
"Yeah!"
This time Kushina didn't show any displeasure.
Because at this moment, there might be another little life gradually taking shape in her belly.
Kushina quickly put on her clothes and walked back to where Kakashi and the others were waiting with Minato.
"I have to take Kushina back to the village immediately, but the mission still needs to be carried out by the rest of you," Minato said to Kakashi and the other Konoha ninjas.
"Understood!"
Nawaki, the captain, responded. Minato was not in a position to explain Kushina's situation to them right now.
After the words were spoken, the Minato couple disappeared from in front of them.
"Let's go."
Nawaki shrugged and said to the Konoha ninja beside him.
Because of Minato's appearance, they were destined not to be intercepted by the Cloud ninjas on the road ahead.
The ninjas looked at each other. Not long ago, they had thought they would have to fight a fierce battle.
What had seemed like a thorny situation had ended with such an unexpected development.
Even if the officials of the Land of Lightning valued the artifact in the hands of the Konoha ninjas, they could only give up.
Even a few years after the end of the Third Ninja World War, the shadow cast by Minato on the other major ninja villages showed no signs of fading.
In Konoha Hospital.
"Lord Hokage, congratulations, Lady Kushina is pregnant."
In front of an instrument, the staff of Konoha Hospital stood up and congratulated Minato.
Although the couple already knew the answer, they couldn't help showing great joy on their faces after getting confirmation.
However, the joy on Kushina's face did not last long.
She stared at Minato and said seriously: "Will those guys attack Konoha again in a few months?"
Two years ago, when she gave birth for the first time, the masked man and his companions had taken this opportunity to attack the village and almost destroyed all of Konoha.
Kushina was worried that what happened then would happen again.
"It's possible."
Minato's eyes also darkened a little. The village had kept Kushina's pregnancy a secret last time, but the information was leaked in the end.
Recalling what happened in the past, including Kushina being kidnapped from the village more than ten years ago, Minato believed that the masked man's companions might not only include the black-robed man, Sasori of the Red Sand, and Kakuzu who had attacked Konoha at the time.
Among them, there might be someone who specialized in infiltration and was responsible for collecting various intelligence.
Uchiha Yoruki had also told him that when Orochimaru defected, he had heard a voice that wasn't present when the masked man attacked Konoha that night.
But the man's figure was hidden in a huge pitcher plant, and Uchiha Yoruki had not seen him clearly.
However, Minato's expression did not become solemn because of this. Instead, there was a look of expectation in his eyes.
Because a few months later, when Kushina gave birth again, even if the masked man brought those who had participated in the attack on the village that night...
This time, they would definitely not be able to escape!