Reborn in Konoha as the Anbu Torturer

Minato's voice rang out, sentence after sentence, each word striking deep into the hearts of his listeners and overturning their assumptions.

This young girl is his trump card? The Seven Ninja Swordsmen, each one stunned, their gaze simultaneously shifting onto Kushina.

They assessed the young girl, feeling a unique chakra emanating from her, but none believed she possessed formidable strength...

This conflicted with their past perceptions.

Female ninjas were often considered weaker than their male counterparts, especially at such a young age. Could such a young kunoichi really defeat the Seven Ninja Swordsmen?

All seven, including Juzo, were skeptical of such a notion, finding it more akin to a bad joke.

"You say she is your trump card?" Juzo squinted at Minato, finding it hard to believe such a claim if it hadn't come from Minato himself. Seeing Minato's earnest demeanor only made him suspect there was an issue.

"Are you sure you're not joking?"

"Your jokes are not funny."

"I think it's unnecessary."

"Because no one from Konoha will come to save you!"

Juzo spoke rapidly, realizing that Minato's goal in saying these things was to buy time, although he still needed clarification about the purpose of the delay.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA..." Minato suddenly laughed loudly, looked toward Kushina, and then softly asked, "Is it time?"

"Almost," Kushina nodded and added, "Those people have also arrived."

"Then it's time."

Minato nodded, knowing that as long as the Konoha ninjas who had come through were fine, there would be no issues with those who had left.

With this...

He had no more worries.

"Kushina, I'm leaving this to you. Can you handle it?"

Minato smiled faintly, his body almost at its physical limit, relying only on the Flying Thunder God Technique to maintain a semblance of safety. This was his crucial last line of defense.

"I think there's no problem."

Kushina clenched her fists tightly and nodded, silently thinking, 'You're asking me this now; what choice do I have? Can I even say I'm not confident?' Though unsure about her exact power level, there was no room left for doubt at this moment, and she had to face the Seven Ninja Swordsmen with all she had.

"It's all yours."

Minato's smile faded, and his expression grew solemn as he looked at Kushina, fully prepared in his heart. If anything unexpected happened to her, he wouldn't want to continue living in this world alone.

WHOOSH!

Suddenly, Minato disappeared with the Flying Thunder God Technique, leaving the scene instantly.

This move left the Seven Ninja Swordsmen dumbfounded. They had never expected such a young ninja to use space-time jutsu so smoothly, giving them no time to react.

Now, they couldn't pursue Minato.

"DAMN!"

"So he had this up his sleeve!"

"He's playing us!"

"He just ran away!"

"He left his girlfriend behind to escape!"

"..."

The Seven Ninja Swordsmen voiced their anger, turning their focus to Kushina, who became the target of their fury.

"Namikaze Minato has run away!" Juzo stated coldly, extremely displeased. Now, all he could do was use his words to attack Kushina, for killing her wouldn't bring any value to their mission.

"So this was his trump card!"

"Leaving you here alone while he escapes!"

"The depth of your relationship is indeed profound!"

"I'm genuinely surprised!"

"How does it feel?"

"Does it clarify the true nature of your boyfriend?"

Juzo's voice was icy cold. He was nearly convinced that Minato had fled and that catching him again would be difficult. This would mean a missed opportunity—a rare one—that would have grave consequences for their future missions.

If it had been any other time, they would have killed Kushina out of frustration or used different means to vent their anger.

But now, the situation was different.

Killing Kushina now would not only fail to establish any links with Konoha but would also make them enemies. This was especially critical since Minato had returned to Konoha, where he was expected to rise in power.

Things had become complicated.

Juzo's face darkened, realizing that verbal attacks were the only action he could take against Kushina without making an outright enemy of Konoha, given that outright aggression could backfire severely.

"What should we do now?"

"Boss, should we kill him?"

"This guy is infuriating!"

"Has the mission failed just like that?"

"..."

The faces of the other members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen were filled with complex emotions, experiencing a rollercoaster of feelings that brought them to a point of discomfort. Just a moment ago, they believed the mission would be easy, but now, everything had changed rapidly.

What seemed an easy task seconds ago had now apparently failed.

Now, in the face of mission failure, they felt no constraint and were prepared to take drastic actions against Kushina to alleviate their frustrations.

Their thinking was simple; they had always used brute force to escalate their conflicts, rarely employing strategic thought.

But Juzo was different. He had started using his brain, attempting to think through situations from a strategic point of view, considering the bigger picture, which was the welfare of Kirigakure. Now, he realized that even if satisfying their immediate anger felt good, it would ultimately lead to severe consequences for Kirigakure's future.

"We can't do this!"

Juzo shook his head silently, whispering so softly that Kushina couldn't hear him, but his companions understood his intention.

"We can't just let her go, but we also can't afford to do anything to her, even less so if something happens to her because it would fall back on us like a hot potato."

Juzo and his companions realized the importance of not offending Kushina; instead, they had to protect her. Although she was just one person, she represented the entirety of Konoha.

"DAMN IT!"

"DAMN IT!"

"IT'S JUST TOO INFURIATING!"

Juzo was at a loss for words, his anger reaching a peak. However, the last shred of rationality told him to remain calm and think carefully about the problem to find a solution.

Kushina watched the changing expressions of the men before her, her mind filled with question marks. They seemed shocked by Minato's departure, which she had anticipated, but their reaction seemed excessively dramatic.

Wasn't she still there?

Why did it seem like they had lost all will to fight?

"Hey!"

Kushina waved at the men in front of her, her voice clear and steady: "Why aren't you starting?"

Upon hearing this, Juzo's face grew even darker.

He wanted to act, but he was unable to.

This was indeed a trump card!

It was a trump card he had never anticipated.

Now, this situation had completely overwhelmed him, and he was unsure how to handle it. He wondered what Rentaro(Aoba) would do in this situation.

It was simply too difficult!

Juzo had never faced such a complex situation before, feeling stuck between a rock and a hard place. Whether to let Kushina go or to kill her, he found himself frozen in place, unable to decide how to resolve this dilemma.

"??????"

Kushina's head filled with question marks again. The men across from her seemed to freeze like paused video, standing motionless, showing no signs of action.

What's going on?

What does this mean?

Are they still going to fight?

What kind of tactics are these people studying?

Could it be that seven incredibly strong Jonin are actually intimidated by a young girl like her?

Even she couldn't understand this, and it made her realize a bizarre truth—perhaps these were all factors Minato had already considered.

...

Meanwhile, not far from a tree, a figure slowly descended, standing atop the tree and silently observing everything.

This figure was Minato!

He had never intended to abandon Kushina; his use of the Flying Thunder God Technique was merely to create space for himself to leave the battlefield safely, allowing Kushina to fight freely without his interference.

"Hmm?"

"What's going on?"

"What happened?"

"Did the Flying Thunder God Technique scare them?"

"Why isn't anyone moving?"

Minato was also filled with questions, surprised by the sudden turn of events and unsure of what was happening.

He had yet to plan for this when crafting their strategy. Without a clear understanding of the enemy's intentions, he couldn't predict how they would react or how to handle such a situation.

So, the part of the plan that involved their actions was all they had prepared for...

This was why they were now in this state, but he had never expected such a reaction from his opponents.

...

"Whew..."

Juzo took a deep breath, his mind clearing after some thought. His gaze lifted to look at Kushina, not far ahead.

"You haven't answered my question yet!"

"How does it feel to be left here alone by Namikaze Minato..."

"Does it hurt?"

Juzo could only think of attacking Kushina's spirit now, unable to make any physical moves against her. He imagined letting her go but refused to let her leave without consequence.

He planned to create a rift between her and Minato upon her return, thus affecting Konoha's internal harmony.

"You're asking about that?"

Kushina's lips curved into a slight smile, brightening her expression as if lighting up the surroundings with sunshine.

"That is indeed a good question!"

"He could have come alone!"

"And he could have taken me with him!"

"But..."

"He chose to bring me along and then leave me here. Why do you think that is?"

"Didn't you ever wonder?"

Kushina's question instantly changed the expressions of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen nearby, filling them with doubt.

If her previous statements could be interpreted as bluffs, her current words held significant weight because she was indeed left here, an action that seemed entirely unnecessary.

"Why?" Juzo asked involuntarily.

"Because he's afraid you'd run away!"

Kushina smiled again, explaining, "So he left me here to wipe you all out."