Chapter 558: A Shocking Turn of Events
If one carefully studied Minato Namikaze's resume, they would find that he also had a bit of a protagonist's fate, where misfortune turned into fortune. Some of his experiences were similar to those described in the Book of the Later Han: Annals of Emperor Guangwu.
Ino remembered that in the original timeline, it seemed only Naruto and Yamato had gone back twenty years. Now, this "weak protagonist," Minato Namikaze, had taken two "strong protagonists," Naruto and Hayate Gekko, to investigate the Rōran ruins. With such a powerful protagonist aura, if it reached a negative value, the risk of an accident would undoubtedly increase several times over.
Time travel carried a huge element of danger. It wasn't that the process itself was dangerous, but there was a risk of being discovered by people from the original timeline, thus causing a chain reaction.
Naruto was a fool. If he met the clever Minato Namikaze from the original timeline, it wouldn't cause any problems.
But a clever Minato Namikaze from this timeline meeting another clever Minato Namikaze from the original timeline had a very high chance of causing trouble!
Smart people always think too much. The two Minato Namikazes probing and observing each other, and finally fighting, would lead to both sides being dumbfounded, creating a very high probability of unpredictable danger to the timeline.
The fact that they hadn't returned yet proved this point.
The more you know, the more you fear. Ino's head ached from thinking about it. For a moment, she even felt that this crisis was the true reason the Sage of Six Paths had given her the treasured tool Plough.
If they were just trapped twenty years in the past, she could take the Plough, find them, and bring them back. That task would be relatively simple. But she feared they were trapped in the cracks of time, unable to go back and unable to come forward. That would be troublesome.
"If it was the Rōran mission from back then, I remember I also participated... ahem! Teacher Minato added me to the mission list back then, and later... ahem ahem ahem—!"
While Ino was frowning and thinking, Kakashi suddenly spoke, but his words were interrupted by a violent cough.
Before anyone could ask, his face turned pale, and he collapsed to the ground.
"Kakashi?!" Tsunade quickly checked his pulse and found that Kakashi's body was healthy, with no signs of illness. But he had suddenly fainted and couldn't be woken up, no matter what they did.
They were all quick-witted. Connecting this to the strange Rōran mission, they immediately sent someone to call the other two teammates from Minato Namikaze's mission back then, Choza Akimichi and Shibi Aburame.
Choza was Choji's father, and Shibi was Shino's father. Both were now the heads of their respective ninja clans.
The news that came back from the ANBU was even more horrifying. The Akimichi clan ninja had thought their clan head had just overeaten. When Choza fainted that morning, they hadn't taken it seriously at all. They had a simple belief: no matter how severe the injury, an Akimichi ninja could recover with a good night's sleep.
It wasn't until the village's urgent notice that the group of stout ninja realized their clan head's coma was not normal.
Then, news came from Shibi's side as well. This low-profile clan head had also fainted. He had collapsed by the roadside for two hours while out buying breakfast, and no one had even noticed him. By that count, he had fainted at around the same time as Choza, about half a day before Kakashi.
The three of them were rushed to the Konoha Hospital. Tsunade examined them for a long time but couldn't find any physical illness. When worldly methods failed, she had to resort to otherworldly ones.
Ino used the Spirit Transformation Technique to probe their souls and then the Shinigami's Spirit Dance to summon their spirits. After exhausting all her means, she found that their souls seemed to be wrapped in a very thin but unusually tough layer of energy.
They were trapped in their own bodies, unable to receive any external information, and naturally unable to control their bodies. Their souls and bodies were separated by some kind of energy, and Ino couldn't transmit any information to them.
"How is my dad?" Choji asked Ino anxiously.
Seeing her friend with tears all over his face, Ino also felt bad. She chose her words carefully. "Your uncle's body is very healthy. Trust me, they will wake up soon."
Beside him, Shikamaru patted his best friend's shoulder in comfort.
Before long, Sasuke also rushed over.
He still cared about Kakashi. For him to suddenly fall into a coma like this was truly strange.
Ino repeated roughly the same words to Sasuke, then asked Shikamaru to comfort the two of them. She left the ward and continued the meeting.
The high-ups discussed countermeasures in Shizune's office at the Konoha Hospital.
Tsunade looked at a photo of Shizune holding Tonton with a sweet smile, her heart filled with anxiety.
It didn't take much logical thinking to conclude that the root of these illnesses was the Rōran mission.
The advisors were also at a loss.
They had never seen such a strange situation. Three top-tier ninja in the world had fallen silently?
"Teacher, Advisors, let me lead a team to investigate this matter." Ino didn't want to waste any more time and volunteered.
Koharu, for a rare change, was the first to express her support.
Homura also solemnly agreed afterward.
In their hearts, the stability of Konoha was more important than anything else.
If the Hokage went missing, they had to quickly appoint an acting Hokage. Once the Fourth Hokage's death was confirmed, the new Hokage would immediately take office. This was their duty as advisors.
Based on this point, it was not suitable for Tsunade to leave the village now. Kakashi had already fallen. If Tsunade also went missing, who would be the Hokage? Have Jiraiya come back as the Fifth again? They all felt it would be chaotic.
The Yamanaka clan had taken over most of Danzo's personnel, and their advantage in the intelligence field was unparalleled. Ino herself had many tricks up her sleeve, and stories like her escaping from the underworld sounded terrifying. She was the most suitable person to be in charge of the investigation and rescue mission.
Tsunade also knew that the situation was extremely critical. After some thought, she agreed to this appointment.
With the Hokage absent, the council of advisors would act as the Hokage. They jointly issued a letter of appointment to Ino, giving her full authority over this matter.
While Ino sent people to check the mission report submitted by Minato Namikaze back then—she needed to know the detailed timeline of the Rōran mission and the entire process—she left a shadow clone as a cover and her main body hurriedly left the village.
Her explanation to Tsunade was that she was going "below" to gather information.
In reality, it was not easy to ask the Sage of Six Paths about this matter.
The old man would definitely say it was a trial, a test. If Naruto survived, it would prove that he had passed the test and could continue to be the savior. If he died, Ashura would just reincarnate again. It wasn't a big problem.
In the old man's eyes, his sons were always Ashura and Indra. Naruto and Sasuke were not much different from Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha in his eyes.
The old man providing a sage talisman and sending some Six Paths Power from afar was the limit. It was impossible for him to personally intervene for Naruto's sake. The matter could only be solved by Ino's own intelligence.
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