Over the next two weeks, with his shadow clones, Kannin was making great strides in all areas of his focus. His understanding of Wind Release was increasing by the day, his tutelage under Mifune was giving him great insight on how to wield his sword, and the adamantine chains were developing even faster now.
It seemed like the more he worked on the chains, the easier it got--he ended up blazing through each day like a human assembly line, creating each link, connecting it to the chain, and repeating it over and over again. By now he was already starting on his second chain, which excited him to no end. This is going to be a serious advantage on the battlefield--maybe enough to outdo the Sharingan. He didn't know what Tetsu was doing over this last month, all three of them had been deep in training to hang out much, but Kannin was sure the next time they all met, they'd be much stronger than before.
While Kannin was sitting in his bed, focusing on his chains, Shin appeared in his window with a summons, saying, "Come quickly, we have an emergency mission."
Kannin nodded and got ready, releasing his shadow clones, much to Mifune's surprise. When the team gathered again, the kids were all unconsciously looking at each other gauging each other's strength. Shin interrupted their staring contest with,
"The contents of this mission are top secret, understand?" The kids nodded,
"Uzumaki Kushina has been kidnapped by Kumo shinobi."
All three of them looked back in shock, not only at the blatant actions of Kumo, but also at the potential danger that sentence contained. It was an open secret in the village that Kushina was the Kyuubi's jinchuriki, and she was a top priority target to protect for the village, given the potential destruction the Kyuubi could wreck if it ever got out.
"How?" Tetsu asked.
"Well," Shin responded, "to make a long story short, it's our fault."
"HUH?"
"HUH?"
"HUH?"
All three of them had no idea how this could ever be their fault, but Shin continued.
"The missing-nin we captured in Uzushiogakure was originally from Kumogakure. The Hokage thought that inviting some Kumo shinobi over to give her back could ameliorate relations between our two villages. It wasn't a bad plan, really. But it seems like some Kumo ninjas took the opportunity to kidnap her."
The kids' faces hardened at the news. To think that their capture of Emiko allowed Kushina to be put in such danger.
Warai looked up to Shin and said, "So what's our mission?"
Shin sighed and said "Well to get her back, of course! Sandaime has dozens of teams scouring the forests looking for her, and we're going to be one of them. So ready your things and let's head out. I'll tell you ahead of time that this mission is critical in its importance and danger level. In Uzushiogakure, we were only up against a single, albeit fairly advanced, genjutsu user. Theoretically we could be up against an entire squad of Kumo shinobi."
The kids nodded, each with the faintest bit of hope that they might be able to show off their growing skills to their sensei in the process. Kannin, however, was not entirely as eager. He had never met Kushina before, but ever since he went to Uzushiogakure, he had begun to develop this emptiness inside about the Uzumaki. He realized just how alone he was as an Uzumaki. As far as he knew, he was one of three Uzumaki in Konoha, one of maybe a couple dozen left in the world at all. He didn't know Kushina, but if he could do something to save her, he thought it might make that feeling easier to bear.
He steeled himself and unsheathed Koseki, preparing himself for anything.
Shin gave instructions to each team member, "Warai, use your Sharingan to scour the trees, leave no stone unturned. Everyone else, be as thorough as you can. I'd like Kushina to be back as soon as possible. I'll personally be searching a much larger area, if you come into any trouble, send up a flare, and I'll get there as soon as I can."
The kids nodded and flickered into separate directions, looking out for any sign of Kushina. The drawback to having never met her, was that Kannin had little to go on when it came to looking for clues. Kannin didn't know what clothes she usually wore, the smell of her perfume, or anything else. Nonetheless, he kept his guard up and searched the woods
-
About an hour later, and with no luck, Team 4 was starting to get frustrated, and anxious. Every moment Kushina wasn't in Konoha's hands, the risk of the Kyuubi emerging increased. The kids had never personally seen the Kyuubi, and even Shin hadn't, but they all had been told tales of the destruction wrought by Uchiha Madara when he controlled it so many years ago.
Kannin was on his own for the time being, searching for clues, when suddenly he heard rustling in the brush behind him. He immediately brought Koseki forward and shouted,
"Come out!"
Hearing no reply, he approached the place he heard the noise come from, and slowly moved the brush to the side. When he fully exposed the foliage, he saw nothing behind it. Silence once again filled the air, and Kannin sighed in relief. He was about to brush it aside as an animal or the wind, when he suddenly felt an immensely antagonistic feeling emanating from behind him. He quickly spun around, just in time to deflect a kunai whizzing directly at his forehead with Koseki. The kunai clanged as it hit Koseki, and clattered to the ground. And Kannin came face to face with another shinobi.