"What?" Upon hearing this news, Minato's pupils suddenly shrank, and Kushina beside him was also shocked. They had all witnessed the battle between Sarutobi Ao and Nawaki. There was no doubt that both of them were talented ninja. Given time, they would definitely become powerful ninja with extraordinary strength. However, now Suki told them that Ao was no longer a ninja.
"Why?" Before Minato could ask, Kushina couldn't help but be angry. In her opinion, becoming a ninja is a lifelong decision, and there is no turning back. The two did not speculate on such reasons. In their impressions, Ao was a senior with a firm will. Even his battle with Nawaki was still fresh in their memory. That was a real battle with the name of ninja at stake.
Suki did not answer Kushina's question, but looked at Minato and said, "You should know that some things are confidential and cannot be exposed casually, right?"
"You!" Kushina naturally knew the rules of being a ninja, so even if she was angry, she saw that Nawaki and Suki in front of her would never say anything again, and she knew that it was impossible to get an answer from them. She turned around, then pulled Minato's arm and said, "Since you won't tell me, I will go to the person involved to ask."
In Kushina's point of view, Sarutobi Ao was not far away from them. Her violent reaction exceeded the expectations of the two. Only Minato, who knew Kushina well enough, knew why she acted like that.
Swish! Nawaki flashed in front of Kushina. "You can't go!" Nawaki's words were decisive.
Kushina's face changed again, and she said, "Get out of my way!" The next moment, Kushina's speed soared, exceeding Nawaki's expectations. He didn't expect that in just half a year, the strength of this little girl had grown so much.
Seeing that she was about to reach the alley entrance, it was too late to stop her. Then Nawaki used the Body Flicker jutsu and came behind Kushina, stretched out his hand, and grabbed her shoulder. Kushina was also wary of his movements, and with a backhand palm, she was ready to knock down Nawaki's palm.
"Stop!" At this moment, Minato suddenly appeared between the two of them, holding Nawaki and Kushina in his hands.
"So fast!" Although she had seen Minato's speed, Suki, who was standing in place, still exclaimed in amazement. Minato moved in the instant when Nawaki and Kushina both made a move. In an instant, there was only the illusion of yellow light in her pupils. As for his movements, she couldn't see them at all now.
Compared with the Ninja Trial, Minato's speed had obviously improved a lot, and he was almost as fast as their jonin mentor.
Seeing that it was Minato, the anger on Kushina's face subsided a little, and while she was calm, Minato pulled her back from the alley and let them go.
"Senior Nawaki, I apologize for Kushina's recklessness." Minato looked at Nawaki and said.
"It's okay, what I did just now was also wrong." Nawaki naturally would not stick to these things but looked at Minato with a little more surprise in his eyes. It seems that in the past six months, Minato has not been standing still, but his pace of progress is too fast.
Minato smiled lightly, then looked at Kushina and said, "Obeying orders is the essence of a ninja, you should know this, right?" In front of him, Kushina's hot pepper-like personality automatically restrained. She lowered her head slightly and then nodded.
"I was wrong." Kushina pursed her lips.
Minato smiled faintly and said, "I don't mean to blame you, and I believe Senior Nawaki doesn't either. It's just that even if we ask about this matter clearly, it's meaningless. If I'm not mistaken, it will only hurt Senior Ao."
Although Kushina still didn't quite understand what Minato meant, she trusted him and naturally didn't question it. Nawaki and Suki were stunned when they heard it. The former didn't get much useful information from them, but what he said was right. Minato seemed to be extremely sharp from the beginning.
"Okay, let's not waste any more time, the flower shop is about to close." Minato smiled. Kushina then reacted and said, "Yes, we haven't finished shopping yet." She became a little anxious and added an extremely strange ending to the end of her words.
"Seniors, we were abrupt today. We won't bother Senior Ao. See you another day." Minato said goodbye to Nawaki and Suki, and was then pulled away by the anxious Kushina.
"Bang!" After they left, Nawaki punched the wall on one side of the alley with such force that cracks appeared on the wall. "It's all my fault. If that guy hadn't come to save me, he wouldn't be like this now." Nawaki's face was solemn, and he punched the wall again and again, and blood dripped from his fists.
Suki stood behind him, her eyebrows slightly frowned, but she knew that with Nawaki's character, no one could persuade him.
As the sky darkened, after Minato sent Kushina back to her residence, his smiling face suddenly became solemn. In the next two days, Minato wandered the streets of Konoha, and finally, near dusk, he found the person he wanted to observe. Sarutobi Ao.
Minato hid in the dark, observed, and after confirming that Nawaki and others were not there today, he began to observe.
"His right leg." After observing for a while, Minato's face gradually began to become shocked because he finally saw that the unnaturalness he saw in Sarutobi Ao's figure last time was all from his right leg.
As a ninja, the coordination of his limbs is naturally much stronger than that of ordinary people. Even if he is injured, he can still be seen to be different from ordinary people. After that, Minato came to a conclusion. Sarutobi Ao's right leg was disabled.
This is why he can no longer be a ninja because ninjas represent efficient action, so there are so many people who come to the ninja village to entrust tasks. His right leg is disabled, so he can no longer be a ninja and perform tasks; even the lowest level tasks are impossible.
"Ninja Trial." Gradually, some doubts lingering in Minato's mind were gradually connected together. After the Ninja Trial, he and Uchiha Yoruki participated in the Land of Hot Spring mission. After returning from the Land of Hot Spring mission, Mikoto also began to act strangely.
How could Minato not notice the look in her eyes? That was the rejection of killing that he had once had. Sarutobi Ao's right leg did not look like it was injured recently, but at least three or four months ago.
"Could it be that after the Ninja Trial, Uchiha Yoruki and I were not the only ones sent out to carry out the mission?" All these thoughts were connected together, and Minato came to this conclusion!
"The so-called Ninja Trial was actually just an elimination selection for us Genin and freshmen."
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