"Teacher, there really do seem to be enemy shinobi, but they don't seem to want to fight."
Kurenai Yuhi was puzzled.
These enemy shinobi didn't seem intent on engaging Konoha. Whenever Team 7 advanced, they would retreat a few steps, constantly avoiding them. They clearly didn't want to encounter Team 7.
"You two take the Kunai and the intelligence scroll."
Kyoichi handed the Flying Thunder God Kunai to Asuma. "This bears Minato Namikaze's Flying Thunder God Formula. Find Minato and regroup with him, then give the intelligence scroll to him. I'll go ahead and take a look."
"Teacher, why don't you take it with you? At least Minato-sensei will be able to support you..."
Asuma was somewhat worried.
What if Kyoichi ran into danger while going alone?
"It's fine. I'm only going to gather intelligence. If I can't win, I can still run."
Kyoichi patted him on the shoulder, then rushed forward with the Body Flicker Technique.
Ahead.
Minato Namikaze had naturally sensed the presence of those shinobi as well. If it had only been him and Kakashi, he definitely would have charged ahead to find out what was going on.
But besides the two of them, Obito and Rin were there too.
Obito and Rin were newcomers and couldn't handle the complexities of the battlefield. After weighing the matter, he ultimately decided not to investigate alone.
"Teacher, why don't I go take a look?"
Kakashi asked in a low voice.
He was a Chunin.
In terms of strength, aside from Minato Namikaze, he was the strongest in the squad.
"Our mission is to help the village eliminate the bandits. Those shinobi have nothing to do with us, so we'd better not complicate matters."
Minato shook his head.
Just then.
A trace of astonishment appeared on his face.
What was this?
His own Flying Thunder God Formula.
He landed and used Sensory Jutsu to investigate the surrounding situation. Then, a hint of delight appeared on his face.
"Teacher, what happened?"
Rin also noticed that something was wrong.
From just now, Minato Namikaze and Kakashi had seemed unusually solemn.
"It's nothing. Another squad is approaching us. If I'm not mistaken, it should be First Squad. They brought my specially made Kunai, so they should be coming to support us."
Minato Namikaze relaxed.
Kyoichi was here!
Moreover.
Judging from the positions of Kyoichi and the other three, they had decided to split up. One person had gone to investigate the shinobi, while the others had come to explain the situation to them.
That meant he no longer had to struggle over whether he should investigate.
"Huh? Why would they come to support us? Is our mission really that difficult?"
Obito looked bewildered.
"We'll know once they get here."
Minato Namikaze didn't explain, because he didn't know where these shinobi had come from either. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been so cautious and afraid to advance.
Before long.
Asuma and the other two arrived.
"Minato-sensei, we were ordered by the village to come and reinforce you and inform you of the situation in the Land of Rivers. This is the intelligence scroll."
Asuma handed over a scroll sealed with Sealing Jutsu.
Minato Namikaze said nothing. A seal like this carried an obvious implication—the intelligence was important and could very well affect Konoha's position in the war.
He immediately used a seal-release technique to open it.
With just one glance, a solemn expression appeared on Minato's face.
"Amegakure!"
During the Battle of Mount Kikyo, the Land of Wind had suffered heavy losses and signed numerous treaties with Konoha. It was impossible for them to be operating in the Land of Rivers.
The other side was most likely from the Land of Rain.
Amegakure had suffered heavy losses during the Second Shinobi World War, but with Hanzo present, it remained the foremost shinobi village outside the Five Great Shinobi Villages.
That was the weight carried by a demigod.
Minato Namikaze put away the intelligence scroll. The current state of the war flashed through his mind, and he managed to infer most of the village's situation. After thinking for a moment, he asked, "Kyoichi went ahead?"
"Yes. Teacher went to investigate the situation and instructed us to act with you and follow your orders."
Kurenai Yuhi answered.
"Good. The situation is unusual. We'll go to the mission site first and confirm the bandits' strength before making our next plan."
The mission in the Land of Rivers had previously been controlled by the Land of Wind. After this war ended, it had been assigned to Konoha. Minato didn't want to give it up unless absolutely necessary.
As for the shinobi ahead, he could only choose to trust Kyoichi's abilities for now.
Without any Genin slowing him down, Kyoichi moved extremely quickly and soon caught up with the group of shinobi.
These shinobi were unmistakably characteristic of Amegakure.
Their identities were essentially confirmed.
Kyoichi pursued them, and they retreated. Both sides were moving quickly—which meant the other side had discovered his presence.
This time, I've run into some real experts!
He grew even more cautious.
"I wonder who's leading them. Two people haven't moved. Are they planning to stay behind and cover the retreat?"
Kyoichi frowned.
As he pursued them from behind, he carefully used Chakra Sensing to investigate the surroundings, avoiding the possibility of falling into a trap.
When he neared their position, he discovered that the two chakra signatures were located in an ordinary-looking tree. But on closer inspection, it was clear that the tree had been created with a ninjutsu.
Konan!
Kyoichi understood instantly.
His eyes narrowed slightly as he pretended not to notice.
He darted forward several steps.
Suddenly, countless leaves fluttered through the air, sweeping toward him from all directions like a tidal wave.
Kyoichi discovered that although these paper leaves were numerous and razor-sharp, there were no Explosive Tags mixed among them—Konan had held back.
However.
Even if she held back, their greatest effect would be to injure him, not kill him.
Kyoichi quickly formed hand seals.
In the blink of an eye, walls of water rose around him.
"Jonin! Use the Explosive Tags for cover! Let's go!"
Seeing that the situation had turned bad, Yahiko immediately led Konan away.
A Konoha shinobi.
And moreover.
Judging from the power of that Water Release, he was at least an elite Jonin!
They weren't so afraid that they couldn't fight, but they had no desire to clash with Kyoichi.
That was also why Yahiko hadn't allowed Nagato to stay behind in his place—Nagato couldn't assess the situation, and if he accidentally injured a Konoha shinobi, it would be impossible to explain.
However.
The next moment, a water dragon roared toward them, scattering the Explosive Tags and carrying them toward Konan and Yahiko.
Water Dragon Bullet Technique!
"So fast!"
Yahiko's expression changed.
He was a Water Release shinobi himself and knew very well how difficult the hand seals for the Water Dragon Bullet Technique were. Yet Kyoichi had completed them in the blink of an eye.
This was a modified technique!
"I'll block it."
The tree where Konan had perched shattered and transformed into countless pieces of folded paper, which ultimately formed a shield.
The Water Dragon Bullet was astonishingly powerful, but beneath layer upon layer of paper shields, its force was gradually neutralized.
But then.
A flash of sword light swept past.
The paper shield was instantly cleaved apart. In the next moment, they saw a figure land ahead of them, holding a sword crackling with lightning. His silver hair was especially conspicuous.
"Minato Namikaze? No, Minato Namikaze has blond hair. Who are you?"
So fast!
This was the second time Yahiko had been stunned like this.
The first time had been when he was shocked by Kyoichi's hand-seal speed. This time, however, he was amazed by the speed of the Body Flicker Technique.
Other than Minato Namikaze, Konoha actually had another Jonin who was this fast.
"Konoha Jonin, Kanda Kyoichi. Who are you, and why have you entered the Land of Rivers?"
Kyoichi deliberately put on a stern expression.
He naturally knew who they were, but appearances still had to be maintained.
Yahiko's palms began to sweat.
With his and Konan's speed, there was no way they could outrun the other side. Moreover, Kyoichi had only revealed a portion of his strength so far. To be honest, even if he joined forces with Konan, he wasn't fully confident they could defeat him.
Unless they called Nagato back.
But if this turned into a battle to the death, neither side would benefit.
His thoughts raced. After a long while, he finally said, "We're shinobi from Amegakure. We came to the Land of Rivers with no intention of offending Konoha. We only wish to purge the bandits causing trouble in the Land of Rivers."
Before you continue