"Hmm?"
Kyoichi narrowed his eyes.
The Land of Rivers' missions had all come to Konoha, while Konoha couldn't interfere with missions that hadn't been issued by the village.
Judging by Yahiko's meaning,
was he doing volunteer work in the Land of Rivers?
"We came to the Land of Rivers simply to clear out the bandits here and bring peace to the country. We have no intention of attacking Konoha or competing with you for missions."
Konan followed up with an explanation.
Putting aside their relationship with Jiraiya, just considering Konoha's strength, they still couldn't afford to provoke it. The current Akatsuki was too weak; to them, Konoha was a towering tree reaching the heavens!
"Our wish is for peace. We will never provoke a war."
Seeing that Kyoichi had not attacked, Yahiko knew there was a chance for negotiations.
After all, Konoha had just gone through a major war and definitely did not want to provoke another ninja village at this point. Otherwise, the person who came would not have been Kanda Kyoichi alone, but Konoha's powerful Anbu.
At this thought, he became even more composed.
Kyoichi was just about to speak when two chakra signatures approached from this direction.
One was to the north, and the other to the south.
Nagato and Minato?
Kyoichi understood at once.
After thinking it over repeatedly, he realized that the current situation was complicated and not something he could decide on his own. Minato's arrival was perfect—he could let Jiraiya's students negotiate among themselves.
With that thought, he gathered chakra to intimidate the two while waiting for Minato to arrive.
"Yahiko..."
Konan was somewhat anxious, but Yahiko gently shook his head.
They couldn't make a move.
Even if they had to fight, this was not the time. They had to wait for Nagato to arrive—he could sense that Nagato was approaching.
Both sides fell into a brief standoff.
A short while later,
Minato's Shadow Clone arrived. Seeing the situation before him, he froze for a moment before using the Body Flicker Technique to appear beside Kyoichi and ask in a low voice, "What happened?"
"Ninjas from Amegakure entered the country to clear out bandits. They're doing it for free."
"What?"
Clearing out bandits for free.
These Amegakure ninjas...
Minato was stunned, completely unable to make sense of it.
No wonder Kyoichi had not acted.
He would have no idea what to do either. The village certainly did not want to cause more trouble at the moment, but if they left these people alone and allowed them to eliminate the bandits in the Land of Rivers, those bandits would flee into the Land of Fire.
They were caught between a rock and a hard place!
The corner of his mouth twitched as he looked at the two. After thinking for a moment, he asked, "What are your names?"
"Yahiko."
"Konan."
"..."
Their names sounded familiar. He vaguely felt that he had heard them somewhere before.
Minato furrowed his brow slightly.
Konan wanted to speak, but Yahiko stopped her.
Yahiko knew that Konan wanted to use their connection to Jiraiya to persuade Minato to let them go, but he also knew even more clearly that both Minato and Jiraiya were Konoha ninjas.
If she brought it up, she would only put Minato in a difficult position.
Kyoichi faced north and looked toward the forest as his blade turned.
Nagato had arrived!
His red hair stood out clearly in the forest.
Moreover,
he did not know what had happened. He only knew that Yahiko and Konan seemed to be at a disadvantage.
As soon as he arrived, Nagato raised his hand and threw several shuriken. He was right about to use a ninjutsu when a flash of sword light suddenly filled his vision with dazzling whiteness.
How blinding!
He instinctively turned his head to avoid it, but in that instant, Nagato heard the howling of wind.
Not good!
He forced his perception to its limit, but Kyoichi was too fast.
Nagato had no choice but to predict the attack and use Shinra Tensei. By then, his vision had recovered, and he saw a figure enter the area around him, but...
Under Shinra Tensei, the figure was unaffected and gradually turned into an afterimage.
A Clone Technique?
No!
He leaped onto a tree, and sword light burst out from below.
Double Suicide Decapitation Technique!
Cold sweat appeared on Nagato's forehead.
So fast, and such a troublesome opponent. No wonder Yahiko and Konan could not deal with him.
However,
while he was marveling at this, his Rinnegan showed him that Kyoichi's speed had doubled again. Although his eyes could follow him clearly, his body could not keep up at all. He had only just formed the seals for the Substitution Technique...
Boom!
With one kick, he was sent flying from the tree and landed in front of Minato.
"Hold back!"
"Don't..."
Yahiko and Konan panicked.
Nagato's Rinnegan abilities had always been invincible, but only now did they realize that Nagato also had opponents.
Speed—
a level of speed so extreme that no one could react in time!
That kick carried tremendous force.
But
Nagato still struggled to stand and cautiously prepared to face the next attack.
Minato was somewhat helpless.
He was only a Shadow Clone, so the help he could provide in a real fight was limited.
However,
when facing such a powerful enemy, if they did not beat the opponent into submission, the aftermath would be difficult to handle.
Nagato stood ready, retreating step by step.
Whoosh~
Kyoichi appeared again, now only a dozen or so steps away from Nagato.
Nagato was horrified.
This speed...
It was too fast!
He threw out a handful of shuriken. Kyoichi swiftly slipped through the gaps, but in the next instant, he raised his hand...
Wind Release: Gale Palm!
A howling whirlwind swept up the surrounding shuriken, instantly disrupting their trajectories. Many of them flew straight toward Kyoichi.
Kyoichi ignored them completely and drew his sword.
This time, Minato was the one who grew anxious.
He was just about to intervene when he saw an abnormal black color appear over Kyoichi's body. He froze for a moment, but by then, the shuriken had already struck Kyoichi.
Clink...
After a series of crisp sounds, the shuriken fell to the ground.
He was completely unharmed.
Meanwhile, Nagato saw the Thunder God Sword slash toward him. Panicking, he had no choice but to use Shinra Tensei again.
However,
with the Eight Gates opened and Breathing Activation Technique stacked on top, Kyoichi had reached an extreme level of control over his body, advancing and retreating without the slightest hindrance.
When the repulsive force dissipated, he landed beside Nagato.
Chakra gathered in his hand, forming a ball of green light. Nagato struggled to break free, but before long, his eyes gradually became vacant. Finally, both his hands went limp, and he fell unconscious.
Had he been subdued?
Minato's expression turned strange.
That had been the Mystical Palm Technique, right? Could that thing put people to sleep too?
He had learned something new.
"What did you do to Nagato!"
Konan shouted furiously.
"It was the Mystical Palm Technique."
Yahiko breathed a sigh of relief. If Kyoichi had wanted to kill him, he could simply have avoided Shinra Tensei and followed up with a slash. There had been no need to go to such trouble.
"Nothing much. He was too troublesome, so I dealt with him first. Now we have room to talk."
Kyoichi dragged Nagato over to Minato.
Minato turned his head and saw Nagato's head of red hair. He could not help freezing for a moment before a flash of insight crossed his mind.
The teacher seemed to have mentioned...
a red-haired boy!
He drew a deep breath and looked at Yahiko and Konan. "I remember now. You're the three children our teacher met in Amegakure. He mentioned you to me."
"..."
Konan was speechless.
They had been recognized.
However,
amid her panic, she also felt somewhat touched.
The teacher still remembered them!
At this moment, Yahiko said, "Senior Minato, we have no ill will toward Konoha. We only want to try to realize our teacher's vision and bring peace to the surrounding area."
"But..."
Minato hesitated. His teacher had mentioned the three children to him. In Jiraiya's eyes, the three of them carried part of his hopes.
Although he did not know the exact circumstances, speaking only from a personal standpoint, he was willing to believe them.
However,
their actions and their numbers meant that Konoha could not afford to take them lightly.
Kyoichi glanced at him, then sheathed his sword and smiled. "How about I say a few words?"
The three of them looked over.
"If you ask me, your ideas are beautiful, but your methods are foolish. You're helping the Land of Rivers clear out its bandits, but there are far too many bandits for you to kill them all. The survivors will flee to the surrounding countries, and then what?"
Before you continue