The carriage rolled along slowly.
A hint of caution appeared on Jiraiya's face.
When he reached the side of the road, he quickly formed hand seals and stamped his foot.
In an instant, the soil beneath the puddle beside the bridge gradually turned into a muddy swamp.
Then—
"Shh!"
A sharp sound rang out.
A man leaped out of the puddle, sword in hand. The moment he saw who was standing before him, his face filled with shock.
In the next instant, his body burst into a splash of water.
Jiraiya immediately gave chase. His hair became dozens of ropes, which swiftly wrapped around the man.
However,
the man's body immediately turned into a stream of water.
The Hydrification Technique?
Jiraiya frowned slightly, then spat out a special Toad Oil toward the water.
But
by the time he was ready to release his next ninjutsu, the man had already fled a long way.
Elsewhere,
three figures charged toward the carriage.
From where they stood, they couldn't make out Jiraiya's exact appearance. At that moment, they didn't try to flee—instead, they charged straight for the carriage.
Kunai and Shuriken flew toward them, some of them carrying Explosive Tags.
Other attacks were aimed at Kakashi as well.
The assault was fierce!
"Kyohiko!"
Jiraiya called out.
"Yes!"
Before anyone could remind him, Kyohiko had already used the Body Flicker Technique to reach the carriage.
In the next moment, a wall of water rose six or seven meters away on all sides. The water swirled, sweeping up all the incoming Shuriken and Kunai.
Water Style: Water Wall.
Boom!
A series of deafening blasts rang out, and the water-built wall collapsed.
So fast!
The three Mist Village ninjas were alarmed.
But
they didn't retreat. One charged at Kyohiko, while the other two rushed toward Kakashi with a sword and a chain.
However,
as they turned, they saw a little girl shielding Kakashi and the Iron-Arm Toad. Her hands flashed through Hand Seals, and then she suddenly vanished from where she stood.
A moment later, the two men realized that trees had bound them, leaving them unable to move.
"It's a genjutsu!"
Kisame Hoshigaki glanced out of the corner of his eye and saw his two companions standing motionless. He immediately realized that the girl had used genjutsu to hold them up for a while.
He was about to go help when a faint breeze suddenly stirred behind him.
His body tensed. He quickly began forming Hand Seals, but before he could finish, the sound of the wind behind him grew louder.
So fast!
Too late!
Kisame turned around. Kyohiko had already closed in.
He crossed both arms to block the fist coming at him from behind, but—
The force surged through the punch.
How was that possible?
Kisame Hoshigaki's rather small eyes widened. Before he could react, a punch sent him flying straight into a tree.
Thud!
The tremendous crash sent a flock of water birds scattering into the sky.
At the same time, the "Kyohiko" who had been holding a defensive stance over there vanished like a mirage.
The Shadow Clone dispelled.
Kyohiko had originally planned to pursue Kisame, but out of the corner of his eye, he saw Kurenai Yuhi hold the other two with her technique. She didn't risk moving closer, instead guarding the carriage, which was in slight disarray.
"Don't panic! Surround the carriage and protect Mr. Matsuyama!"
She shouted loudly.
Behind her, the Matsuyama Clan's samurai drew their swords and formed a ring around Ichiro Matsuyama's carriage.
Samurai weren't much use against ninjas, but they were better than nothing.
Seeing this, Ichiro Matsuyama's heartbeat eased a little, though anger still showed in his eyes.
These men were most likely sent by Gato!
He'd suspected that Gato wasn't an honest merchant, but he hadn't expected him to be so brazen as to hire people to kill him right along his route.
What a mobster's way of doing things!
Thankfully, his nephew had recommended Jiraiya's team to him.
With Lord Jiraiya himself on the job, his safety should be assured.
Ichiro Matsuyama huddled in the carriage, peering through a gap at the scene outside. He happened to see Kyohiko punch a man more than a dozen steps away.
Even a child was this strong?
So strong!
This guy's strength didn't match his appearance at all!
Kisame spat out a mouthful of blood and struggled to climb out of the water.
At first glance, he'd thought Kyohiko might be a ninja skilled in Water Style, and he'd been confident that he had nothing to fear from a Konoha ninja in that regard.
But
he'd never imagined that ninjutsu was only a secondary strength. The truly terrifying things were his speed and his Strength of a Hundred.
Just one punch...
Kisame coughed up blood again and again. He was sprawled on the ground, unable to move.
What terrifying strength!
For a long while, he couldn't catch his breath. All he could do was look into the distance.
The battle was already lost!
The other two had recovered from the genjutsu, but the instant they did, Kyohiko closed in and knocked one of them out with a punch.
The other tried to run.
Unfortunately,
he wasn't facing Kyohiko, but an even more frightening white-haired ninja.
That was...
Jiraiya?!
For a moment, Kisame Hoshigaki's mind went blank.
How could he be leading the team in person?
Then he remembered what Suikazan Fuguki had told them before they set out.
"A merchant is coming from the Land of Fire this time. The four of you will go and kill them. Consider that your mission."
Kill them?
Me?
The fear left him utterly unable to think.
No wonder Hozuki Mangetsu had immediately fled when they were discovered instead of attacking.
Who would dare take them on?
Their opponent was one of the Sannin!
Even Suikazan Fuguki would have to run for it.
Kisame Hoshigaki immediately sank into the water to escape, but as soon as he went under, a strange rumbling came from below.
What was that sound?
Then he saw a surging wave of mud rolling through the river.
Earth Style: Earth Flow River.
Jiraiya held his hand seals as the rushing mud swept forward and swallowed Kisame in an instant.
In the chaos, Kisame couldn't use an Earth Style technique. By the time he'd been carried some distance and struggled to get back up, the boy was charging at him again.
Kisame rolled along the ground, trying to dodge Kyohiko's attack.
However,
Kyohiko quickly formed Hand Seals, then held his hands in a single seal.
What technique was that?
Water Dragon Bullet?
The Second Hokage of Konoha had apparently created a simplified Water Dragon Bullet Technique.
Kisame watched Kyohiko's Hand Seals, trying to predict his next move.
But
in the next instant, Kyohiko's body turned into a log and fell to the ground, while his real body emerged from the water.
A mass of white hair came flying from behind him.
No technique!
The Hand Seals had only been a feint.
Kisame regretted it and tried to flee with all his might, but it was already too late.
The white hair wrapped around him.
Whoosh!
The hair tightened and pulled Kisame in front of Jiraiya. There was no way to escape.
Jiraiya crouched down.
"Why did you Mist Village ninjas attack us?"
"..."
Kisame fell silent.
As a ninja, he couldn't reveal his mission. If he did, he'd face a terrible punishment even if he made it back to the village.
At that moment, all he felt was deep regret.
The moment Hozuki Mangetsu fled, he should have run without hesitation. He shouldn't have gone along with those two idiots and continued the attack.
But
who could have guessed that they'd run into Jiraiya on a mission like this?
Kisame couldn't help looking at Kyohiko.
The boy's speed and strength were astonishing, yet he looked so young—probably two or three years younger than Kisame himself.
A Konoha prodigy?
He looked silently at his two teammates.
One was unconscious. The other was being treated by the girl, while their comrade was being carried on the Toad's back.
Thinking about his own situation, he felt a wave of sorrow.
Konoha ninjas had a completely different way of doing things from the Mist Village.
Even one of the Sannin would lead a team, and injured teammates were carefully looked after and protected.
That sort of thing simply didn't happen in their village.
In fact,
if their opponent hadn't been so powerful, in a situation like that, he would have tried to kill his teammates to silence them before finding a way to escape.
Before you continue