Catching a Hozuki Clan Member Isn't a Wasted Trip!

Suikazan Fuguki's lips curled into a faint smile. With his hair and the mist obscuring him, he suddenly swept Samehada toward Kyohiko's side.

Kakashi immediately stepped in front of him.

But—

He quickly felt it: something was wrong with the sword. It seemed to be absorbing his chakra.

Whoosh!

Samehada's strike cut Kisame, but it finally broke the ropes around him.

Grimacing through the pain, he kicked Kyohiko away and broke free.

Suikazan Fuguki was nimble. He flipped the blade and slashed again. Kyohiko dodged, but the chakra gathered in his hand was completely devoured.

There was no way to fight!

Kyohiko cursed inwardly, finally understanding how miserable it was to fight Samehada.

The two of them turned and ran.

Fuguki immediately gave chase, a sinister grin on his face.

Seeing this, Kakashi said at once, "You go ahead. I'll hold him off!"

"No, we should—"

Kyohiko had barely started speaking when—

Suikazan Fuguki's expression changed. He grabbed Kisame Hoshigaki and ran back toward Biwa Juzo and Hozuki Mangetsu.

But—

Halfway there, he changed direction again, actually—

abandoning the other two!

Kakashi froze.

He turned to Kyohiko, looking utterly confused.

"Why did he suddenly run?"

"Teacher made a move," Kyohiko replied quietly.

He stopped and silently let out a breath of relief.

Jiraiya had closed the net.

Although Suikazan Fuguki had escaped, they had at least caught one of the other two. That should make it worth the effort.

Still—

It was a shame. Samehada must have warned Fuguki. Otherwise, he couldn't have sensed anything.

Ribbit!

Just as the two of them relaxed their guard, they heard a frog croak nearby.

A toad leaped out, with Jiraiya following behind it.

He looked thoroughly annoyed.

"Teacher."

Kyohiko breathed a sigh of relief.

So Jiraiya had been following them the whole time. Even if Suikazan Fuguki had really tried to attack them, it would have been difficult for him to kill them.

At a crucial moment, Jiraiya was still reliable.

"Haah!"

Jiraiya let out a long sigh, unable to hide his frustration. "I worked so hard to land a fish, and the biggest one got away."

"The one with the big sword?" Kakashi asked.

Jiraiya nodded. "He's Suikazan Fuguki. He's made quite a name for himself in recent years. I've always suspected there was something strange about the sword he carries. Today, I confirmed it."

"His sword can absorb chakra," Kakashi replied.

Jiraiya nodded, then noticed Kyohiko deep in thought and asked, "What do you think?"

"He was heading toward you at first, but then suddenly ran. It didn't seem like he sensed you directly, Teacher. It was more like he detected your presence through some other means," Kyohiko said.

Jiraiya thought for a moment, then nodded. "I'd just climbed out of the toad's mouth and was using a Barrier Technique to trap him."

"Could it have been the chakra?" Kakashi asked at once.

Kyohiko nodded.

"That's the only possibility. He sensed the chakra in the Barrier Technique. It may be an ability granted by the sword's special properties."

"The sword..." Jiraiya murmured.

A sword that could absorb chakra.

How bizarre!

Kirigakure had been restless in recent years, too. Long-lasting peace really was like the moon reflected in water.

He sighed.

Then Jiraiya tried to console himself.

"At least those two didn't get away. One of them is from the Hozuki Clan, and seems to be a genius, too. They definitely won't give up easily, so it wasn't a wasted trip."

He led the way over to them.

Kakashi looked at Kyohiko, his gaze full of questions.

Kyohiko shook his head.

A little while later, they returned to the courtyard.

The fleshy walls in the courtyard were lowering, revealing the captive inside: one man, a jar of water, and Jiraiya standing beside them.

At the same time, the Jiraiya who had brought them there vanished.

It had only been a Shadow Clone.

Kyohiko stepped forward.

Biwa Juzo could hardly hide his frustration and indignation.

As a Jonin, getting outplayed by two Genin was hard to accept.

Especially since—

In the end, he had been captured alive because of it.

If he hadn't taken a punch to the knee, he definitely could have escaped!

Of course—

That was just what Biwa Juzo told himself.

In reality, escaping from Jiraiya with their abilities would have been extremely difficult.

Jiraiya smiled as he looked at the jar of water beside him.

"If I hadn't wanted to capture you, would I have needed to be so careful? The Hozuki Clan—Orochimaru will definitely be pleased."

"!!!"

At the name "Orochimaru," Hozuki Mangetsu trembled in terror inside the jar.

He was nowhere near as strong as he would become in the future. He was about the same as Kyohiko and Kakashi, still a "child prodigy." Orochimaru, on the other hand, was already a fearsome figure renowned throughout the Shinobi World.

Unlike Jiraiya—

Orochimaru was said to love research above all else. As a master of the Hydrification Secret Technique, how could Mangetsu not be afraid?

And yet—

He was sealed inside a jar and couldn't move at all.

"Teacher, what should we do with them?"

"Capture them and have Kirigakure ransom them. If they refuse, we can send them off for research. We might even uncover the secrets of the Hydrification Technique."

Jiraiya had gone to all this trouble to capture Hozuki Mangetsu for a reason.

Kirigakure wasn't like it had been in the past.

Capturing a few minor figures was useless. Kirigakure might simply shrug and abandon them.

The Hozuki Clan was different.

It held a very high standing in Kirigakure and wielded considerable influence. One of its members might be worth more than a Jonin.

For example—

Jiraiya looked at the Kirigakure Jonin whose knee had been shattered.

"For a Jonin to get beaten up like this is really inexcusable."

"..."

Biwa Juzo nearly spat blood.

He'd been careless for a moment and had been ambushed so badly. He'd never imagined this would happen.

If he had another chance, things definitely wouldn't turn out like this!

He snorted and closed his eyes without a word.

"You failed. Anything you say would just be an excuse. It's a good thing you're staying quiet," Kyohiko added.

Biwa Juzo opened his eyes and glared at him.

But—

He had to admit that the kid was right.

He'd failed. Anything he said would just be an excuse.

His voice was hoarse.

"What are you going to do with us?"

"Nothing much. We'll wait for your village to ransom you. Heh, a Jonin and a member of the Hozuki Clan must be worth a lot, right?"

"..."

Biwa Juzo fell silent, though inwardly he felt relieved.

At least he wouldn't die.

He wasn't afraid of death, but if he could live, nobody wanted to die for nothing.

Jiraiya made a clone to lock them up.

Then he went upstairs and found Ichiro Matsuyama, whom Kurenai Yuhi had taken away and protected.

The attack that night had badly shaken Ichiro Matsuyama.

He'd originally planned to buy some more materials in the Land of Waves, but now he'd lost all interest. He immediately decided to head home and not stay any longer.

He could make money again.

But once he lost his life, he'd lose everything.

The unsettled night soon came to an end. Kakashi, Kyohiko, and Kurenai Yuhi sat together, and for a while, the mood was subdued.

After a long silence, Kyohiko spoke first.

"Ahem. It was a little unfair of me to keep everyone in the dark."

"I was worried all night!" Kurenai Yuhi glared at him, her eyes wide.

Kakashi said nothing, but he'd been ready to let Kyohiko go first. Clearly, he'd already been prepared to risk his life.

But in the end—

Jiraiya hadn't gone anywhere. He'd been hiding nearby the whole time.

"Come on, don't sweat the details. It all worked out, and Teacher came up with the plan. I only got woken up in the middle of the night, so I didn't know what was going on either!"