Caught the Ghost Lantern Clan, not in vain!

Suikazan Fuguki curled his lips, his hair and the mist obscuring his features as Samehada suddenly swept toward Kyohiko's side.

Kakashi immediately stepped in to block.

However.

Very quickly, he felt it—

This blade was wrong; it seemed to be absorbing his chakra.

Whoosh!

With a scrape of Samehada, Kisame Hoshigaki was grazed by the blade, but he finally managed to break the ropes on his body.

Gritting his teeth against the pain, he kicked back at Kyohiko to break free.

Suikazan Fuguki was agile, flipping his blade for another slash; although Kyohiko dodged, the chakra gathered in his hand was completely devoured.

This is impossible to fight!

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

The two turned and fled.

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

Seeing this, Kakashi spoke up at once: "You go first, I'll hold him off!"

"No, we have to go..."

Kyohiko had barely finished speaking.

Suikazan Fuguki's expression shifted; he grabbed Kisame Hoshigaki and turned to run toward Biwa Juzo and Hozuki Mangetsu.

But.

Halfway there, he changed direction again, and actually...

He abandoned those two!

Kakashi was stunned.

He turned his head to look at Kyohiko, his face full of confusion.

"Why did he suddenly run away?"

"The teacher made a move."

Kyohiko whispered.

He stopped and quietly let out a sigh of relief.

Jiraiya was closing the net.

Although they had scared off Suikazan Fuguki, catching at least one of the other two meant it wasn't a total loss.

However.

It was a pity; Suikazan Fuguki must have been warned by Samehada, otherwise, he couldn't have sensed it.

Croak!

Just as they were letting their guard down, they heard a toad's croak from the side.

Following closely, a toad hopped out, with Jiraiya trailing behind it.

He looked sullen.

"Teacher."

Kyohiko breathed a sigh of relief.

So Jiraiya had been following them the whole time; even if Suikazan Fuguki had really tried to kill them, it would have been difficult.

At critical moments, Jiraiya was still reliable.

"Sigh!"

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

"The one with the big sword?"

Kakashi asked.

Jiraiya nodded: "That is Suikazan Fuguki. He has made quite a name for himself in recent years. I have always suspected that the blade in his hand was strange, and today, that suspicion was confirmed."

"His blade can absorb chakra."

Kakashi replied.

Jiraiya nodded, noticing Kyohiko's contemplative expression, and immediately asked: "What do you think?"

"He originally intended to head toward your position, but suddenly ran away. It didn't seem like he sensed you, but rather detected your presence through some other means."

Kyohiko said.

Jiraiya pondered for a moment and nodded: "I had just crawled out of the toad's mouth and was using a barrier technique to prepare to trap him."

"Could it be chakra?"

Kakashi spoke immediately.

Kyohiko nodded.

"That is the only possibility. He sensed the chakra of the barrier technique; it is likely a property bestowed by the blade."

"A blade..."

Jiraiya fell into deep thought.

A blade capable of absorbing chakra.

How truly bizarre!

In recent years, Kirigakure had been restless; long-term peace was truly like the moon reflected in water.

He sighed inwardly.

Then, Jiraiya consoled himself.

"Fortunately, those two didn't get away. One of them is even from the Hozuki clan and seems to be a genius. They certainly won't give up easily, so it wasn't a wasted trip."

He took the lead and walked toward that direction.

Kakashi looked at Kyohiko, his gaze filled with inquiry.

Kyohiko shook his head.

A moment later, they returned to the courtyard from before.

Inside the courtyard, the wall of flesh was receding, revealing the person who had been captured and sealed, a jar of water, and Jiraiya standing to the side.

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

It was only a Shadow Clone.

Kyohiko stepped forward.

Biwa Juzo could not hide his depression and indignation.

As a Jonin, being overturned by two Genin was truly difficult for him to reconcile with.

Especially since...

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

If not for that punch to his knee, he definitely could have escaped!

Of course.

That was merely what Biwa Juzo thought to himself.

In reality, given their abilities, escaping in front of Jiraiya was truly difficult.

Jiraiya looked at the jar of water to the side with a smile.

"If it weren't to capture you, would I have needed to be so careful? The Hozuki clan—Orochimaru will certainly be very pleased."

"!!!"

Hearing the name "Orochimaru," Hozuki Mangetsu inside the jar trembled in fear.

At this time, he was far from reaching his future level; he was in the same category of "genius children" as Kyohiko and Kakashi, while Orochimaru was already a notorious figure known throughout the ninja world.

Unlike Jiraiya.

It was said that Orochimaru loved conducting research. As a master of the Hydrification Technique, how could he not be afraid?

However.

He was currently sealed inside the jar and could not move at all.

"Teacher, how should we deal with them?"

"Take them captive and make Kirigakure pay a ransom to get them back. Otherwise, we'll send them for research; who knows, we might uncover the secrets of the Hydrification Technique."

Jiraiya had gone to such great lengths to capture Hozuki Mangetsu, certainly not because he had nothing better to do.

The current Kirigakure was different from the early years.

Capturing some simple characters was useless; Kirigakure might just brush them off and abandon them.

The Hozuki clan was different.

This clan held a very high status in Kirigakure and possessed significant influence; they were potentially even more important than capturing a Jonin.

For example—

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

"For a Jonin to be beaten like this, it really is quite inexcusable!"

"..."

Biwa Juzo nearly coughed up blood.

A moment of carelessness had led to being ambushed like this; he had never expected it in a million years.

If there were a next time, it would never end up like this!

He snorted coldly, closed his eyes, and remained silent.

"Failure is failure; anything else is just an excuse. You're right to keep quiet."

Kyohiko added.

Biwa Juzo opened his eyes and glared at him.

However.

He had to admit that the brat in front of him was right.

Failure is failure; anything else is just an excuse.

His voice was hoarse.

"What do you want?"

"Nothing much, just waiting for your village to pay the ransom. Hehehe, a Jonin and a member of the Hozuki clan—that must be worth a fortune, right?"

"..."

Biwa Juzo remained silent, but he felt a sense of relief in his heart.

At least he wouldn't die.

He wasn't afraid of death, but if one could live, no one wanted to die for nothing.

Jiraiya created a shadow clone to lock them away.

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

Ichiro Matsuyama had been terrified by the attack tonight.

He had originally planned to purchase more materials in the Land of Waves, but he had lost all interest and immediately decided to pack up and head home without lingering any longer.

Money could always be earned again.

If one lost their life, everything would truly be gone.

The restless night soon drew to a close. Kakashi, Kyohiko, and Kurenai Yuhi sat together, the atmosphere falling into a sudden silence.

After a long while, Kyohiko spoke first.

"Cough, it was a bit unkind to keep it from everyone."

"I was worried all night!"

Kurenai Yuhi glared at him with wide eyes.

Kakashi didn't say anything, but since he had been ready to let Kyohiko leave first at the time, it was clear he had also been prepared to die.

As it turned out.

In the end, Jiraiya hadn't left at all and had been hiding in the shadows the entire time.

"Alright, don't worry about those details. The result is good, and besides, the plan was set by the teacher. I was only woken up in the middle of the night, so I didn't know anything either!"