I Don't Even Have Myself in My Heart!

The Land of Hot Water was filled with hot springs, and the streets were crowded with men and women who had come for their fame, among whom were some dressed as ninjas just like them.

"The surroundings seem relatively safe. If you have no objections, we shall stay in town today and wait for Sensei to come find us; it will be safer that way."

"Whatever you decide, Senior."

Everyone had just endured a great battle, and even after consuming Military Ration Pills, it was impossible for them to recover their energy quickly.

Resting here was a reasonable choice.

"Then I shall go handle the lodging."

Minato Namikaze nodded.

A moment later, he gathered Kyohiko and the other two in a hotel room.

Afterward, Minato Namikaze took out a scroll and solemnly wrote down the process of the attack they had encountered, specifically recording only the events and what they had seen, without including any subjective opinions.

Immediately following, he bit his finger.

A moment later, chakra spread out, and a small Toad appeared within the ritual formation formed by the spreading blood.

"Help me take this scroll to Sensei."

"Understood!"

The small Toad replied, then bit onto the scroll and vanished.

Yugakure.

Jiraiya sat opposite Genji and Dodai, pouring tea for the two of them one by one, and the fragrance of tea instantly filled the air.

Genji was just about to bring up some matters.

Suddenly, a Toad hopped out from beside Jiraiya.

He immediately stopped speaking.

"Jiraiya, this was sent by Minato."

"Good."

Jiraiya nodded, took the scroll, opened it, and glanced at it; his heart was struck as if by a thunderclap.

They were attacked?

Ninjas using Earth Style.

He looked up at the two people before him, guessing in his heart the possibility of either village launching the attack—

Kumogakure had very few Earth Style ninjas.

The probability was extremely low.

Kirigakure...

Jiraiya put away the scroll and smiled, "I've been out for too long, and the village wants me to return. It seems I won't be able to finish this tea with you."

"It doesn't matter; the Chunin Exams are still a few days away anyway."

The other two saw him off.

"It has been delivered."

Minato Namikaze tidied up and immediately began reflecting on the situation today.

That group of ninjas had a very strong sense of purpose, as if they had come specifically to kill Kyohiko; this matter was definitely not simple.

At this moment, Kurenai Yuhi and Might Guy were both in their respective rooms next door, tidying up.

Minato looked at Kyohiko.

Sensei had once said that his new student was very intelligent and had many ideas.

"Kyohiko, regarding this group of people, do you have any thoughts?"

"The target was very obvious. It's hard to say for now exactly who made the move, but one thing is certain: from the time I graduated until now, I have only ever fought against ninjas from Kirigakure."

Kyohiko said.

"Kirigakure?"

Minato Namikaze thought of the news within the village.

Even at his current age, this child had caught a Jonin like Biwa Juzo off guard and dealt him a heavy blow.

It was not impossible that Kirigakure feared him and had intentionally leaked information or hired people to set up an ambush and assassinate him.

Assassinating geniuses was something every village did during times of war.

However.

In an era of peace, such things were quite rare, and besides...

"Every nation and village has spies among one another; it is difficult to prove they are the ones plotting behind the scenes."

"Why would we need to prove it?"

A look of confusion appeared on Kyohiko's face.

"Why? Oh..."

Minato Namikaze understood what Kyohiko meant the moment he finished asking.

If they wanted to demand an explanation from Kirigakure, they would naturally need evidence, but if the goal wasn't an explanation, but rather a counterattack to make things difficult for Kirigakure...

Then no evidence was required.

He thought for a moment and shook his head gently: "It is a time of peace; it is not appropriate to do such things."

Then, Minato Namikaze sighed softly, feeling deeply moved—

Kyohiko is only seven or eight years old!

What was he doing when he was seven or eight?

He seemed to still be attending school with Kushina, learning knowledge from the Ninja Academy, ninjutsu, and occasionally studying the Sealing Technique knowledge Kushina taught.

That was it.

Children these days are more driven than the last!

Minato Namikaze sighed, then checked the time and stood up immediately.

"Go take a bath. We'll talk in more detail when our teacher arrives later."

"Yes!"

Even for Jiraiya, it would take two or three hours to travel from Yugakure to the small town on the border of the Land of Hot Water.

Kyohiko and Minato had already finished bathing.

The two were inside the room, discussing the key points of the Body Flicker Technique—

Although Kyohiko had already reached the master level, different people mastered ninjutsu with different abilities, and their insights into the application of the Body Flicker Technique were not entirely the same.

Minato, for instance, had naturally fast reflexes.

His Body Flicker Technique was used more in coordination with Kunai and Rasengan to create opportunities for one-hit kills; he had a profound grasp of timing.

If Kyohiko wanted to reach the same level as him, he figured he would have to delve deeper into the White Fang Sword Technique.

Furthermore, he shamelessly plagiarized the conceptual ideas behind Body Flicker Shisui's technique.

Minato was naturally impressed by his creativity.

The two had originally intended to chat in more detail, discussing how to use the Clone Technique, Shadow Clone, and Body Flicker Technique to achieve an effect similar to "Body Flicker Shisui," but unfortunately—

Jiraiya had arrived!

"I have already understood the situation. Minato, Kyohiko, you two are the ones who experienced it; tell me your own judgments."

Jiraiya looked at the two of them.

Minato and Kyohiko naturally stated their respective thoughts.

Following that, Minato added: "If Teacher asks for my subjective judgment, I am inclined to believe it was indeed done by Iwagakure ninjas. Regarding Earth Style ninjas of that level and scale, I cannot think of anyone other than Iwagakure."

"It is not impossible. In recent years, Iwagakure has recovered very quickly, and some of the people under Ōnoki are not very well-behaved."

Jiraiya nodded.

He swept his gaze toward Kyohiko.

"What do you think?"

"Teacher, my thought is this: regardless of whether Ōnoki was aware of it or if it was actually done by Iwagakure, we must condemn it. Furthermore, we can link this attack to the disruption of the maritime shipping agreement..."

Kyohiko spoke of his own modest insights.

Iwagakure attacking Konoha genin—how big of a deal was that, really?

If one were to take it seriously, it would amount to nothing more than an apology or finding a scapegoat to take the fall.

However.

Disrupting the peace talks between numerous ninja villages and sabotaging the Joint Chunin Exams—that was a different matter entirely.

Guiding public opinion and escalating the incident.

Such tactics were common in his past life, but they were clearly new tricks in the ninja world. Jiraiya and Minato had never even considered such an angle before, and both were left stunned.

However, they were jonin after all, experienced and knowledgeable, and they quickly grasped the idea.

Jiraiya laughed: "I thought you would take this opportunity to ask me to teach you life-saving ninjutsu, and I was already pondering what to teach you."

"How could that be? Teacher, I have no thought for myself!"

Kyohiko's tone was firm.

Jiraiya let out a soft chuckle.

Minato, however, broke into a cold sweat.

This child truly thought only of the village's major affairs, never once considering how perilous his situation had been today.

He had felt lingering fear even while taking a bath that night, yet Kyohiko acted as if nothing had happened.

What a massive heart he had!

"They could refuse to acknowledge it, or shift the blame onto rogue ninjas."

Minato analyzed.

Jiraiya possessed intelligence and had access to more information, so his mind immediately began to race.

"The other ninja villages might not necessarily help us; they might even be happy to see us clash with Iwagakure. But as you both said, there is a high probability that Kirigakure is involved in this."

Although there might be spies, their route had been to the east, where Iwagakure had very few agents planted. It was mostly Kirigakure that conducted infiltration and reconnaissance in this area.

This matter definitely involved Kirigakure!

Evidence?

Evidence was not needed!

In the current climate, everyone was already collectively pressuring Kirigakure to stay out of maritime trade; any form of retaliation was possible.

Whether it succeeded or not, a seed could still be planted.

The train of thought was clear.

As for how to execute it, he still needed to deliberate.

Jiraiya thought to himself.

He loved peace, but since the other side had gone so far as to try and kill his disciple, was he supposed to remain cordial with them?