I, Konoha’s Sage of Life

Chapter 119 - 119: Swallowing Two Squads with Tears

"You didn't see anything. Just an unintended side result of my research on Wood Release. It's not fully developed yet and needs further refinement."

Kyoichi shook his head.

Since he had already used the technique, he was fully prepared for any consequences. He didn't need Gekko Hayate to cover for him.

On the other hand, Kohinata Mukai simply smiled.

"This battle went well for everyone. There's no need to report every little thing when it comes to our own people. Tsunade-sama and I are already aware."

"Understood!"

Gekko Hayate and the others stood at attention.

Asuma, of course, did the same.

Though...

Asuma hadn't even considered Mukai—he thought Kyoichi was referring to Shisui's Sharingan.

But Gekko Hayate was different.

Having been in Anbu for years, he instantly understood what was going on with Mukai.

The Byakugan!

A branch family that had separated for three or four generations had somehow awakened the Byakugan again. If this was reported, the Hyūga Clan would go crazy.

If it had been in the past, Gekko Hayate might have hesitated.

The consequences of such a revelation were unpredictable.

However...

Tsunade was about to become the Fourth Hokage, and Kyoichi had done a great service to the Gekko Clan. If they could help, they would.

As for the other two...

Shiranui Genma naturally agreed. Mukai had helped him a lot and even saved his life. There was no reason not to protect a comrade who had fought alongside him.

Sarutobi Hiroki hesitated for a moment—he was from the Sarutobi Clan, after all.

"Don't worry. I'll explain this to the Third Hokage and the Hyūga Clan later. The secrecy is only temporary."

"Understood!"

Sarutobi Hiroki lowered his head.

Asuma had a strange look on his face.

He had thought they were talking about Shisui's Sharingan, but after watching for a while, it seemed like this was about the masked Anbu ninja instead.

"Fighting Iwagakure is such a hassle. They have too many survival techniques, making them extremely difficult to kill. It's not like Kirigakure, where you kill one with each strike."

Kyoichi rubbed his temples.

Gekko Hayate nodded in agreement and began explaining their side of the battle.

They had only managed to eliminate one squad.

Just as Kyoichi had said, Iwa-nin were incredibly difficult to deal with. They had countless defensive techniques. Their first ambush hadn't taken out the entire team, and the survivors had launched a signal flare—

If not for Sarutobi Hiroki catching them off guard with Earth Spear, they might have been delayed even longer.

In the end, they managed to take down one squad before retreating with their supplies.

Kyoichi didn't blame them.

His own situation had been full of unexpected twists as well.

The enemies under Gari's command were far stronger than expected, and Kyoichi hadn't planned to leave his position to support the others. But then, Gari had been sent to deal with Gekko Hayate's squad.

Originally, he had planned to ambush and eliminate Karu, but their cover was blown on the way.

It was clear from the quality of Iwagakure's Jōnin—their village was far stronger than Kirigakure.

Still, this battle had been a major victory.

They had taken out four Jōnin-led squads, all composed of at least Chūnin-level shinobi. These were undoubtedly elite teams.

And their own squad had taken no casualties.

This was already an outstanding achievement.

Since their mission was guerrilla warfare, not an assassination on the enemy command, any gain was a good one.

"Let's go back and rest."

...

"Sensei, are you sure such a short amount of time is enough?"

"It's enough for them to escape."

The Third Hokage nodded.

He wasn't sure what had happened over there, but he was certain Kyoichi had made his move.

Jiraiya was still worried.

After all, they were in the Land of Earth!

Iwa-nin weren't pushovers. If Kyoichi's team got surrounded, it would be dangerous.

If anything happened to Kyoichi, Tsunade would kill him!

Jiraiya paced anxiously, feeling uneasy.

Just as he was hesitating, a commotion erupted outside. He immediately ran out—and then let out a relieved sigh.

They were back...

All of them!

"Good, good, you're all back... You little punk! Do you think you're some kind of invincible warrior? What if you ran into Ōnoki or a Jinchūriki?!"

Jiraiya stormed over to Kyoichi and smacked him hard on the shoulder.

Kyoichi coughed.

"Jiraiya, if I didn't die at the hands of Iwa-nin, I might die from your beatings."

"Don't be ridiculous."

Jiraiya rolled his eyes.

Seeing Kyoichi back safe, he was relieved. Then he asked about the battle results.

Gekko Hayate and the others left to report to Sarutobi Shinnosuke. Only Kyoichi and Asuma's group remained. Kyoichi told them to rest, then entered the tent to discuss the mission.

Jiraiya listened carefully.

Then he took a sharp breath.

Damn...

This kid had been dancing on a razor's edge.

If their cover had been blown a moment earlier, they would've been surrounded by a swarm of Iwa-nin.

Only an absolute madman would attempt something like this!

Jiraiya's heart pounded. But then...

Something felt off.

Kyoichi's intel was too precise.

The way he infiltrated their ranks and immediately exploited their weaknesses—it was as if he had planned for this exact situation.

Jiraiya didn't call him out on it. He simply nodded along.

"They've reinforced the frontlines a lot. That area really wasn't patrolled much."

"That Gari was too cautious. Originally, I planned to separate him from his men and take him out, but he assigned me elsewhere. So, in the end... I could only take down two squads."

Kyoichi sighed.

Tears were shed as he killed two squads.

That was the truth.

If Gari had given him the chance, he wouldn't have settled for just two.

The Third Hokage nodded.

"This was already a significant victory. Eliminating four elite squads means fewer Konoha ninja will die."

"Exactly," Jiraiya agreed.

Seven or eight squads.

Even Jiraiya himself wouldn't have dared to mess with such a base. Kyoichi not only went in but got out alive—that was impressive.

"Iwa-nin are far tougher to kill than Kiri-nin. The Kirigakure mainly relies on the Hidden Mist Technique, Mist Body Flicker, and Water Formation Walls. Annoying, but manageable. But Iwa-nin..."

Kyoichi sighed.

Now he knew how Kiri ninja must have felt fighting him.

Tanks. Unkillable tanks.

Luckily, he had Raijin's Blade and the Executioner's Blade. Otherwise, those Earth Release defenses would have been a nightmare.

The Third Hokage sighed as well.

Iwa-nin were tricky, but there weren't many Lightning Release users in Konoha.

After discussing things further, Kyoichi left the tent.

He hadn't slept for an entire day and night.

However...

Someone was still following him.

"Kyoichi! Kyoichi!"

Jiraiya jogged up with a big grin.

Kyoichi stopped.

Jiraiya leaned in and whispered,

"Kyoichi... That intel—did you get it from Amegakure?"

Kyoichi nodded slightly.

"Are they doing okay?"

"You never went to check on them?"

Jiraiya sighed and nodded.

Kyoichi was surprised.

Jiraiya had been in the north for over half a year, mere miles away from Yahiko and the others, yet he never went to see them?

For a moment, Kyoichi didn't know what to say.

After a long silence, he finally said,

"They're doing well. Hanzo appreciates them and treats them like his own disciples."

"That's good... That's good... Sigh..."

Jiraiya sighed deeply.

He had been too busy gathering intel on Iwa and Kumo.

By the time he heard Yahiko and the others had joined Hanzo, he figured there was no need to visit them.

Still... he worried.

"Don't overthink it. Maybe they really will change the world."

Kyoichi turned away.

"If you don't need anything else, let me sleep."

"Aren't you going to eat first?"

"I'll eat after I wake up."

...

Meanwhile, in the Land of Earth...

Onoki received the intel, and for a moment, he was completely numb.

Four elite squads.

Just... gone?

And worse still, a whole batch of ninja tools, explosive tags, and ration pills had been lost—now in Konoha's hands. Eventually, those very supplies would be used against Iwagakure's own forces.

Could anything be more infuriating?

Even with his usual composure and strength, Onoki was so enraged that he started coughing violently.

"They used the Hiding in the Mist Technique. What does Kirigakure have to say about that?"

"According to them, some of their people were captured, leading to the leak of their jutsu information," Kitsuchi reported from the side.

Onoki's expression darkened.

Leaked?

Who were they trying to fool?!

Everyone knew Kirigakure's ironclad rule—if capture was inevitable, they'd eliminate their own comrades before taking their own lives. They'd never let their techniques fall into enemy hands.

For years, the other villages had barely managed to capture any Kiri ninja alive.

But now...

Against Konoha, they just happened to get caught? And conveniently had their techniques stolen?

Yeah, right.

"There's more—according to Karu's report, the wounds on Hokko and the others look like they were inflicted by a large blade. Something similar to Kirigakure's Executioner's Blade."

Kitsuchi continued his briefing.

Onoki froze.

"That's one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen's weapons, isn't it?"

"That's why it's just a suspicion for now—no solid evidence."

Kitsuchi nodded.

Onoki sat there in deep thought for a long while before suddenly sitting upright.

"Tell me, is it possible that the ones who got captured... were the Seven Ninja Swordsmen themselves?"

"The Seven Ninja Swordsmen?"

Kitsuchi was stunned by his father's speculation, but then immediately found it hard to believe.

The Seven Ninja Swordsmen...

They were Kirigakure's top-tier specialists, elite assassins groomed for years.

And from what they knew, not a single member of the Legendary Sannin had gone east—Konoha had only sent a few relatively unknown ninjas.

Could that kind of lineup really take down the Seven Ninja Swordsmen?

They'd have to be complete fools for that to happen.

Just as they were struggling to make sense of things, a messenger ran in from outside.

"Tsuchikage-sama! We've received an encrypted message from Kirigakure's Anbu."

"Give it to me!"

Onoki immediately rushed forward and grabbed the scroll.

They had spent the entire day hunting down Kirigakure's Anbu units within the Land of Earth, killing several of them in the process. Finally, they had forced Kirigakure to send over some intelligence.

He quickly unrolled the scroll, only to find a brief summary inside.

"Konoha has someone incredibly powerful. He has completely disrupted all of our strategic operations."

...And that was it.

What kind of half-assed report was this?

Onoki tore the paper into shreds, then took a deep breath before turning to Kitsuchi.

"Send a team to negotiate with Kirigakure. Find out what they want."

"Understood!"

Whoever Konoha had, they weren't following the usual patterns.

Based on Kirigakure's intel, Onoki had every reason to suspect that the Seven Ninja Swordsmen really had been wiped out by Konoha's forces.

And if that was true, then Iwagakure would have to pay the price for that information.

Otherwise...

Far more Iwa ninjas would have to die before they could figure out who this person really was.

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