CHAPTER 265: CHAPTER 265: A KONOHA SQUAD HAS GONE MISSING

"You weren’t saying that just now. You told us to give up the mission and even said you’d kill every last one of us!"

Obito shouted angrily.

Kyoichi glanced at him—his wind goggles had fallen off, his eyes looked normal, and there were still no signs of awakening. Perhaps he was still... just a bit short.

But...

Obito awakening his Sharingan a little later wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

People with one-track minds, once their thoughts set in and solidify, can become extremely dangerous and extreme.

Before he’s been properly guided, Kyoichi would prefer he didn’t awaken just yet.

Then...

He looked at Guy.

"This is what you meant by ’not intentional’? And as for you, little girl, drop your kunai. Otherwise..."

Before Kyoichi even finished speaking, a massive stone hand emerged beside her and slammed her into the ground.

"I’ll have to help you drop it myself."

Seeing this, Mei Terumi immediately threw her kunai and said, "Apologies, Kyoichi-sama. But this really might be a misunderstanding!"

"Whether it is or not, we’ll find out soon enough. By the way, who are these people?"

"Sensei, they’re called Gato. We accepted a mission from the village to protect this fishing village. But they were trying to seize land through intimidation, and when Guy simply said a few words, they..."

Shiranui Genma stepped forward, righteously indignant, eyes brimming with tears.

Ebisu remained silent.

He hadn’t realized before that this teammate of his actually had a talent for acting—tears on cue, lines delivered convincingly.

Everything he said sounded true, but in reality, it wasn’t quite the same as what actually happened.

Hōzuki Chikage panicked and hurriedly said, "It’s not like that! I even tried to reason with them, hoping they’d understand and back down. I didn’t want to fight!"

"Didn’t want to fight? Then what about the injuries on my team leader? Are you saying I did that to him?" Genma snapped.

"Wait! By that time, both sides had already failed to reach an agreement..."

Mei Terumi quickly jumped in.

She sensed something was wrong—Konoha seemed determined to escalate the nature of this incident, likely for some purpose.

Also...

That previously cocky Chikage-sensei was now acting like a declawed tiger in front of Kanda Kyoichi—bowing and apologizing with zero pride left.

Clearly...

Even the Hydrification Technique was meaningless in front of Kanda Kyoichi.

She was intimidated too.

"Rin, Kurenai, start treating Guy. His condition is critical. Kakashi, what about you? Weren’t you tracking the missing-nin Hiruko?"

"Kyoichi-sama, yes—we were following leads on Hiruko. But we also discovered that a border patrol squad has gone missing. Then we found that Guy’s team was under attack, so we came to assist."

"Is that so?"

Kyoichi narrowed his eyes and turned to look at Senkage and Gato’s people.

Chikage immediately shook his head. "Kyoichi-sama, Kirigakure has no knowledge of any ’Hiruko’! We have absolutely nothing to do with him!"

Mei Terumi couldn’t help twitching at the corner of her eye.

Is that what he’s worried about?

Obviously not.

Konoha didn’t care whether they knew Hiruko or not.

Her mind worked fast, and she quickly said, "Kyoichi-sama, our mission here was simply to protect Gato’s company while it set up in the Land of Waves. We’re willing to withdraw from the mission!"

"Sensei... that missing squad—we believe they may have been taken out to sea," Kakashi added urgently.

Obito stood there, completely dumbfounded. He had no idea how the situation had become so complicated. His brain couldn’t keep up with the flow of information.

As for Zabuza and Ringo Ameyuri?

They wished they could shrink into the ground and disappear, hoping Kyoichi wouldn’t remember they were the ones who just beat up Obito’s squad.

Who could’ve predicted Kyoichi would arrive so quickly?

That jutsu just now—

Was that the Flying Thunder God?

Thinking of how terrifying Minato was with it, their necks instinctively shrank.

In the face of Flying Thunder God, all "speed" was a joke.

"The sea, huh... that’s a problem."

"It’s not a problem! We of Kirigakure can assist!" Mei Terumi said quickly.

She’d caught on.

What Konoha likely wanted was assistance at sea—

That was the only explanation she could think of.

The young girl’s mind worked fast. But unfortunately, she was still just a twelve-year-old genin—not yet the sharp Fifth Mizukage she would one day become.

She couldn’t guess the deeper reasons.

Chikage was even more clueless. The moment he saw Kyoichi, his mind went blank, like a mouse facing a cat—his only instinct was to run.

The problem was...

Against the Flying Thunder God, he didn’t even dare run. His legs had gone limp, and his mind wasn’t listening to him.

Forget trying to guess what Kyoichi wanted—just maintaining composure was already a feat.

Kyoichi looked at Mei Terumi. "Can you speak for Kirigakure?"

"Yes! Yes, we can!" Chikage jumped in before she could answer.

Whether or not they actually could wasn’t important—just being asked meant there was still a chance. If Kyoichi hadn’t asked at all, that would’ve meant game over.

Mei Terumi opened her mouth, then closed it.

Sensei, you’re digging your own grave...

Can you speak for the village?

Kirigakure’s situation was strange right now. Yagura-sama, who was supposed to become the next Mizukage, had been mysteriously imprisoned upon returning home and was made the Three-Tails’ Jinchūriki.

Even the village elders probably wouldn’t dare claim they could represent Kirigakure.

But...

Forget it. He’s from the Hōzuki clan. Better he deals with it than me.

At least I’ll still be alive.

Mei thought to herself.

"Well then..."

Kyoichi paused for a moment. "According to Konoha intelligence, Hiruko possesses a forbidden jutsu that allows him to absorb other people’s kekkei genkai and make them his own. One of our squads has already fallen victim. If Kirigakure can help, it’d be most welcome."

"He can absorb kekkei genkai?"

Chikage’s heart skipped a beat.

He didn’t have a kekkei genkai himself, but that kind of enemy was undeniably dangerous. Moreover...

"There haven’t been any disappearances in Kirigakure, right?"

"Uh... well, if we had to name someone..."

Chikage paused midway, remembering the missing-nin Chūkichi.

He didn’t get along with Chūkichi.

But...

One thing was clear: Chūkichi had been extremely loyal to Kirigakure. He would never betray the village, much less defect.

Could it be...

That Chūkichi had been captured by Hiruko? After all, Chūkichi did have a kekkei genkai.

The more he thought about it, the more possible it seemed.

"Hm?"

"S-Sorry. I just remembered a missing-nin... I’m wondering if he was actually captured, rather than having defected."

"Chūkichi, right? From my multiple encounters with him, I don’t think he’d betray Kirigakure. If that’s the case, I suspect he may be hiding somewhere in the Land of Water. Perhaps we should conduct a joint search there."

Kyoichi said.

Chikage nodded vigorously.

Then he remembered something—

He probably didn’t have the authority for that.

"Kyoichi-sama, about entering the Land of Water..."

"Is that going to be a problem?"

Chikage froze.

A problem?

He glanced at Kyoichi’s face.

Friendly—so friendly he looked kinder than his own elders—but then he remembered that earlier punch, the one infused with Lightning Release chakra that nullified his Hydrification Jutsu...

Chikage shrank his neck and said, "N-No, I was just thinking—The Land of Water is huge. Searching it piece by piece would be inefficient. It’d be better if Kirigakure helped."

"Also a good idea. How about this—why don’t you take me to Kirigakure? Our villages can conduct a joint operation to search for Hiruko. There’s some disturbing intel I can’t share here."

"Of course! Absolutely!"

Chikage nodded so hard it looked like his head might fall off.

As long as he didn’t have to personally go hunt Hiruko, anything was fine. Whatever happens after getting Kyoichi into the Land of Water wasn’t his problem.

Just staying alive was the top priority.

At this point, Chikage wasn’t thinking of anything else. His one trump card—Hydrification—had been completely countered. He had no confidence left to fight.

Mei Terumi stood nearby, looking harmless and sweet. When Kyoichi glanced over, she instantly put on a fawning expression.

"Well then..."

Kyoichi turned and looked at the others. "What about the injured?"

"We’ll pay! We’ll compensate!" Chikage bowed deeply, then turned and glared at Gato, his expression once again vicious.

Gato cursed up a storm in his heart.

But...

Even he understood the situation.

If someone like Hōzuki Chikage was scared, there was no way he stood a chance...

"We’re willing to pay—this money can be considered compensation. Will that suffice?"

"Konoha doesn’t do this kind of thing."

Kyoichi shook his head.

Gato’s lips twitched. Then, thinking fast, he changed his tone and said, "Th-Then... how about I issue a formal A-rank commission to these young men? They can escort us out of the Land of Waves."

"Didn’t you have business here?"

"Uh—canceled. Canceled!"

Gato didn’t dare stay a moment longer.

He had thought the Land of Waves was a tiny, insignificant place that no one cared about. But not only did Konoha send people—this kind of monster showed up!

How could he dare lay hands on the Land of Waves now?

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