I, Konoha's Sage of Life

"Oh?"

Kyoichi squinted slightly.

The missions in the Land of Rivers were already assigned to Konoha. Without an official request, any interference by Konoha at this point would be unnecessary.

From what Yahiko was saying, he came to the Land of Rivers for… voluntary work?

"We only came to the Land of Rivers to clear out the bandits here and bring peace to the area. We have no intention of attacking Konoha or competing for your missions," Konan explained.

Besides their connection with Jiraiya, the strength of Konoha itself was not something they could afford to provoke. The current Akatsuki was far too weak, and Konoha was like an insurmountable mountain to them.

"Our goal is peace. We would never start a war."

Seeing that Kyoichi didn't act immediately, Yahiko realized there was room for negotiation.

After all, Konoha had just emerged from a major war and would likely avoid sparking another conflict so soon.

If that weren't the case, the one standing before him wouldn't be Kyoichi but Konoha's powerful ANBU operatives.

Understanding this, Yahiko's demeanor grew steadier.

Kyoichi was about to speak when he sensed two chakra signatures approaching—one from the north and one from the south.

Nagato and Minato?

Kyoichi thought for a moment. The current situation was complex and beyond what he could decide alone. Minato's arrival would allow Jiraiya's disciples to handle the matter amongst themselves.

With that in mind, he unleashed a wave of chakra to pressure Yahiko and Konan, while waiting for Minato to arrive.

"Yahiko…"

Konan seemed anxious, but Yahiko shook his head lightly.

They couldn't fight. Not now. If they had to, it would only be after Nagato arrived—he was drawing closer, as Yahiko could sense.

The standoff was tense but brief.

Before long, Minato's shadow clone arrived. The sight of the situation left him momentarily stunned. He then instantly teleported to Kyoichi's side, asking in a low voice, "What's going on here?"

"Ninjas from the Hidden Rain Village. They claim they're here to eliminate bandits in the Land of Rivers. For free."

"For free?"

Minato blinked in confusion, unable to process it for a moment.

No wonder Kyoichi hadn't taken any action.

He wouldn't have known what to do either. At present, Konoha couldn't afford more trouble, but letting these people deal with the bandits would only scatter them into the Land of Fire.

A dilemma!

His mouth twitched slightly as he turned to the two figures before him. After a brief pause, he asked, "What are your names?"

"Yahiko…"

"Konan…"

"Uh…" The names sounded familiar, like he'd heard them somewhere before.

Minato frowned slightly.

Konan wanted to say something, but Yahiko stopped her.

Yahiko understood that Konan was trying to leverage their connection with Jiraiya to gain leniency. However, he also knew that Minato and Jiraiya were both Konoha shinobi.

Mentioning their connection would only make things more complicated.

Kyoichi turned his gaze north toward the forest, his blade glinting as it rotated slightly.

Nagato had arrived.

In the forest, his red hair stood out starkly.

As soon as he arrived, Nagato flung a flurry of shuriken and prepared to use Banshō Ten'in (Universal Pull), only to be blinded by a dazzling flash of light as Kyoichi's blade shone.

So bright!

Nagato instinctively turned his head to avoid it, but in that moment, the sound of rushing wind reached his ears.

Not good!

He quickly activated his sensory abilities, but Kyoichi's speed was overwhelming.

Nagato had no choice but to predict Kyoichi's attack and unleash Shinra Tensei (Almighty Push). When his vision cleared, he saw a figure stepping into his range. But…

Under the repulsive force of Shinra Tensei, the figure seemed unaffected. It gradually turned into an afterimage.

A shadow clone?

No.

Nagato leaped onto a tree. Below him, sword flashes erupted.

Mind Body Disturbance Technique!

Cold sweat beaded on Nagato's forehead.

This opponent was fast and relentless, a foe even Yahiko and Konan couldn't handle.

And yet…

Amid his amazement, Nagato's Rinnegan observed Kyoichi's speed increasing further. His eyes could barely keep up, but his body simply couldn't react in time. He hurriedly formed seals for a substitution technique—

Boom!

A heavy kick sent him flying out of the tree and into the clearing in front of Minato.

"Stop!"

"Please don't!"

Yahiko and Konan were alarmed.

Nagato's Rinnegan abilities were nearly invincible in most situations. But now, they realized even Nagato had his limits.

Speed—speed so overwhelming it defied reaction time!

The kick was powerful, but Nagato barely managed to stay standing, bracing himself for another attack.

Minato looked helpless.

As a shadow clone, he couldn't offer much help in a real fight.

Still…

Against such a formidable foe, unless they could overpower him, the tension would persist.

Nagato, tense and retreating step by step, suddenly faced Kyoichi again—now only a dozen steps away.

Nagato was stunned.

This speed…

Too fast!

Throwing another flurry of shuriken, Nagato activated Banshō Ten'in to pull them back as projectiles.

Kyoichi ignored them and swung his sword.

Minato was about to intervene when he noticed something odd. A dark aura seemed to envelop Kyoichi, protecting him from the projectiles. The shuriken fell harmlessly to the ground.

Nagato watched in shock as Kyoichi's Thunder God Sword came slashing toward him. Panicking, he activated Shinra Tensei again.

However…

With his enhanced techniques and mastery over his body, Kyoichi maneuvered effortlessly through the repulsive force. As soon as it faded, he appeared beside Nagato.

A green glow formed in his palm.

Nagato struggled to resist, but soon his eyes grew dim. His arms went limp, and his entire body collapsed, unconscious.

Defeated?

Minato's expression grew peculiar.

That technique just now—wasn't it the Mystical Palm Technique? Could it knock someone unconscious?

You learn something new every day.

"What did you do to Nagato?!" Konan yelled.

"Just the Mystical Palm Technique."

Yahiko sighed in relief. If Kyoichi had intended to kill Nagato, it would've been over in one slash, without such a complicated setup.

"He's too troublesome to deal with otherwise. I thought it'd be easier if we neutralized him first," Kyoichi explained, dragging Nagato's unconscious body to Minato.

Minato glanced at Nagato's red hair and paused, as if recalling something.

Wait…

A red-haired boy.

His teacher had mentioned this before…

Minato took a deep breath, turned to Yahiko and Konan, and said, "I remember now. You're the three kids my teacher met in the Hidden Rain Village. He told me about you."

"Uh…" Konan was at a loss for words.

They'd been recognized.

But amid her panic, she also felt a hint of warmth.

Their teacher hadn't forgotten them.

Yahiko broke the silence. "Minato-senpai, we mean no harm to Konoha. We only want to pursue our teacher's dream of peace in the surrounding regions."

"But…"

Minato hesitated. Jiraiya had placed part of his hope in these three.

While Minato personally trusted their intentions, their actions and growing influence couldn't be ignored by Konoha.

Kyoichi sheathed his sword, a faint smile on his lips.

"Mind if I share my thoughts?"

The three looked at him.

"To put it bluntly, your intentions are noble, but your methods are incredibly foolish. You aim to clear the bandits from the Land of Rivers, but their numbers are too great. You can't possibly kill them all. The rest will scatter to neighboring nations. And then what?"

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