Chapter 125: If They’d Done This Sooner, Would Kusagakure Have Betrayed?

"Tsk, the gains weren’t much!" Jiraiya sighed. "Our losses were minimal—that alone makes it worth it." Kyohiko chuckled. In this battle, they had thrown all their elites into the fight from the very beginning. While the enemy had many jōnin and chūnin, they lacked truly top-tier shinobi. Figures like Ōnoki and Kitsuchi were nowhere to be seen. After the battle, they tallied the results—almost none of their own had died. Most injuries were accidental, and the worst were just explosive wounds with no life-threatening danger. In comparison, Iwagakure’s losses were far heavier. Faced with elite speed-type shinobi wielding Lightning Release, the rock village’s forces simply had no good countermeasures. "That’s true too." Jiraiya nodded with a smile. Their losses really were minor. Besides... He couldn’t help but glance at Minato. "Didn’t expect you to secretly learn Kakashi’s techniques." Minato grinned but didn’t explain. Instead, Kakashi spoke up. "It wasn’t stealing—we exchanged knowledge. The captain also taught me a lot about body flicker techniques and Rasengan refinements." "Only by improving together can the team—and the village—grow stronger." As he said this, Kakashi looked toward Kyohiko. This was Kyohiko’s philosophy. A single person’s strength could only do so much. By sharing and refining techniques, they could maximize the benefits of their developments. Take the Rasengan and the Eight Gates, for example. Though they couldn’t openly share every jutsu, hoarding knowledge was definitely wrong. Hearing Kakashi defend Minato, Jiraiya paused before gently ruffling his hair, his voice softening. "I know. I was just joking." He couldn’t help but reflect inwardly— A little over two years ago, when he first met Kakashi, the boy had been a withdrawn chūnin, isolated by the stigma of his father’s death. But now, he had matured into a shinobi who understood teamwork, cooperation, and acceptance. Yet... The bitter irony was that he, the so-called "teacher," had played almost no role in this growth. It was Kyohiko’s mediation and influence that had pulled Kakashi out of his darkness. Jiraiya sighed quietly. "Let’s rest." "I’ll go help with the treatments—at least I can handle basic injuries." --- Back at their outpost near the Land of Earth’s border... Ōnoki leaned against the wall, carefully reviewing the intelligence reports. Iwagakure had spies in the Land of Wind and the Land of Rivers, but not every piece of intel could be gathered in detail. Many ANBU operatives might miss critical clues hidden within. He scrutinized every scroll. After a long silence, Ōnoki’s expression darkened. "Father, what’s the verdict?" Kitsuchi asked cautiously. The old man shot him a sidelong glance. "Can’t you use your brain and figure it out yourself?" Kitsuchi chuckled sheepishly. He wasn’t good at reading between the lines—at best, he could only listen and act as a blunt instrument. This was precisely why Ōnoki found him so lacking. In many ways, the fact that Ōnoki was still the Third Tsuchikage had much to do with the village’s lack of worthy successors. He exhaled wearily. "Kitsuchi, you... never mind. Just read this one." Ōnoki tossed him a scroll. Kitsuchi read it several times before scratching his head. "Orochimaru’s handiwork?" "If Orochimaru were there, would the Third Kazekage have charged in like that? Besides, the Third’s Magnet Release allowed flight—with that alone, Konoha couldn’t have stopped him from escaping." Ōnoki understood the advantages of flight all too well. Take himself, for example. If he couldn’t fly, facing Konoha’s encirclement would have done far worse than just throwing out his back. "Konoha found a way to counter Magnet Release?" Kitsuchi quickly grasped the key point. When it came to jutsu and combat, without all the convoluted schemes, he could usually keep up. Ōnoki nodded. That was his assumption as well. Konoha had used the Third Kazekage’s pride in his Magnet Release to lure him into a trap, leading to his death at the border of the Land of Fire. How eerily familiar. Ōnoki frowned. "Whoever designed the Third Kazekage’s downfall must be the same person now targeting us!" "Then it probably isn’t Orochimaru." Kitsuchi replied without hesitation. Ōnoki blinked, turning to him. "Why?" "If he left, who would clean up Sunagakure’s mess? The Third Kazekage died, but not every shinobi in the village did. They couldn’t just abandon the front, right?" Kitsuchi answered as if it were obvious. Ōnoki was momentarily speechless. The logic was simple, but it made sense. He couldn’t argue. "So Orochimaru really isn’t here, meaning someone else orchestrated the Third Kazekage’s demise." Ōnoki clutched his back as he carefully sat down. After a long silence, he began connecting events and individuals in his mind. The incidents in the Land of Grass. The war in the Land of Wind. And now, their own ambush. The common thread wasn’t Orochimaru or Jiraiya—it was Minato’s squad. According to intel, their team had been involved in all of it. "Namikaze Minato?" Ōnoki set the scroll aside, deep in thought. He had met Minato once before—when the man had delivered a corpse to their doorstep. Strong, sharp, and unyielding. Then, he cursed under his breath. "Even Jiraiya, that thick-browed fool, managed to raise such a cunning student!" --- "Jiraiya, you didn’t even tell me about this ambush?" Mūi’s tone was icy. "Don’t misunderstand, Mūi. It was a spur-of-the-moment decision—that’s why we acted so suddenly." Jiraiya explained. Then, with a grin, he added, "The results weren’t bad either. Ōnoki took a Rasengan straight on—who knows how injured he is now—and we took out dozens of their jōnin and chūnin." "War... I never thought you’d be the one to initiate it." Mūi remarked. Based on his understanding of Jiraiya, the man was more like Sarutobi Hiruzen—preferring stability and peace. Until now, Jiraiya’s actions had aligned with that perception. But today... It had been a genuine surprise. Jiraiya smirked. "It’s all strategy!" No one ever suspects the straightforward ones. Mūi shook his head. "Strategy?" "Jiraiya, I’ve dealt with you all for years. That excuse might fool yourself, but not me." "Someone reminded me." Jiraiya knew he couldn’t hide it. In the past, Mūi had overseen the Blood Prison, frequently interacting with shinobi from various nations. Though not exactly friends, they knew each other well. "The outcome of seeking peace through compromise? My teacher already walked that path. And what happened? Even Asano Yū thought he could just jump in and oppose Konoha!" Jiraiya’s gaze turned cold. Though Mūi was Kusagakure’s leader, he had to admit Jiraiya had a point. The war faction in Kusagakure had believed that, given Sarutobi Hiruzen’s temperament, even if their collaboration with Iwagakure failed, a simple apology would make the Hokage welcome them back. It was like having a guaranteed fallback plan. A risk-free bet—why wouldn’t they take it? But who could’ve predicted Konoha’s sudden shift in leadership, changing everything? "Besides, the sooner we resolve this, the sooner we can withdraw from the Land of Grass. No need to keep disrupting your mission operations." Jiraiya finished with a lighthearted tone. Mūi nodded. "Thank you. I understand what you mean." After leaving the Konoha shinobi encampment and returning to the village, Mūi was immediately surrounded by inquiring elders and jōnin. They were all desperate to understand Konoha’s stance. Konoha truly wasn’t the same anymore! "Rest assured, Jiraiya initiated the attack to resolve matters quickly so our village can return to normal operations." Mūi scanned the crowd, forcing a smile. "No need to worry. Everyone, go train." One by one, they sighed in relief and dispersed. Mūi exhaled quietly. Had Konoha acted like this sooner, Kusagakure probably wouldn’t have had so many fools willing to follow Asano Yū to their doom. But now... Reviving Kusagakure would be even more difficult. --- After assisting the medical team in treating numerous internal injuries, Kyohiko lay down to rest and recover his energy, casually checking his system. [Under your leadership and planning, Konoha demonstrated its strength, inflicting dozens of times the enemy’s losses at minimal cost, effectively intimidating Kusagakure’s shinobi.] [Reward: Water Release: Wild Water Wave proficiency increase.] The notification had appeared earlier. But at the time, Kyohiko had been too busy retreating and assessing their own casualties to check the reward. "Wild Water Waves..." One more level, and it would reach "Master" rank. Kyohiko absorbed the memories, carefully examining the details. Master rank... At this level, Wild Water Waves could achieve highly concentrated water flow. Building upon Water Release and high-pressure techniques, it could now incorporate other chakra natures for additional elemental effects. For example— Infusing it with Wind Release could make the waves faster and sharper. This was the foundation for Water Release: Water Severing Wave. To master Water Severing Wave, Wild Water Waves had to be fully mastered first. However, Kyohiko had limited knowledge of Wind Release techniques, so this version of Wild Water Waves wasn’t very effective—far from Water Severing Wave’s level. The primary variation was another approach— Transforming the water into a special, viscous liquid while maintaining high compression, all while preserving Lightning Release’s potent effects. The principle was simple. Sugar water was thicker, allowing it to deform and adhere strongly. This was the same logic behind Starch Syrup Capturing Field. Kyohiko had previously attempted to research this but hadn’t achieved the desired results. Now, the "Master" rank Wild Water Waves integrated both concepts. "Let’s try it." He formed hand seals and spat out a thin, peculiar stream of water. Splat! The high-speed jet adhered to a tree trunk, instantly coating it. Kyohiko frowned slightly. Same as before—not quite what he’d envisioned. Maybe the method was wrong! He hadn’t blended in Lightning Release’s nature transformation this time. After a moment’s thought, he tried again with more chakra, thickening the liquid further. This time, the water almost resembled a whip, with high-frequency vibrating Lightning chakra coursing along its sticky length. Then— Crack! The watery lash struck the tree, leaving a deep gash. Not bad power. Kyohiko’s eyes lit up, and he continued experimenting, increasing the intensity. Three times, four times... After over a dozen attempts, he gradually grasped the technique. One final spit— The viscous liquid, charged with condensed, vibrating Lightning chakra, lashed out and struck a distant tree. Simultaneously, the highly compressed chakra exploded using principles borrowed from the Strong Fist technique. Even Kyohiko had needed multiple tries to master this approach. Snap! With a sharp crack, the tree split, its upper half toppling over. Kyohiko nodded in satisfaction. Good! Unfortunately, this simple fusion was still far from Storm Release’s level. Even with all these refinements, it was merely a reasonably powerful technique. Still— Against flying enemies, this seemed far more practical than standard water techniques. Especially since— The only difference between regular Wild Water Waves and this syrup version was a single hand seal. Even one-handed seals could alter its properties. However— His display had attracted a nearby squad. Inuzuka Tsume and Akimichi Chōza studied the scene before turning to Kyohiko. "Testing a new jutsu?" They didn’t interact with Kyohiko often, but through their former teammate Minato, they knew he was an exceptionally brilliant genius. His mastery of Wood Release spoke for itself. Observing the sticky residue on the tree, they wondered— A new technique? They relaxed slightly. "Just be mindful of safety and the surroundings." "Right, I’ll clean up." Kyohiko nodded. He then walked over and dissolved the sugary residue with chakra. The two nodded and continued their patrol, but as they walked, they exchanged thoughts. "Chōza, did you catch that?" "Looked like Water Release, but I’m not entirely sure." Akimichi Chōza replied. Inuzuka Tsume agreed. "A unique Water Release—thick and sticky. I suspect Kyohiko might be tailoring it specifically to counter Ōnoki?" "Possibly." Chōza nodded. Then, he couldn’t help but remark, "Kyohiko’s style is so different from Jiraiya-sama’s. At first, I thought he might be reckless, but after today, I realize he’s not rash—just... how should I put it?" "Methodical?" Another teammate suggested. "Exactly!" The four continued whispering as they walked. They kept their voices low, but Kyohiko’s sharp hearing caught snippets even from a distance. Once the patrol was fully out of earshot, he smiled faintly. Thorough preparation was a given. Charging in blindly without proper planning was no different from suicide. Still— He was glad they didn’t perceive him as reckless. As he prepared to resume his experiments— Yuhi Kurenai leaned against a nearby tree, amused. "How does it feel hearing people praise you?" "How did you know I was listening?" Kyohiko chuckled. Kurenai smirked. "Because you didn’t even notice I’d arrived." She then appeared beside him. After a moment’s observation, she sighed. "Kyohiko, do you know what I admire most about you?" "Definitely not my talent." He replied. Kurenai shook her head. "Even though you’re already incredibly strong, you never tire of improving. Your drive seems endless." "That’s because I can still see room to grow. If I ever reach a plateau, my mindset might change." Kyohiko mused. Kurenai shook her head— She couldn’t fathom that perspective. For her, simply mastering her current skills consumed most of her time. "By the way, I came to ask if you’d review this outline before I submit it to Tsunade-sensei." "Since you know medical ninjutsu too, I thought..."