Chapter 149: The Strongest Spear? Already Saw Through It

“Helping voluntarily?” Minato looked surprised. Suddenly, something seemed to click, and a trace of realization appeared on his face. He must have figured something out. Kyoichi understood why Minato didn’t speak it aloud—probably because Orochimaru was present. But… It didn’t really matter. As long as they understood each other. At that moment, a serpent slithered over and coiled up on Orochimaru’s shoulder. In the next instant, Orochimaru narrowed his eyes slightly and glanced over at the two of them. “Since we’ve got nothing better to do, why don’t we go check in on the Kirigakure side? Looks like they’re not done yet.” “Kirigakure hasn’t left?” Kyoichi was surprised. The Iwagakure forces were already retreating, and those guys were still fighting? That’s seriously overkill. “Let’s go see…” The three moved swiftly—from the Land of Lightning to the northern coastline didn’t take long at all. Before long, they arrived at a thick bank of mist— The Kiri-nin were locked in combat with the Kumo-nin. They really hadn’t left. To be more accurate— Not all of them had left. Some had already boarded ships and were drifting out at sea, while a few ships remained docked near the coast. “Orochimaru-sama, what’s going on here?” Minato was confused. Was Kirigakure infighting? “In Kirigakure, the elders and clan factions hold significant power. If the Mizukage is in good shape, it’s manageable. But once the Mizukage is compromised, the village depends on whether those elders can unite.” Kyoichi offered a brief explanation. Clearly… Those who stayed behind were likely the ones who refused to obey Yagura’s orders. The main force of Kirigakure had already withdrawn with him. “So many clans are like this—chasing after even the tiniest gain, forgetting life and death in the process.” Orochimaru remarked with a sigh. Kirigakure’s clans were like that, but Konoha wasn’t entirely innocent either. However… What made Konoha different was the presence of clans like the Sarutobi, Nara, and Yamanaka, who formed the backbone of the village. Even if some clans were problematic, they couldn’t shake Konoha’s foundation. Kirigakure was another story. The Hōzuki clan, the Yuki clan, the Kaguya clan… Each one with its own agenda. No wonder the village was a mess. “Isn’t there any way for clans to coexist peacefully?” Minato frowned. He knew what Orochimaru was hinting at. The Uchiha! Wasn’t this whole situation just a reflection of Konoha and the Uchiha? “Of course there is. The old man—uh, my teacher—has his flaws, but compared to Danzo, he’s still more like the Second Hokage. The village hasn’t denied them opportunities. It’s up to the Uchiha to see that.” Orochimaru didn’t bother hiding anything. He called it out by name—so what? It’s not like there was an Uchiha standing right here. As for Kyoichi… He was Tsunade’s younger brother. You’d have to be crazy to think he’d side with the Uchiha. “The Police Force?” Minato caught on immediately. The Uchiha had seen their authority cut back again and again. The only real power they still clung to was the Police Force. If they gave that up… Another clan came to mind. The Hyūga clan! They didn’t hold any excessive authority, yet they were doing just fine. “The Police Force has long since become a burden to the Uchiha. It’s a hot potato—anyone who holds onto it ends up isolated.” Kyoichi said flatly. Orochimaru raised an eyebrow, intrigued. “Kyoichi-kun, how do you figure?” “The Police Force isn’t like a combat unit. Their job is to maintain law and order in the village. It’s thankless—no one praises you for doing it well, and everyone complains if you screw up. Only an idiot would treat it like a prize.” Kyoichi said with some exasperation. He believed Tobirama Senju never intended to exterminate the Uchiha. But placing them in that role? That was definitely a setup to bait out the radicals. The problem was, the Uchiha took the bait—and after all these years, not a single one thought to give it up. Even Fugaku! Orochimaru thought for a moment, then said, “I always looked at it from a power perspective. I never considered that… Their law enforcement mostly affects civilians. No wonder.” Now it made sense. The Uchiha weren’t exactly beloved by the villagers. Most civilians went out of their way to avoid them. Orochimaru thought of the Hokage election. With that kind of reputation… How could they ever hope to become Hokage? “Kyoichi, you really know your stuff.” Orochimaru couldn’t help but admire him. Minato remained silent on the side, still turning over ideas on how to resolve the Uchiha issue. But hearing all this, he began to understand. “So you’re saying… the Uchiha should abandon the Police Force?” “Of course. They’re a capable clan. Once they let go of the Police Force, someone else will take over—and sometimes the best way to show your value isn’t by doing better, but by letting someone worse screw it up.” S~eaʀᴄh the NôᴠelFirё.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Kyoichi said matter-of-factly. Orochimaru couldn’t help laughing. Exactly… Back when he worked with Danzo, the man always complained Orochimaru’s research was too slow or inefficient. But the moment Orochimaru left, Root’s entire research division fell into disarray. Minato had always been a prodigy, later becoming Jiraiya’s student, and quickly rising to Jōnin. His path had been smooth—but as a child of commoners, he still understood the village at ground level. However, he came from a civilian background, so he was still well aware of many things happening beneath the surface. The civilians really did hold a grudge against the Uchiha. The three of them were just speaking their minds in response to what they saw, so after a moment of silence, none of them pushed the topic any further. After a short while, the remaining Kiri-nin began to retreat—but by then, the Iwa-nin had already completed their withdrawal, and the main force of the Kumo-nin had turned around to strike at the Kiri instead. However… Now that they wanted to escape, how could they possibly get away? The Kumo-nin were still seething with rage. They couldn’t defeat Iwa-nin—but you Mist think you’re harder to crush? Every last Kiri-nin who remained was captured. Not a single one escaped. As for Yagura, he fled with the bulk of his forces at lightning speed, without the slightest intention of staying behind to save anyone. Kyoichi and the others just watched from the sidelines. They didn’t intervene. … “Tsuchidai-sama, it looks like there are some ninja hiding over there.” “No need to worry—they're from Konoha,” Tsuchidai replied with a shake of his head. Troy hesitated for a moment, but in the end, followed Tsuchidai’s judgment and didn’t move to investigate the presence he’d sensed. The chakra over there was complex, almost like it had been released on purpose—as if it were waiting for them to walk right into it. Since Tsuchidai had already said not to bother, he didn’t want to take the risk either. Tsushidai, of course, knew exactly who it was. Kanda Kyoichi. Namikaze Minato. Their shadow clones, most likely, had already reached Kumogakure. And the other presence… If his guess was right, it was Orochimaru. By now, their clones should have arrived at Kumogakure. Kumogakure… Kyoichi and Minato’s shadow clones had finally arrived. Along the way, they’d run into other Kumo-nin. Some had been friendly, while many were hostile and looked ready to fight—but Kyoichi resolved every encounter with “reasoned persuasion.” Take Tsuchidai, for example. “So this is Kumogakure. It’s my first time here.” “It’s incredible,” Minato murmured in awe. Unlike Konoha, many of the Kumogakure’s buildings were perched atop mountains, surrounded by swirling mists and steep cliffs—dangerous, yet beautiful and grand. No wonder it was called Kumogakure. Kyoichi fell silent for a moment before finally saying, “The environment here is certainly harsh. To have grown so strong under these conditions, the Third Raikage deserves all the credit.” “…Although your praise is satisfying, I’ll still take your life once we’re on the battlefield!” A deep voice rang out. And then— Someone leapt down from a nearby mountaintop. His body was built like a tank, bulging with muscle, and his outfit was nearly identical to the corpse they’d sealed in the scroll. The Third Raikage’s son. The current “A” of this generation. “Thanks for returning the body. Done sightseeing? Then hand over the corpse. Kumogakure isn't receiving guests right now.” A’s expression was dark. Kumogakure was still in the midst of a war, and countless matters needed attending to. They had no time to entertain two Konoha shinobi—especially not two who had, until recently, been fighting alongside Ōnoki to kill his father. Sure, they were returning the body now—but they were still enemies. There was no way he could just let that go. “We came to Kumogakure for two reasons: one, to return the body. Two, to clear up a misunderstanding… We were hired by Iwa-nin to take down the Third Raikage. Twenty million ryo.” Kyoichi directly threw Ōnoki under the bus. A fell silent… This kind of thing— Hard to say if it was true or not. He was still turning it over in his mind when Kyoichi pulled out an IOU—with black ink on white paper, bearing Ōnoki’s signature. A stared at the paper for several seconds, then looked up at Kyoichi. “Ōnoki wanted to deal with the Third Raikage. We just wanted to fight your Kumo-nin.” Kyoichi kept it simple. “And?” A frowned. Kyoichi’s words were direct and to the point—hard to argue with. But A wasn’t one for subtlety; he preferred people to be upfront. If they had a goal, he wanted them to say it outright. “…Alright. Looks like you're still pissed. But—take a look at the body.” Kyoichi lifted the seal. The Third Raikage’s corpse appeared from the scroll—charred black, lifeless, no sign of vitality. A’s fists clenched tight as he stared at it. His father… And the two men before him were among those responsible for his death! His eyes burned with hatred as he slowly said, “If you came here just to piss me off… then congratulations. You succeeded.” With the appearance of the body, the number of Kumo-nin in the area suddenly multiplied. Though they kept to the shadows, Kyoichi and Minato could sense them clearly—encircling the mountain valley, prepared for a fight. Too bad… These two were only shadow clones. Even if they were “killed,” so what? It’d be nothing more than impotent rage. “If this is all the composure the Fourth Raikage has, then your father really died in vain. I brought the body back to show you one thing.” Kyoichi raised a finger—at its tip, lightning chakra began to gather. Zzzzt— A familiar chakra flow. A recognizable Lightning Release technique… Immediately, more than a dozen ANBU appeared from the surroundings. Though masked, it was clear from their reactions—they all believed this technique bore some connection to the “Hell Stab” used by the Third Raikage. They thought Kyoichi had somehow learned it. But— How could that be? There hadn’t been enough time between the Raikage’s death and the corpse’s return. Kumo had been watching Kyoichi’s shadow clone the whole time. He never had a chance to contact any Yamanaka. Could it be… This guy knew the Yamanaka clan’s secret techniques? A couldn’t make sense of it either. His eyes locked onto Kyoichi, voice thick with anger: “Impossible! There’s no way you could’ve mastered the Hell Stab!” “The Samehada is in my possession. As long as I use it to drain the Lightning Armor’s chakra and immediately disrupt it with sealing techniques, your father wouldn’t have been able to help with the retreat.” Kyoichi said calmly, “I’m demonstrating this technique for one reason: to show you that I’d already seen through your father’s move. Killing him wasn’t as difficult as you think.” “You…” A trembled with fury—but couldn’t find a proper rebuttal. Unlike the other Kumo-nin, he knew how to judge techniques. After close observation, he realized that what Kyoichi used wasn't the Hell Stab—but the principles were undeniably similar. Still, that alone didn’t prove anything. The body was the real key. Just then, the commander of the ANBU arrived in a flicker. He examined the corpse thoroughly… then slowly stood, silent for several seconds.