At the border of the Land of Water, on a remote isnd in the sea.

  Yagura stepped ashore, visibly exhausted.

  "Sir, how did it go?"

  "That idiot Chikage got captured. We o move quickly with the phase of our pn. Also, keep a for a young silver-haired swordsman, around fifteen or sixteen years old, profit in Water Release ah Release. He's dangerous."

  Yagura's voice was cold.

  "They had someone using Lightning Release?" A swordsman with two bdes frowned.

  This was Hozuki Masu, one of thr seven swordsman.

  "No…"

  "Impossible! Without Lightning Release, and in an enviro like that near a river, even if he ran into a Hyuga, he should've been able to escape! There's no way he was captured alive!"

  Hozuki Masu refused to believe it.

  "It must have been his on… or maybe that ninja does have Lightning Release."

  Yagura frowned. He had been too far away at the time to see clearly.

  After he briefly described what happened, Hozuki Masu's face darkened, and he fell silent.

  "That fool!"

  He cursed, his mood sour.

  From the description…

  That young ninja was no joke.

  Not only did he detect Chikage in his liquefied state, but he also immediately devised a termeasure, usih Release to isote the river from its surroundings.

  On top of that…

  He could absorb chakra, use sealing teiques, and his bde was so fast that even someone like Chikage couldn't rea time. Among the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, only a few could reach that level of speed.

  Who the hell was this guy?

  Arrogant as Hozuki Masu was, he didn't dare uimate him.

  "Also, his summoned creature looked a lot like the one used by Konoha's Tsunade."

  Yagura dug through his memory and recalled another key detail.

  "A slug? Then he must be reted to Tsunade."

  Hozuki Masu's expression grew serious before twisting into a cruel grin. "I heard Tsunade has already lost two of her retives. How about we finish the job and take this o too?"

  "You mean the missing Senju members? Maybe. If that's the case, could he be the leader of Konoha's eastern front?"

  Yagura was more ed about this possibility. "We o firm that first. Until then, we hold bad see how the other two vilges move."

  Hozuki Masu grinned. "The him live a little lohe Seven Ninja Swordsme all assembled yet. Once we gather, we'll cut him down together!"

  Yagura nodded, a smirk f at the er of his lips.

  It seemed…

  Chikage’s capture might not be such a bad thing after all.

  ---

  Land of Fire, Nagano Mountain.

  Might Guy, with his endless stamina and speed, had bee ahead to report and rally reinforts. Meanwhile, Kyoichi and Shirakumo Hayama stayed with the others, ensuring their safety.

  After all, with the Hozuki volved, any pear water on the eastern front of the Land of Fire was unsafe—uhey were within Konoha's camp.

  The camp was guarded by the Hyuga . While the Hozuki could evade normal sensory teiques, they couldn't hide their chakra from the Byakugan.

  So…

  When Kyoichi spotted the patrol squad at the mountain’s base, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

  "Kurenai, you lead the others up the mountain. Katsuyu will stay with you. Hayama and I will go ahead."

  Kyoichi turo Yūhi Kurenai.

  She was a in.

  With Kyoichi and Hayama gone, she had the highest rank, makihe natural leader.

  The others all nodded.

  "Move!"

  Kyoichi's speed surged.

  In the blink of an eye, he and Hayama, carrying the sealed Hozuki Chikage, dashed up the mountain.

  The Konoha camp was built far from any water sources.

  Clearly…

  Konoha had been wary of the Hozuki , choosing this location to prevent any water-based sneak attacks.

  "Kyoichi-sama, Hayama-sama!"

  A squad of elite in guarding the camp saluted them immediately. One of them poioward the a. "The Jōnin stationed here are waiting inside."

  "Uood. Thanks."

  Kyoichi carried Hozuki Chikage inside.

  There were only five Jōnin ient, but Kyoichi had met most of them before while teag them the Breathing Activation Teique. The most familiar face was Gekko Kazahana. The highest-ranking among them, however, was Yamanaka Inoichi.

  "Inoichi-senpai, I didn’t expect to see you here."

  Kyoichi greeted him quickly.

  "o be so formal. You’re the ander of this front. The Third Hokage seo assist with intelligehering."

  Yamanaka Inoichi smiled warmly.

  He was still young, far more handsome than in the anime.

  Kyoichi uood immediately.

  Inoichi was the head of Konoha’s intelligence division. A skilled shinobi, highly respected. If the Third Hokage had sent him here, it was clearly to support Kyoichi.

  Perfect.

  "Then this is great. We caught a Hozuki member."

  "Oh? You actually mao kill a Hozuki?"

  Inoichi was surprised.

  The Hozuki ’s Hydrification Teique made them immuo ventional attacks, and their ability to evade sensory dete had always been a headache for Konoha. That’s why so many Hyuga had been deployed to this front.

  But now…

  Kyoichi set down his captive. Inoichi checked and was utterly shocked.

  He was still alive!

  "You captured him alive?"

  Now Inoichi was truly in disbelief.

  Killing a Hozuki wasn’t impossible.

  If they were found, there were ways to deal with them. But capturing one alive? That was a whole different challenge.

  Examining Chikage more closely, Inoichi saw his body covered in sealing marks—Four Symbols Seal, high-level sealing teiques.

  Good lord…

  This kid even knows sealing jutsu?

  A ninja’s time and energy were limited. Mastering just one or two areas was difficult enough.

  But Kanda Kyoichi?

  Kenjutsu, Taijutsu, Water Release, Earth Release, Genjutsu, Mediinjutsu…

  Now he had sealing teiques too?

  Was there anything he didn’t excel at?

  Inoichi was floored.

  "Ahem. How I did it? Well… I just caught him. With everyone's help, it wasn't too difficult."

  Kyoichi kept it vague.

  What was he supposed to say? That he trapped him with Earth Release, then cut him down irike?

  Nothing much to expin.

  Inoichi was stunned for a moment but quickly regained his posure. He said seriously, "If he’s alive, that’s eveer. We’ll summon the sealio secure him, then I’ll extract the intelligence from his mind."

  "Be careful of suicide attempts," Kyoichi warned.

  "Haha, don’t worry. This is my specialty."

  Inoichi chuckled.

  In terms of bat, he admitted he wasn’t on Kyoichi’s level. But when it came to extrag information, if he cimed to be sed in Konoha, no one would dare cim first.

  Without wasting time, he immediately led a team to secure Hozuki Chikage.

  ---

  The Hozuki was a major family in Kirigakure.

  Every single one of them carried critical intelligen their minds.

  Konoha had never before captured a living Hozuki. Now that they had ohey wouldn’t waste the opportunity.

  As Inoichi left, the tent fell into silence.

  Shirakumo Hayama was still processing everything that had happened. Meanwhile, the others…

  Were pletely stunned.

  They had witnessed Kyoichi's strength before wheaught them the Breathing Activation Teique, so they never uimated him—the you Jōnin and ander of Konoha's eastern front.

  But even so, they hadn’t expected him to capture such a high-profile target so soon.

  A member of the Hozuki .

  This might just be the first time in history that a Hozuki had ever been captured alive.

  Gcell