Seeing Kimimaro standing in front of him, Hoshiyomi grinned and gently ruffled the boy's white hair.
"Let's go. Leave this cage behind."
Kimimaro obediently nodded and quietly moved to Haku's side.
Haku grabbed Kimimaro's hand, then held onto Hoshiyomi's sleeve together with him. He turned his head back and said mysteriously:
"Watch carefully—something amazing is about to happen."
Hearing that, Kimimaro instantly remembered how the two of them had turned invisible before, and a hint of anticipation flickered in his eyes.
As Hoshiyomi activated his Transparent Escape, Kimimaro's skin gradually became transparent.
Seeing his own skin fade as if it were disappearing, Kimimaro's lips curled up slightly. It was the first time he had ever seen something this magical.
Lord Hoshiyomi was right—
If he stayed in that dungeon, he would never find the meaning of his life.
From now on, he must see the outside world, and search for his own purpose!
The stone door of the dungeon opened soundlessly.
Not a single Kaguya clansman noticed that their "meat shield" and "weapon" had quietly vanished.
Hoshiyomi swaggered out of the Kaguya compound with Haku and Kimimaro.
When he dispelled the Transparent Escape, Kimimaro couldn't help but gasp at the sight of the outside world.
All these years—
it was the first time he had ever left the Kaguya grounds, ever stepped out of that dark dungeon.
So this was what the outside world looked like—
so beautiful.
Hoshiyomi had originally planned to simply leave with the two boys, but he suddenly sensed two unique chakras rapidly approaching. That piqued his interest.
He raised a hand, gesturing for the two kids to stay quiet, then slipped with them into a nearby bush.
The moment he entered the brush, he activated Sage Mode.
In Kimimaro's shocked gaze, Hoshiyomi's senses sharpened dramatically.
In just an instant, he identified the owners of the chakras.
Such pure Water Release chakra could only belong to members of the Hōzuki clan.
But weren't the Hōzuki and Kaguya clans supposed to dislike each other?
Why were they sending people here now?
Not long after, they heard voices approaching:
"Have you figured out what to say?"
"What's there to think about? Those idiots from the Kaguya clan—
just tell them we're preparing for a decisive battle with the conservatives.
They'll start hollering and agree without thinking."
"Exactly. Those brainless fools won't think too much about it.
They've been occupying so many territories of the smaller kekkei genkai clans lately—they're definitely feeling inflated.
The moment we say the word, they'll agree."
"Of course. After swaggering around for so long, the Kaguya clan will finally be wiped out tomorrow night."
Hearing that, Hoshiyomi's eyes widened.
So he had stumbled upon a major piece of intelligence.
The Militant faction was indeed planning to launch a second rebellion.
But from the sounds of it, things were far more complicated.
It sounded like these two—or rather, the clan behind them—planned to push the Kaguya out as sacrificial pawns…
But why?
Even if the Kaguya charged into the conservative faction on their own, the result would still be death.
The outcome wouldn't change much.
And no matter how brainless the Kaguya clan was, they were still one of the two main pillars of the Militant faction.
Sacrificing them would be like cutting off the Militants' own arm.
As the two men were about to step into Kaguya territory, Hoshiyomi considered following them to eavesdrop further—but ultimately decided against it.
Hoshiyomi could basically guess what would happen next. Even if he stayed here longer, he probably wouldn't get any more useful information.
The two men he overheard were indeed from the Hōzuki clan, but judging from their chakra levels, they clearly weren't high-ranking.
Interrogating them would be pointless—
it would be far more productive to return and analyze the situation with Sakumo and the others.
Realizing this, Hoshiyomi didn't intend to stay any longer.
He turned to the two confused boys and said:
"Let's go. We're heading back."
...
After returning to their base and just finishing a meal, the Konoha members began coming back one after another.
Seeing Hoshiyomi leave with one kid in the morning and return with two kids at night, everyone felt speechless.
Jiraiya slung an arm around Hoshiyomi's shoulders and teased:
"Good grief, so you came to Kirigakure to become a child trafficker?
How did I never notice you had this hobby?"
Haku immediately stepped forward in protest:
"It's not like that at all! Lord Hoshiyomi is the kindest person I've ever met! We discovered that Kimimaro had been locked in a dungeon by his own clan, so we rescued him!
Kimimaro agreed to come on his own—it's not kidnapping!
Isn't that right, Kimimaro?"
Kimimaro wasn't as naturally friendly and gentle as Haku.
Although he had just escaped the dungeon and was curious about everything outside, his wariness was still extremely high.
Seeing so many strangers in the room, his entire body tensed up.
If not for the fact that none of them seemed hostile toward Hoshiyomi or Haku, he might have already attacked.
Hearing Haku's words, Kimimaro simply said:
"Lord Hoshiyomi and Haku are good people."
Jiraiya curled his lip at Kimimaro's stiff demeanor:
"Tch, another un-cute brat."
He reached out, intending to flick Kimimaro on the forehead.
But Kimimaro, being the combat prodigy he was, would never let that happen. He tilted his head to dodge, and with a flick of his wrist, a bone blade instantly formed in his hand, slashing toward Jiraiya's throat.
The movement was so clean and fast that even a typical adult chunin might not be able to avoid it.
But in front of Jiraiya, it still wasn't enough.
Jiraiya's large hand twisted in the air with surprising flexibility, slipping past the bone blade as he casually stepped back.
Then he gave Hoshiyomi a thumbs-up:
"Not bad at all—you even brought out the genius brat from the Kaguya clan."
Hoshiyomi called out to Kimimaro, signaling him to stop attacking, then finally spoke:
"I'll explain Kimimaro's situation when we have time.
But today, I discovered something major in the Kaguya clan."
He proceeded to recount everything he overheard earlier.
The relaxed expressions on everyone's faces instantly froze.
The Militant faction was going to launch a rebellion tomorrow night.
Something that serious—decided in such a ridiculously sloppy way?
But thinking of the Kaguya clan's reputation, it made sense that they would jump headfirst into any reckless plan dangled in front of them.
While everyone was still digesting the absurdity of it all, Sakumo was the first to speak:
"But this still doesn't make sense.
Not to mention why the Militant faction would suddenly make such a decision—
I spent the entire day observing the Momochi clan, and I didn't hear a single hint of such a plan!"