"Thud!!"
The ground in the forest suddenly collapsed, startling a gray rabbit gnawing on grass nearby, which bolted away in fright.
The next second—
Kyoichi poked his head out from the sunken hole.
Looking left and right,
he made sure the surroundings posed no immediate threat. Only then did he clamber out of the ground in a thoroughly disheveled state. The first thing he did was form hand seals to summon two shadow clones to guard his flanks. Then he slumped to the ground with a heavy sigh, greedily gulping in the fresh air.
Underground…
was just too damn cramped!
"Sage Mode… tch! I let my guard down! I was so focused on guarding against the Flying Thunder God Technique, I completely forgot about Sage Mode!"
Now that his breathing had calmed, Kyoichi finally had the clarity to reflect on his botched operation.
He'd gone as far as to capture Rin Nohara alive—such a valuable piece on the board—
only to have Minato Namikaze snatch victory away at the last second.
Truly...
it was the kind of loss that made one grit their teeth in frustration.
But,
thinking about it more calmly...
That was the Yellow Flash, after all.
The man who defeated the Kumo's new-gen A-B combo, who struck fear into the hearts of Iwa shinobi singlehandedly…
To come out alive after facing such a legendary figure—maybe there was no need to feel too bitter about this setback.
Besides,
to be honest,
while he did remember Minato using Sage Mode in his past life's memories, that only happened during the Fourth Great Ninja War. And to be fair, the fame of the Flying Thunder God Technique was so overwhelming that it naturally overshadowed everything else…
So really,
today's failure wasn't entirely due to his own carelessness.
"Regret is the most useless emotion. What matters now is figuring out the next step."
Kyoichi muttered to himself, using that as a way to sort through the tangle of thoughts in his mind.
Right—
First, he needed to deal with the wound on his left shoulder.
The dull stinging pain served as a reminder that the earlier Sage Art: Rasengan not only shattered his Earth Spear defense, but also left him injured.
Poof!
One of the shadow clones dispersed.
Immediately, an image of the wound surfaced in his mind in vivid detail—a clean, circular purplish-red bruise. It didn't seem too serious. Though he wasn't exactly versed in medical knowledge—in fact, when it came to medical ninjutsu, he was completely clueless.
But as a seasoned jonin, a battle-hardened combat expert,
he could at least confirm: none of his bones were broken.
And if the bones were fine, it probably wasn't anything serious… That was a conclusion born from years of field experience. Still, even if it wasn't serious, applying medicine was essential—faster recovery meant better preparation for the battles that could break out at any moment.
Ointment for bruises was as essential to a shinobi as soldier pills.
With the help of his remaining shadow clone,
the ointment was evenly applied to the bruise. A cool sensation spread through the skin, easing the tide-like waves of pain crashing into his brain.
Once the treatment was done,
Kyoichi reached up and touched the back of his neck.
There—
was a jutsu marking that looked like some kind of arcane sigil or ghost script.
"Flying Thunder God…"
Kyoichi lowered his gaze and closed his eyes in thought for a few seconds before deciding to leave the mark alone for now.
This thing… didn't pose an immediate threat. He didn't believe Minato would recklessly teleport behind him to finish the job, risking stepping into a potential trap.
Besides, another reason was—he didn't really have a good way to get rid of it at the moment.
So for now,
he'd just have to let the jutsu mark stay.
"Next… I still need to keep an eye on Kakashi and the others... Their objective should be the Kannabi Bridge. Even after what happened today, a mission is a mission. It's unlikely they'd give up just because of one setback…"
His voice murmured quietly through the forest.
At last, Kyoichi began to fully concentrate on what needed to be done next.
From what he could gather from memory and the current situation,
as long as Minato and his students split up as originally planned... there might still be a chance to act. His fight with Minato hadn't been entirely fruitless, after all.
At the very least,
that battle gave Kyoichi a much clearer understanding of his own strength.
If Minato was out of the picture,
handling Kakashi and the other two shouldn't be too difficult. Kakashi might be tricky, but Rin—being a medical ninja—and Obito—whose talents had yet to bloom—weren't exactly tough opponents.
Today's failed negotiation
was likely due in large part to bad timing.
The war between Konoha and Iwa was at its fiercest. Minato, as a top-tier combatant, had major responsibilities. No matter how much he cared for his students, it was hard to imagine him abandoning his duties just to go rescue some strangers from Iwagakure.
But if it were a different time...
Maybe… the odds wouldn't be so low.
Perhaps—
He could destroy the Kannabi Bridge himself?
Yes—
Kyoichi still hadn't given up on that seemingly absurd idea. The truth was, the Flying Thunder God Technique was the only thing he could think of that might allow the rescue of the over two hundred captured clan members. Other than that… there just weren't any viable options.
"Let's give it a shot."
After a long, serious contemplation, Kyoichi decided that blowing up the Kannabi Bridge might actually be the right move.
Just offering up Magari's loyalty likely wasn't enough to earn Minato's trust.
So—
He'd throw in the Kannabi Bridge as a second offering.
After all, even without his interference, the Kannabi Bridge was doomed to destruction eventually. Better he use it now as down payment to hire the Yellow Flash than let Minato and his disciples use it to pad their record.
Of course—
To guard against the possibility of Minato taking the payment and then backing out…
He'd still need a few safeguards.
"I didn't make it back in time from recon with Magari… Knowing Enkō's temperament, he's definitely going to come looking with Dani. Nine times out of ten, they'll follow the same scouting route Magari and I took. And if Kakashi and his group are heading for the Kannabi Bridge…"
That meant—
If everything went as expected—
Enkō and Dani were likely to run into Kakashi's group.
And if those two parties met… there was no way they'd just ignore each other and pass by. Once contact was made, a fight would be unavoidable, because their missions were diametrically opposed—one to protect the Kannabi Bridge, the other to destroy it.
To complete their respective missions—
they'd have no choice but to fight to the bitter end. To kill, if necessary.