"Offering help of his own accord?"
Minato was surprised.
Suddenly, as if realizing something, a trace of understanding appeared on his face.
He had likely figured it out.
Kyōichi knew Minato didn't say it out loud probably because Orochimaru was present—but…
It wasn't a big deal.
As long as they understood each other, it was enough.
At that moment, a snake slithered up and coiled around Orochimaru.
In the next instant, Orochimaru narrowed his eyes and turned to look at them.
"Since we've got nothing better to do, why don't we go check out Kirigakure's side? Looks like things still aren't settled there."
"Kirigakure hasn't retreated?"
Kyōichi was surprised.
The Iwa-nin were already preparing to flee, but the Mist-nin were still fighting?
That was insane.
"Let's go see."
The three of them were fast—traveling from this part of the Land of Lightning to the northern region didn't take much time.
And sure enough, not long after—
They saw a heavy fog rolling over the battlefield.
Kirigakure's shinobi were still fighting against the Kumo-nin. They really hadn't left yet.
To be more precise—
Not all of them.
Some had already boarded ships and were drifting away across the sea, but several vessels still remained behind.
"Orochimaru-sama, what's going on here?"
Minato couldn't make sense of it.
Was there infighting in Kirigakure?
"In Kirigakure, the elders and clan powers hold considerable influence. If the Mizukage is functioning normally, it's manageable—but the moment something happens to the Mizukage, whether the village can remain stable depends entirely on whether those elders can unite."
Kyōichi offered an explanation.
Clearly—
The ones still here were likely those who refused to follow Yagura's orders, while the bulk of Kirigakure's forces had already withdrawn under Yagura's command.
"A lot of clans are like that. At the sight of a little personal gain, they forget about the bigger picture—even matters of life and death."
Orochimaru commented thoughtfully.
Kirigakure's clans were like this—so were some in Konoha.
However—
Konoha had the Sarutobi, Nara, and Yamanaka clans forming its foundation. Even if a few families acted out, they couldn't shake the village's core.
Kirigakure was different.
The Hōzuki, Yuki, Kaguya clans…
Each had their own agenda.
It was a miracle the village wasn't in constant chaos.
"Isn't there any way for clans to live in harmony?"
Minato frowned.
He understood what Orochimaru was hinting at—
The Uchiha!
The current situation mirrored Konoha's issues with the Uchiha.
"Of course there is. The old man—mm, my sensei—though problematic in some ways, was still more like the Nidaime than Danzō ever was. They weren't denied chances. It's just a matter of when the Uchiha will realize it."
Orochimaru didn't bother hiding anything.
He named names outright—so what?
It's not like there were any Uchiha around here anyway.
As for Kyōichi…
He was Tsunade's younger brother. He'd have to be insane to side with the Uchiha.
"The Police Force?"
Minato caught on quickly.
The Uchiha's powers had been cut again and again. The only thing they still clung to was the Police Force—and if they lost control of that…
Another clan came to his mind.
The Hyūga!
They had no excess authority, and yet they were doing just fine.
"The Police Force has long been a burden to the Uchiha. It's a hot potato—whoever holds onto it gets isolated."
Kyōichi spoke.
Orochimaru raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "Kyōichi-kun, what do you mean by that?"
"The Police Force isn't like the shinobi corps. Their job is to protect village order and maintain internal peace. It's a thankless work—do it well and no one praises you, screw up even a little and everyone resents you. Only a fool would treat that job like some precious treasure."
Kyōichi was beyond exasperated.
He believed that Tobirama Senju never intended to exterminate the Uchiha—but assigning them that role was a calculated trap, meant to draw out the radicals.
And yet the Uchiha had clung to the position for decades, never once trying to throw it off.
Not even Fugaku.
Orochimaru pondered this for a moment, then said, "I always viewed it as a power issue—never thought of it from that angle… Their policing affects civilians the most. No wonder."
A moment of clarity struck him.
The Uchiha's reputation among civilians wasn't great—most avoided them on sight.
He thought of the Hokage election.
With a reputation like that…
How could they possibly become Hokage?
"Kyōichi really knows his stuff in this area."
Orochimaru was impressed.
Minato remained silent, still turning over ideas in his head about how to resolve the Uchiha problem. But hearing this helped things click into place.
"So you're saying… the Uchiha should just give up the Police Force?"
"Of course. They're a highly capable clan. Give it up—let someone else run it. Sometimes the best way to show your own competence… is to let someone else do worse."
Kyōichi said that with a shrug.
Orochimaru couldn't help but laugh at that.
So true.
When he worked for Danzō, the man constantly complained about slow progress and sloppy results. But the moment Orochimaru left, Root's entire research division collapsed into disarray.
Minato had always been a prodigy—he became a jōnin quickly, then Jiraiya's student, and things had gone pretty smoothly for him.
But he came from a civilian background, so he understood the deeper issues.
And civilians really did hold grudges against the Uchiha.
The three didn't say much more—just silently reflected on what they'd seen.
Soon after, the remaining Kirigakure ninja began retreating.
But by then, the Iwa-nin had already fully withdrawn, and the Kumo forces turned around to attack the Mist-nin instead.
And at that point—
It was already too late to run.
The Kumo-nin were furious.
They hadn't been able to beat the Iwa-nin—but Mist-nin?
No problem.
The Mist-nin were wiped out, not a single one escaped. Meanwhile, Yagura had already fled with the main force, showing no intention of coming back to save them.
Kyōichi and the others merely observed. They didn't interfere.
…
"Tsuchidai-sama, it seems there are shinobi lurking over there."
"Ignore them—they're from Konoha."
Tsuchidai shook his head.
The Iwa-nin hesitated for a moment, but eventually followed orders and didn't investigate the sensed presence.
The chakra there felt unusual—intentionally released, almost like a baited trap. Since Tsuchidai said to leave it alone, Troy didn't want to take any chances.
Tsuchidai knew exactly who it was.
Kanda Kyōichi, Namikaze Minato.
Their shadow clones, most likely already en route to Kumogakure. And the other one…
Probably Orochimaru.
Judging by the timing, those two clones should've arrived in Kumogakure by now.
Kumogakure.
Kyōichi and Minato's shadow clones had finally arrived.
They ran into several Kumo-nin on the way—some were civil, but most were hostile and looked ready to fight. Kyōichi "reasoned" with them all—successfully.
Like with Tsuchidai.
"So this is Kumogakure… I've never been here before."
"It's incredible…"
Minato whispered in awe.
Unlike Konoha, many of Kumogakure's buildings were perched on mountains, surrounded by clouds and mist. It was dangerous, yet beautiful—and awe-inspiring.
No wonder it was called "Kumogakure"
Kyōichi was silent for a moment, then said, "The environment here is harsh. That Kumogakure managed to grow this powerful under such conditions—Sandaime Raikage deserves a lot of credit."
"Even though your praise is pleasing to hear… I'll still kill you the moment we hit the battlefield!"
A deep voice rang out.
A figure leapt down from the mountains nearby.
Muscular, massive—he looked just like the corpse they had sealed in the scroll.
Sandaime Raikage's son—
This generation's A.
"Thanks for returning the body. You've seen what you came to see, right? Hand it over. Kumogakure isn't accepting guests right now."
A's expression was grim.
Kumogakure was still in crisis—no time to entertain Konoha shinobi. More importantly—
These two had just helped Ōnoki kill his father.
Sure, they brought the body back, but that didn't erase the blood on their hands. Forgiveness wasn't so easy.
"We came here for two reasons—one, to return the body. Two, to clear up the misunderstanding… This time, we were hired by the Iwa-nin. Two million ryo to take down the Sandaime Raikage."
Kyōichi immediately sold Ōnoki out.
A fell silent.
Something like that…
Hard to prove true or false.
He was still mulling it over when Kyōichi pulled out an IOU—with Ōnoki's name clearly written on it.
A stared at it for several seconds—then looked back up.
"Ōnoki wanted to take down the Sandaime Raikage. We only wanted to deal with your Kumo forces."
Kyōichi kept it simple.
"And?"
A frowned.
He didn't like beating around the bush. If Kyōichi had something to say—he wanted it straight.
"Fine. Clearly you're angry. But first—take a look at the body."
Kyōichi released the seal.
The Sandaime Raikage's corpse appeared on the scroll—burnt black, lifeless.
A clenched his fists.
His father…
And the two men before him were part of the group that had killed him.
Hatred surged in his eyes. "If you came here just to piss me off—congrats. You succeeded."
As the body appeared, more Kumo shinobi emerged.
Though they remained hidden, Kyōichi and Minato could clearly sense them—surrounding the valley, ready to attack.
Too bad.
They were just shadow clones.
Kill them—and what?
Just pointless rage.
"If the Yondaime Raikage has this little composure, then your father truly died in vain. I brought the body back so you could understand one thing."
Kyōichi raised his hand, fingers crackling with lightning.
Zzzzt—
That chakra—
That lightning technique…
More than a dozen Kumo ANBU appeared instantly.
They surrounded Kyōichi.
All masked, but it was obvious they believed he had somehow learned the One-Finger Nukite—Sandaime Raikage's signature jutsu.
But—
It hadn't even been that long.
From the moment Sandaime died to now, they had tracked Kyōichi's clone the entire time. There was no chance he had accessed any Yamanaka technique to extract knowledge.
Unless…
He already knew it?
A stared hard at Kyōichi, fury in his voice. "Impossible! How could you have mastered the One-Finger Nukite?!"
"Samehada's in my hands. With it, I drained the chakra from the Lightning Release Armour—then used sealing jutsu to disrupt his chakra flow. Your father never had a chance to help you retreat."
Kyōichi said flatly. "I'm showing you this technique to prove one thing—I already saw through your father's jutsu. Killing him… wasn't that hard."
"You—"
A was furious—but had no argument.
He knew more than most.
After carefully examining the technique, he realized it wasn't the One-Finger Nukite—but the principle behind it was strikingly similar.
Still not enough proof.
But the body—
That was what mattered.
The ANBU captain of Kumogakure flash-stepped forward.
He inspected the corpse.
Then slowly stood up.
For several long seconds, he said nothing.