That entire day, Kyoichi didn't see Jiraiya. He wasn't sure how the man was doing—only that a section of the wall at Minato's house had suddenly collapsed.
All he could do was wish Jiraiya the best and hope he hadn't actually been beaten into the hospital.
But honestly...
That guy brought it upon himself. Not exactly sympathy-worthy.
Kyoichi picked up the stack of documents on his desk.
Currently, most of the ANBU affairs were handled by Gekkō Hayate, while squad operations were managed by Kohinata Mukai. So...
There were only a handful of matters that required Kyoichi's attention, which Hayate made a habit of setting aside each morning for him to review conveniently.
Nothing too urgent today.
Mostly reports concerning Sunagakure and Amegakure.
Recently, they'd begun clearing out mountainous regions in an attempt to divert Amegakure's moisture to the arid Land of Wind, combining it with water veins from the Land of Rivers and the Land of Birds to irrigate a portion of northeastern Land of Wind.
However...
The scale of the project was massive. The consumption of materials and soldier provisions like military ration pills was astronomical—far beyond what the Land of Wind could financially sustain.
So Konoha had taken the entire order.
The mass-produced version of their ration pills had 70% the efficacy of standard ones—both in performance and price.
After testing them out, the Land of Wind quickly requested more. And not just them—the Land of Lightning followed suit, their orders rising rapidly and beginning to replace their own production entirely.
However...
According to ANBU intel, Chiyo was now researching Konoha's military ration pills.
Kyoichi glanced through the report, then smiled faintly.
Seventy percent efficacy brought seventy percent of the benefits.
While they couldn't match the full potency of standard pills, in most missions, ninja didn't actually need full-strength recovery. This level of effect, for that price, was just right.
Chiyo might rack her brain trying to figure out how Konoha reduced both cost and effect...
But she'd never guess: the raw materials were cultivated using Wood Release.
Even more so, she'd never realize that the actual cost per pill in Konoha... was only 40% of the normal version.
Even standard pills were now being produced at 80% of the cost seen in other nations.
Kyoichi set the file aside. The other ninja villages appeared to be strengthening, but in truth, their rate of improvement couldn't compare to Konoha's rapid advancements.
Of course...
Would he even be able to implement all this without sufficient funding?
The integration of the Ninja Academy and the research institute were money-hungry ventures. Without support from merchant caravans, their entire operation would rely on the whims of the feudal lord.
And nobility... were often shortsighted.
Kyoichi didn't place much hope in them.
The next few files detailed recent movements in the eastern Land of Water—mostly the same intel Jiraiya had reported—except for one extra detail:
A ninja suspected to be Chūkichi of Kirigakure had secretly infiltrated the eastern front.
Based on his trajectory—
He was heading straight for Konoha.
Kyoichi activated a trigger to notify Gekkō Hayate, and not long after—
"Kyoichi-sama."
"Owl, this is yesterday's intel, right? Has today's update not arrived yet?"
Kyoichi frowned.
Normally, intel like this should be updated every few hours. But he'd only seen the report from yesterday afternoon about Chūkichi's landing—nothing since. That was odd and didn't fit ANBU's usual discipline.
Hayate replied, "Under normal circumstances, the intel scroll would've arrived this morning, but I haven't received anything new yet."
"Send someone to check—see if something went wrong. Is Mukai currently deployed to the northeast?"
"Yes…"
"I'll head out myself and see what's going on."
Kyoichi didn't leave it to others.
Aside from his sensory skills, Chūkichi was no pushover—easily a jōnin-level threat.
Konoha's ANBU squads were strong enough to deal with him, sure, but whether they had captured him or not, the total radio silence was alarming.
He suspected something had gone wrong.
"Oh right, Kyoichi-sama, the feudal lord also wishes for your presence."
"Got it..."
…
Northeastern Coastline.
Mukai was currently shadowing a merchant caravan.
This convoy was smuggling weapons out of the Land of Iron, bound for the Land of Water.
"Captain, should we follow them?"
"Too risky on the water. They've got ninja escorting them. Forget it—we're heading back."
Mukai shook his head.
His current subordinates were relatively new to the ANBU. Strong, yes, but lacking in coordination and experience. Chasing them over open waters would be foolish.
Just as they were preparing to retreat, Mukai sensed a ripple in the space around them.
Flying Thunder God?
He immediately stepped back.
His team didn't understand—but in the next second, Kyoichi appeared before them.
"Kyoichi-sama…"
"There's a critical situation. I need all of you to come with me—I'll explain on the way."
He didn't waste time.
Whatever had happened, losing contact with an ANBU team was serious business and had to be verified personally.
He didn't believe Chūkichi alone had the power—or the guts—to pull this off.
Mukai didn't hesitate. He followed immediately.
The rest of the squad trailed close behind.
As they moved, Kyoichi gave them a quick rundown of the situation. The team's expressions turned grim—timely intel and regular contact were vital for ANBU. A delay like this meant one of two things: either the team had been attacked, or their messenger ninja had been taken out.
Either way…
It was a major issue.
Mukai activated his Byakugan to scan the surroundings for ambushes, while a Yamanaka teammate began using their clan technique to attempt remote contact.
But—
"Nothing, sir," the Yamanaka said.
"I'll go first—follow me."
As soon as Kyoichi spoke, his figure vanished.
The others looked up just in time to see a blur of motion high in the treetops… and then he was gone.
"Move!"
The four quickened their pace.
But even as they pushed themselves, they couldn't keep up. Soon, not even Mukai's Byakugan could catch sight of Kyoichi.
Luckily, he'd left a Flying Thunder God mark behind. Even if they lost track, they could follow his trail.
From the northeastern border to the last known location wasn't far. Kyoichi quickly arrived at the ANBU team's assigned post.
No one was there.
They'd taken care not to leave obvious signs, but Kyoichi extended his chakra sense, probing the area—and quickly caught a faint chakra signature.
He sped toward it.
It was weak—but unmistakable.
The closer he got, the clearer the trail became, along with the faint scent of blood.
Just as he feared.
This wasn't good.
He reached the scene—it had clearly been swept clean, but the smell of blood still lingered. One person was still alive.
Kyoichi used Earth Release to uncover them and immediately began healing.
An Aburame clan member.
He'd apparently survived using his clan's secret techniques.
The man slowly regained consciousness.
"K-Kyoichi-sama…"
"What happened?"
"We... were ambushed. That Kirigakure ninja was taken! In the end... he went east. The last of my insects died over there."
He spoke with difficulty, clearly exhausted.
"Rest now."
Kyoichi patted his shoulder and shot off in that direction.
From what the man said, they had indeed clashed with Chūkichi. But whether they had captured him—or if someone else had intervened—he couldn't say.
The injuries were too severe. Kyoichi had stabilized him, but it was impressive he could talk at all.
He sprinted through the forest.
When he reached the coast, the trail—footprints, chakra, everything—disappeared.
But...
He kept going—straight across the sea.
They'd wiped out an ANBU squad and expected to just slip away?
He dashed across the waves.
Eventually, he sensed two chakra signatures—one weak and chaotic, clearly wounded; the other strong and stable.
Kirigakure?
Didn't seem like it...
He closed in rapidly—soon spotting a small boat.
But it was already abandoned.
Still...
Trying to escape on open seas?
Ahead, a small island.
The figure stopped there, holding Chūkichi, and turned to face him.
"So, you're the famous Senju Kyoichi of Konoha—moving that fast across open waters, you're the only one it could be."
"You know," Kyoichi said coolly, "I thought you were just stupid. But now I see—you're not just stupid, you're deaf too. Can't even hear names right... Missing-nin Hiroku, your name's on the ANBU kill list. Looks like today I get to cross it off."
***************************
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