In Konan's eyes, this man named Koeda Kyoichi—she couldn't tell whether he was being overly humble, or overly confident. A sensory range of three kilometers, and he still claimed he had "a long way to go"? How were all those sensory ninja who couldn't even reach three kilometers supposed to feel about that?
She herself had been born in a small village in the Land of Rain—a place long since destroyed.
Yet, by a twist of fate, she, Yahiko, and Nagato had followed none other than one of Konoha's Sannin, Jiraiya, training under him for three full years. Thanks to his teaching, her perspective was by no means narrow. She knew very well: among sensory ninja, a range of three kilometers was already a remarkable standard.
Even so, she offered no comment.
In the end, whether something was "impressive" or not depended on each person's standards of judgment. Evaluating from one's own perspective was only natural. She merely muttered a silent complaint in her heart, then shifted her focus to the battle that was about to erupt.
"Kyoichi, what do you intend to do? Should we call for reinforcements?"
Konan asked.
"Mai, go tell the clan head we have incoming enemies. Have him make preparations," Kyoichi rose to his feet and issued his command. Then he added, "But reinforcements aren't necessary. All the clan leader needs to do is guard the people. Here… leave this to me."
"Yes, sir!"
Koeda Mai answered loudly.
The thirteen-year-old girl held not the slightest doubt in Kyoichi's strength.
For the sake of steadying the clan's morale, Dazen had been loudly spreading tales of Kyoichi's glorious feats: how he had faced Konoha's Yellow Flash and survived, even capturing the Yellow Flash's student alive; how he had confronted the Third Tsuchikage head-on, blocking the only Kekkei Tōta in the shinobi world—Dust Release.
Exaggerated as they might be, these tales were repeated again and again.
What's more, Mai herself had witnessed firsthand: Kyoichi, relying on his own power alone, had crushed a pursuing Iwa-nin ANBU squad, nearly annihilating them to the last man. Only one had escaped—every other ANBU became a wandering soul beneath his hand.
All of this had turned the girl into Kyoichi's fervent devotee.
"Seven shinobi… that isn't a standard formation."
Konan's gaze lingered briefly on Mai's retreating figure, then returned to Kyoichi as she cautioned: "This Iwa-nin unit may not be so easy to deal with." One careless mistake, and they could well stumble into disaster.
"I know."
Kyoichi's hand moved to the Eye of God hanging at his waist, fingers gently brushing across its surface. "Among them is one who once fled in defeat at my hands. If they've dared to return, then they must be stronger than last time. But as the saying goes—a soldier you've not seen in three days deserves fresh eyes. I haven't been standing still these past days. If they think I'm the same as before… then I'll give them quite the surprise."
"Besides, it's not as though I can command the clan head. Saying there's no need for reinforcements is only my personal opinion. The final decision rests with him. If I don't deliver swift victory, reinforcements will surely come. But truth be told… I don't think they'll even get the chance to set out."
As he finished, a confident smile curved across his lips.
Daily progress brings daily strength.
From the moment he obtained the Eye of God, he had grown ceaselessly stronger—stronger today than yesterday, stronger tomorrow than today. Even while fleeing with the clan, not once had he allowed himself a moment of idleness. His true body marched alongside his people, but he always split off a shadow clone to study, to delve deeper into the mysteries of Earth Release.
It had to be said:
The Shadow Clone Technique created by the Second Hokage was truly a divine art. Not only invaluable for infiltration and deadly missions, but as a tool for training, its uses were endless.
"…If I fight alongside you, our odds of victory should rise, shouldn't they?"
After a pause of silence, Konan looked at the utterly confident Kyoichi and asked.
"Of course."
Kyoichi nodded.
Alone, he already had faith he could clash with the Iwa-nin. If Konan lent her strength, their chances of victory would only soar higher.
"Then… here's to a successful partnership."
Konan said solemnly.
"Victory will be ours."
Kyoichi replied.
Then—
His hands blurred through hand seals.
"Earth Release: Earth Clone Jutsu!"
He exhaled, and from his mouth poured a mass of refined earth chakra, taking the form of wet clay. In an instant it stretched and reshaped, becoming his own likeness. One after another, five identical Earth Clones stood beside him.
The next moment, each clone performed the Secret Art: Camouflage Concealment Jutsu—vanishing from sight.
"…!"
Konan's pupils shrank sharply.
Such a refined concealment technique—without being a sensory ninja herself, she had no way at all of tracking the clones' positions.
"Now then… we wait for our prey to walk into the snare."
Arms folded across his chest, Kyoichi stood on the ridge, gazing northward at the jagged, rain-worn boulders looming in the mist.
---
"Target is two kilometers away."
"…One point five kilometers… wait. Multiple signatures. The target has split—likely using a solid clone technique."
Amid the drizzling rain, the Iwa-nin advanced swiftly, straw raincoats over their armor, wide-brimmed bamboo hats upon their heads.
Every so often, they halted—taking cover behind boulders, waiting for their sensory ninja's report.
"Clones… so they've already detected us?"
Hearing the report, Akaishi raised his brows, then glanced at Itagai: "You were right. Either this Koeda Kyoichi has mastered a sensory technique, or they've received aid from some hidden village or organization."
The masked Slate said nothing.
He knew well—this was not a time when Akaishi-sama needed his agreement.
Sure enough—
"Since we've been exposed, there's no more need to sneak around. We charge straight in and crush these traitors who dared betray our village—with our fists!!" Akaishi roared, eyes brimming with killing intent.
And with that, he hurled himself forward, leading the charge.
"Yes, Akaishi-sama!"
Behind him, three jōnin and three tokubetsu jōnin—including Slate—answered in unison.
Indeed—
In this squad, the weakest were still tokubetsu jōnin. Not counting Slate, Akaishi alone had three other jōnin at his command. Counting Slate, that made four jōnin in total. And this was no ordinary squad.
With the Tsuchikage Ōnoki's explicit approval, Akaishi had handpicked them from across different departments and units of Iwagakure—carefully selected based on the Koeda Clan's dossier.
This was a new, specialized unit, formed for one sole purpose:
To hunt down and annihilate the Koeda Clan.