I, Konoha’s Sage of Life

Chapter 117 - 117: The Kirigakure Are All Useless!

After the battle, Asuma and the others felt their tension melt away.

A squad of Jonin...

Didn't seem that hard after all!

However...

Their confidence only lasted a moment.

Kyoichi took down three, while the three of them only managed to kill one.

If there had been more enemies, they would have been in danger. In infiltration missions, expecting one-on-one fights was unrealistic.

Besides...

This time, they had the element of surprise. They made the enemy think Kyoichi was using the Dance of the Crescent Moon, but in reality, they had transformed into Kyoichi's shadow clone.

Only by this ruse could they eliminate the enemy swiftly.

Of course...

They had gone all out.

By that measure, they could handle one or two squads without much trouble.

Everyone now had a clearer understanding of their limits.

"Kogan-sama, where are we heading next?"

Asuma slipped into character quickly.

"This way..."

Kyoichi made sure all traces of the battle were erased before leading the team forward.

Normally, Kogan was supposed to be on patrol, but Kyoichi wasn't really here to work for Iwagakure. His real target was a key figure in the village—

Gari...

This guy was a master of Explosion Release and a member of Iwagakure's elite explosion corps.

If he made it to the battlefield in the Land of Grass, Konoha's defenses would be in deep trouble. The Land of Grass could be breached directly, pushing the battlefront from the Grass border to the Fire border.

According to intel, the explosion corps was just ahead.

Using his sensory abilities, Kyoichi detected two patrol squads heading toward the ambush site where he had sent Gekko Hayate and the others. He figured the frontlines might already know about the attack on their supply unit.

"We need to pick up the pace," Kyoichi urged.

He had to hurry. If he was too late, the information might reach the enemy.

"Understood!"

The group accelerated.

Their Body Flicker Technique was decent; as long as they didn't hold back on chakra, their speed increased significantly.

Before long...

Kyoichi sensed the temporary camp location that Yahiko and the others had scouted.

It was a valley surrounded by rocks, perfect for Iwagakure's ninja to either escape or set up ambushes. He probed the area for a while but couldn't confirm whether there were enemies hidden among the rocks.

No choice...

He had to take the risk. Worst case...

He could unleash an Earth Flow River, hit them with an AOE attack, and then retreat.

Ambush and assassination missions were inherently high-risk. Besides, they had a fallback plan—

If Gekko Hayate and his team succeeded, Iwagakure's patrols wouldn't be rushing in that direction.

"Let's go!"

Kyoichi charged forward.

The Iwagakure ninja noticed them quickly, and the formation in the camp subtly shifted.

Clearly...

They were still on guard.

"Kogan, why are you back?"

The lead ninja had a distinctive hairstyle—though not as eye-catching as Sakura's dad, still a clear indicator of his identity.

Gari!

The explosion corps's captain.

Kyoichi didn't flinch. He stepped forward and shouted, "Sir, we encountered a team of Konoha's Anbu. I suspect Konoha may have sent reinforcements, so I came to report."

"Konoha's Anbu?"

Gari was shocked.

This was within the Land of Earth. How had Konoha's Anbu infiltrated this far?

He was alarmed, but still cautious. "Where did you encounter the enemy?"

"Three kilometers ahead. I believe they infiltrated from the border between the Land of Grass and the Land of Rain. It seems there's a gap in our patrols."

Kyoichi mixed truth with lies, remaining utterly calm.

Behind him, Shisui and the others saw their teacher as steady as a mountain, and none of them showed any panic.

"Come over here..."

Gari's vigilance eased.

However...

Kyoichi's report still left him deeply troubled.

A gap in patrols...

If there was a gap, it could only have occurred during a patrol handover. Otherwise, there was no way for the enemy to slip through.

Kyoichi moved closer.

When he got close enough, he sensed faint chakra signatures within the rocks.

A rough estimate: at least seven or eight squads.

Clearly...

There were many hidden Iwagakure ninja here, and they were no pushovers. If a fight broke out, Kyoichi himself wouldn't mind, but Asuma and the others might not make it out.

Kyoichi remained calm.

As long as he wasn't exposed, all he had to do was wait—

Wait for the frontline information to arrive!

Gari continued, "Tell me exactly what happened."

"Yes!"

Kyoichi bowed his head and explained, "We were going to switch posts when we sensed an ambush. Though I countered and injured the enemy, it turned out Konoha had learned the Hidden Mist Technique!"

"What?"

Gari was stunned for a moment.

Hidden Mist Technique?

Wasn't that Kirigakure's signature jutsu? How had Konoha's ninja learned it?

"Kogan, are you sure you didn't mistake it? How could Konoha's shinobi use the Hidden Mist Technique?"

An Iwagakure ninja questioned him.

It was the real deal—

Mogura...

"No mistake. It was definitely the Hidden Mist Technique, and their swordsmanship seemed to be the Dance of the Crescent Moon."

Kyoichi continued.

He wasn't lying—they had indeed used the Hidden Mist Technique and the Dance of the Crescent Moon. He had only tweaked the outcome slightly.

"The Dance of the Crescent Moon... That must be the Gekko clan from Konoha. Their clan specializes in that swordsmanship. Now they've even learned the Hidden Mist Technique... This is bad. The Kirigakure are all useless!"

Gari's composure crumbled.

He paced back and forth, then said, "Konoha's eastern reinforcements have arrived. The frontlines are in trouble. Mogura, take your team..."

He was about to send Mogura to deliver intel when a hidden Iwagakure ninja appeared and said, "Gari-sama, I've detected our patrol squad ahead."

"What?"

Gari was taken aback and immediately looked forward.

Sure enough...

Soon, a Chunin came running over.

Kyoichi remained calm, taking a step back with his group as Gari approached.

"Gari-sama, bad news! Our supply unit was attacked. The enemy used the Hidden Mist Technique to cover their tracks. We couldn't catch up, and all the ninja tools, explosive tags, and food pills were stolen!"

"Damn it! It's not just one Konoha squad!"

Gari was furious. He was fully convinced now—Konoha's Anbu squads had infiltrated the Land of Earth, and there was more than one team.

More importantly...

These squads might all know the Hidden Mist Technique.

Internally, he cursed.

Those fools in the Kirigakure. Nobody expected them to do real damage to Konoha, but at the very least, they were supposed to tie down some of Konoha's forces!

And yet...

No Uchiha in sight, but everyone else had shown up here—and they'd even learned the Hidden Mist Technique.

Useless!

He took a deep breath. "Mogura, Oishi, Kogan, take your squads to the frontlines. Deliver the intel and monitor the surroundings to prevent further infiltration by Konoha's Anbu."

"Yes!"

"Fuma, you take your squad to the main camp and report the situation."

"Yes!"

Kyoichi was resigned.

Unexpected developments always happened.

He had hoped to stay close, to get a chance to approach Gari or for Gari to lead a support team—either way, he'd have an opportunity. Instead, none of that happened, and he was sent away.

Luckily, he hadn't revealed any critical information.

The Hidden Mist Technique...

When the supply squad was ambushed, it was bound to be exposed anyway. It wasn't vital intel.

As for Konoha's reinforcements and troop movements, they couldn't be hidden for long.

He followed Mogura's team, heading to the frontlines.

Good things never come easy.

At the very least, this operation had confirmed Gari's location, and there was even a chance to eliminate these two squads. That was already quite an achievement.

He pressed forward.

After running some distance, as they approached the target area, Kyoichi suddenly felt a sense of danger. In the next instant, his skin turned pitch black, and his hands rapidly formed seals.

A Earth-Style: Mud Wall shot up, isolating the squad behind him.

Mogura's blade struck Kyoichi's body, but it didn't make a dent—it couldn't penetrate any further.

Mogura quickly pulled back.

A loud explosion followed from behind.

The earth wall had been shattered by enemy ninjutsu, and beneath Shisui and the others, sharp stone spikes erupted from the ground. However, the three had already used Substitution Jutsu, repositioning to a safer spot.

Kyoichi sighed.

They'd been exposed.

These two were too familiar with the Firelight squad. It was likely that someone in their team had revealed a flaw through some small detail on the road.

He and Shisui's group stepped out of the combat zone, facing off against the enemy.

"You know, if you hadn't realized, you might've lived a bit longer."

"You're from Konoha, aren't you? I knew something was wrong with those three chunin. It seems Kogan and the others are already dead."

Mogura gripped his blade, his face grim.

"Mogura-sama..."

"Fire the signal flare."

"Understood!"

Kyoichi had to admit, the Iwa-nin were highly trained. Instead of exposing him immediately, Mogura and Oishi had opted to try and ambush them.

Had he not reacted quickly enough, Shisui and the others might have suffered a serious sneak attack.

However...

Did they really think they'd get to launch that signal flare?

Kyoichi's eyes narrowed.

In the next instant...

His aura shifted. With a flick of his fingers, countless paper scraps flew out, forming a paper shield that covered the sky.

The signal flare shot up, only to be blocked by the paper shield.

Then...

Amid the vibrant flare light, a few paper tags closed in on Mogura's squad.

"Watch out!"

Boom!

A violent explosion erupted.

Explosive tags!

However...

The Earth-Style barrier managed to block the blast.

Meanwhile, Oishi's squad charged toward Shisui and his group.

Kyoichi glanced over but didn't immediately assist—he wasn't their babysitter. They had to learn to handle such situations on their own.

As for Mogura's team...

Kyoichi smirked. His hands formed seals, and the ground beneath quickly turned to a muddy swamp. Frost spread from under his feet, and within less than a second, the swamp froze into permafrost.

After the explosion, the earth-style defenses collapsed.

Mogura and his team found themselves stuck in the swamp. Worse yet, the frost had solidified the ground, making it far more difficult for them to escape using Earth-Style techniques.

And then...

"Aah!"

A blood-curdling scream rang out.

One of the four ninjas let out a harrowing cry—

An ice spike from beneath the ground had pierced through his body.

He was the only one on the team who hadn't mastered Earth Spear Jutsu.

Mogura panicked.

While the others managed to use the Earth Spear technique to barely fend off the ice spikes, they needed to break free of the frozen ground. Otherwise, they'd be nothing but fish on a chopping block.

He pushed his chakra output to the limit.

However...

Just then, the sword came—

A blade crackling with lightning energy pierced through his Earth Spear and ran straight through his neck.

As for the remaining two...

Frost had already spread over their bodies. They struggled desperately, but with a third of their bodies frozen in the ground, they simply couldn't muster the strength to break free.

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