I, Konoha’s Sage of Life

Kyoichi wasted no time. His figure flickered, and two shadow clones appeared.

Immediately—

The clones formed hand seals in unison, casting Water Dragon Bullet.

Boom!

Two massive water dragons surged into the air, crashing down in the center of the enemy formation. The Kirigakure shinobi braced themselves for impact, but as the mist thickened, their vision became even more obscured.

However—

Instead of helping them—

“Ah!”

Three or four agonized screams rang out.

A Kirigakure shinobi, his face emotionless, drew a kunai and lunged at a position within the mist. But the next moment, confusion flickered in his eyes—

Something was wrong.

Yet—

There was no time to think.

Because—

A blade emerged from the mist.

Iaido Slash!

A clean, simple strike. No unnecessary flourish.

Because Yamanaka Inoichi had already delivered the target’s head to him.

Kyoichi was once again reminded of how terrifying the Yamanaka Clan’s techniques could be.

On the battlefield, it was practically cheating.

After all, who would expect that the trusted comrade standing beside them could suddenly turn and drive a blade through their heart?

The Kirigakure shinobi were completely unprepared.

As the mist slowly dissipated, Hayama Shirakumo and Hayate Gekko had already eliminated the remaining Chunin and regrouped with Kyoichi.

Kyoichi signaled.

Hayama Shirakumo nodded and vanished with Body Flicker, while Kyoichi quickly formed hand seals.

Moments later—

The seawater ahead began to churn, forming a massive vortex that swallowed everything nearby.

This was a small technique he had developed while studying Hard Whirlpool Water Blade and High-Pressure Water Release Rasengan. It wasn’t particularly destructive, but it was perfect for erasing evidence.

He left behind a shadow clone to maintain the vortex while his real body vanished—

Even though his speed was fast, it wasn’t on the level of Flying Thunder God. If he waited until the enemy arrived, escaping cleanly would be much harder.

It wasn’t that he couldn’t escape—

But it would leave behind clues.

About ten seconds after he departed, Kirigakure reinforcements arrived. They took one look at the scene and froze in shock.

Four elite squads made up of Jonin and Chunin—

Wiped out?

Even if they were cutting vegetables, it would still take a few minutes!

How was this possible?!

And—

The battlefield was in complete disarray, with corpses scattered everywhere, many of them mangled beyond recognition. Clearly, the enemy had thoroughly cleaned up the scene.

That was the most infuriating part!

They hadn’t just killed their people—

They had taken the time to clean up afterward, as if they didn’t even consider Kirigakure’s reinforcements a threat.

And yet—

They had arrived too late.

Hoshigaki Kisame’s mind went blank as he surveyed the scene, momentarily speechless.

“What… what do we do now?”

A nervous shinobi swallowed hard—

Only to get smacked across the face.

Smack!

Kisame’s expression twisted in frustration.

“What do we do? We report back, idiot!”

His face darkened.

He wanted to give chase—

But after scanning the area, he found no useful clues. He couldn’t even determine how many enemies there had been.

And—

These were elite squads!

For them to be wiped out so quickly, the enemy’s strength had to be overwhelming. If he recklessly pursued, he might just be offering himself up as another casualty.

So—

He decided to wait.

Wait for Yagura to arrive and let him deal with this headache.

After all—

That guy was gunning for the Fourth Mizukage seat, wasn’t he?

---

After some time, Yagura arrived at the scene. Taking in the devastation, he exhaled deeply, suppressing his anger. Then he asked,

“Kisame-san, when you arrived, did you sense any chakra signatures?”

“There was one—just a shadow clone. It seemed to be left behind to destroy evidence, so I couldn’t confirm the enemy’s numbers.”

Kisame replied.

Yagura believed him. After his initial fury passed, he calmed down and analyzed the scene.

Surveying the carnage, he said, “Gather as many bodies as possible. Even if we can’t recover everything, we might still find some useful clues.”

“Yes!”

In truth, they had already started, but—

The results weren’t promising.

Kyoichi’s final vortex had been too effective.

That technique wasn’t meant for direct combat, but for erasing traces, it was unparalleled. The water blades within the vortex had shredded the bodies, tearing many of them beyond recognition.

Looking for clues?

Impossible. The only thing they could identify were some blade wounds, but there was no way to analyze the attack patterns.

Yagura scanned the battlefield, then closed his eyes, deep in thought.

In his mind, he pictured that silver-haired shinobi.

Fast. Ruthless.

The same techniques!

“I don’t know how many there were, but that ninja from the other day was definitely involved. And based on some of the wounds, there may have been another who specializes in Wind Release swordsmanship—these cuts are deep, showing clear wind-natured chakra flow.”

His expression darkened.

“We need to find out who this person is. If we don’t, our future operations will be severely disrupted.”

“Easier said than done…”

Kisame shook his head.

Before, he might have simply send the Seven Swordsmen to assassinate the target.

But now…

The enemy had already proven capable of annihilating four elite squads in moments.

And if they were the same shinobi who captured Hozuki chikage alive—

Then they were fast. Very fast.

Once an infiltrator was discovered, they wouldn’t even have the chance to retreat.

“Of course, we won’t look here. We’ll have our assassination squads infiltrate the Land of Fire and investigate any young Jonin from Konoha who have made a name for themselves recently. Additionally, we’ll exchange intel with Iwagakure and Kumogakure.”

Yagura’s thoughts became clearer.

He examined the battlefield once more, a frown appearing on his face.

The enemy had risked exposure… just to eliminate a few squads?

Something didn’t add up.

After some consideration, he suddenly realized—

The island!

His original plan had been to discreetly move large, cumbersome equipment to a new base while setting up traps for Konoha’s forces.

But instead of attacking the island—

The enemy had struck his transport teams.

“Not good! Send reinforcements to the other fleet! Their real target is our supply lines—if they find our new base, we’re in trouble.”

His expression turned grim.

He had been careless.

Yagura clenched his fists in frustration.

He hadn’t expected Konoha to ignore their forward bases and go straight for their supply lines.

Now, they had only intercepted one fleet—

But along the route, there was still another ship carrying vital supplies.

If it was discovered, their entire operation would be compromised.

Without hesitation, Yagura used Body Flicker to rush toward the second transport.

And to be fair—

His instincts were spot on.

Because—

That was exactly what Kyoichi was aiming for.

And he had two former ANBU operatives in his squad.

Hayama Shirakumo and Hayate Gekko had traveled all across the ninja world. The ocean was no exception.

“Even though we can break apart reefs with jutsu, most ships still follow predictable routes. If we track their path, we might just find their new base.”

Hayama Shirakumo explained.

"Are We Taking Them All Out Again?"

Yamanaka Inoichi pondered the question.

They had wiped out everyone on the previous ship, leaving no survivors and no traces, but the cost had been significant—chakra consumption was high. Even after replenishing some stamina with military rations pills, the mental exhaustion remained.

Especially for him.

The Yamanaka Clan relied on mental prowess, and right now, his fatigue meant a significant drop in his abilities.

"We can't be too greedy this time. Just sink the ship."

Kyoichi chuckled.

The vortex technique he used earlier had given him some inspiration.

More importantly—finding the enemy’s new base and striking at it.

It didn’t take long…

They found the second transport ship.

"I'll send a clone this time. We'll bypass them and head straight for their base."

Kyoichi had no intention of lingering.

A shadow clone slipped into the water, suppressing its chakra signature as it swam beneath the ship.

The Kirigakure shinobi noticed something amiss soon after.

But…

By the time they realized, it was already too late.

Dozens of figures stormed toward the vessel.

This was a variation of Shisui’s Body Flicker technique. Each "clone" could be the real one, and Kyoichi's shadow clones further manipulated their movements with clone techniques.

The real and the false blurred together—impossible to distinguish.

"Don't let him get close! Stop him!"

"Agh!"

"Too fast! They all seem real!"

"No—only one is real! He… he's in the water! Be careful!"

A sensor ninja in the back shouted a warning.

But it was too late.

A column of water erupted—

Water Release: Water Severing Wave!

A high-pressure water jet, unstoppable. Even the Kirigakure ninja’s defensive techniques like Water Formation Wall were useless—the ship was cleaved in half.

Then, Kyoichi used his vortex technique to pull the shattered remains into the center of the swirl.

By the time the Jonin reinforcements from Kirigakure arrived, Kyoichi’s shadow clone had already dispersed—its chakra depleted.

Normally, a shadow clone wouldn’t exhaust chakra so quickly.

But…

The original body had extracted half of its chakra back from the clone before it dissipated. Some energy was lost in the process, but it was better than leaving it all behind.

The enemy quickly realized the real problem.

Forget the ship and supplies—

They needed to reinforce the base.

---

The Base Had Been Found.

But…

Kyoichi didn’t launch a direct attack.

Instead, he used Dance of the Shikigami to control explosive tags and bomb the island in a dramatic display.

Loud, but mostly for show.

There was no real destruction—just a message to the Kirigakure Village:

"I know where your new base is."

Then, before the enemy forces could arrive, they disappeared.

Yagura had rushed over—only to find nothing.

The ship was lost. The base was exposed.

He stood there, speechless.

Moments later, Kisame returned, looking frustrated.

"Did you catch them?"

"No. They were too fast—I couldn’t even get a clear look at them."

Kisame’s expression was grim.

He had been stationed here specifically to defend the base. He considered himself fast, but he had encountered a team even faster than him.

This was…

Hard to accept.

"When they destroyed the ship, one of their clones surfaced. Silver hair, about this tall, wore a mask, carried a sword… kinda looked like Konoha’s White Fang?"

"What??"

The hell… where’d they get a White Fang from?!

Yagura was stunned for a moment, then processed what Kisame was saying.

That silver-haired guy he saw the other day… masked, fast—if someone said he was related to Sakumo Hatake, it wouldn’t be impossible.

But…

"Hatake Kakashi doesn’t have a brother. And the Hatake Clan hasn’t produced another White Fang in all these years. No way he’s from the Hatake."

"Must be a Senju. That guy holds a high position in Konoha’s eastern forces!"

Yagura took a deep breath.

"We need to get information on him—immediately!"

Kisame, however, had a more immediate concern.

"So… do we still use this base?"

Yagura exhaled slowly.

"Forget it. Find a new one."