"Kyoichi-sama, I have to hand it to you. This is the Hōzuki we're talking about—how did you ma?"

  Gekko Kazahana couldn't suppress his curiosity.

  Hayate was saved by Kyoichi, so he had no qualms about addressing him as "sama."

  "It was thanks to Hayame-san’s help. Otherwise, capturing him wouldn’t have been so easy."

  Kyoichi smiled.

  Shirakumo Hayame face flushed red as he waved his hand dismissively.

  "Not at all. I only used a Great Breakthrough from start to finish. It was Kyoichi-sama who risked himself to sehe slightest disturbance, locked onto the target’s position with Earth Release, and then paralyzed him with a single sword strike."

  "Earth Release?"

  "A sirike?"

  The three nearby jōnin exged gnces.

  Usih Release to lock down a Hōzuki member’s position…

  They could picture it!

  Theoretically feasible, but the Hōzuki weren’t fools—they wouldn’t just stand there waiting to be captured.

  Which meant that Kanda Kyoichi's hand seals and sword speed were incredibly fast.

  Fast enough that his oppo couldn’t rea time.

  And then there was Raijin Sword—the Sword of the Thunder God!

  As jōnin, they only needed a few words to deduce most of what had happened.

  Silently, they all felt a deep respect.

  If it had been them…

  Even with the Sword of the Thunder God, capturing a Hōzuki member would have been a tall order.

  "By the way, aside from the Hōzuki member, we also entered a Kirigakure shinobi with pale green hair. Does anyone know who he is? I suspect he might be one of the leaders of this invasion."

  Kyoichi spoke in a low voice.

  "Pale green hair?"

  Kazahana frowhinking for a long time before his eyes suddenly lit up. "I remember now! His name is Yagura. Not sure about his surname, but he’s definitely a big shot."

  "I’ve heard that i years, the Third Mizukage has been havih issues and rarely appears in publiatters are being handled by one of his subordinates," Shirakumo Hayama added.

  Before this year, he had been in ANBU and had traveled to many pces—including Kirigakure.

  "If that’s the case, then he’s likely the one," Kyoichi said seriously.

  "No wonder he was s," Hayama nodded.

  He then expined how Yagura had attempted to rescue Hōzuki Chikage.

  Hearing this, Gekko Kazahana and the others immediately became solemn.

  That level of strength…

  At the very least, he was ae jōnin.

  Kyoichi’s suspi was highly probable!

  "For now, let’s wait for Inoichi-senpai’s intel."

  Kyoichi pondered for a moment and decided not to dwell on it.

  Overanalyzing wouldn’t help.

  They still didn’t know the exact location of the enemy’s base, so identifying individuals wasn’t particurly useful. Besides, he couldn’t yet reveal Yagura’s full identity and abilities.

  Everyone nodded in agreement.

  Inoichi worked quickly—soon enough, he body-flickered bato the tent.

  "Hit the jackpot! This one’s a big fish!"

  Inoichi was visibly excited.

  "What did you find?"

  Kyoichi immediately stood up.

  "This guy’s name is Hōzuki Chikage. His older brother, Hōzuki Masu, is the wielder of the twin swords Hamehada among the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist…"

  "Also, the person you fought was Karatachi Yagura—one of the stro tenders for the position of the Fourth Mizukage. He’s been handling Kirigakure’s affairs retly and is incredibly powerful."

  "However, the Hōzuki is also vying for the Fourth Mizukage position, so the d some members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen don’t fully obey Yagura’s orders."

  Inoichi id out the intel piece by piece.

  Everyone’s expression grew solemn.

  This was information that, if they had tried to gather slowly, would have cost them tless spies—if they even mao obtain it at all.

  But now, after capturing just one living Hōzuki member, they had everything.

  As expected…

  The Hōzuki ew plenty of secrets.

  Kyoichi pondered for a moment before g his hands. "Damn. I caught Hōzuki Chikage, which means the enemy is now o. If Yagura applies pressure, the Seven Ninja Swordsmen will likely follow his orders."

  "We had no choice. If we didn’t capture anyone, how would we have gotten this intel?"

  Inoichi shook his head.

  He uood what Kyoichi meant.

  If the Seven Ninja Swordsmen hadn’t been following orders, it could’ve led to internal chaos—potentially causing them to self-destruct. But now that there owerful enemy who could capture a Hōzuki alive, the whole situation had ged.

  Kyoichi could only sigh.

  He and Inoichi werely thinking the same thing.

  With this development, the Seven Ninja Swordsmen wouldn’t be sneaking in like in the anime. He had actually been sidering whether it ossible to set up an ambush and wipe them out in one go.

  He let out a regretful sigh before asking, "Inoichi-senpai, did they retreat because they noticed us?"

  Inoiodded.

  "That expins it. No wonder so many small details were left unchecked. If I had moved faster…"

  It all clicked!

  Hayama spped his thigh in frustration.

  If their squad had included a strong sensor-type shinobi, they might have had a ce to intercept the enemy.

  But unfortunately, the best sensor ieam…

  Was himself.

  And he was barely passable at it!

  "Given Yagura’s demonstrated strength, even if you caught up, it might not have been a good thing," Kyoichi said, shaking his head.

  Hayama was strong, but what about the others?

  A single Great Water Collision Teique could drown Might Guy and the others before they even had a ce to react—leaving Shirakumo Hayama with no options.

  At the end of the day…

  The enemy was the heir to the title of "Kage." Wiping them out in one go was simply unrealistic.

  "By the way, let me deliver the intel scroll. I have Katsuyu help and send it directly to Tsunade-nee."

  "We have that option?"

  Yamanaka Inoichi didn’t hesitate to agree.

  Transmitting intel carried risks, but if it was sent via a summon, the risk was virtually eliminated.

  He was thrilled!

  Then, Inoichi realized something.

  No wonder Kanda Kyoichi ointed ander.

  Aside from his immerength and sharp mind, there was another crucial reason—Tsunade-hime!

  This aving the way for Tsunade’s rise.

  After all, from the current situation, it was evident that the Third Hokage was sidering stepping down. And the best didate to succeed him was undoubtedly Tsunade—granddaughter of the First Hokage and student of the Third.

  Her liatus, experience, and prestige made her the most qualified.

  Kyoichi knew he couldn’t hide this from Inoichi.

  In the anime, Yamanaka Inoichi had already demonstrated his sharp intellect.

  A master of intelligence…

  Of course his mind was quick!

  Inoichi received the scroll and summoned a Katsuyu e, which took the intelligence for delivery.

  This was something Katsuyu had done tless times.

  Seeing the same kind of summon as Tsunade’s, and recalling Kyoichi’s impressive mediinjutsu, everyone had a sudden realization—Katsuyu Summoning!

  Haichi thought back to Kyoichi’s performance during the sed in Exams and asked directly, "Kyoichi-sama, how effective is your Katsuyu Summoning?"

  "Its duration should be quite long—I cover about a three-kilometer radius. As for how long and how effective… I ’t say for sure. Also, I have a secret teique that lets me absorb chakra, but its version rate is only ohird, and the absorption speed isn’t very fast."

  Kyoichi thought for a moment before expining some of his abilities.

  Katsuyu-reted teiques and mediinjutsu were well-known in Konoha, so there was o keep them a secret. In fact, revealing them could help earrust and respect of others.

  What he didn't expect was how much his revetions would shock Yamanaka Inoichi.

  Inoichi had assumed that Kyoichi’s abilities were only effective within a small radius and for a limited duration.

  But the reality…

  While not on the same level as Tsunade, his capabilities were still astonishing.

  And more importantly…

  Kyoichi had the ability to absorb chakra.

  Even if the version rate was only ohird, otlefield, su ability could have an immense impact.

  Gcell