Chapter 48: I Never Think of Myself!

The Land of Hot Water was filled with hot springs, and the streets were bustling with men and women who had come from far and wide, some of whom were dressed as ninjas, just like them.

"The surroundings seem relatively safe. If you don't mind, we'll stay in town today and wait for sensei to find us. It's safer this way."

"Whatever you decide, senpai."

Everyone had just been through a fierce battle. Even after taking soldier pills, they couldn't recover their energy immediately.

Staying here to rest was a reasonable choice.

"Then I'll go arrange our stay."

Minato nodded.

After a while, he gathered Kyohiko and the others in a room at the inn.

Then, Minato took out a scroll and carefully wrote down the details of the ambush they had encountered, making sure to only describe the events and what they had seen, without adding any personal opinions.

Next, he bit his finger.

A moment later, chakra spread, and a small toad appeared within the blood-formed seal.

"Take this scroll to sensei for me."

"Got it!"

The small toad responded, then grabbed the scroll and disappeared.

...

Yugakure.

Jiraiya sat across from Genji and Dodai, pouring tea for both of them. The aroma of the tea filled the air.

Just as Genji was about to speak.

Suddenly, a toad hopped out from beside Jiraiya.

He immediately stopped talking.

"Jiraiya, Minato asked me to deliver this."

"Alright."

Jiraiya nodded, took the scroll, and opened it. His heart nearly stopped when he read it.

An ambush?

Earth Release users.

He looked up at the two men in front of him, wondering about the likelihood of their villages being behind the attack—

Kumogakure had very few Earth Release users.

The probability was extremely low.

Kirigakure...

Jiraiya put away the scroll and smiled. "I've been away for too long. The village is calling me back, so it seems I won't be able to enjoy this tea with you."

"No problem. The Chunin Exams are still a few days away."

The two men saw him off.

...

"It's been delivered."

Minato tidied up a bit, then began reflecting on the day's events.

The attackers had been very targeted, as if they were specifically after Kyohiko. This was definitely not a simple matter.

At the moment, Kurenai and Gai were settling into their rooms next door.

Minato looked at Kyohiko.

Sensei had said that his new student was very intelligent and full of ideas.

"Kyohiko, do you have any thoughts about these people?"

"Their intentions were very clear. It's hard to say who exactly sent them, but one thing is certain: since I graduated, I've only fought against Kirigakure ninjas."

Kyohiko said.

"Kirigakure?"

Minato thought of the news in the village.

At such a young age, this kid had managed to outwit a jonin like Biwa Juzo, causing him significant trouble.

It wasn't impossible for Kirigakure to fear him and either leak information or hire someone to ambush and assassinate him.

Assassinating geniuses was something every village did during wartime.

But.

In times of peace, such incidents were rare, and...

"Every village has spies in the others. It's hard to prove they were behind this."

"Why do we need proof?"

Kyohiko looked puzzled.

"Why? Oh..."

As soon as Minato asked, he understood what Kyohiko meant.

If they wanted to confront Kirigakure, they would need evidence. But if their goal wasn't to demand an explanation but to retaliate and cause trouble for Kirigakure...

Then evidence wasn't necessary.   

He thought for a moment, then shook his head lightly. "It's peacetime now. It's not appropriate to do such things."

Then, Minato sighed, feeling deeply moved—

Kyohiko was only seven or eight years old, right?

What was he doing at that age?

Probably still attending the academy with Kushina, learning basic ninja knowledge and techniques, and occasionally studying some sealing techniques she taught him.

That was it.

Kids these days were pushing themselves harder and harder!

Minato sighed, then glanced at the time and stood up.

"Let's take a bath. When sensei arrives, we'll discuss this in more detail."

"Right!"

...

Even for Jiraiya, it took two to three hours to travel from Yugakure to the border town of the Land of Hot Water.

Kyohiko and Minato had already finished bathing.

The two of them were in the room, discussing the key points of the Body Flicker Technique—

Although Kyohiko had already mastered it at a grandmaster level, different people had different ways of using ninjutsu and abilities, and their insights into the Body Flicker Technique varied as well.

For example, Minato had naturally fast reflexes.

His Body Flicker Technique was more about coordinating with kunai and the Rasengan to create one-hit kill opportunities. His timing was impeccable.

For Kyohiko to reach that level, he would need to further refine his White Fang sword techniques.

Additionally, he shamelessly borrowed Shisui's idea for the Body Flicker Technique.

Minato was impressed by his creativity.

They had wanted to discuss further, exploring how to use clone techniques, shadow clones, and the Body Flicker Technique to achieve an effect similar to Shisui's "Flicker," but unfortunately—

Jiraiya had arrived!

...

"I've got the situation. Minato, Kyohiko, you were there. Tell me your thoughts."

Jiraiya looked at the two of them.

Minato and Kyohiko shared their respective opinions.

Then, Minato added, "If you're asking for my personal judgment, I lean toward it being Iwa-nin. Given the level and scale of their Earth Release users, I can't think of any other village besides Iwagakure."

"That's possible. Iwagakure has been recovering quickly in recent years, and some of Tsuchikage's subordinates are quite restless."

Jiraiya nodded.

He then looked at Kyohiko.

"What do you think?"

"Sensei, here's my idea. Whether the Tsuchikage knew about it or not, or whether it was Iwagakure's doing, we should condemn it. We can also link this attack to the sabotage of the maritime agreement..."

Kyohiko shared his humble opinion.

An attack by Iwagakure on a Konoha genin—how big of a deal was that?

At most, it would warrant an apology or a scapegoat.

But.

Sabotaging the peace talks between multiple villages and disrupting the joint Chunin Exams—that was a different story.

Guiding public opinion and escalating the situation.

Such tactics were common in his previous life, but in the ninja world, they were clearly a new approach. Jiraiya and Minato hadn't even considered this angle and were momentarily stunned.

However, as experienced jonin, they quickly grasped the idea.

Jiraiya chuckled. "I thought you'd take this chance to ask me to teach you some life-saving techniques. I was already thinking about what to teach you."

"How could I? Sensei, I never think of myself!"

Kyohiko said firmly.

Jiraiya laughed softly.

Minato, on the other hand, broke out in a cold sweat.

This kid was really only thinking about the village's big picture, completely ignoring how dangerous today had been for him.

He had been nervous even while bathing earlier, yet Kyohiko acted like nothing had happened.

His heart was truly big!

"They could deny it or blame it on rogue ninjas."

Minato analyzed.

Jiraiya, who had access to more information, began to see the possibilities.

"The other villages might not support us either. They might even enjoy seeing us clash with Iwagakure. But as you said, Kirigakure is likely involved behind the scenes."

Although there might be spies, their travel route was in the east, where Iwagakure had very few spies. Kirigakure, on the other hand, had been actively infiltrating and scouting this area.

Kirigakure was definitely involved!

Evidence?

No evidence needed!

In the current situation, where everyone was pressuring Kirigakure to stay out of maritime affairs, any retaliation was possible.

Whether it succeeded or not, it would plant a seed.

The idea was there.

Now, it was a matter of figuring out how to execute it.

Jiraiya thought to himself.

He loved peace, but when someone tried to kill his student, was he supposed to just smile and let it go?