Centipede, the rogue ninja from Sunagakure!
If it were merely about Centipede's individual strength, forget making Kai's expression change—he wouldn't even qualify for Kai's serious attention. Just an elite jōnin, after all.
Standing before Kai, he probably wouldn't even have the courage to raise the kunai in his hand.
But the events that occurred after Centipede's defection from Sunagakure were what demanded Kai's attention.
The Ancient Kingdom of Rōran!
The Dragon Vein with its power to traverse time!
Back when Kai's strength hadn't yet reached Six Paths level, he had once set his sights on the Dragon Vein to break through that barrier. But Kai had searched the entire Land of Wind without finding a single trace of Rōran, let alone the Dragon Vein. In the end, he had no choice but to give up.
Now, Centipede's defection seemed rather intriguing.
Without sufficient incentive, how could an elite jōnin like Centipede choose to defect? After all, Centipede was a puppeteer, and elite jōnin-level puppeteers held very high status in Sunagakure.
Obviously, Centipede had obtained clues about the Dragon Vein!
Whether or not the Dragon Vein truly possessed the ability to traverse time, just how it had managed to evade Kai's detection was something that greatly interested him.
Pushing open the Hokage office doors directly, Kai saw several ninja wearing Sunagakure headbands, their faces anxious as they discussed something with Tsunade.
Noticing the Hokage office door being pushed open, everyone's gaze turned toward him.
"Tsunade-nee, what's happening?" Completely ignoring the Sunagakure ninja, Kai looked directly at Tsunade and asked.
The Sunagakure ninja, completely ignored by Kai, didn't dare show the slightest anger. Kai's title as "God of Shinobi" had already spread throughout the ninja world!
"Hm? Kai, why are you here?" Seeing it was Kai who had entered, Tsunade didn't say anything else and explained directly: "Sunagakure has come seeking aid, hoping we Konoha can help them capture the rogue ninja Centipede."
Sunagakure was truly pitiful. After the Fourth Kazekage was killed by Orochimaru, they were left with only Chiyo and Ebizō—two Kage-level powerhouses in semi-retirement.
So much so that just one elite jōnin's defection left them at a loss, forcing them to seek help from Konoha.
Kai nodded and said directly: "Mm, we can do that. This is also a good opportunity to repair the relationship between Konoha and Sunagakure. Let me handle this mission."
Hearing Kai's words, the Sunagakure ninja were first stunned, then showed expressions of wild joy. With Kai, the "God of Shinobi," executing the mission, could there possibly be any chance of failure?
Tsunade raised an eyebrow. She knew Kai's personality too well—repair the relationship with Sunagakure? Ha... like hell! This guy definitely had ulterior motives.
However, as Kai's woman, Tsunade wouldn't expose him in front of the Sunagakure ninja.
Looking at the Sunagakure ninja, Tsunade said: "Then it's settled. We Konoha accept the mission to capture the rogue ninja Centipede. This mission will be executed by Kai Mitarashi."
"Thank you, Fifth Hokage!"
The Sunagakure ninja quickly expressed their gratitude, then left behind a scroll with mission-related information before taking their leave.
"Alright, spill it. What's your real objective?" Tsunade looked at Kai and asked directly.
Kai said with a completely serious expression: "Didn't I already say? To repair the relationship with Sunagakure. Of course, it's also to give Hinata some real combat experience."
Tsunade completely ignored his explanation, saying impatiently: "Tell the truth, or you're forbidden from leaving the village!"
"Uh..." Kai looked dejected, then after collecting himself, said: "This mission, while seemingly simple on the surface, will involve things that are far from simple."
"What things?" Tsunade couldn't help but ask.
"The Dragon Vein!" Kai's expression grew grave as he slowly uttered these two words.
"Dragon Vein? What exactly is that?"
Tsunade looked puzzled. Although this mission's clues mentioned that Minato Namikaze had once sealed the Dragon Vein, when Tsunade searched through all of Konoha's mission records, there was no record of it whatsoever.
"I don't know." Kai shook his head.
"You don't know?!" Tsunade's voice rose an octave, clearly thinking Kai was messing with her.
But Kai's expression remained very serious. Looking at Tsunade, he smiled faintly: "I truly don't know, which is precisely why I'm interested! Tsunade-nee, in the entire ninja world, there aren't many things I don't know about!"
With those words, an aura of supreme dominance erupted from Kai, leaving Tsunade mesmerized.
Her face flushing slightly red, Tsunade said: "Mm, then this mission is yours, Kai. Complete it quickly and don't drag it out too long."
"Mm, alright." Kai nodded, then suddenly looked at Tsunade with a mischievous smile: "Tsunade-nee, since I'm about to go on a mission, shouldn't we have a proper farewell..."
As he spoke, while Tsunade looked slightly puzzled, he pounced on her.
Southernmost part of the Land of Wind, where sandstorms filled the sky.
"Big brother, that Sunagakure ninja is 3,000 meters ahead to the right," Hinata said, fully activating her Byakugan to search for Centipede's traces.
"Mm, got it. Hinata is amazing," Kai looked at Hinata and praised her gently.
"N-no... not at all." Hearing Kai's praise, Hinata's face instantly turned bright red as she shyly touched her index fingers together.
Kai smiled, then led Hinata, Kimimaro, and Haku toward Centipede's direction.
"This is the Dragon Vein? Dragon Vein! Once I absorb the power of the entire Dragon Vein, I'll be the new God of Shinobi! I'll make all five great nations of the ninja world act according to my will!"
The gaunt figure stood atop the Dragon Vein sealed by a Flying Thunder God kunai, roaring madly with an extremely twisted expression. It was none other than Sunagakure's rogue ninja, Centipede!
"New God of Shinobi? Then where does that leave me?" A mocking voice suddenly rang out behind Centipede.
"Who?!" Centipede spun around sharply.
Seeing the figure clearly, Centipede's face showed terror as he couldn't help but cry out: "Kai Mitarashi!" Then, realizing the situation, he suddenly placed his hand on the Dragon Vein!
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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