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The carriage moved forward slowly.
Jiraiya's face showed a trace of caution.
Reaching the edge, he quickly formed hand seals and stomped his foot.
Instantly, the earth beneath the puddle by the bridge began to turn into a quagmire.
Then—
"Shh!"
A figure leapt from the puddle, knife in hand. Recognition flashed across his face—and terror followed immediately.
In the next moment, his body dissolved into a splash of water.
Jiraiya reacted instantly, hair transforming into ropes that snaked out, binding the attacker.
But it was no use.
The body instantly flowed into water again.
Water Style?
Jiraiya frowned, spitting out a special toad oil, spraying it over the water.
Still, by the time he prepared his next jutsu, the enemy had already put significant distance between them.
Elsewhere, three figures charged at the carriage.
From their angle, they couldn't see Jiraiya clearly. But they weren't fleeing; they were attacking head-on.
Kunai and shuriken flew, some rigged with explosive tags.
Other attacks targeted Kakashi.
The assault was fierce.
"Leo."
Jiraiya called out.
"Yes!"
Without waiting, Leo vanished, instantly appearing at the carriage.
Moments later, walls of water rose six or seven meters high, spinning slightly as they swallowed all incoming shuriken and kunai.
Water Style: Water Wall Formation.
Boom!
The walls erupted with the sound of crashing water—but they collapsed almost instantly.
Fast!
The three Kirigakure shinobi were shocked.
Still, they didn't back down. One charged at Leo; the other two, armed with knives and chains, lunged toward Kakashi.
But as they turned, a small girl appeared in front of Kakashi and the iron-armed toad, forming hand seals. In an instant, she vanished.
Moments later, the two attackers found themselves immobilized, wrapped tightly in tree branches.
"Genjutsu!"
Kisame's sharp gaze flicked at his trapped comrades. He immediately understood: the girl had restrained them temporarily with an illusion.
He moved to help, but a sudden rush of wind came from behind.
He tensed, forming hand seals—but halfway through, the wind grew louder.
Too fast!
Too late!
Leo had already closed the distance.
Kisame crossed his hands to block—but the force of the punch surged through him.
Impossible.
His eyes widened in shock. Before he could react, he was slammed backward, crashing into a tree.
Boom!
The impact sent birds scattering.
Meanwhile, the Leo maintaining a defensive stance near the carriage vanished into bubbles.
The shadow clone had dissolved.
Leo had planned to pursue Kisame, but his glance caught Kurenai, who was restraining the two enemies with genjutsu. He stayed put, guarding the slightly disoriented carriage instead of taking unnecessary risks.
"Don't panic! Form a perimeter and protect Mr. Matsuyama!"
Kurenai shouted.
The Matsuyama retainers raised their swords, shielding Ichiro Matsuyama in the center of the carriage.
Against ninjas, the samurai weren't much of a match—but any defense was better than none.
Seeing this, Ichiro Matsuyama's heartbeat eased slightly, though his eyes burned with anger.
These attackers were clearly sent by Kado.
He'd suspected Kado wasn't just a merchant, but he hadn't expected such brazen violence—sending assassins straight in his path.
Typical gangster behavior.
Fortunately, his nephew had recommended Jiraiya's team. With Jiraiya himself here, his safety was likely ensured.
Peeking through the carriage gap, Ichiro saw Leo punch someone so hard they flew several meters.
Even a child is that strong?
…Unbelievably strong.
Kisame spat blood, struggling to rise from the water.
At first glance, he had assumed Leo was just a water-style specialist. He'd thought he could handle a Konoha ninja in this domain.
But he hadn't counted on this: the jutsu was secondary. The real danger was Leo's speed and raw strength.
A single punch…
Coughing up blood, Kisame lay on the ground, unable to move.
Terrifying strength.
He could barely lift his head, seeing the battle's outcome unfold.
It was over.
Though the other two ninjas recovered from the genjutsu, one was immediately knocked unconscious by Leo's advancing fist.
The other tried to flee.
But he wasn't facing Leo—he was up against a far more terrifying white-haired ninja.
Jiraiya.
In a flash, Kisame's mind went blank.
Jiraiya himself leading the team?
He recalled the words of the pufferfish ninja from earlier:
"This time, merchants are coming to the Land of Fire. You four are to eliminate them. That's your mission."
Eliminate them?
Me?
Panic froze him.
No wonder Hōzuki Mangetsu ran when discovered—who would dare attack the Legendary Sannin?
Kisame plunged into the water to escape—but just as he submerged, a strange sound rumbled from beneath.
What is that?
A massive torrent of mud surged through the river.
Earth Style: Mudflow River.
Jiraiya maintained the hand seals, sending the muddy torrent forward, instantly engulfing Kisame.
In the chaos, Kisame couldn't bring himself to use any Earth-style jutsu. By the time he was swept away a good distance, struggling to rise, the boy struck again.
Kisame rolled on the ground, trying to dodge Leo's attack.
But then—
Leo's hands moved in a blur, forming a sequence of hand signs, stopping finally in a single, final pose.
What jutsu was that? A Water Dragon Bullet?
The Second Hokage of Konoha seemed to have a simplified version of it.
Kisame read the signs, predicting the next move.
But the next instant, Leo's figure fell like a wooden log, hitting the ground as his true form emerged from the water.
And behind him, a storm of white hair shot out, covering everything.
No jutsu.
The hand signs had been a feint.
Kisame cursed himself. He wanted to flee, to fight with everything he had—but it was already too late.
The white hair wrapped around him.
Whoosh!
It contracted, yanking him straight to Jiraiya, leaving him no chance to escape.
Jiraiya crouched down.
"Mist Village ninja… why are you attacking us?"
"…."
Kisame stayed silent.
As a ninja, he couldn't reveal his mission. If he did, returning to his village would mean a punishment worse than death.
All he could feel now was regret.
The moment Hozuki Mangetsu had fled, he should have run, should have abandoned the foolish duo instead of pushing forward with them.
But who could have predicted that a mission like this would run straight into Jiraiya?
Kisame glanced at Leo.
This kid's speed and strength were astonishing. And yet, his face was so young—he looked two or three years younger than his age.
A Konoha prodigy, maybe?
He looked quietly at his teammates. One was unconscious, another being tended to by that girl, while their companion was carried on a toad's back.
And then he thought of himself, and a wave of bitter sadness hit him.
The style of Konoha's shinobi was nothing like that of the Mist.
Even the Sannin would lead their team, and injured teammates were properly cared for and protected.
In his village, that kind of thing simply didn't exist.
In fact…
If their opponents hadn't been so strong, in a situation like that, he might have even killed a teammate to cover his escape.
"....."