Chapter 34 - Do You Really Think I'm an Actor?

On the streets, Jiraiya was moving between various specialty shops.

After gathering some information, he had a rough understanding of the situation.

Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks.

Someone was spying on him!

A greedy look appeared on Jiraiya's face as he chuckled and entered one of the specialty shops.

Not long after, he began embracing and hugging inside the shop.

A shadowy figure swiftly disappeared outside.

...

At the inn, after some conversation, it was already late into the night.

Kyōen was practicing with a kunai, using it like a sword.

He felt that, with each swing, his body was quickly absorbing the techniques that had been gifted to him.

Kakashi, sitting nearby, wore a gradually blank expression.

It wasn’t that Kyōen had reached a point where Kakashi couldn’t guide him. On the contrary, Kyōen still had a lot to learn, and his swordsmanship wasn’t very strong yet, but his stance and energy were already quite precise.

Was this talent?

Kakashi’s thoughts were complicated, and he sighed silently, focusing on refining his Shunshin.

Kyōen’s secret was very useful for him as well!

Kyōen was so focused that he didn’t notice Kakashi’s subtle emotional shift.

He was thinking about "White Fang's swordsmanship."

If this were a target, the sword techniques would naturally be simple, but what if it were an enemy?

Kyōen imagined the scenario and carefully swung every strike.

After a long while, they finally parted ways for the night.

Kyōen slept soundly, but suddenly, a slight disturbance triggered his instincts. His eyes snapped open, and he immediately sat up, grabbing the kunai beside him, as if it were a matter of life and death.

"Ribbit!"

The kunai embedded itself in the wooden board, and a small frog jumped up in shock, huddling in the corner.

Kyōen blinked, then quickly put the kunai away.

"Sorry, I thought you were an enemy."

"No problem. It’s Jiraiya’s fault. If he hadn’t asked me to deliver this in the middle of the night, this wouldn’t have happened."

The little frog was quite understanding.

It hopped over to Kyōen, examined him, and then said, "Jiraiya told me to inform you that during his investigation, he discovered that a ninja was tracking him. It’s still unclear which side they’re from."

"What does the teacher mean?"

"He’s going to lay low for now. You don’t need to worry, but don’t act too relaxed. Just keep watch and stay alert."

"Huh?"

Kyōen was speechless.

Don’t act too relaxed?

That was asking too much.

Does he really think I’m an actor?

Kyōen thought for a moment, then said, "Please let the teacher know that I’ll do my best, but I’m just a genin."

"Got it."

The little frog nodded and vanished.

Kyōen got up to drink some water and glanced outside.

The mountain forest was covered in a thin fog.

He carefully refined his chakra, sending it out.

By sensing the fog, he confirmed that there were no chakra disturbances, which made him feel much more at ease.

Someone was following Jiraiya...

Could it be a Mist ninja?

Kyōen thought for a while, then stood up and headed next door.

Hearing footsteps, Kisame glared with his beady eyes, filled with despair.

If it weren’t for knowing the Mist’s ways…

He might have been fooled.

Mist’s genin were all born from mountains of corpses, rivers of blood. Could this minor difficulty scare him?

It was another matter, though.

Before, he’d been feeling off, and Sunset Red had tried to help, but there had been no improvement. Now, he could only keep the life support for Mist Village, while also acting as Sunset Red’s patient.

Kyōen simply closed his eyes on the first floor, where they were being held.

Kisame sighed internally, closing his eyes.

This kid woke up at the slightest sound. He was really troublesome!

It had taken him quite some time to find an opportunity.

What a pity.

If this were in the wild, a one-on-one encounter, Kisame was confident that he could use the terrain and his ninjutsu to defeat his opponent and escape once more.

But...

In a situation where his chakra was sealed, and his entire body was tied up, relying on just two fingers to untie the ropes, he had no confidence in defeating the opponent in front of him.

Sigh!

Who would’ve thought he’d run into Jiraiya?

Falling into the hands of such a ninja, sealing techniques were too easy. There was no chance for him to escape as a genin.

Kisame looked at the ceiling and sighed deeply.

Not long after.

Upstairs, Kakashi peeked his head out. When he saw Kyōen below, he sighed in relief and withdrew.

But...

That position should be in the corridor outside Matsuyama Ichirō's room.

Kakashi was guarding the corridor to prevent Matsuyama Ichirō from falling into danger.

Aside from Kakashi’s personality, when it came to missions, he was indeed a trustworthy teammate. He rarely made mistakes during missions.

From the perspective of his disgruntled teammates, it was actually quite hard.

Later on, Obito and Rin would get along with that kind of Kakashi, and their personalities were just so good. If it had been him, he would’ve given Kakashi a serious warning on the first day.

Afterward, it was all about using strength to gradually stabilize the situation.

Otherwise, he and Red would have been treated the same as Obito and Rin.

Just as he was thinking.

At this moment, the fog became heavier.

Kyōen suddenly opened his eyes, his mind immediately sharpening, his gaze focused.

The thick fog of night was often overlooked, especially near the mountains.

However...

The chakra in the fog, glowing like fireflies, was strikingly obvious.

This was Mist’s technique!

Kyōen extracted chakra and slowly sent it into the dense fog.

Through the fog, waves of murderous intent came towards him, pricking at his back.

A cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

Fortunately, Jiraiya was still hiding inside the house, ready to lend assistance at any time.

That should be the case… right?

Kyōen's forehead broke out in cold sweat.

Whoosh!

In an instant, Sunset Red landed in front of Kyōen.

The next moment—

"Retreat! Go protect Matsuyama-san. He’s the real target of our mission."

Kyōen called out in a low voice.

Sunset Red was not as fast as him, and rushing into this situation would be like walking into her own death.

"But…"

"At worst, we’ll abandon them."

Kyōen said.

Sunset Red hesitated for a moment, then nodded and went upstairs to assist Kakashi in protecting their employer.

At this very moment—

Whoosh!

Kyōen turned and slashed, sending his kunai through the air.

However.

The enemy's head instantly turned into water, and another arm swelled as it attacked him.

Water Release: Great Water Arm Technique!

Kisame grinned coldly, revealing a malicious smile.

But then.

Boom!

The person in front of him turned into a block of wood.

??

What?

Kisame realized—

His opponent had used Shunshin to evade him, leaving a substitute in place.

A small cover-up technique, combined with Shunshin, had fooled him.

Not only that.

For the first time, his opponent had avoided a lethal strike and countered with a kunai to hit his head.

The second time, he used Shunshin and the substitution technique to deceive him again.

Such skill...

This Konoha genin was no ordinary one!

He turned around and saw his opponent already leaping toward the second floor, mid-air, completing hand seals.

Immediately, a torrent of water crashed down from above.

Trying to kill him with water?

Kisame didn’t dare to underestimate his opponent anymore, fully treating Kyōen as an equal, and quickly retreated.

The next moment—

Zzzt!

Lightning surged down from above, and the water swept through the surroundings, striking both Kisame and his companion.

Kisame dodged quickly and avoided the lightning.

But…

Repeated attempts to strike had failed, and now he was forced to retreat in a humiliating manner, which was truly embarrassing.

Kisame was about to make another move.

"Stop playing around. Take the team and leave."

A cold voice echoed through the mist.

"Understood!"

In the next moment, a large sword cleaved through the mist, surging forward.

It appeared to be a decapitation sword.

Kyōen frowned.

A decapitation sword… Was it Bibi Tōzō?

Were there other Mist jonin lurking in the shadows?