The carriage moved forward slowly.
A look of caution appeared on Jiraiya’s face.
As they approached, he quickly formed hand seals and stomped his foot.
In an instant, the muddy ground near the puddle by the bridge began to soften.
From the puddle, a figure holding a sword leaped out, only to freeze in horror upon seeing who was in front of him.
In the next moment, his body turned into a splash of water.
Jiraiya had already chased after him, his hair transforming into ropes that quickly entangled the figure.
The figure’s body immediately turned into a stream of water.
Water Clone Technique?
Jiraiya frowned slightly and spat out special toad oil, spraying it over the water.
By the time he was about to use his next technique, the figure had already fled a considerable distance.
Three figures charged toward the carriage.
From their position, they couldn’t see Jiraiya’s face clearly. Instead of fleeing, they actually launched an attack on the carriage.
Shuriken and kunai flew through the air, some of them carrying explosive tags.
Additionally, some attacks were aimed at Kakashi.
The assault was intense!
Without needing further instruction, Kyohiko had already used the Body Flicker Technique to reach the carriage.
In the next moment, a wall of water rose around them, about six or seven meters away. The flowing water caught all the incoming shuriken and kunai.
Water Release: Water Wall.
Explosions rang out, and the water wall collapsed.
The three Kirigakure ninjas were shocked.
They didn’t retreat. One charged at Kyohiko, while the other two, armed with swords and chains, rushed toward Kakashi.
As they turned, they saw a young girl standing protectively in front of Kakashi and Iron Arm Toad, her hands quickly forming hand seals before she suddenly disappeared.
Then, the two found themselves bound by trees, unable to move.
Hoshigaki Kisame glanced sideways and saw his two companions frozen in place. He immediately realized the girl had used a genjutsu to temporarily trap them.
He was about to help when a faint sound of wind came from behind.
His body tensed, and he quickly formed hand seals, but halfway through, the sound of wind grew louder.
Kisame turned around to see Kyohiko already in front of him.
He crossed his arms to block the incoming punch, but—
The force behind the punch was overwhelming.
How is this possible?
Kisame’s small eyes widened in shock. Before he could react, he was sent flying by the punch, crashing into a tree.
The loud noise startled a flock of water birds into flight.
At the same time, the "Kyohiko" who had been maintaining a defensive stance turned into a puff of smoke.
Shadow Clone dispelled.
Kyohiko had originally intended to pursue Kisame, but a glance to the side showed Kurenai using a technique to trap the two while staying back to protect the slightly chaotic carriage.
"Don’t panic! Surround the carriage and protect Mr. Matsuyama!"
Behind her, the Matsuyama family’s samurai drew their swords, forming a protective circle around Matsuyama Ichiro’s carriage.
Against ninjas, samurai weren’t very effective, but they were better than nothing.
Seeing this, Matsuyama Ichiro’s heartbeat slowed slightly, though his eyes still burned with anger.
These people were likely sent by Gato!
He had expected Gato to be unscrupulous, but he hadn’t imagined the man would be so brazen as to hire assassins to kill him on the road.
Typical gangster behavior!
Thankfully, his nephew had recommended Jiraiya’s team.
With Lord Jiraiya personally leading the mission, his safety should be assured.
Matsuyama Ichiro huddled in the carriage, peeking through a crack to see Kyohiko punch one of the attackers flying more than a dozen steps away.
Even a child is this strong?
This guy’s strength doesn’t match his appearance at all!
Kisame spat out a mouthful of blood, struggling to get up from the water.
At first glance, he had thought Kyohiko was just a water-release specialist, and in that area, he was confident he could handle any Konoha ninja.
He never expected that Kyohiko’s true strength lay in his terrifying speed and monstrous strength.
Kisame coughed up blood, unable to move as he lay on the ground.
Such terrifying power!
It took him a while to catch his breath, and he could only look up at the distance.
The other two had broken free from the genjutsu, but as soon as they recovered, Kyohiko closed in and knocked one out with a single punch.
The other tried to run.
He wasn’t facing Kyohiko but an even more terrifying figure—the white-haired ninja.
In an instant, Kisame’s mind went blank.
Why is he leading the mission personally?
Then, he remembered what that person had said before they left.
"There’s a merchant from the Land of Fire coming. You four go and take care of them. Consider this your mission."
He was so scared he momentarily lost all thought.
No wonder Mangetsu Hozuki, upon being discovered, didn’t attack but immediately fled.
Who would dare fight?
He’s one of the Sannin!
Even Hoshigaki Kisame would have to run for his life.
Kisame immediately submerged into the water, trying to escape, but as soon as he dove down, he felt a strange movement beneath him.
Then, he saw a torrent of mud rushing toward him in the water.
Earth Release: Earth Flow River.
Jiraiya maintained his hand seals as the muddy torrent surged forward, engulfing Kisame in an instant.
In the chaos, Kisame couldn’t use any earth-release techniques. By the time he was swept a considerable distance away and struggled to get up, the boy was already charging at him again.
Kisame rolled on the ground, trying to dodge Kyohiko’s attack.
Kyohiko quickly formed hand seals, ending with a single seal.
The Second Hokage of Konoha was said to have a simplified version of the Water Dragon Bullet Technique.
Kisame tried to read Kyohiko’s hand seals, anticipating the next move.
In the next moment, Kyohiko’s body turned into a wooden log and fell to the ground, while his real body emerged from the water.
Behind him, a wave of white hair surged forward.
The hand seals were just a distraction.
Kisame regretted his decision, but it was too late to escape.
The white hair wrapped around him.
The hair retracted, pulling Kisame to Jiraiya’s feet, leaving him no chance to escape.
Jiraiya crouched down.
"Kirigakure ninja, why did you attack us?"
Kisame remained silent.
As a ninja, he couldn’t reveal his mission. If he did, he would face severe punishment upon returning to the village.
At this moment, he was filled with regret.
When Hozuki fled, he should have followed suit instead of continuing the attack with those two idiots.
Who could have expected that a mission would involve Jiraiya?
Kisame couldn’t help but look at Kyohiko.
This guy’s speed and strength were astonishing, yet he looked so young, probably two or three years younger than himself.
A genius from Konoha?
He silently glanced at his two teammates.
One was unconscious, the other was being treated by the girl, while their companion was being carried by the toad.
Thinking of himself, he felt a deep sense of sorrow.
The style of Konoha ninjas was completely different from Kirigakure.
Even the Sannin would lead missions personally, and injured teammates would be well taken care of and protected.
Such things didn’t exist in their village.
If the opponent hadn’t been so overwhelmingly strong, Kisame would have tried to kill his teammates to silence them before escaping.