CHAPTER 213: CHAPTER 213: HOW CAN YOU BE SURE THIS IS RYOHO KYOHIKO’S LIMIT?

The border of the Land of Fire.

At Kikyo Castle, after registering, Ryoho Kyohiko was about to lead the three of them across the border and head towards the Land of Wind first. But.

"Gribbit!"

A frog’s croak.

Then, a toad leaped out of space, landing on a stone in front of Ryoho Kyohiko.

Ryoho Kyohiko stopped in his tracks.

"Fukumaru, is it news from sensei or from the Land of Birds?"

Such an outdated method... Namikaze Minato would teleport directly with the Flying Thunder God, not needing to use toad communication at all.

The toad shook its head.

"A scroll from the Land of Birds."

Then, it spat out a small scroll from its mouth, then waited where it was, not leaving immediately.

Ryoho Kyohiko opened it. The Land of Birds... so it’s from Nagato’s side. Generally speaking, Nagato would only be activated for intelligence transport; he rarely sought him out at other times. Is the intelligence important?

After a glance, he understood. He pondered for a moment, then said.

"Fukumaru, please tell them that we in Konoha are very willing to help. Barring any accidents, we will arrive within a day."

"Alright."

The toad disappeared without a trace.

*

In a remote mountain village in the Land of Birds.

About a hundred ninjas were gradually recalled from the outside, gathering within the mountain village. Sheets of paper assembled, forming the figure of Konan.

Yahiko asked.

"Konan, are there still comrades outside?"

Konan answered.

"No more, everyone has arrived."

Yahiko nodded.

"Very good. Before Konoha replies, let’s wait here. As for the Land of Birds’ Daimyo..."

"We are guests in the Land of Birds, after all. If the Daimyo has a request, we must certainly help."

"In addition, that squad of wandering ninjas, we must also make contact with them. If they are suitable, we will absorb them. If not..."

Yahiko hesitated for a moment, looked at the hundred-plus ninjas behind him, and their families, and said resolutely.

"If they are not suitable, then drive them out of the country."

The Land of Birds was not poor. But such a small country could not accommodate too many ninjas, including Yahiko and his group. They were basically self-sufficient, occasionally taking on small commissions to make a living.

"Mm."

Konan’s eyes were downcast, and she sighed softly.

Many times, only when you’re in charge do you know the difficulties of being in charge. Wanting to be thorough, to take care of everyone, and even to benefit all the wandering ninjas... it was too difficult!

She sighed.

"Yahiko, do you think our wish can still be realized?"

Yahiko said with iron certainty.

"It definitely can!"

"We are weak now only because we are still in the stage of developing and getting stronger. When we have enough power and a voice, we can help the country change its current situation."

Speaking of his vision, his face glowed with high spirits.

Konan gave a cool smile.

"Mm! We can definitely do it!"

Just as they were speaking, Nagato appeared with a body flicker.

"Yahiko, Konan, there’s news from Konoha."

"Oh? Speak quickly!"

"They said they will arrive here within two hours and hope we have the intelligence ready in advance."

After Nagato finished speaking, he looked at Yahiko, his eyes filled with confusion.

Previously, Jiraiya had asked him to write his name on the contract scroll as well. At that time, he didn’t think it would be of much use and only accepted it after being told it could be used to contact Konoha. As it turned out, Mount Myoboku had indeed helped transport a lot of intelligence, bringing considerable benefits to both Konoha and them. Now it was even a great help.

It’s just...

"How can they arrive in one day?"

Yahiko’s expression was blank. From Konoha to the Land of Birds, even if they were all jounin, it would still take two and a half days. Are they going to fly here?

Konan looked at Yahiko.

"No matter what, let’s gather the intelligence on this matter first. Also, the movements of Sunagakure, should we also synchronize that with them, so they are not caught off guard?"

Yahiko pondered for a moment, then his eyes lit up.

"Sunagakure? Right! Could it be that Sunagakure has launched a joint operation?"

With Sunagakure’s current national power, they could indeed kill Sasori of the Red Sand, but the price would likely be unacceptable for Sunagakure. He had thought about it just now. If he were Rasa, he would choose to ally with Konoha to reduce losses. So, Ryoho Kyohiko and his team must have come at the invitation of Sunagakure.

The intelligence...

"Konan, I’ll have to trouble you to make a trip!"

"I know."

Konan said, just as she was about to leave.

"Wait!"

Nagato called out, then said, "These past few days, I’ve been researching how to help everyone, and I’ve finally developed an ability."

He formed hand seals with both hands. Summoning Technique!

One by one, birds appeared before them, circling around. At a glance, there were about a hundred of them. Although they were all transformed from ordinary wild animals, but... the pattern of the Rinnegan gradually appeared in their eyes.

"This is..."

Yahiko’s eyes widened.

The power of the Rinnegan! Over the years, Nagato’s Rinnegan had been getting stronger. Techniques like Almighty Push and Universal Pull, even he couldn’t stand against them now. But a situation like this was the first time it had appeared.

A few seconds later, he recovered from his shock.

"These summoned beasts..."

"They can become my eyes. I can see the vision of any one of them. Just now, they were scattered around the village."

Konan’s face was excited.

"That’s great!"

Over a hundred birds meant over a hundred pairs of eyes. Their chakra consumption was much less than her paper jutsu, and they could fly in the air to monitor the situation below on a large scale.

"Mm."

As Nagato spoke, with a thought, the birds soared into the sky and scattered in all directions.

*

"Kyohiko, what’s the situation?"

Ryoho Kyohiko gave a simple introduction.

"An intelligence source of mine, they encountered Sasori of the Red Sand, but Sasori seemed to have encountered some trouble and left his temporary base in a great hurry."

Then, he smiled.

"The three of you, we may have to speed up. If he gets away, with Sasori’s abilities, it won’t be so easy to find him again."

"No problem."

Everyone agreed at once, including Hatake Kakashi—he was a squad leader for this kind of operation. Raids and urgent dispatches like this had happened often in past missions. The current situation was just a bit more urgent.

Swoosh!

Four figures shuttled through the forest.

*

Half a day later, it was dusk.

On the border of the Land of Birds, a bird circled in the sky, then quickly landed.

"Chirp! Chirp!"

It chirped sharply, then moved in a peculiar trajectory.

Follow?

Ryoho Kyohiko nodded.

"Lead the way."

Before long, Kyohiko was led to the ruined temporary base. Aburame Shibi proactively sent out his poison-resistant parasitic insects. After a few minutes, the insects returned.

Aburame Shibi shook his head.

"It’s all poison gas. Not a single survivor. All information has been eroded by the poison mist, making it impossible to track."

Ryoho Kyohiko looked at the bird.

"Do you have any other clues?"

But the bird just stood there dazedly, with no ability to act. Obviously, this bird was currently being controlled by Nagato. Perhaps they were already very close now.

Ryoho Kyohiko suddenly looked in one direction.

Hizashi instantly activated his Byakugan, and then...

"Kyohiko, ninjas are approaching!"

Ryoho Kyohiko waved his hand, signaling him not to be nervous.

"My friends have arrived."

The next moment, Yahiko and Konan quickly arrived. Behind them, Nagato’s shadow clone stopped there and did not approach.

"Kyohiko!"

Ryoho Kyohiko raised his hand in greeting.

"Yahiko, Konan, are you alright?"

A brilliant smile appeared on Yahiko’s face.

"We’re fine. Following your advice, we left the Land of Rain and settled here. Everyone is doing well."

"I just miss the rain of the Land of Rain a little, hahaha!"

He scratched his head. Then, he looked at Kakashi, a kind smile on his face. He also greeted Hizashi and Shibi. Compared to Nagato and Konan, Yahiko’s social skills were indeed more than just a notch better.

"What’s the situation now?"

Yahiko said.

"Simply put, based on the clues and judgments we have, Sasori of the Red Sand has gone east and seems to have entered the Land of Rain now."

He hesitated for a moment.

"You want to hunt him down, but if he escapes to the Land of Rain, it should be a bit troublesome!"

Although the Land of Rain was a small country, Hanzo’s strength and prestige were indeed not comparable to ordinary ninjas. He was quite powerful among the small ninja villages. If Konoha and Sunagakure were to negotiate, there was a chance of gaining permission to pass, but... by then, who knows, the person might have already escaped without a trace.

Ryoho Kyohiko thought for a moment.

"Can you determine his direction?"

Yahiko shook his head.

"We can only confirm that he has fled to the vicinity of Amegakure and seems to be heading east. We don’t know the rest."

Nagato’s perception also had a range. Once the opponent entered the vicinity of Amegakure, he had reached the limit of his range. To investigate further, they would have to enter the Land of Rain... Then, he recounted everything about Sasori’s situation here.

After listening, a guess had already formed in Kyohiko’s mind. Sasori of the Red Sand left in a hurry. Based on the traces at the scene, he could conclude that a small-scale battle had taken place here. Black Zetsu? Was this guy involved?

Ryoho Kyohiko closed his eyes, his chakra spreading out, sensing everything around him. Within a ten-kilometer radius, there was no trace of Sasori. However, he did sense Rasa’s presence.

"Let’s go."

Kakashi asked.

"Where to?"

Ryoho Kyohiko said.

"Let’s go find Sunagakure first. We’re here to help; we can’t be the ones taking the lead in this matter."

"You wait for me here."

Saying that, Ryoho Kyohiko flickered and disappeared from the area.

Disbelief appeared on Yahiko’s and Konan’s faces. The last time they had met Kyohiko was a year or two ago. They had heard legends about him over the years, but they had no deep understanding of how strong he really was. But just now, Kyohiko’s Body Flicker Technique had made them understand.

Strong! Uncommonly strong. Such a Body Flicker Technique is already close to the spatial movement of the Flying Thunder God Technique!

Yahiko lamented.

"In the past, the fastest speed belonged to the Second Hokage. But in this generation, there are already two ninjas whose speed is comparable to the Second Hokage’s..."

"It’s truly amazing!"

Konan chuckled.

"You’ve never seen the Second Hokage. You talk as if you were from the same era as him."

Yahiko’s gaze was fixed in Kyohiko’s direction.

"I haven’t seen him, but I think Nidaime-sama must have been at this level, right?"

Hizashi smiled.

"Not necessarily."

Yahiko was surprised.

"Could he be even stronger?"

Kyohiko’s speed was already the limit he could imagine. He couldn’t imagine what a stronger speed would be like.

Hizashi shook his head, a smile on his face.

"What I mean is, Kyohiko is only twelve this year. He has an infinite future. How can you be sure that the future Kyohiko won’t be even stronger?"

"You... are right."

Twelve. What an astonishing age. If Kyohiko were given a few more years to grow, the future shinobi world might welcome an era similar to that of Senju Hashirama back then—one person intimidating the entire shinobi world! At that time, perhaps there could be decades of peace.

Thinking of this, Yahiko couldn’t help but sigh softly, his expression incredibly complex. Relying on an incomparably powerful ninja to temporarily achieve peace in the shinobi world actually went against his own vision. But this was reality.

*

At the border of the Land of Wind and the Land of Birds.

"Sir, this is the intelligence we’ve gathered."

Rasa looked north and frowned.

"The Land of Birds."

"The number of ninjas residing in this country has actually reached such a scale!"

Over a hundred people. Although it couldn’t compare to their Sunagakure, for a small country, it was already quite large, even stronger than many small ninja villages. Unknowingly, they had already developed to such a scale... Should they be driven out? Rasa pondered in his heart.

After a moment of thought, he suddenly sensed a presence approaching. Very hidden, but during the body flicker, there would be a brief exposure of presence. And the other party’s speed was quite astonishing!

Rasa shouted sharply.

"Who’s there?"

Gold sand instantly appeared, forming into spears all around. The next moment, he no longer needed to ask. The other party had already arrived just ten steps away from him.

"Kazekage, don’t be afraid. If I wanted to kill you, your spears would be of little use to me."

Rasa’s eyes widened as he looked at the other party in disbelief.

"Ryoho Kyohiko?"

This guy... is actually so fast? He was far away before, and now he was instantly in front of him. If he wanted to kill him, with such speed, it indeed wouldn’t be too difficult.

He took a deep breath.

"What do you want?"

"According to our intelligence, the current Sasori has already entered the Land of Rain. Kazekage, this operation is led by you. What do you plan to do?"

Rasa was a little surprised.

"What?"

"The news I got was that he was still in the Land of Birds. How did he suddenly go to the Land of Rain? And, how did you know?"

Ryoho Kyohiko smiled faintly.

"I naturally have my own channels of information. And, you should know, right? What is there here that can be hidden from you?"

Rasa’s pupils suddenly shrank. The north. The Land of Birds? When did Konoha start setting up there? Aren’t these people ninjas from Amegakure? Could it be that it was precisely because of Konoha’s intervention that such a group of ninjas split from Amegakure and entered the Land of Birds? In that case... they could weaken Amegakure’s strength, plant a hidden hand here, and also intimidate both them and Amegakure?

He licked his lips, his mouth dry. If this were the case, then this guy was too terrifying! Even more frightening than Danzo!

He spat out a word, then fell silent.

"Unexpected..."

This matter could not be exposed.

Rasa was silent for a moment, then changed the subject.

"Sasori of the Red Sand must definitely be captured, or killed. Otherwise, the reputation of my Sunagakure will be difficult to recover..."

If it were before, reputation didn’t matter. But now, Sunagakure itself was weak and needed to transform. Reputation was of utmost importance.

"On the Amegakure side, we will go and negotiate. Please help us first to capture Sasori. Otherwise, if he escapes, it will be very difficult to find him again!"

Kyohiko lamented.

"I can, but... if there is a misunderstanding, we are afraid we will suffer losses."

Rasa knew the other party was raising the price on the spot, but he had no choice but to agree.

"It is already a great fortune that your village is willing to help. Sunagakure will bear any losses, and we will go and explain any misunderstandings with Amegakure."

"Then I am relieved."