Tsunade, I am the Hokage!

---

"If you refuse to cooperate, I'll have no choice but to take you to Konoha and negotiate with Kirigakure later," Jiraiya said, crouching down.

Kisame remained silent, unwilling to bear the cost of "cooperation."

Jiraiya stopped being polite. He tied Kisame up securely with ropes and knocked him unconscious.

As for the other two Kirigakure ninjas, they were already dealt with—one of them might never wake up again.

"Kurenai, don't bother saving him. Just tie up the ones who are still alive and bring them along."

"Yes," Kurenai replied as she stood up, glancing at Kyohiko.

In reality, even if she wanted to save the injured one, she lacked the ability to do so. Earlier, she was only studying the condition as a reference to accumulate experience in handling such situations.

The injured ninja seemed to be about 14 or 15 years old, likely a Chūnin from Kirigakure.

During the earlier crisis, Kyohiko had used the Body Flicker Technique to instantly close the distance and landed a direct punch on the enemy attacking her.

The result?

Just that one simple punch.

The ninja's heart was almost shattered, and his current condition suggested severe internal bleeding.

She couldn't heal him.

"What an incredible power!" Kurenai thought.

"Has he already fully mastered Lady Tsunade's monstrous strength?"

Kurenai secretly observed Kyohiko, her heart filled with admiration and a tinge of envy.

Months ago, Kyohiko hadn't yet mastered this technique. Now, he could use it effortlessly without injuring himself.

What terrifying progress!

If it had been a few months ago, she would have thought this was purely due to innate talent.

But now, she thought differently.

Behind this rapid progress were the unimaginable efforts that both Kyohiko and Kakashi had put in. Over the past few days, Kyohiko must have been training tirelessly, day and night.

"Jiraiya-sama, is it over?"

"Yes, Mr. Matsuyama. We can now proceed to meet Gato," Jiraiya replied.

"Oh, thank you so much. If it weren't for you… and your three students, I would've been done for," said Matsuyama Ichirō, his face full of gratitude.

However, there was also a strong hatred in his eyes.

"That wretched Gato(Kado)! The Matsuyama family has been honest in doing business with him, but he wants to destroy us. I'll make him pay for this!"

Matsuyama Ichirō then looked at Jiraiya.

"Jiraiya-sama, could you accept another request from me?"

"If it's about killing Gato..." Jiraiya hesitated for a moment before shaking his head. "I can't give you an answer immediately."

"Why not?" Matsuyama asked, confused.

Jiraiya explained, "Based on what you've said, Gato is currently a significant power in the Land of Waves. The situation there is complicated, and any action I take could send strong signals to outside parties."

"I see... I understand. Let's move on, at least to complete this business deal," Matsuyama Ichirō sighed.

They continued their journey northeast.

Near a road, Kakashi finally woke up. He opened his eyes, still dazed, but quickly regained clarity as he assessed the surroundings.

"I… passed out?"

Then—

"Wait, what's this?"

Kakashi's face turned pale when he saw the two Kirigakure ninjas tied up and dragged behind the carriage.

He realized he must have missed something crucial!

Jiraiya, noticing Kakashi had woken up, slowed down and moved from the front to the middle.

"Jiraiya-sama, your subordinate has woken up. If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave now," said Gamaken as he prepared to leave.

"Alright, thank you," Jiraiya replied politely.

Kakashi immediately bowed deeply.

"I'm sorry, Sensei. At such a critical moment, I passed out. I'm unworthy of being a ninja!" Kakashi said, his voice and eyes filled with genuine remorse.

Jiraiya sighed.

This kid's mindset is too extreme.

"Mission above all else?"

This wasn't even a particularly important mission.

Jiraiya gave Kakashi a serious look before speaking, "Kakashi, you don't need to apologize to me. You should apologize to your teammates because they are the ones who truly need you."

Kakashi turned to look at Kyohiko and Kurenai behind him.

He immediately understood Jiraiya's point. For Jiraiya, Kakashi's strength was insignificant. However, for Kyohiko and Kurenai, his presence was invaluable.

Of course, the actual situation wasn't as dangerous as Kakashi imagined.

Although Kurenai was nearly attacked, Jiraiya had always been watching over them, and Gamaken was nearby to protect them if necessary.

After finishing his words, Jiraiya returned to the front.

Kakashi moved to the back, approaching Kyohiko and Kurenai. Before he could say anything, Kurenai greeted him with a warm smile.

"Kakashi, it's fine. The important thing is that you're okay. Just make sure not to push yourself to the point of exhaustion next time, alright?" she said gently.

Kakashi looked at them, his mask twitching as if he wanted to say something, but he remained silent.

He had imagined many scenarios.

Perhaps Kyohiko would mock him, saying he failed to follow the rules or contribute to the mission.

Or maybe Kurenai, despite her kind personality, wouldn't give him a kind look because he had been a burden.

However—

Kyohiko said nothing, and Kurenai gently reassured him, not seeing him as a burden.

Kakashi was stunned.

"But… I didn't help at all."

"There's no need to feel sorry. We all have flaws and weaknesses, which is why we need each other and work as a team. Besides, this mission wasn't that important. As long as everyone is safe, it's fine," Kyohiko said in a mature tone despite his youthful appearance.

Then, he added, "But you do owe an apology."

"Huh?"

Kurenai was taken aback. She thought Kyohiko would comfort Kakashi, but his words took a sudden turn.

Kakashi was confused, unsure of what Kyohiko meant.

"As a ninja, you should be responsible for your teammates. Even I, a recent graduate, understand this. You knew there was a mission today, yet you trained all night? Even if you didn't pass out, how well could you have performed? You might have endangered your teammates," Kyohiko said sternly.

"I'm sorry. I was too eager to master this technique. I promise I won't do it again," Kakashi replied earnestly.

Over the past few days, he had been desperate to catch up to Kyohiko.

Although Kyohiko claimed to have been practicing similar techniques for a long time, Kakashi knew that Kyohiko hadn't shown such advanced chakra control skills before.

If he had, it must have been within the last month or so.

In just one month, Kyohiko had made incredible progress.

And him?

He had barely moved forward.

Kakashi clearly recognized this gap, as well as his own inadequacies, which fueled his reckless desire to grow stronger.

However—

That was indeed irrational.

It wasn't fair to the mission or his teammates.

Kakashi felt deeply remorseful.

Kyohiko, standing nearby, was secretly pleased.

Although the process differed from his plan, the outcome was as expected.

The next step was to help Kakashi truly understand the importance of teamwork.

Additionally—

According to the reward mechanism, significant influence on a target often resulted in rewards tied to their strongest traits.

"Kakashi, you better improve quickly!" Kyohiko thought to himself with anticipation.

-------

more chapters on

pat reon.com/yuuwand