"A person's experiences shape their way of thinking—that's what I believe. The only real pity is Tsunade, sigh…"
Jiraiya let out a heavy sigh.
Tsunade's past had been far too tragic. Everyone she ever cared about had died in war, leaving her completely alone. Fortunately, Kyoichi appeared—
"This village… it only ever brought her pain and sorrow."
"Kyoichi, I really should thank you. If it weren't for you, Tsunade would never have come back to Konoha, let alone taken up the mantle of the Fourth Hokage."
Though…
That thought might sound a bit too honest.
But still—there were many descendants of the Senju clan in Konoha. If she went around acknowledging everyone as kin, she'd be drowning in family.
So naturally… only those with exceptional talent would be noticed.
Of course, talent alone wouldn't have earned Kyoichi such trust. Allowing him to access and use all of the Senju clan's archives and resources went far beyond that.
That Tsunade was willing to go this far for him meant only one thing—she truly admired and believed in both his strength and his character.
"These aren't entirely my achievements," Kyoichi said with a faint smile. "If Tsunade hadn't already had that seed of thought in her, she would never have come back to Konoha. I just helped her realize it sooner."
Truth was, if not for Tsunade, things would have been very different. Back then, he never imagined she'd rush back to the village because of him—and that deeply moved Kyoichi.
His current influence in Konoha owed much to Tsunade's unwavering support. In fact, she had borne much of the political pressure on his behalf.
So in the end, it wasn't about who helped whom. They completed each other.
Jiraiya paused for a few seconds, then nodded thoughtfully.
"Yeah, that sounds right. With her personality—once she makes up her mind, even nine oxen couldn't drag her back."
"Enough talk. Everyone's working toward a better future now, aren't they? Once we deal with Madara, life across the ninja world will only get better. Sooner or later, we'll see an age without war."
Kyoichi stood and stretched lazily.
No one could completely stop nations from clashing—but he believed those conflicts could at least be kept short of full-scale wars.
Of course… he was just one person. The best he could do was draw from lessons of his previous life. Building a truly lasting peace from scratch? That was still beyond him.
But one thing he was sure of—
That nonsense "peace" Naruto achieved later? Absolutely unrealistic.
After loosening up a bit, Jiraiya glanced out the window and suddenly squinted.
"Hey, isn't that Ōnoki?"
"Yeah," Kyoichi nodded. "He's here. We should go greet him and talk about the alliance."
"To capture Madara's forces in one sweep, we'll need Iwagakure's cooperation. Their Earth Release users may not be great at everything, but when it comes to digging and tunneling, no one's better."
Jiraiya chuckled and nodded in agreement.
No doubt about it—Konoha couldn't compete with Iwagakure when it came to Earth Release techniques, especially excavation and terrain manipulation.
The two left quietly.
Ōnoki hadn't sensed them yet. Confident in his disguise, he assumed no one would recognize him. What he didn't realize, though…
Was that his aura gave him away instantly.
Even with a Transformation Technique, his distinct bearing was unmistakable.
After all, even if you change your appearance, your mannerisms remain the same—and Ōnoki still walked like Ōnoki.
To make matters worse, his "bodyguard" was so obviously Iwagakure's Kitsuchi that the whole act was practically pointless.
Meanwhile, Kyoichi and Jiraiya's disguises were…
"Jiraiya, could you be a little more serious? If Tsunade saw you acting like this, she'd deck you on the spot."
Kyoichi had just turned to glance at him—only to see Jiraiya's unmistakable lecherous grin. He sighed inwardly.
Jiraiya coughed awkwardly.
"Well, I couldn't help it! Didn't expect Iwa-nin to have such… fine-legged kunoichi around, you know?"
Kyoichi gave a dry cough and led him forward.
Ōnoki still hadn't noticed.
Not until they drew closer did he start to sense something was off.
"Stay alert! Something's wrong," Ōnoki muttered under his breath.
Kitsuchi was still clueless, but Ōnoki had already started forming hand seals—
Only for Kyoichi to appear beside him in a flash, gripping his wrist firmly and halting the movement.
"Ōnoki-sama," Kyoichi said calmly, "you disguised yourself as a merchant to come to the Land of Iron… I doubt you're here just to trade, are you?"
"You little—wait… no, that's not right!"
At first, Ōnoki actually tried to play along, but midway through his sentence, realization struck. There was no way the Land of Iron had shinobi this powerful.
If there were, Mifune wouldn't still be its leader.
No, the only person capable of something like this—and with enough time on his hands to do it—was that damn brat from Konoha.
"Kanda Kyoichi? You little punk! So you came to the Land of Iron ahead of us, huh? No wonder it suddenly agreed to host the Five Kage Summit."
Ōnoki's voice dropped low.
He'd found it strange—Mifune had always kept the Land of Iron strictly neutral. Yet this time, the invitations had been sent in secret through merchant channels, and all the shinobi were told to travel quietly.
If not for his trust in Mifune's character, Ōnoki would've thought it was a trap.
But seeing Kyoichi here made everything clear.
Wherever this kid was, trouble was never far behind.
And considering that Kyoichi had been the one chasing Madara's schemes and proposing the Five Kage Summit in the first place—well, of course he was already here.
Ōnoki took a deep breath, realizing this wasn't the place to talk. He tamped down his irritation and followed Kyoichi and Jiraiya down the merchant road to a nearby inn—the very one Kyoichi had been staying in.
Ōnoki took a room there as well. That night, the three gathered in private.
"Kid," Ōnoki began, "judging from your tone, it sounds like you've made progress on Madara's trail. Out with it—what's the situation?"
"How many people did you bring?" Kyoichi asked.
"Ahem… well…"
Ōnoki coughed lightly, looking a bit embarrassed.
Kyoichi waved a hand.
"No need to be shy. Let's be honest—you've stationed your main forces quietly around the western border of the Land of Iron, haven't you?"
"…That's right," Ōnoki admitted.
You couldn't really blame him.
A sudden Five Kage Summit held in secret? Of course he'd make backup plans. If something went wrong, his troops could react immediately.
Kyoichi smiled.
"Excellent. I knew you'd come prepared. That's exactly what I need—because I've got a plan to wipe out Madara's forces in one stroke."
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