"...It's someone familiar."
Kyoichi raised his brows, sounding genuinely surprised. "There are quite a few chakra signatures along the shore. Judging from how they're positioned, they're probably not all one group. But a few of them—those clustered together—I recognize."
"It wouldn't happen to be the Yellow Flash, would it?"
Elder Oniyuzu Anjō asked with a laugh.
"That's right."
Kyoichi nodded. "It's the Yellow Flash—and his students."
"Well I'll be..."
Anjō blinked, clearly not expecting his casual guess to be accurate.
"The only Konoha shinobi I really know are him and his students. As for the others I've met or fought... most of them have already gone ahead to the Pure Land to report to the Sage of Six Paths."
"...Kyoichi, you absolutely cannot say that once we land."
"Please don't treat me like some brainless idiot."
"Haha! Never! If you were as single-minded as Jūzō, I wouldn't have tried to recruit you to the Administration Department. That was just a habitual reminder, nothing more."
Just then—
"Elder Anjō, you called for me?"
The figure of Jūzō approached quickly.
"I'm saying we're about to make landfall. Jūzō, go tell the others to stay alert. Konoha's shinobi are already waiting for us—we mustn't let them look down on us."
Anjō said, completely unfazed.
"...But I clearly heard Elder Anjō talking bad about me just now."
"You think I'm the kind of ignorant fool who sits around gossiping all day? I don't have time to badmouth you. Go relay the order! Stop standing here being an eyesore."
Anjō snapped back, looking utterly unbothered despite being caught red-handed.
Jūzō stared suspiciously at him—but with no proof, he could only follow the order and depart.
Soon, the entire diplomatic entourage gathered on the deck, watching the port come into clearer view.
Before noon,
their ship smoothly reached the harbor.
---
At the docks—
Konoha's shinobi were already waiting.
Standing at the very front was a young man with blond hair, blue eyes, and strikingly handsome features—someone whose mere appearance could make any young woman's heart flutter. The man was none other than Namikaze Minato.
"Welcome to the Land of Fire, honored shinobi of the Kirigakure."
Minato stepped forward when Anjō came down the gangway, greeting him with a warm smile. "You must be Elder Anjō?"
"That's me."
Anjō nodded, giving Minato a careful once-over. "As expected of the famous Yellow Flash. Truly a remarkable young man!"
"You flatter me."
Minato replied calmly—clearly used to such praise. His gaze then shifted to Kyoichi behind Anjō. He smiled, filled with nostalgia.
"Kyoichi—so we meet again."
"Minato-senpai, I didn't expect we'd meet this soon. After our last parting, I thought years would pass before we crossed paths again... but here we are, not even half a year later."
Kyoichi sighed with similar sentiment.
Then his eyes drifted to the three figures behind Minato—two boys and one girl. When he saw them, his lips curled up naturally.
"Well if it isn't Kakashi, Obito, and Rin. You all came too, huh?"
"Koeda Kyoichi! You bastard—!!"
Uchiha Obito's eyes instantly went blood-red.
Seeing Kyoichi's smile triggered every infuriating memory he had: Rin being taken hostage by this damn jerk, being forced—along with Kakashi—to work for him, Minato-sensei being dragged into his schemes... The rage shot up uncontrollably.
In an instant, his black eyes turned crimson, a tomoe spinning rapidly.
"Obito!"
Minato cut him off before he could spit out any curses. "Don't forget what you promised me."
All the Kiri ninja's gazes snapped toward Obito the moment they heard Minato's tone. Seeing those three-tomoe Sharingan, they all stiffened—surprised that this ordinary-looking boy was not only an Uchiha, but one who had already awakened a fully matured Sharingan.
A heartbeat later,
they all quickly looked away—none daring to meet those eyes for even a second.
You must never look directly into an Uchiha's Sharingan.
That was practically a law of the shinobi world.
"...Sorry, Sensei!"
Obito inhaled deeply, wrestling down his fury. He apologized—but only to Minato, not to Kyoichi.
Minato rubbed his temples helplessly before facing Oniyuzu Anjō and Kyoichi with an apologetic smile.
"My deepest apologies, Elder Anjō, Kyoichi... my student has had a run of bad luck lately. His temper's been a bit short. Please forgive him."
"Young people get hot-headed—that's normal!"
Anjō said with a cheerful smile.
If this were the Kirigakure and some brat dared glare at him like that, he'd have already taught the kid a lesson.
But this was the Land of Fire—Konoha's home turf.
And they were here to request negotiations.
Facing Obito's disrespect, all he could do was smile through his teeth.
Kyoichi turned to Obito.
"Obito, still bitter about losing last time?"
"Of course I am!"
Obito snapped without hesitation.
"Good. Then I'll give you your chance to beat me. Now isn't the right time or place, but once we're in Konoha... I'll be waiting for your challenge."
A petty insult would be boring.
It was far more satisfying to let Obito learn the consequences of running his mouth—through a proper beating.
"Fine! Just you wait, Kyoichi! Once we're back in Konoha, I'm going to make sure you regret it!"
He answered before Minato could step in—overflowing with confidence.
And he had his reasons.
Any Uchiha who awakened the three-tomoe Sharingan was at least mid-upper jōnin level. A bit of training, and they became top-tier.
Obito had every right to be confident.
Unfortunately—
He had chosen the wrong opponent.
He had chosen Kyoichi.