Sarutobi Hiruzen sat inside the Hokage's office, lightly tapping his fingers against the desk.
Spread out before him was Root's latest report, containing their analysis of Uchiha Kyoshin's escape route.
The Third Hokage let out a quiet sigh and pulled out a sheet of letter paper from the drawer.
He personally took up the brush and wrote a letter to Onoki.
In the letter, he expressed concern over a missing genin and requested permission for a Konoha squad to enter the Land of Earth to conduct a search.
As a gesture of sincerity, he promised to provide five million ryo as compensation for any inconvenience caused to the Land of Earth during the search operation.
The letter was quickly delivered.
———
[Iwagakure, Tsuchikage's Office]
Onoki's gaze moved back and forth between the letter and the ssenger's face several tis as he carefully weighed the situation in his mind.
If he refused outright, Konoha might suspect that Iwagakure had taken Kyoshin in.
His lower back had started aching again, but what gave him a bigger headache at the mont was this diplomatic letter that appeared gentle on the surface while hiding sharp intentions underneath.
After thinking for a while, he picked up a pen and began writing a reply.
In his response, Onoki expressed understanding regarding the missing Konoha genin, but proposed revised conditions.
Konoha would need to pay ten million ryo, and Iwagakure would permit one squad to enter the Land of Earth.
The squad would be limited to a maximum of three mbers, and each mber's strength would be subject to Iwagakure's evaluation. None of them could exceed elite chūnin level.
The squad would be forbidden from approaching Iwagakure itself and could only search other areas within the Land of Earth. The search period would be limited to fifteen days.
At the sa ti, Iwagakure would dispatch a squad to accompany them.
First, to prevent the complicated terrain from affecting the search progress.
Second, to avoid accidental entry into dangerous areas that could result in casualties, or trespassing into restricted zones that might trigger even greater disputes.
Onoki handed the reply letter to the ssenger. "This is Iwagakure's final answer."
After the ssenger left, Onoki began drafting a letter to the daimyo.
The contents were roughly about informing the daimyo's residence of Konoha's search operation, as required by diplomatic protocol.
However, Onoki never ntioned Kyoshin's existence in the letter. He chose his wording carefully to ensure that no suspicious information would leak.
———
The reply quickly returned to Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Hiruzen fell silent.
Ten million ryo was no small amount, but it was still within Konoha's ability to pay.
The real issue was the restrictions.
Squad size, strength limits, prohibition from approaching Iwagakure, supervised cooperation during the search.
Every condition felt like a carefully constructed defensive line.
Onoki's stance was tougher than he had expected, but there was still room left to negotiate.
The other side had not rejected the request outright. Instead, they offered terms that both protected their sovereignty and were just barely acceptable to Konoha.
That sort of political maneuvering truly fit Onoki's style.
———
[Eighteen days later]
The search operation officially ca to an end.
Konoha returned empty-handed.
Both Onoki and Sarutobi Hiruzen were old foxes.
Onoki did not leak anything regarding the conflict between Konoha and the Uchiha.
Konoha's reputation had not suffered any damage for the ti being, but they also failed to infer Kyoshin's whereabouts through "public opinion," because there had never been any public discussion in the first place.
From the search results, Hiruzen arrived at two possibilities.
First: Kyoshin never went to Iwagakure, and the traces leading toward the Land of Earth had simply been a decoy.
Second: Kyoshin was in Iwagakure, but Onoki intended to use the "public opinion" issue as a trump card, keeping it in reserve for future political leverage against Konoha.
In any case, no matter what choices Konoha made next, they could no longer affect Kyoshin.
———
[Iwagakure]
Night had fallen. Kyoshin finished another day of training, sweat soaking through his clothes.
He walked over to a bench at the edge of the training ground, sat down, and took several drinks from his water bottle.
Lately, he could clearly feel his own progress.
Kyoshin closed his eyes and summoned the status panel in his mind.
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
[Host: Uchiha Kyoshin]
[Bloodline: Two-Tomoe Sharingan]
[Ninjutsu: Great Fireball Technique, Clone Technique, Transformation Technique]
[Genjutsu: Sharingan, Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique]
[Taijutsu: Konoha-Style Swordsmanship]
[Chakra: 8]
[Combat Power: 17]
[System Ability - Linear Potential: Effort will always be rewarded. Your potential no longer has limits or bottlenecks.]
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
A normal genin's chakra level was 5. Kyoshin had previously been at 6, and now it had risen to 8.
A normal genin's combat power was 5. Kyoshin had previously been at 9, and now it had reached 17.
This growth in strength was tangible. He could feel the chakra inside his body flowing more smoothly, and his taijutsu movents becoming more precise.
As he rested, Kyoshin analyzed his current situation.
Iwagakure's acceptance was genuine, and Onoki's protection was solid.
But Kyoshin understood that this protection was not unconditional.
He needed to demonstrate enough growth potential in order to maintain Iwagakure's investnt of resources into him.
So how should he display that potential?
Just as he was thinking about it, a figure walked in from the entrance of the training ground.
Tonight, Kurotsuchi was wearing a dark brown training outfit. Her short black hair fell neatly behind her head, and she carried a lunchbox as she briskly walked over to Kyoshin.
"Kintsuchi, you're still training this late?"
"No, I just finished."
Kurotsuchi set the lunchbox down on the bench and opened the lid.
Inside was steaming hot Iwagakure-style food, grilled rock at and rice from the Land of Earth.
The aroma drifted out, instantly making Kyoshin feel hungry.
Kurotsuchi sat down beside him, then looked at him with a resentful expression.
Her eyes carried a mix of helplessness and mild complaint. "You know, ever since you ca here, Grandpa's gotten way stricter with ."
"Before, he pushed to train too, but he was still pretty gentle about it."
"But now? He checks my progress every single day, and the training volu has increased too."
"I'm guessing it's because you're too outstanding, so Grandpa's expectations for went up along with it."
Kyoshin ate the boxed al. It tasted good, the at rich and flavorful. "That'll help improve your strength."
Kurotsuchi sighed. "I understand all the logic behind it, but it's still exhausting."
"Three days from now, I'm taking the early graduation exam for ninja academy students. Grandpa said if I fail this ti, the training will double."
Even though she sounded like she was complaining, there was a hint of anticipation in her eyes. "I hope you'll co watch when the ti cos. You're really strong, so maybe you can give so advice."
Kyoshin nodded. "I'll be there."
A smile appeared on Kurotsuchi's face. "Then it's settled. Three days from now, in the morning, at the ninja academy testing grounds. Don't be late."
After saying that, Kurotsuchi left the training ground with light, energetic steps.
Kyoshin watched her departing figure. He really should go see the graduation exam three days from now.
Kurotsuchi's graduation assessnt might be a good opportunity. He could observe the strength of Iwagakure's younger generation while also integrating himself further into life here.
More importantly, properly displaying his growth potential was the only way to reassure Iwagakure's higher-ups.
Kurotsuchi's invitation might not have been solely her own idea.
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