Hatake Sakumo frowned slightly. He wasn't good at dealing with ninja like Hyuga Arin.
There was something lawless about him.
For a ninja, that kind of attitude was completely unprofessional.
"Move out," Sakumo said in a low voice.
Among the three, he was the team leader.
"I heard White Fang-senpai was actually pretty interesting," Arin shrugged. "Didn't expect you to be this rigid."
From what he'd heard, although Sakumo appeared strict, he was actually quite an interesting person.
But now it seemed… not at all.
Kazuma stood to the side, pretending to be dead.
He couldn't afford to offend either of these two.
Sakumo silently took the lead, while Kazuma and Arin followed behind as they left Konoha and sped toward their destination.
…
The capital of the Land of Fire.
Also known as the Capital of Fire.
Located at the center of the country, it was the most prosperous place aside from Konoha.
Although in many people's hearts, Konoha was the true capital.
But here—aside from prosperity…
"…Hard to even describe," Arin said with a strange smile.
On the streets, some people were barely clothed, dressed in rags and moving cautiously.
Others wore luxurious garments, walking with their heads held high.
"The Capital of Fire is different from Konoha," Sakumo said in a low voice. "Here, nobles hold the highest status. You must not offend them. Otherwise, even Konoha might not be able to protect you."
"Then Konoha's power is really pathetic," Arin said mockingly, completely unfazed.
Powerless nobles… yet they could force Konoha to abandon one of its heroes.
Sakumo didn't like his tone.
"Ninja exist to protect their lords. Our lords are the Hokage—and these nobles, the Daimyō."
"Even if they commit all kinds of evil?" Arin pointed toward the street.
A group of people were openly trying to seize a young girl.
In the Capital of Fire, nobles were above everything.
Kidnapping, killing—these things could happen openly in broad daylight.
To live peacefully here, the first question was whether you had a noble backing you.
Otherwise, you might be killed just walking down the street.
Beautiful women could be taken at will.
Sakumo fell silent.
His hand instinctively moved toward the blade on his back—
…but slowly loosened.
"So, White Fang-senpai… are you a fading samurai, or a ninja?" Arin casually flipped a few kunai in his hand.
Sakumo suddenly grabbed Arin's wrist.
"Don't act rashly."
"Maybe you're the one who shouldn't act rashly, senpai," Arin said, glancing at Sakumo's other hand reaching toward his ninja pouch.
At that moment—
Both of them turned their heads at the same time.
A young man with no affiliation to any ninja village rushed forward.
With a flick of his hand—
Several shuriken pierced through the arms of the soldiers abducting the girl.
"AHHH!!" "AHHH!!"
The soldiers collapsed, clutching their arms in pain.
The young man grabbed the girl's hand and ran without hesitation.
The girl followed immediately.
Arin quietly put away his shuriken.
Sakumo slowly withdrew his hand from his ninja pouch.
Kazuma remained silent.
For some reason… it felt like both of these guys were troublemakers.
"Let's go," Sakumo said.
…
"Yimi, trust me—I'll make you happy," the young man said as he pulled the girl into a side alley.
"Itō, I believe you," the girl nodded firmly.
They rushed toward a wall ahead.
Once they got out of the city, they'd be safe.
Whoosh—whoosh—
Several figures suddenly appeared, blocking their path.
"Ninja…" the young man's face turned pale.
Several ninja drew their blades.
"Senpai, do you know where these ninja are from? They don't look like Konoha," Arin's voice sounded casually.
"Rogue ninja," Sakumo replied. "Aside from Konoha, there are many rogue ninja in the Land of Fire."
The two spoke as if no one else existed.
At the entrance of the alley—
A young man leaned against the wall, watching them with amusement.
The others quickly turned around—
A plain-looking middle-aged man stood atop the wall, looking down at them coldly.
Both sides were confused by the sudden appearance of these two.
"Who are you?! Leave immediately! We are working for Lord Fujiwara!" one of the rogue ninja shouted.
"Senpai, has anyone ever told you that you're a tsundere?" Arin completely ignored him, instead looking at Sakumo's disguised middle-aged appearance with disgust.
"That trait might be cute in a girl, but on a middle-aged man… it's kind of disgusting."
"Hey!! I'm talking to you!!" the ninja roared.
Whoosh—whoosh—
Several sounds cut through the air.
Their anger was answered by shuriken.
The blades struck their foreheads—
—and instantly erupted into blazing flames.
Blue-black fire engulfed them, burning them into ashes.
The young man stood protectively in front of the girl, staring at Arin in terror.
Poof!Poof!
Arin and Sakumo both vanished into smoke.
Both had only sent Shadow Clones.
…
"You're really not an honest person," Arin said with a smile, looking at Sakumo.
Sakumo ignored him completely and headed straight toward the Daimyō's residence.
The enormous Capital of Fire—
The Daimyō's palace alone occupied nearly half the land.
After presenting the mission scroll and passing inspection, they were brought before the Daimyō of the Land of Fire.
All three knelt on one knee.
The Daimyō was a seemingly kind old man, dressed in white robes with red trim. His face was so plump it looked like it could pinch flies.
"So you are the famous White Fang and Flame Demon," the Daimyō said with a smile. "I've long heard of your reputations."
"Thank you for your praise, Lord Daimyō," Sakumo replied in a steady voice.
Arin remained expressionless.
In his mind, he was already thinking about how to kill this old man… without getting caught.
"My safety is in your hands," the Daimyō said warmly.
Entrusting his life… to someone who wanted to kill him.
It was almost as if fate had already been decided.
Kazuma remained silent like air.
He truly couldn't compare to these two.
…
Arin and Sakumo concealed themselves within the Daimyō's residence, guarding against any potential threats.
At least—that was how it was supposed to be.
Sakumo hid on a ceiling beam, frowning slightly as he looked ahead.
Meanwhile—
Arin's clone hung upside down from the ceiling.
The real Arin sat quietly behind the Daimyō.
He looked up at Sakumo, slightly surprised.
"He actually noticed…"
Arin had used Yin Release to obscure everyone's perception—
Yet Sakumo had still sensed something was off.
Arin's eyes lit up with interest.
Just how strong was this guy?
Sakumo's gaze snapped toward the space behind the Daimyō—
Toward what appeared to be nothing at all.
His frown deepened.
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