The atmosphere was explosive, and a major battle could erupt between the six at any moment. Everyone was staring at their enemies, observing their every move. At this moment, Hyuga Kazuya frowned slightly, looked at everyone, and said, "Everyone, I think we still have to welcome other guests."
Everyone was taken aback. Just then, a rustling sound came from the direction Hyuga Kazuya was looking, and people emerged from the bushes. One of them complained, "Byakugan is such a hassle. We haven't even had a chance to catch our breath, and we're already being called out."
"You are from the Hidden Cloud Village..." Ryu recognized their identity immediately from their headbands and couldn't help but frown.
"I didn't expect people from three ninja villages to gather together," Otoju thought, feeling that something was amiss. The complexity of the situation when ninjas from three different places met was far greater than when only two parties were involved.
"So it's you guys. Don't tell me you're also like these people, planning to snatch the scrolls you couldn't get in time," Hattori Heizo said sharply, once again pointing at someone.
"I already said, that's a prey we've been eyeing for a long time!" Ryu shouted.
"And I also said, there's no rule that says it belongs to you just because you've eyed it," Hattori Heizo chuckled.
"Heh." The Hidden Cloud girl, Ran, couldn't help but cover her mouth and laugh. It seemed she was amused by their conversation. Chiku and I looked at her, as her sense of humor was sometimes quite strange.
"I think I understand what's going on. Hey, you guys from the Hidden Sand Village, prey has no owner. If someone gets a scroll, they get it. At most, you can snatch it back. Don't shamelessly claim it's yours. Isn't that embarrassing?" Chiku said to Ryu, "Or are you guys from the Hidden Sand Village so poor that you're fixated on one thing, huh?"
Hattori Heizo couldn't help but glance at Chiku. He hadn't expected someone who seemed straightforward to speak so cuttingly. He then looked at Ryu's expression, which was filled with anger, as if a raw nerve had been touched.
As Chiku said, the Hidden Sand Village, due to limited resources, had been continuously deducted funds by the daimyo over the years. Although their daily lives were not problematic, they were clearly unable to conduct research and develop their military capabilities. The Second Kazekage could no longer create new ninjutsu as he had in his early years, and some important resources were restricted by the Land of Wind, requiring troublesome procedures to obtain. Therefore, the Hidden Sand ninjas were truly afraid of poverty.
"Hidden Cloud ninjas, why are you speaking up for the Hidden Leaf ninjas?" Ryu asked, suppressing his anger.
"What do you mean by speaking up for them? From our Land of Lightning men's perspective, your behavior is too petty. A man should be more magnanimous," Chiku said, waving his hand, his attitude suggesting that the other party was truly disappointing.
"Damn it," Ryu cursed under his breath.
"I remember your name is Chiku, right? Have you guys obtained the scrolls? With your strength, you should have gotten them already," Hatake Sakumo asked calmly.
"Ah, we were lucky, we got them early," Chiku answered subconsciously, then came to his senses and shouted, "Why should I tell you guys?!"
"Is that so? Then you should also be qualified to participate in the third exam. If there are no surprises, the third exam should test individual abilities. That's great, we can settle the score in the arena, right, Chiku?" Hattori Heizo continued.
"That's true," Chiku nodded repeatedly upon hearing this.
"Since you've all obtained the scrolls, then go to the tower early to avoid any trouble," Hattori Heizo glanced at the Hidden Sand trio, clearly implying that they were the troublemakers.
"Oh, so that's your plan, isn't it? You don't want to fight the Hidden Sand ninjas, so you want to use this reason to make us help you force them to retreat." I, the smartest in the Hidden Cloud group, immediately understood the Hidden Leaf ninjas' intentions.
"What? Is that your plan?" Chiku said in surprise.
"You understand now, don't you? These Hidden Leaf ninjas are very despicable. Let's eliminate them together." Since the Hidden Cloud ninjas' stance was unclear, Ryu had not acted rashly. At this moment, he quickly tried to win over the Hidden Cloud ninjas.
"What do you guys think?" I asked in a low voice.
"I think they're quite interesting. There's no need to be a thug for the Hidden Sand ninjas. If people get the scrolls by their own ability, the Hidden Sand ninjas should go get them themselves," Ran said.
"Ah, I want to fight Hattori Heizo anyway, so they should be allowed to enter the third exam. Why should I help the Hidden Sand ninjas?" Chiku said.
Neither of them bothered to hide their voices, and Ryu's expression turned very ugly. Without waiting for their next words, he told his companions, "Let's go."
Immediately, the Hidden Sand group retreated, as if afraid that the Hidden Leaf and Hidden Cloud ninjas would unite to pursue them. Seeing this, I lightly patted his head and said, "They left so quickly. Although we won't help them, we won't help the Hidden Leaf ninjas either. If you want to fight, go fight yourselves."
"Our luck isn't bad; it's just what we wanted." Hatake Sakumo and the others descended from the treetops, saying, "Regardless, we still want to thank you."
"They misunderstood; there's nothing to thank us for," I replied.
"No, I mean, thank you for not helping the Hidden Sand ninjas against us," Hatake Sakumo said with a smile.
"That's because we don't want to be someone else's pawn, and we're not helping you either," Chiku pouted and said to Hattori Heizo, "Since that's the case, you should be able to reach the tower safely. You'd better be waiting."
"Ah, I'm waiting." Hattori Heizo's eyes widened slightly, his gaze exceptionally sharp. Normally, his eyes were smaller and appeared squinted, but when they opened wide, they looked somewhat terrifying.
"What powerful eyes!" Ran's eyes lit up slightly. Hattori Heizo wasn't tall, and his face was still youthful, but she hadn't expected his eyes to be so spirited when wide open.
Chiku was also startled by Hattori Heizo's gaze. He seemed to feel a powerful aura from the other party. The hot blood of a citizen of the Land of Lightning began to surge, and he excitedly said, "That's good. If you're too weak, the fight won't be as satisfying and will be disappointing."
"Don't worry, you should be worrying about yourself," Hattori Heizo replied.
"Alright, let's not talk about that for now. We should head to the tower early," Hatake Sakumo quickly interjected to smooth things over.
"Not 'we', but 'you'. Although we don't plan to attack you, it doesn't mean we're going to act together," I said slowly.
"Uh, indeed." Hatake Sakumo thought for a moment and then smiled, "Then, we'll see each other at the tower."
And so, the group split up there, dividing into their respective teams and heading towards the tower along different routes. This time, Hatake Sakumo and the others encountered no obstacles and, with the aid of Hyuga Kazuya's Byakugan, quickly arrived at the tower. There, they opened the Heaven and Earth scrolls.
From the two scrolls of Heaven and Earth emerged a person familiar to all three of them: Inuzuka Shigeru, commonly known as part of the Fumori Masaki Squad. Inuzuka Shigeru was tall and muscular, but very kind-hearted. Seeing that the three were only a bit dirty and showed no signs of injury, Inuzuka Shigeru nodded and said, "Indeed, this exam is no match for you. Captain Fumori Masaki will surely be pleased. I'll take you to the resting area."