"Yes."
He Yin frowned tightly as she looked at him, seemingly having already guessed what he intended to do. She took a small breath, then nodded heavily.
"Are you kidding me?"
Upon hearing Hada Kazune's affirmative answer, Hada Ichiba practically blurted out the question. His eyes were full of disbelief, and his expression had turned grave.
"Do I look like I'm joking?"
At that, He Yin's brows knit slightly. She raised her eyes to the solemn-faced youth, meeting the gaze that held disbelief, reproach, and even a clear Are you insane? without yielding in the slightest.
"But..."
Seeing the unyielding look in He Yin's eyes, Hada Ichiba frowned as well, but ultimately softened his tone.
In truth, there was nothing unreasonable about He Yin thinking this way.
Konoha had its own considerations, but this move of theirs had failed to take Kusagakure's position into account.
Perhaps Konoha could use this to force the forces hostile to it into revealing themselves or backing down, achieving victory without fighting.
But for Kusagakure, this was a disaster. Konoha had unilaterally elevated their status and used their alliance to do something like this, needlessly making enemies for them. Combined with the strength Kusagakure had displayed during these Chunin Exams, if the force hostile to Konoha suffered a setback in Konoha this time, it might very well turn around and attack Kusagakure directly. If it could not destroy Konoha, it would settle for the next best thing and deal with Konoha's ally first, preventing Konoha from gaining a powerful ally after these Chunin Exams and becoming even stronger.
It was even possible that, a few days from now, news of Konoha and Kusagakure forming an alliance—and of Kusagakure displaying strength rare for, or even far beyond, that of a small shinobi village—would spread throughout the