The next day.
The sky had only just begun to brighten when Araki, whose daily routine had always been regular, arrived outside the posthouse.
By coincidence, just as he was about to step forward and knock, the door opened on its own, and a line of Land of Iron samurai led by Tōshirō filed out.
"Lord Araki, we are ready."
"Then please follow me."
The exchange venue had been arranged at Training Ground Fifteen.
It was an ordinary training ground that did not cover a particularly large area, flat and level, with no mountains, no water, no woods, and no beasts. Calling it an enormous arena would not have been much of an exaggeration.
The reason they had chosen this place was to eliminate interference from the external environment as much as possible, so the outcome would focus more on the strength of both sides themselves.
It would also leave the people of the Land of Iron with no excuse for losing.
After Tōshirō and the others followed Araki to Training Ground Fifteen, they discovered that ten ninja were already warming up there.
"Ahem!"
Araki coughed lightly twice. Hearing the sound, the ten stopped what they were doing and gathered together. The way they looked at the Land of Iron samurai held curiosity, fighting spirit, and indifference—the one thing it lacked was worry.
"These are the exchange participants we of Kirigakure have selected this time. If there are no problems... shall we begin?"
"We have no problem."
Tōshirō looked over the Kirigakure ninja and found that they, too, varied in age. However, compared with the samurai, who were at least fifteen or older, the ninja's lower age limit seemed a little too exaggerated. There were even several among them who were clearly still children.
But he also understood