"Too slow."
Hikari tilted her head, and her once-black eyes instantly turned crimson.
Three Tomoe?
Rasa's heart lurched. A member of the Uchiha Clan?! What were they doing in Rōran?!
"Protect Lord Kazekage!!"
The surrounding Sand Shinobi Anbu reacted, and dozens of Kunai and Wind Release Ninjutsu came raining down on the girl sitting at the round table.
"Yachihoko."
Hikari merely raised her eyelids and swept her gaze around.
An absolute mental suppression instantly took effect.
Though she didn't use large-scale control, she turned her ocular power into countless tiny mental needles, precisely piercing the nerve centers of every Sand Shinobi rushing toward her.
"Ah!!"
"My hand! Why can't I move?"
Dozens of well-trained Anbu elites were like kites with their strings cut, colliding awkwardly in midair. Their techniques exploded among their own ranks, and chaos erupted in an instant.
But Hikari didn't stop.
She danced through the chaotic crowd.
Her bright red padded jacket stood out against the yellow sand. Every flash of red was accompanied by a dull thud as someone hit the ground.
She didn't use her blade to slit throats. Instead, she struck the enemy's carotid arteries or joints with the back of her blade, with pinpoint accuracy.
Since Yue had called them "clients," she couldn't kill them. That didn't stop her from putting them out of commission for a month or two.
In just ten seconds,
all thirty Sand Shinobi elites who had surrounded the round table were lying on the ground, groaning and unable to fight.
Hikari returned to Yue's side, neither breathing hard nor changing expression. She even reached up to straighten her collar that the wind had blown askew.
Apart from a little sand on the soles of her shoes, not a speck of dust had touched her.
The entire canyon fell deathly silent.
The leaders of the small factions, who had been trembling in fear of Rasa moments ago, now looked at Yue and Hikari as if they were two demons descended upon the mortal world.
"So this is... Rōran's power?"
Rasa's arrogance from before was gone.
He still couldn't understand how Rōran had a member of the Uchiha Clan, let alone one so powerful.
Perhaps he could use Konoha to keep them in check in the future, but not now.
His opponents were too strong.
He stared at Hikari, a fine sheen of cold sweat beading on his forehead.
In that instant, he had been certain that if the girl wanted to kill him, she might not have taken him down in a single blow, but he would have paid a terrible price—and might even have lost his life.
Even more frightening was the man who had remained seated without lifting a finger.
Just how strong was he?
"Well, Lord Kazekage?"
Yue brushed the Gold Dust from his shoulder, his tone still gentle. "Can we discuss business now?"
Rasa took a deep breath and recalled the Gold Dust still stirring around them. As the leader of a village, he had to know how to read the situation.
"How do you want to handle this?" Rasa asked in a low voice.
Yue pointed at the faction leaders, who were still staring in shock.
"It's simple. Rōran needs raw materials—steel, oil, and rare minerals. And you need water, food, money, and tools that will help you live better in this desert."
"Starting today, Rōran's caravans will regularly pass through the various factions throughout the Land of Wind. I hope Lord Kazekage will make things convenient for us and waive the tedious customs duties and inspections."
"Of course, in return..." Yue took another scroll from his robes and gently slid it across the table. "This is a token of Rōran's sincerity: a method of washing ore that increases Gold Dust extraction efficiency by 30%, along with priority purchasing rights for low-cost grain supplied to Sunagakure each year."
"With the Gold Dust you provide, Lord Kazekage, you can make your village prosperous."
At the words "increases Gold Dust extraction efficiency" and "prosperous," Rasa's pupils suddenly contracted.
Why did he squeeze these small factions? Wasn't it because he was short on money? If there was a more efficient way to make money, who would want to do this thankless dirty work and make enemies every day?
Besides, the force they'd displayed was already proof enough that they had the right to set the terms at the negotiating table.
If he refused, those two working together, along with the mysterious Rōran, would likely become a thorn in Sunagakure's side.
"I'll need to verify that the technique is genuine."
Rasa read the introduction at the beginning of the scroll and weighed the pros and cons. It took him only half a minute.
"Fine."
Rasa put away the scroll. His expression was still grim, but the murderous intent in his eyes had faded.
"As long as you don't interfere in Sunagakure's internal affairs or harbor its missing-nin, I, Rasa, approve this trade route."
"Excellent."
Yue rose, gave Rasa a slight nod, then turned and walked out with Hikari.
"By the way, Lord Kazekage, I'll leave the others in your hands."
Rasa gripped the scroll and looked at his subordinates groaning across the ground, then at the other faction leaders gloating. A cold smile immediately spread across his face.
Though they'd made an example of him, he could make an example of them in turn.
A short while later, Rasa, feeling much better, looked in the direction of Rōran.
"Rōran... Uchiha..."
On the way back, the camel bells rang melodiously.
Uchiha Hikari walked beside Yue, her red padded jacket fluttering gently in the wind.
"Yue, how did I do just now?"
Hikari looked up, a hint of anticipation in her eyes, like a child who'd scored a hundred and was waiting for a parent's praise.
The murderous aura of a demon from moments ago was gone. Now she was once again the little girl who'd get upset if she couldn't have a hamburger.
"Perfect."
Yue smiled and patted her head. This time, he didn't hold back his praise.
"That move just now, when you cut through the Gold Dust, was even cleaner than it had been during the Warring States period. It looks like you've learned the swordsmanship I taught you very quickly."
"Mm." Hikari narrowed her eyes, enjoying the warmth on her head. "That Kazekage was weaker than I expected. If it were a fight to the death, I'm confident I could kill him quickly."
"Don't go around killing people all the time."
Yue flicked her forehead, somewhat helplessly. "We're civilized people now. We're businesspeople. If money and intimidation can solve a problem, there's no need to fight. Save your ocular power. In a while, we'll have to go to Konoha. There are a lot of 'old friends' there, and they're much harder to deal with than that sand-throwing fellow."
"Konoha? Old friends?"
Hikari touched the mark between her brows, her gaze growing sharp.
"I understand. Whoever gets in your way... I'll cut them down."
Yue looked at the girl beside him and smiled faintly.
"Then what are we having tonight?"
"Good question. I'd like to know too."
As they passed through the sandstorm, Yue thought he could see Konoha.
At last, he was qualified to sit at the board in this grand game of the Night of the Nine-Tails and play a proper round against Obito, Black Zetsu, and even the World Correction Force.
"Come on, Hikari."
"Let's go home and have braised pork. It's my specialty. No one else in this world has ever had it—except you."
"Braised pork? (ﾟ∀ﾟ)"
Before you continue