Take a Chance, and Progress Is Within Reach

After seeing through their opponent's carefully laid plans, Hayato and the others didn't act rashly. Instead, like wise men, they quietly prepared a counterplan.

Then they set out together, traveling along winding roads and overcoming many hardships before finally reaching the agreed meeting place.

The Land of Snow's envoy stepped forward and stood before the others, his voice ringing like a bell.

"We're here."

Before his words had even faded, the faint sound of footsteps came from not far away.

A moment later, eight figures appeared in their sight, bringing along two bound boys.

Though the boys' mouths had been gagged, their eyes gleamed with excitement. They struggled desperately, but with their bodies tightly bound by coarse rope, all they could do was wriggle helplessly.

Seeing this, Hayato furrowed his brow and thought to himself, The numbers don't add up. Looks like they had the same idea.

When he'd come here to investigate earlier, he'd found that the other side had stationed ten ninja here.

Hayato and Sakumo exchanged a subtle glance, understanding each other without a word.

The Land of Snow's envoy noticed something was amiss, too, but he held his ground and continued with the original plan. "As agreed, let's make the exchange now."

The other side nodded and escorted the two boys forward at a slow pace.

The Land of Snow's envoy motioned for the researchers behind him to follow. They looked nervous, but had no choice except to steel themselves and move forward.

Hayato stealthily reached for his ninja tool pouch, while Sakumo quietly moved his right hand behind his back.

When the two groups were just ten paces apart, a low, resolute "Now!" rang out from both sides at once.

In the next instant, a sudden storm swept over them.

The eight ninja from the Land of Arc charged toward the people from the Land of Snow like tigers leaping down a mountain.

The two boys, who had seemed utterly helpless, suddenly burst into smoke and transformed into ninja wielding Ninja Blades.

But there was no joy on their faces, because the enemy ninja were already charging toward them like arrows loosed from a bow.

"What's going on? Aren't you worried we'll attack these researchers?" shouted a scar-faced ninja.

They'd planned to use the researchers as bargaining chips, forcing the other side to hold back. They hadn't expected their opponents to attack without hesitation.

Seeing this, the Land of Snow's envoy immediately shot back, "You're the ones who broke the agreement first!"

A vicious glint appeared in the scar-faced ninja's eyes. "I don't believe you don't care whether these people live or die. Attack!"

As he spoke, he lunged forward and grabbed one of the researchers.

But just then, the researcher in his grasp suddenly turned into a cloud of smoke and vanished.

The researchers around them also turned into smoke one after another, like a line of dominoes falling.

"Damn it, we've been tricked," the scar-faced ninja said, his face darkening.

Both sides had come up with the same plan.

"Shadow Clones combined with the Transformation Technique?"

"Since a sneak attack won't work, I guess we'll have to fight them head-on."

The Snow Ninja didn't slow down; they charged at the enemy.

Knowing the other side had made preparations here, they'd moved all the original researchers to another safe location.

Then the Snow Ninja had each made four or five clones and used the Transformation Technique to disguise them as researchers before coming to the meeting.

The battle erupted at once, and the two sides quickly clashed.

Hayato was the first to face a blue-haired young man. Seeing how young Hayato was, the youth gave him a look of contempt.

"Kid, are you in that much of a hurry to die?"

But before the words had left his mouth, Hayato vanished like a specter.

In the blink of an eye, he appeared to the youth's left and slammed a flying right knee into him.

"You talk too much."

The blue-haired youth felt an immense force strike him. He went flying to the right, skidding a long way and kicking up clouds of dust.

Hayato pressed his advantage, instantly appearing in front of the youth. The Kunai in his hand flashed like lightning as he plunged it into the man's neck. Blood sprayed everywhere.

"A Kunai. First kill," Hayato murmured.

He hadn't expected that the first person he killed in this world would die by Kunai.

And he guessed that this ninja was probably only a Genin.

The commotion quickly drew the attention of the Land of Arc's forces.

The scar-faced ninja furrowed his brow. One of his men had already been killed so quickly.

"Damn brat!" he roared, swinging his Ninja Blade at the Snow Ninja blocking his path.

After breaking free, he blurred forward and charged straight at Hayato.

"Hayato, watch out!" Sakumo had been keeping an eye on the battle and immediately warned him.

"Too late!" The scar-faced ninja gripped his Ninja Blade in both hands and brought it crashing down from above. "You snot-nosed brat, don't get too cocky! Die!"

But the blade struck nothing but air.

Hayato's voice drifted into the scar-faced ninja's ear. "Tell me, are you really a ninja?"

"What... When—?" Before the scar-faced ninja could even turn his head, a heavy punch slammed into his stomach.

He hadn't even had time to react before a wave of pain tore through his abdomen. He staggered backward.

"Urgh."

Hayato's hands flashed through a series of Hand Seals.

"Fire Style: Great Dragon Fire Technique!"

Three dragons of fire roared toward the scar-faced ninja, engulfing him in blazing flames.

The battered scar-faced ninja stared at Hayato, fear welling up inside him.

He couldn't help growing anxious. Why hadn't those few come out yet? Couldn't they see that their side was completely outmatched?

They were ninja hired by the Land of Arc, serving as cannon fodder on the front lines.

Elsewhere, the Cloud Ninja hidden in the shadows had witnessed it all.

"Konoha really did send someone. Captain, what do we do? Fight or withdraw?" asked a dark-skinned Cloud Ninja with dark blue hair, his voice tense.

"Captain!" the others began urging their leader as well.

The Cloud Ninja captain was silent for a moment, then finally muttered, "Damn it. Why would Konoha send him?"

His words left the other Cloud Ninja looking confused.

"That weapon, and that silver hair. I can't be mistaken. That's the White Fang of Konoha," the Cloud Ninja captain explained slowly.

The other Chunin tensed at once, while the Genin looked completely baffled.

The few Genin among them were still fresh out of the academy and hadn't lived through the Second Shinobi World War, so they naturally hadn't heard of the White Fang of Konoha.

"Then, Captain, should we abandon the mission?" one of the Chunin ventured.

The Cloud Ninja captain shook his head. "Looks like we'll have to negotiate first."

He knew they were no match for the White Fang of Konoha. So he decided to change tactics and look for a peaceful solution.

After waiting for a while, once Hayato and the others had taken down all the ninja from the Land of Arc, the Cloud Ninja finally revealed themselves.

They wore cloaks and hoods, with masks over their faces, making them look mysterious.

But to Hayato and the others, who already knew who was behind everything, their appearance caused hardly a stir.

"Is this what you call good faith?" The Land of Snow's envoy stepped forward, his tone laced with displeasure.

The Cloud Ninja captain replied coolly, "You didn't stick to the agreement either."

Neither side was willing to back down, and the atmosphere fell into a standoff.

"Let's negotiate again," the Cloud Ninja captain said, breaking the silence. "Bring us what we asked for, and we'll release the hostages. What do you say?"

"Also, to show our good faith, we can release one hostage first this time. Once the deal is done, we'll release the other."

The Land of Snow's envoy considered the offer. He looked toward Sakumo, hoping for advice.

But Sakumo simply slid the White Fang back into its sheath and said calmly, "The decision is yours, Envoy. We'll do our best to ensure the hostages' safety."

He was determined to stay out of it.

Hayato reflected to himself, A man's reputation precedes him. He knew they were holding back only because of Sakumo's strength.

Since the other side was at a disadvantage, why should they be so accommodating?

So he quietly went over to the Land of Snow's envoy and whispered something in his ear.

"We have the advantage now, so we can make a few more demands and test how far they're willing to go. For instance, we could reduce the number of people we're providing."

"Will that work?" the Land of Snow's envoy asked doubtfully. What if the other side decided to break off negotiations?

"Give it a try. Haggle a little. If we can get them to take even one fewer person, it'll still count as a great achievement when we get back," Hayato continued.

The main reason Hayato wanted to get involved was to see if he could keep the Kazama brothers. If they agreed to go to Konoha with him, it would be a huge win.

Besides, the bargaining chips had nothing to do with him. No matter what happened, he had nothing to lose.

At that moment, two little figures seemed to appear in the Land of Snow's envoy's mind.

A little figure dressed all in black spoke up. "Take a chance, and progress is within reach."

Another little figure, dressed all in white, pointed at the one in black. "Mm, he's right."

Fine. Whatever happened, happened.

The Land of Snow's envoy took a deep breath, stepped forward, and said, "We're extremely dissatisfied with this deal. To prevent this from happening again, we've decided to provide technology only, not personnel."

The Cloud Ninja captain's expression darkened at once. "That's impossible!"

The Land of Snow's envoy didn't back down. "Then there's nothing left to discuss? Lord Sakumo, let's leave and decide what to do next." As he spoke, he turned to go.

Seeing this, the Cloud Ninja captain tensed and gritted his teeth. "We can agree to provide ten fewer people."

The Land of Snow's envoy heard him and curled his lips into a cold smile. He turned around, his tone full of mockery. "No! We can provide ten at most. They're all important people in our country."

The Cloud Ninja captain was furious. "You're going too far, sir!"

But the Land of Snow's envoy turned to leave again. Seeing this, the Cloud Ninja captain hurriedly called out, "Half! We can't go any lower!"

The Land of Snow's envoy stopped and turned around. A warm smile crossed his face, as if he wasn't the same man who'd just threatened to walk away at the slightest disagreement. "Fine! It's a deal!"

The Cloud Ninja captain silently cursed himself for making too low an offer, but could only accept.

Meanwhile, Hayato thought to himself, A fifty-fifty chance? Then it's all down to luck for the Kazama brothers.