You're using my stuff to trade with me, is that appropriate?

Within the deep and complex thicket of the Forest of Death, Hayato and Jiro moved like two ghosts.

Jiro, an outstanding ninja dog of the Inuzuka Clan, guided Hayato with his exceptional tracking skills.

It had to be said that this entire arrangement was filled with a marvelous sense of fate.

Just as Hayato was wandering through this intricate forest, agonizing over how to quickly locate his enemies, the appearance of Inuzuka Kaku and Jiro was like a ray of dawn, illuminating the path ahead.

Hayato immediately formulated a plan, deciding to utilize the Inuzuka Clan's ninja dog to track his enemies; this was undoubtedly far more efficient than searching the forest blindly.

Jiro stopped on a tree branch thick enough for two people to wrap their arms around. He lowered his head, sniffing the air intensely with his keen nose.

A moment later, he let out a low growl, his voice filled with the excitement of having found prey, and then turned to look at Hayato, his eyes seeming to say, "Master, I found them!"

A mysterious smile curled the corners of Hayato's mouth as he gently patted Jiro on the head. "Let's go, lead the way!"

Having received the order, Jiro turned immediately and bounded forward, while Hayato followed closely behind, his steps light and steady.

Before long, they came to a halt. Hayato carefully poked his head out to see that, about forty meters ahead, two Konoha Genin were locked in a fierce battle.

A flash of cunning light crossed Hayato's eyes, and he decided to hold his position for now and observe the situation.

He would play the role of the fisherman.

From the details of the combat, he noticed that one of them was a female ninja from the Aburame Clan.

The other male ninja had no signature ninjutsu or distinguishing features, so Hayato did not immediately know his background.

However, none of that mattered; what mattered was the scroll in their hands.

The two were in the heat of battle, and the Aburame ninja was using her secret techniques to force her opponent into a steady retreat.

It didn't take long for the battle to be decided, and the female Aburame ninja retrieved a scroll from her opponent's ninja pouch.

She glanced at it, her brows furrowing slightly as if she were not satisfied with the contents, but she tucked it into her pouch nonetheless.

With her hands in her pockets, she turned to look in the direction where Hayato was hiding, her voice cold and firm: "Friend, how much longer do you intend to watch?"

Hayato was not surprised that she had discovered his presence; after all, the sensory ninjutsu of the Aburame Clan was renowned throughout the ninja world.

He stepped out openly, standing face-to-face with her, that same mysterious smile still hanging on his lips.

The girl glanced at Jiro not far away, a flicker of confusion in her eyes: "An Inuzuka? But he doesn't look like one."

Because of the distance, she couldn't see the Sharingan in Jiro's eyes, or she wouldn't have made such a guess.

"What, are you looking to snatch my scroll?" The female ninja's words were direct and sharp, without a hint of beating around the bush.

"Isn't that obvious?" Hayato waved his arm and replied with a beaming smile.

"Are you sure?" The female ninja's gaze turned fierce in an instant, her hands hidden within her clothes silently forming seals to channel chakra.

Immediately afterward, a dense swarm of black insects began to surge around her.

On the other side, Hayato spoke with breezy indifference, "If you were up against someone with trypophobia, you could win without even fighting."

"Enough talk. Don't think that just because I've been through a fight, I don't have much chakra left; it's more than enough to deal with you." She clearly didn't get Hayato's point.

The female ninja extended her right hand, her expression cold.

"Secret Technique: Insect Sphere!"

Facing the overwhelming swarm of insects, Hayato remained nonchalant, his hands moving rapidly through seals.

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"

In an instant, a massive fireball surged forth, colliding with the swarm and erupting with a crackling roar.

Many insects fell to the ground, scorched by the flames, and the female ninja's expression turned grave.

"Damn it! He's definitely not from the Inuzuka Clan." She muttered to herself, and to avoid unnecessary losses, she immediately recalled the remaining Kikaichu.

"I think we can talk," she said, a hint of compromise in her tone.

She had originally thought that if her opponent were from the Inuzuka Clan, she could kite him and wear him down.

But she hadn't expected him to teach her a lesson with a direct Great Fireball.

Hayato looked at her with a smile. "Talk about what?"

The female ninja pulled a scroll from her pouch. "I assume you came after me because you wanted this scroll, right? How about this: I'll give you this scroll, we go our separate ways, and we act as if we never met today?" She was trying to use the scroll to buy herself time to recover.

After reading the characters on the scroll earlier, she had realized it was another Wind Scroll, just like the one she already had, which had left her disappointed.

No matter how calm she appeared on the surface, the previous battle had indeed drained her.

However, Hayato looked at her playfully. "What? What? Did I hear that right? You're trying to trade my own property with me? Is that appropriate?"

Hearing Hayato's words, the female ninja knew that today's matter would not end peacefully. But she still wanted to try one more time.

"Are you sure you want to fight me? What if, after you win, you find out the scroll I have is a duplicate of yours? Wouldn't that be a waste of effort?"

"Is that so? If that's the case, then that would be even better!" Hayato remained as indifferent as ever, like a complete hothead.

Seeing that Hayato was so stubborn, the female ninja finally lost her temper.

"I've said all there is to say. Since you insist on this, I'll let you know that I'm not made of clay!"

One minute later, Hayato stood beside the fallen female ninja, weighing the two scrolls he had taken from her in his hand. He chuckled softly, "You're not made of clay, you're made by Nüwa. Never mind, you wouldn't understand."

Hayato unfurled the two scrolls and took a look, letting out a chuckle. "Two more Wind Scrolls. They really are duplicates, but I like them just fine."

At this moment, the number of Wind Scrolls in his hand had increased to three, and when added to the Fire Scroll he already possessed, he now held four scrolls in total.

"I should get the other two missing scrolls first, then I can proceed with the plan."

After completing this series of checks, Hayato turned and walked toward the spot where Jiro had been standing earlier.

"Let's go, to the next one," he ordered in a low voice.

Upon hearing this, Jiro immediately lowered his head to sniff the ground again, his keen nose seemingly capable of discerning every hidden secret.

Man and dog set off on their journey once more.

However, they were not as lucky as they had been before.

Although they managed to track down the trails of several people, by the time Hayato arrived, the targets no longer had any scrolls on them.

"Three in a row—has my luck for the day finally run out?"

Just then, Jiro began to bark wildly.

"What is it?" Hayato asked, looking at him in confusion.

"Woof! Woof! Woof!"

Unable to understand dog language, Hayato could only make a rough guess. "You mean to say that the people competing with us for the spoils are nearby?"

"Woof!"

"Fine, then I'll go see exactly who is trying to snatch my prey." Hayato leaped nimbly onto a tree trunk, looking down at his surroundings from a vantage point, and signaled for Jiro to lead the way.

Jiro dashed off without hesitation, his figure darting through the woods like a bolt of lightning.