In the deep, tangled woods of the Forest of Death, Hayato and Jiro darted through the trees like two ghosts.
Jiro, an outstanding Ninja Dog of the Inuzuka Clan, used his exceptional tracking skills to guide Hayato.
It had to be said: the whole arrangement was a curious twist of fate.
Just as Hayato wandered through the tangled forest, fretting over how to locate the enemy quickly, the appearance of Inuzuka Kaku and Jiro had been like a ray of light illuminating his path.
Hayato immediately came up with a plan. He decided to use the Inuzuka Clan's Ninja Dogs to track down the enemy—a far more efficient approach than searching the forest blindly.
Jiro stopped on a branch thick enough for two people to wrap their arms around. Lowering his head, he sniffed the air intently with his sharp nose.
A moment later, he let out a low growl, excitement at finding prey clear in his voice. Then he turned to Hayato, his eyes seeming to say, "Master, I found them!"
A mysterious smile tugged at Hayato's lips. He patted Jiro's head gently. "Let's go. Lead the way!"
At his command, Jiro turned and bounded off. Hayato followed close behind, his steps light but steady.
Before long, they stopped. Hayato carefully peered out and saw two Konoha Genin locked in a fierce battle about forty meters ahead.
A sly glint passed through Hayato's eyes. He decided to hold back for now and watch how things played out.
He would be the fisherman who waited for the snipe and clam to fight.
From the details of the battle, he noticed that one of the fighters was a kunoichi from the Aburame Clan,
while the other, a male ninja with no distinctive techniques or features, was someone Hayato couldn't identify.
But none of that mattered. What mattered was the scrolls in their hands.
The two fought fiercely, and the Aburame kunoichi used her secret technique to drive her opponent back again and again.
Before long, the fight was over. The Aburame kunoichi took a scroll from her opponent's ninja pouch.
She glanced at it and frowned slightly, apparently displeased with its contents, but still tucked it into her own pouch.
With her hands in her pockets, she turned to face the direction Hayato was hiding in. Her voice was cool and firm. "My friend, how much longer are you going to watch?"
Hayato wasn't surprised that she had detected him. The Aburame Clan's Sensory Ninjutsu was renowned throughout the Ninja World, after all.
He stepped out openly and faced her, that mysterious smile still on his lips.
She glanced at Jiro, who stood some distance away, and a puzzled look crossed her eyes. "From the Inuzuka Clan? But he doesn't look like one."
She was still quite far away and hadn't seen Jiro's Sharingan. Otherwise, she wouldn't have guessed that.
"What, are you planning to steal my scroll?" The kunoichi spoke bluntly, without the slightest attempt to soften her words.
"Isn't that obvious?" Hayato replied with a wave of his arm and a broad grin.
"You're sure about that?" Her gaze turned sharp in an instant. Hidden beneath her clothes, her hands began forming Hand Seals as she focused her chakra.
At once, countless black bugs began to swarm around her.
Hayato remained unruffled. "If you tried that on someone with a fear of bugs, you could win without even fighting."
"Cut the nonsense. Don't think that just because I've been in a fight, I'm low on chakra. I've got plenty to deal with you." The kunoichi clearly didn't get what he meant.
She thrust out her right hand, her expression cold.
"Secret Technique: Insect Sphere!"
Facing the swarm that surged toward him like a flood, Hayato remained calm and swiftly formed Hand Seals.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
In an instant, a huge fireball roared forth and collided with the swarm, crackling and popping.
Quite a few bugs fell to the ground, scorched by the flames, and the kunoichi's expression grew grim.
"Damn it! So he really isn't from the Inuzuka Clan." She muttered under her breath. To avoid unnecessary losses, she immediately recalled the Kikaichū that remained.
"I think we can talk." Her words carried a hint of compromise.
She had originally thought that if her opponent were from the Inuzuka Clan, she could wear him down by keeping her distance.
But she hadn't expected one Great Fireball to put her in her place.
Hayato smiled at her. "Talk about what?"
The kunoichi took a scroll from her ninja pouch. "You came after me because you want this scroll, right? How about I give it to you, and we leave each other alone? We can just pretend we never met today." She tried to trade the scroll for time to develop in safety.
When she had read the writing on the scroll earlier and seen it was a Wind Scroll, just like the one she already had, she had been disappointed.
No matter how calm she seemed, the fight had cost her a fair amount of chakra.
But Hayato only looked at her mockingly. "What? What? Did I hear that right? You're trying to trade my own things to me. Is that appropriate?"
Hearing Hayato's words, the kunoichi knew there was no way to settle things peacefully today. Still, she wanted to try one more time.
"You're sure you want to fight me? What if, after the fight, you find out the scroll I have is the same as yours? Won't all that effort have been wasted?"
"Is that so? Then that'd be even better!" Hayato remained utterly unconcerned, like a complete fool.
Seeing that Hayato wouldn't be reasoned with, the kunoichi finally flew into a rage.
"I've tried being nice, but you insist on this. I'll show you I'm no pushover!"
A minute later, Hayato stood beside the fallen kunoichi, weighing the two scrolls he had taken from her. He chuckled. "You weren't made of clay. Nuwa made you. Never mind—you wouldn't get it anyway."
Hayato opened the two scrolls and had a look. "Heh, two more Wind Scrolls. They really are duplicates. But I like that."
Now he had three Wind Scrolls, plus the Fire Scroll he'd started with—four scrolls in all.
"I'd better get the scrolls for the other two missing characters first. Then I can carry out my plan."
After finishing his inspection, Hayato turned and headed back to where Jiro had been standing.
"Come on. Next one," he ordered quietly.
At his words, Jiro lowered his head and began sniffing again, his keen nose seemingly able to detect every hidden trace.
Man and dog set off on the road once more.
But their luck didn't hold as well this time.
Though they found the tracks of several people, by the time Hayato got there, they no longer had any scrolls.
"Three in a row. Has all my luck for today run out?"
Just then, Jiro started barking furiously.
"What's wrong?" Hayato asked, staring at him in confusion.
"Woof, woof, woof!"
Since he couldn't understand dog language, Hayato could only guess. "You mean the people competing with us are nearby?"
"Woof!"
"Fine. I'll go see who's trying to steal my prey." Hayato sprang lightly onto a tree trunk and surveyed the area from above, gesturing for Jiro to lead the way.
Jiro dashed off without hesitation, darting through the trees like a bolt of lightning.
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