"Kid, what do you know about border affairs?"
The ninja leading the Sunagakure squad snorted impatiently. "Hunting down rogue ninja and eliminating threats along the border is our duty. We have no obligation to report to Konoha! This may be the edge of Konoha's territory, but it borders the frontier, where the situation has always been complicated. You have no right to interfere!"
"No right to interfere?"
Kawaki Aoba raised an eyebrow slightly. His voice remained calm, but a chill crept into it. "Konoha has full jurisdiction over the Land of Fire's territory. Anyone who sets foot here must abide by Konoha's rules.
"You crossed the border armed and attacked people at will. How can you claim we have no right to interfere?"
"Rules?"
The Sunagakure squad leader sneered, his face full of contempt. "Weak nations have no say in diplomacy, and weak villages have no rules! If Konoha were strong enough, it could naturally lay down rules that everyone would fear. But now, you can't even protect your own ninja, yet you dare lecture me about rules? What a joke!"
"Our ninja were conducting a routine patrol when you ambushed them and left them critically wounded. That does not mean we cannot protect them."
Kawaki Aoba's gaze was clear, his reasoning precise, and every word rang firm. "Victory on the battlefield should be earned honorably. Ambushing people, overwhelming them with numbers, and hunting down the wounded-such despicable methods are not the work of true ninja."
"True ninja? Ninja care only about results, not methods!" a young Sunagakure ninja retorted, unable to hold back. His tone was arrogant. "Any method that completes the mission is the best tactic! You in Konoha cling to your so-called morality and rules. You're just rigid and backward. You deserve to suffer for it!"
"Upholding