"Mingye, you clearly won this match!"
Byakuren appeared at Mingye's hiding spot, where he had been preparing to ambush Hozuki Gengetsu, and announced the result.
"I don't see it that way!"
Mingye was dissatisfied. From beginning to end, he had never fought Hozuki Gengetsu to a draw, and it seemed he had only just begun to gain the upper hand. Byakuren had come at the wrong time—or rather, Byakuren truly feared that he would kill Hozuki Gengetsu.
"I, for one, think your sealing technique is truly remarkable. I never expected you to master this secret technique in less than a month—and even use it in battle!"
Hearing the sarcastic praise, Mingye grew quite angry and coldly stared at the slightly weakened Hozuki Gengetsu nearby.
"Then you should thank your disciple properly!"
"I haven't had the time lately to care about what you want to do, but I hope for one thing: don't destroy the fragile friendship between us!"
Byakuren chuckled. He had actually anticipated Mingye's arrival long ago; the other man had certainly never given up on dividing the many clans of the Land of Water. He simply had not expected Mingye to come to the Land of Water at such a time, after Byakuren had learned of the full-scale ninja civil war in the Land of Fire. Faced with Byakuren's strange look, Mingye shrugged, looking both innocent and surprised, then pointed at a youth in the corner of the ruined village in the distance and explained.
"I just happened to come across a beggar from the Kaguya Clan, so I wanted to take those children away from this land of conflict!"
Byakuren saw through the youth at a glance. The unique awakened aura of the Kaguya Clan was impossible to conceal. After understanding Mingye's purpose, Byakuren replied disdainfully.
"If