The Sand Ninja Arrive

They had all graduated at the same time and trained under the same teacher, so why was the gap between them so huge?

Hyuga Reiko touched her eyes. Why did it feel like her Byakugan was inferior to his Sharingan?

She had never heard that the Sharingan could boost physical stamina.

She made up her mind that once she returned, she would train taijutsu diligently! She would become a qualified taijutsu ninja.

Nawaki was still reeling beside them. Of course, he knew that Uchiha Yū had just used the Monstrous Strength Fist. He had been learning it since childhood, but his chakra control had always fallen short.

And how long had the other guy been learning it? Yet he could already use the Monstrous Strength Fist.

"Why do you feel more like a member of the Senju Clan than I do? Do you have Senju Clan blood in you?"

The crushing blow left Nawaki dispirited. For the first time, he felt that he was inferior to Uchiha Yū.

"If you two spent the time you usually waste playing on training, you could achieve the same results you want."

Uchiha Yū offered a few words of comfort. What he needed to figure out now was how many enemies were still lurking nearby.

When the three of them reached the ground floor, they discovered that the innkeeper downstairs had been dead for quite some time.

It seemed that the person they had encountered upon arrival had been a Rain Village ninja in disguise.

Unfortunately, Hyuga Reiko had not activated her Byakugan. Otherwise, she might have noticed something was wrong with him.

"I wonder where Teacher Orochimaru went."

As soon as Nawaki said that, Orochimaru appeared outside, blood staining his body.

Just as Uchiha Yū had expected, Orochimaru had noticed the signs beforehand and gone to kill the Rain Village jonin.

The moment he stepped inside, Orochimaru smelled the thick scent of blood. There was no surprise on his face. With Orochimaru's strength, he must have known about the rats hiding inside. It looked more like a battle between ninjas.

"You finished the fight so quickly? Even faster than I expected."

Looking at the three somewhat bedraggled figures, Orochimaru noticed that they had not been injured.

He had followed the killing intent he sensed earlier.

He found the dead innkeeper in the stairwell, as well as three furtive presences spying nearby. However, Orochimaru had been intercepted by an even stronger jonin.

Dealing with him had taken quite a bit of time.

"Clean up. The people from Sand Village will be here soon."

There was a trace of mockery in Orochimaru's voice. The Rain Village's appearance definitely had not been accidental.

Konoha could not have leaked news of this mission, yet Rain Village ninjas had come to intercept and kill them. It was obvious that someone on the other side was behind it.

Whether they wanted to sabotage the alliance or use the opportunity to shift the blame, Konoha would have to swallow it.

Without saying much, Uchiha Yū followed Orochimaru. After they finished cleaning up, he watched Orochimaru place the corpses into a sealing scroll.

Sometimes, the dead were more useful than the living. A great deal of information could be obtained from them.

Half an hour later, a group of people wearing conical hats appeared outside Hot Springs Village. It was the traditional attire of the Land of Wind.

At their head was a man in his fifties, carrying an authority that could not be ignored.

"Is that Ebizo?"

In the original story, he had been an ancient figure living in retirement.

But now, he was still one of Sand Village's upper ranks, responsible for negotiating with Konoha this time.

"People of Konoha. Orochimaru, disciple of the Third Hokage?"

The two sides sized each other up. Anyone sent to receive Ebizo had to be someone of standing in Konoha. On the surface, both sides had shown sincerity, but what lay beneath still required further investigation.

Orochimaru did not mention what had happened earlier. He even forbade his disciples from discussing it. Furthermore, their meeting place was not the hot spring from before, but the entrance to Hot Springs Village. No one brought up the earlier unpleasantness.

A young man from Sand Village stepped forward. Looking at the few brats, he wanted to gain an advantage in the upcoming talks and said bluntly:

"Orochimaru, you brought a bunch of brats with you? Every one of us is a chunin or jonin."

"Hmm?"

Orochimaru's foul mood was stirred up. His neck suddenly twisted one hundred and eighty degrees and stretched out before the other man as he threatened:

"If you want to die, just say so. I can grant your wish!"

Like a venomous snake, he made the man's pupils contract.

"Damn it..."

"That's enough. We are not here to be enemies of Konoha this time. For the sake of the coming negotiations, we can let minor matters slide."

Ebizo's order was decisive.

There was no further argument. This concerned the village's interests, and everyone understood the reasoning.

Otherwise, Konoha would not have sent Orochimaru to oversee this mission. If either of the other two Sannin had come, a major conflict might have erupted.

"Let me make this clear beforehand: we will not slow down for brats. You had better keep up. If you fall behind and we are attacked, then you fail to protect us properly, Konoha will be held accountable."

Nawaki muttered softly from behind:

"Tch, they really look down on us."

"Exactly. It's not like they seem that strong."

Because of Ebizo's order, no one present bothered to argue with Nawaki and the others. However, the journey that followed became extremely rushed.

The Sand Village group traveled at full speed. Even the chunin in their team found it exhausting, let alone three brats.

The other two brats were clearly running out of stamina. If Orochimaru had not been shielding them from the wind at the front, they would probably have been left behind long ago.

What surprised Ebizo, however, was that Uchiha Yū could keep pace with them.

"Konoha truly is full of talent. I wonder when our village will become as prosperous as Konoha."

Compared to it, Sand Village was still far too barren. Even with its elite-focused policy, there was still a considerable gap between it and the strongest of the Five Great Ninja Villages.

Among those of the same age in the village, only two could compare to him.

"I hope Pakura and Rasa can withstand the pressure from Konoha's new generation."

Without comparison, there could be no harm.

He had wanted to keep testing the other boy's limits, but the chunin in his own team had already expended too much stamina. In the end, the ones embarrassed would most likely be his own people.

The group left swiftly and encountered no danger along the way.

Even Uchiha Yū was surprised that the Sand ninja did not cause any trouble.

Meanwhile, the village was preparing to hold a major meeting regarding Sand Village's arrival.

The Third Hokage sat in the middle, still smoking his pipe as he said to Mitokado Homura beside him:

"By my calculations, the people from Sand Village will arrive tonight. Instruct the ANBU to keep an eye on recent developments."

As one of Konoha's higher-ups, Mitokado Homura was the safest choice to temporarily take charge. He also held the latest intelligence report in his hands:

"These are extraordinary times. According to information gathered by the ANBU, changes have appeared in the Land of Earth and the Land of Lightning. It seems the Raikage and Tsuchikage are both making preparations. We can infer that they intend to form an alliance."