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 great?

Hyuga Reiko rubbed her eyes. Why did her Byakugan feel inferior to his Sharingan?

She had never heard that the Sharingan could bolster physical strength.

She made up her mind. Once they returned, she would train taijutsu diligently and become a qualified taijutsu ninja!

Nawaki was still a mess beside them. Of course, he knew that what Uchiha You had just used was the Monster Strength Fist. He had studied it since childhood, but his chakra control had always been lacking.

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

"Why do you seem more like someone from 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 You.

"If you two put the time you usually spend playing into training, you could achieve the same results."

Uchiha You offered a few words of comfort. Right now, he needed to figure out how many enemies were still hiding nearby.

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

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

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

"I wonder where Teacher Orochimaru went."

As soon as Nawaki said that, they saw Orochimaru appear outside, his body stained with blood.

Just as Uchiha You had expected, Orochimaru had noticed something beforehand and gone to kill the Hidden Rain Village Jonin first.

The moment he entered, Orochimaru smelled the thick stench of blood. There was no surprise on his face. With his strength, he must have known there were rats hiding inside. It was more like a battle between ninjas.

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

As he looked at the three somewhat bedraggled figures, Orochimaru noted that they had not been injured.

He had sensed killing intent earlier and followed it.

He found the dead innkeeper in the stairwell, along with three furtive presences spying nearby. However, Orochimaru had been stopped by an even stronger Jonin.

Dealing with that opponent had taken quite a bit of time.

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

There was a hint of mockery in Orochimaru's tone. The Hidden Rain Village's appearance definitely had not been accidental.

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

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

Without saying much, Uchiha You followed Orochimaru. Once they finished cleaning up, he saw Orochimaru store the corpses in a sealing scroll.

Sometimes, the dead were more useful than the living. They could provide plenty of information.

Half an hour later, they saw a group of people in bamboo hats outside the Hidden Hot Water Village. This was traditional attire in 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 old relic living in retirement.

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

"People of Konoha. Are you Orochimaru, disciple of the Third?"

The two sides sized each other up. Anyone sent to receive Ebizo had to hold status in Konoha. On the surface, both sides appeared sincere, but what lay beneath would require further investigation.

Orochimaru did not mention what had just happened, and he even forbade his disciples from discussing it. Furthermore, their meeting place was not the hot spring from before, but the entrance to the Hidden Hot Water Village. No one brought up the unpleasant incident.

A young man from the Sand Village stepped forward. Seeing the few brats, he wanted to gain the upper hand in the coming talks and said bluntly:

"Orochimaru, you brought a bunch of brats with you? We brought nothing but Chunin and Jonin."

"Hmm?"

Orochimaru's displeasure was stirred. His neck suddenly twisted one hundred and eighty degrees, stretching 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..."

"Enough. We are not here to oppose Konoha this time. For the sake of the upcoming negotiations, we can let minor matters slide."

Ebizo's command was decisive.

There was no further argument. This concerned the interests of their villages, and everyone understood the reasoning.

Otherwise, Konoha would not have sent Orochimaru to handle this mission. If either of the other Legendary Sannin had come, a serious 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 because you failed to protect us, that debt will be placed on Konoha's head."

Behind them, Nawaki muttered softly:

"Tch, they really look down on us."

"Yeah. It's not like they seem all that strong."

Because of Ebizo's orders, no one present bothered to argue with Nawaki and the others. However, the pace of the journey became extremely urgent.

The Sand Village group rushed at full speed. Even the Chunin in their party found it strenuous, much less three brats.

The two brats were clearly running out of stamina. If Orochimaru had not been blocking the wind in front, they would likely have been left behind long ago.

Yet what surprised Ebizo was that Uchiha You could keep pace with them.

"Konoha truly is overflowing with talent. I wonder when our village will ever possess Konoha's prosperity."

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

Only two people his age in the village could compare to him.

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

Without comparison, there would be no harm.

He wanted to test the other side's limits further, but the Chunin in his own group had already expended too much stamina. In the end, it would probably be his own people who embarrassed themselves.

The group departed quickly and encountered no danger along the way.

Even Uchiha You was surprised that the Sand Ninja had not caused trouble.

Meanwhile, the village was preparing a large meeting concerning the Sand Village's arrival.

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

"By tonight, the Sand Village people should arrive at the village. Tell the ANBU to keep watch over recent developments."

As one of Konoha's upper ranks, Homura Mitokado was the safest choice to temporarily take command. He also held the latest intelligence report:

"These are extraordinary times. According to information gathered by the ANBU, changes have occurred 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."