Sakumo Hatake did not move.
At this distance, he could instantly kill the other four ninja.
But the ninja who had fought him was equally capable of killing his companions before that happened.
The mission objective lay at his feet.
With his strength, he could absolutely take the corpse and escape.
But doing so would mean abandoning his comrades.
For the first time, the always decisive Sakumo Hatake hesitated.
Time passed little by little.
Cold sweat slowly formed on his forehead.
"What are you hesitating for?! White Fang-sama!!! Take the mission target and go!!" one of the Root ninja roared angrily.
To Root ninja, mission completion always came first.
There should never be hesitation at a moment like this.
And yet—
The one person who should never hesitate had frozen completely.
To them, their lives were far less important than the mission.
That was the standard Root mentality.
Arin slowly raised a hand.
Violent winds began spiraling within his palm, condensing into an irregular blue-green sphere of wind.
It resembled a Rasengan.
But a Rasengan was pure chakra.
Adding Wind Release would turn it into the Wind Release: Rasenshuriken.
The sphere in Arin's hand, however, was a purely wind-based orb.
This was his complete mastery over Wind Release.
"This wind sphere of mine," Arin said softly, "is enough to completely shred that corpse."
"And now…"
"It's time for the classic two-choice dilemma."
"I admit I'm not your opponent. If we truly fought to the death, I would definitely die by your hand."
Of course, if Arin actually went all out, that would be another story entirely.
Without using his full strength, his odds of victory were only around thirty percent.
"But I'm someone who values his life greatly."
"And the village's mission for me is to kill the traitor and prevent information leakage."
He glanced at the corpse near Sakumo.
"So either…"
"You take your companions and leave. I complete my mission, and I won't attack again. After all, I don't want a death match with you either."
"Or…"
"You take the mission target and leave. I kill your two companions, and then we retreat immediately."
"After all, encountering Konoha's White Fang, I doubt even the Kazekage would blame me too much."
"So, White Fang-sama…"
"Make your choice."
The smile on Arin's face became increasingly brilliant.
The Root members nearby felt that his smile looked even brighter than usual.
None of them had exposed themselves this time.
Sunagakure specialized in Wind Release to begin with, and most villages stored similar elemental techniques anyway.
There was no way Sakumo Hatake could realize they were not Sand ninja.
Everything Arin said sounded perfectly reasonable.
Whoosh—whoosh—
The wind sphere in Arin's hand spun rapidly.
The sound of the wind became the only noise left in the battlefield.
Sakumo Hatake tightly gripped the hilt of his short blade.
If he took the corpse and obtained the intelligence—
The mission would be complete.
Only two ninja would die.
This mission was critically important.
If…
Just if…
Sakumo desperately wished within his heart—
What if this intelligence was not important at all?
Then perhaps the mission would not matter that much either.
His eyes sharpened slightly.
The answer in his heart had already begun to form.
He bit through his lip, allowing the taste of blood to spread through his mouth.
Everyone waited silently.
For his answer.
"White Fang-sama!! Go!!!" the two Root ninja continued shouting desperately.
But in reality—
The corner of Arin's mouth curled upward.
The moment Sakumo hesitated—
The answer had already been decided.
"Who exactly are you?" Sakumo Hatake asked in a deep voice.
"I've never heard of someone like you in Sunagakure."
A ninja with this level of combat ability should never have remained unknown during wartime.
"Me?"
Arin chuckled softly.
"White Fang-sama, I belong to the new generation."
"Four years ago, I was still just an ordinary genin."
"Of course you wouldn't know me."
"A genius of Sunagakure…" Sakumo slowly exhaled.
Then he sheathed his short blade.
The answer had already been given.
Arin tossed the wind sphere onto the corpse.
The violent sphere instantly expanded, shredding the entire corpse apart.
Blood, flesh, and fragments of clothing scattered everywhere.
Arin raised a hand.
Every fragment of flesh and cloth was gathered back into his palm.
The winds continued raging violently, grinding everything into an utterly irreparable state.
"Then, White Fang of Konoha…"
"I look forward to our next meeting."
Arin smiled lightly.
What a pity.
He still had not obtained Sakumo Hatake's experience points.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Several clouds of smoke erupted in succession.
Arin and his group vanished instantly.
The two surviving ninja showed no joy whatsoever.
They opened their mouths as they looked toward Sakumo Hatake—
But in the end, they said nothing.
Sakumo let out a powerless sigh.
"The mission failed."
…
Arin stood atop a rocky cliff, watching Sakumo Hatake depart through his Byakugan.
"What a shame," Arin sighed.
Originally, he thought he could harvest experience points.
But Sakumo Hatake had proven even more troublesome than expected.
In the end, he could only let him leave.
"My lord."
A Root member knelt on one knee beside him.
"All bodies have been cleaned up. Sunagakure has also dispatched personnel to investigate."
"What a pity only a few of you survived."
Arin looked at the remaining Root members, the smile on his face deepening further.
"So?"
"How does it feel to survive against White Fang?"
The Root member answered solemnly:
"If not for Player-sama, we would never have had the chance to survive."
The mission's success had primarily depended on Arin restraining Sakumo Hatake.
From beginning to end, Sakumo's eyes had only been on Arin.
The others had not even registered as threats.
"Seems like you don't think much of it."
Arin shook his head regretfully.
"That was White Fang."
"Surviving against him is something you could brag about for the rest of your life. People would instantly look at you differently."
Some certain someone in the ninja world had once thrown a shuriken at Hashirama Senju from eight hundred miles away—
And bragged about it for an entire lifetime.
"Player-sama jokes too much."
The Root ninja forced out an emotionless smile.
This kind of thing could never be spoken aloud.
If it were exposed, it would not become a source of pride—
The entire village would despise them instead.
This was something they had to hide forever.
"Really?"
Arin slowly raised his right hand.
A wind sphere condensed once more.
Blue-black flames ignited across its surface.
The flames attempted to expand outward, only to be forcibly compressed back down to the size of his palm.
"So White Fang's reputation isn't enough for you?"
"Then I'll give you another chance."
Arin's grin stretched nearly to his ears, revealing a slightly savage smile.
"Try surviving against me instead."
Blue-black flames reflected within the pupils of the Root members.
…
"The mission has been completed. All involved personnel have been silenced."
Arin sat in a chair while casually peeling an apple with a knife.
Although he wore a smile, coldness lingered within his eyes as he looked toward Danzo.
"Danzo-sama…"
"How about trying to silence me too?"
Crunch.
Arin bit into the bright red apple.
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