Although Hyuga Arin sounded like he was praising them, his tone was dripping with sarcasm.
The surrounding Suna ninja clearly understood, and their expressions turned angry.
"I actually liked that appearance," Arin said with a look of regret.
"Shameless Konoha trash," one female Suna ninja snorted coldly.
Rain Woman rolled her eyes at her.
The leading ninja spoke expressionlessly, "You are to leave the Land of Wind immediately."
"And if you say leave, we just leave?" Arin said with dissatisfaction. "I finally got a chance to travel around."
The leader took a deep breath, clearly suppressing his anger. "The Land of Wind is under lockdown. All non-citizens must leave immediately."
All ninja were now being thoroughly investigated. This group didn't show obvious suspicion, but they still had to search the entire Land of Wind for the one responsible for the Kazekage's disappearance. To prevent information leaks, all foreign ninja had to be expelled.
"Alright, alright," Arin said helplessly. "We'll leave right away."
He smiled faintly at them. "Hopefully nothing dangerous happens on the way. Otherwise… a letter from the Fire Daimyō might end up in the hands of the Wind Daimyō."
The leading ninja said nothing.
After Arin and the others left, the leader clenched his teeth. "The Fire Daimyō's nephew… how arrogant."
Before intercepting them, they had already investigated their identities. The ninja identities couldn't be found, since active Konoha ninja data wasn't publicly accessible. But the "young noble's" identity was crystal clear.
The newly appointed Fire Daimyō's nephew. A dreamer. Once tried to become a ninja, only to be locked up instead. He had only recently been released this year.
And now, he had run straight into the Land of Wind.
The identity checked out perfectly. After all, Arin's clone had been providing background support. No matter how they investigated, there were no flaws.
"Still following us, huh?" Arin's gaze flicked toward the shadows behind them. Two Suna ninja were trailing them.
"My lord, should we—" Sea Head Seat asked in a low voice.
"You want to escalate things?" Arin glanced at him. "Something big clearly happened in Suna."
Everyone fell silent. You did it, and now you're acting like an outsider?
Arin, however, showed zero self-awareness. He sighed helplessly. "I just wanted a peaceful trip…"
If you hadn't come, nothing would've happened.
Of course, no one dared say that out loud.
They silently packed up and began driving the carriage away.
The Suna ninja followed them all the way until they exited the Land of Wind before turning back.
Arin glanced at the disappearing figures in the distance. He reached into the carriage and crushed a tiny puppet hidden inside.
"Not leaving a single opening, huh."
Their carriage had already been inspected. Surveillance puppets had even been planted.
"My lord… what exactly happened?" Rain Woman finally asked.
"You're a bit too curious," Arin said, glancing at her. But he didn't hide it. "I just killed a Kazekage."
"Killed… one… Kazekage… just like that?!!"
All three of them froze, shock filling their faces. Even with dulled emotions, they couldn't remain calm.
That was one of the five figures standing at the peak of the shinobi world. Each capable of destroying a nation.
And Arin had killed one.
Which meant he now possessed Kage-level power.
A figure emerged slowly from his shadow. Machi sat beside him, expressionless.
"You said there would be danger," she said. "Why does this feel like a vacation?"
"No danger isn't good?" Arin rolled his eyes. "Your master here almost died, you know."
Machi's face darkened. Threads of Nen appeared in her hand. She really wanted to kill this brat.
The others glanced between them suspiciously, their expressions turning strange. This young master really had quite the lifestyle.
"I'll kill you," Machi said coldly.
Everyone instantly returned to expressionless professionalism. They were trained for this.
"Oh, and take this." Arin tossed her a scroll.
"What is this?" Machi opened it without hesitation.
"The Third Kazekage's signature technique—Magnet Release," Arin said with a smile. "You won't be lounging around anymore."
With a chakra seed and Magnet Release, Machi could no longer remain just a decorative summon. She could finally become his blade.
After all, she was still a summon. Even if a dangerous one.
As long as he retained control, he wasn't worried about betrayal.
The others stared at the scroll in her hands with burning eyes. Anything Arin revealed could be learned.
"Magnet Release… similar to Nen? This can actually be learned?" Machi flipped through the scroll calmly.
Fortunately, she had already learned the language of this world.
As the carriage moved toward Konoha, Machi immersed herself in studying Magnet Release.
The content was complex. For ordinary chakra users, it would be difficult to master quickly.
But for Machi, it was simple.
Her chakra carried properties of Nen, and Nen itself was far more flexible than chakra.
Needles began floating around her, thin threads—finer than hair—trailing behind them.
"Not bad," Arin nodded.
"My lord, we've reached Konoha," Hyuga Sora called from outside.
Arin lifted the curtain and saw the towering gates ahead.
The moment he returned, two ANBU escorted him directly to the Hokage's office.
Hiruzen Sarutobi stared at him with a dark expression. "What did you do in the Land of Wind?"
Arin looked upward, avoiding eye contact. "Just traveled. Sightseeing. Let me tell you—the Land of Wind really has nothing. I even heard there was gold there. Didn't see a single grain."
He did see plenty of iron sand though. Almost killed him.
Hiruzen slammed both hands onto the desk. "Tell me the truth!! What exactly did you do in the Land of Wind?! Why has Sunagakure completely sealed the country?!"
"How would I know?" Arin shrugged. "They even stopped me—but let me go in the end."
Looking at Arin's innocent expression, Hiruzen didn't believe a single word.
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