A few minutes ago, no one would have expected Inaba Hyuga to pull his team’s crumbling morale back from the brink of despair with nothing but a masterclass in talk-no-jutsu!
He had struck a chord with every single one of them!
Well, except for Kou Uchiha…
But that didn’t matter.
Once Shisui decided to go along with it, Kou had no choice but to comply, no matter how exhausted he was.
After all, he couldn’t just stand by and watch a rare genius the clan had painstakingly nurtured get coaxed away by a rival dojutsu clan!
In all the years since Kagami Uchiha’s passing, it had been a very long time since an outstanding junior like Shisui had emerged in their clan.
Kou Uchiha simply could not leave Shisui to fend for himself, no matter what.
*So, is this all part of your plan too, Inaba?* Captain Tomoe looked at the Hyuga youth before him, once again deeply impressed by his insight into human nature.
In this moment, Captain Tomoe seemed to see the shadow of the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, in the boy.
“Alright, since everyone has decided, there’s no time to lose.
Let’s go find the Sunagakure team!
Captain, lead us in one last charge!” *This kid.
Even at a time like this, he still knows how to butter up his captain.* Though Tomoe was grumbling inwardly, the upward curve of his lips betrayed his actual delight.
Shinobi were always highly efficient.
Once the decision was made, they sprang into action immediately.
This time, it was little Anko who made the breakthrough.
She summoned a large number of snakes and scattered them into the nearby woods.
Soon, they discovered the Sunagakure squad, which was still lingering in the area.
When Inaba Hyuga used his Byakugan to lock onto them from a vast distance and saw Pakura and her team hesitating—advancing one moment and retreating the next—he knew that their cooperation might actually work out!
The fact that the Sand ninja hadn’t left decisively proved they were just as unwilling to give up!
The only thing to fear was if they had lost all worldly desire.
As long as they still had ambitions and regrets, they would inevitably fall right into his hands!
Sure enough, when the two sides cautiously met in the forest, standing on the branches of two large trees some ten-odd meters apart, the Sand ninja were indeed the first to lose their composure!
As soon as they saw their companion, whom Captain Tomoe was carrying, expressions of surprise, anxiety, and zeal broke out on their faces one after another.
A young Sand ninja in the opposing team was the first to lose his cool.
Drawing a kunai, he prepared to leap over.
“How is Oki in your hands?
What did you do to her?
Release her right now!” However, Pakura, as the captain, was clearly more level-headed.
She grabbed her reckless teammate.
“Calm down, Jiromaru!” She kept a wary eye on the Konoha group that had suddenly approached them.
Especially when she saw the faint, knowing smile on Inaba Hyuga’s face, as if he had seen through everything, an ominous premonition swelled uncontrollably in her heart.
*Did we accidentally expose something?* “It seems you really care about your companion Oki.
In that case, we have something to talk about.” Inaba Hyuga spoke unhurriedly, a calm smile on his face.
Even though they were the ones actively seeking cooperation, at this moment, he deliberately adopted an indifferent, unhurried, non-proactive, yet non-rejecting attitude.
A total player.
Pakura’s heart sank instantly.
She could already taste a hint of trouble from Inaba’s words.
Yet she refused to back down verbally.
“What do you want to discuss, little Hyuga brother?
Did you come back to take another one of big sister’s moves?” “Let’s talk about cooperation, Senior Pakura.
Surely you don’t want to see your companion, who just managed to escape a dungeon, die miserably in this foreign land?” The young Sand ninja, who had been highly agitated earlier, flared up once again.
“You bastard!
If you dare hurt Oki, I’ll kill you right now!” This time, before Pakura could act, the puppet master behind her stepped forward, grabbing the hot-blooded idiot who was harboring a one-sided crush on Oki.
“Don’t be reckless, Jiromaru!” “Don’t stop me!
I’m going to rescue Oki right now!
You guys might be afraid of Konoha, but I’m not!” The puppet master replied placidly, “We aren’t afraid of Konoha.
I just want to remind you—you are no match for him.” The impulsive youth froze instantly.
This blunt response shattered his pride out of nowhere.
“You…
you say I’m no match for him?” The puppet master nodded blankly.
“No match.” Jiromaru still refused to give up.
“Are you sure?” But the puppet master was far too honest.
“I’m sure.
I saw him in action.
He can trade blows with Captain Pakura.
If you go up, you’ll probably get instantly killed.” Jiromaru stared at Inaba Hyuga’s glaringly young face across from him, then stiffly turned his head to look at his senior puppet master, whose face was written all over with absolute sincerity.
For a moment, defeat and embarrassment swept over him like a gust of wind, petrifying his heart…
“…” He fell silent…
This allowed Pakura to breathe a sigh of relief and continue her exchange with Inaba Hyuga.
“Little Hyuga, listen to me.
Killing her does you no good.
On the contrary, if you actually do it, I, Pakura, swear I will hunt you down to the ends of the earth!” But such threats held no weight against Inaba Hyuga.
He had completely grasped the opponent’s weakness.
“She is not important to me, but whether she lives or dies is very important to you.
So, why don’t you listen to my conditions?” Inaba seized the moment to extend the invitation to cooperate, giving a brief outline of their mission objective.
Finally, Inaba Hyuga promised, “Cooperate with our operation, and I guarantee we will release your companion once the mission is complete.
She is useless to us anyway, and carrying her through Kirigakure-controlled territory would only be a burden.” “Why should I believe you?” “Because I am willing to move together with you.” Inaba Hyuga laid down the biggest bargaining chip he had prepared along the way.
This bargaining chip was something even his teammates didn’t know about beforehand.
The moment it escaped his mouth, Captain Tomoe, Anko, and Shisui Uchiha were all struck with horror, turning their heads to look at him in unison.
But Inaba Hyuga wasn’t just acting on a whim this time; he had come prepared.
“I belong to the Hyuga Branch House.
Even if you kill me, you won’t get the Byakugan.
Killing me is of zero value to you, just like your companion Oki is to us.
Therefore, I can act as a hostage and move alongside the four of you.
Once the mission is done, both sides will exchange hostages.” As he spoke, he lifted his bandana—since they were in enemy territory, none of them were wearing forehead protectors—to show Pakura the Caged Bird seal on his forehead before quickly pressing the fabric back down.
He did this very quickly, because since his Byakugan had evolved to the “Flawless” level, the Caged Bird seal on his forehead had become incredibly faint.
Thus, he could only let the Sand ninja catch a fleeting glimpse.
Any longer and he would expose himself.
“Inaba, you…” Before Pakura could respond, Anko spoke up from their side, attempting to dissuade him.
But Inaba Hyuga merely waved his hand, signaling that he was fine.
“I am the most suitable candidate.
You all should understand that,” he whispered back to Anko, while simultaneously persuading his captain and the others.
The group fell silent.
After a brief moment of reflection, they quickly realized that Inaba was undoubtedly right.
Leaving aside the two Uchihas—whose Sharingan were highly valuable spoils of war to foreign villages—Captain Tomoe and Rinfu Gekko were veteran Konoha Jonin, and Anko was Orochimaru’s disciple.
They held too many of Konoha’s secrets, making their personal value too high.
There was no guaranteeing the enemy wouldn’t be tempted.
Only Inaba Hyuga, for reasons known to all, held virtually no value as a captive of war due to being a member of the Hyuga Branch House.
The logic was easy to understand, but at this moment, Captain Tomoe couldn’t help but look at Inaba Hyuga with an increasingly complex gaze.
He had originally thought the youth was merely a master of psychological manipulation, but he hadn’t expected that at a critical juncture, the boy would also possess such noble courage and a spirit of sacrifice.
For a moment, as Tomoe looked at Inaba Hyuga, his eyes reflected nothing but the image of Tobirama Senju in his youth!