Shiraishi's words struck Arakawa like a slap to the face.
Humiliation surged through him. Almost instinctively, Arakawa dropped into a combat stance, every muscle tensing as his killing intent locked firmly onto Shiraishi.
"You little bastard… are you looking down on me?"
"No," Shiraishi replied calmly. "I'm just letting you clearly understand the gap between us—so you don't do anything foolish that might ruin this mission."
Those words completely darkened Arakawa's expression.
Without hesitation, he flicked his wrist and hurled a kunai straight at Shiraishi.
At that instant, Shiraishi's pupils flashed with a faint, unusual glow.
The ground beneath his feet rippled as if disturbed by an invisible force—and then he vanished.
So fast!
Arakawa couldn't even track Shiraishi's movement. It was obvious that with High-Speed Movement, Shiraishi's burst speed had reached a level where ordinary genin could no longer capture his motion.
Knowing a frontal clash was suicide, Arakawa rapidly formed seals and activated the Substitution Technique.
The moment he swapped places with a log—
Shiraishi's silver blade didn't change direction at all.
Instead, it stabbed toward another angle.
A crescent of compressed wind tore through the air.
Whirlwind Blade.
A thin line of blood appeared on Arakawa's neck.
He stood there, frozen.
Even after using substitution, he had still been caught.
The silver blade rested lightly against his throat.
From start to finish, the entire exchange took less than one second.
With High-Speed Movement, Whirlwind Blade, and the terrifying observational ability of Circular Eyes, Shiraishi had subdued Arakawa instantly.
Death had never felt this close.
Sweat dripped steadily down Arakawa's forehead, yet he neither begged nor resorted to threats involving family or background. He simply stood there, locked in silence with Shiraishi.
Seeing that Arakawa had no intention—or perhaps no ability—to argue, Shiraishi withdrew his blade.
"For the Quicksand Ravine mission," he said evenly, "I want you to help me coordinate the four teams."
As the silver blade slid back, sunlight reflected off its edge, momentarily dazzling Arakawa's vision.
…How did he do that?
That speed.
That timing.
That precision.
"As compensation," Shiraishi continued, "I'll trade you a C-rank Fire Release ninjutsu."
Arakawa's chakra nature was fire.
However, his family specialized primarily in Wind Release. There were almost no fire-style records or techniques passed down. Because of this, despite possessing the affinity, Arakawa had never had access to a suitable Fire Release technique.
The moment he heard "C-rank Fire Release," his eyes lit up.
"What do you want in exchange?" he asked quickly. "Family techniques are off the table, and I don't have any rare ninjutsu."
"Access to the Great Sunagakure Library."
Sunagakure's educational resources were limited. Even the village library contained many gaps. The Great Sunagakure Library, however, was an exception.
Funded by the daimyō of the Land of Wind, it primarily served nobles and high-ranking officials.
Inside were records spanning thousands of years of shinobi history, detailed accounts of various nations, geography, customs, and vast collections of philosophy and literature.
Arakawa's maternal family came from a Wind Country noble house and possessed partial authority to issue library access permits.
Compared to a ninjutsu exchange, a library pass was trivial.
Before long, Arakawa used his family connections to secure Shiraishi a reading permit.
In return, Shiraishi handed over the C-rank Fire Release: Fire Spark.
Shiraishi himself had never trained in this technique. The information he provided was limited to its most basic theory and hand seals.
Even so, when Arakawa practiced it later, he successfully produced several small bursts of flame.
The unexpected gain delighted him.
His attitude toward Shiraishi shifted completely—from hostility and rejection to active cooperation. From that point on, Arakawa assisted Shiraishi in coordinating all four teams.
"You're seriously impressive, Shiraishi," Shirogaki Tsukasa muttered as the Fifteenth Detachment assembled and set out. "You actually managed to deal with that guy."
Watching Arakawa's sudden change in behavior, Tsukasa was completely baffled. There was no doubt some kind of deal had taken place—otherwise, this turnaround made no sense.
When Shiraishi ignored him, Tsukasa slung an arm around his neck.
"Hey, tell me—what did you use to buy him off?"
"Trade secret."
That curt reply nearly drove Tsukasa mad.
But before he could say more, Shiraishi slipped out of his hold using an extremely subtle taijutsu movement and quickly distanced himself.
The journey to Quicksand Ravine took an entire day.
Before engaging the missing-nin, Shiraishi carefully studied the terrain. Small flags were moved back and forth across the map as he refined his plan again and again.
Within the detachment, only Maki and Shiraishi possessed reliable sensory abilities.
And Maki's talent in this regard was exceptional.
After three months of combat refinement, her sensing range had expanded several times over compared to before.
Quicksand Ravine was a classic easy-to-defend, hard-to-attack location.
A massive canyon split by a narrow stream, surrounded by treacherous quicksand marshes. In reality, there were only two viable access routes—front and rear.
The intelligence listed three chūnin-level missing-nin leaders.
Their chakra natures, known techniques, taijutsu tendencies, and combat habits were all clearly documented.
One specialized in taijutsu.
One excelled in Wind Release.
One was proficient in Earth Release.
Their skill sets were straightforward—but that simplicity made coordination and strategy all the more critical.
Shirogaki Tsukasa and three other genin formed a support unit.
Arakawa and two genin were assigned to secure the rear of the canyon.
Shiraishi personally led four genin, launching the frontal assault.
Inside Quicksand Ravine, the three leaders knelt on one knee.
They were welcoming a special visitor.
The messenger wore sand-colored robes and was sealing scrolls—storing puppet components and mechanical parts inside.
At his feet lay the severed head of a Sunagakure chūnin, forehead protector still visible.
This man's role had been to ensure the success of the Fifteenth Detachment's mission—or intervene if necessary.
But he had arrived too early.
And was casually killed.
Seeing the head tossed aside, the three missing-nin trembled uncontrollably.
Though they had once been chūnin of Sunagakure and were strong enough to dominate this region, before this messenger—and the figure standing behind him—they were nothing.
That figure was Sasori of the Red Sand.
Quicksand Ravine was, in truth, one of Sasori's hidden bases within the Land of Wind.
After assassinating the Third Kazekage, Sasori suffered severe injuries. His human body had been heavily corroded by Magnet Release residue.
During his period of concealment, he ordered his subordinates to move between various bases, gathering materials essential for his experiments.
"The Fourth Shinobi War is approaching," the messenger said coldly. "Sunagakure has begun purging bandits and missing-nin within its borders. This place may be remote, but you must stay alert."
His gaze swept over the sealed scrolls.
"These contain items of great importance to Lord Sasori."
Killing a chūnin meant nothing to him.
In the Land of Wind, Sunagakure ninja were everywhere. Killing a lone one was hardly worth mentioning.
"We understand," one of the missing-nin said quickly, voice shaking.
"We will not disappoint Lord Sasori."