"You..."
The scar-faced Hidden Cloud ninja's expression turned ugly, and he slowly loosened his grip on the rope that bound Kushina.
Then he tightened it again.
No, he couldn't be careless now!
The young child in front of him had far surpassed his expectations in terms of strength. Even he felt a sense of unease.
The girl in his hands was not just a burden but an important hostage. The secret mission of infiltrating and kidnapping had already failed, and the most important thing now was to escape alive and inform their comrades outside the barrier.
Therefore...
The scar-faced man's expression became much more serious.
Araki's speed that he had just demonstrated was difficult for his eyes to keep up with, especially in such a small room where everything happened in the blink of an eye. This made him worried, not about Araki, but about attracting more attention with the commotion.
This was a secret mission.
It had to be carried out covertly.
Although the mission encountered some difficulties at this stage, it had only been discovered by a child. It hadn't reached the point of exposure yet.
If they were truly exposed, it would be difficult for him to escape from Konoha with his current abilities.
He was just a chuunin.
"Youngster, your skills are not bad, but you haven't really studied taijutsu, have you? These movements you're making are all instinctual, and maintaining this speed, your physical stamina won't last long!"
As the scar-faced man spoke, he slowly swung Kushina back and forth, positioning her between himself and Araki. This effectively created a straight line formation.
This conveniently blocked Araki's path.
As a ninja from the Hidden Cloud Village, he had trained in taijutsu since childhood and had a relatively good understanding of it. He understood that such speed could only be achieved in a straight line.
Now the path between them was blocked!
"This girl is important to you, isn't she?"
The scar-faced man's expression turned fierce. With two companions dead in front of him, he couldn't possibly smile. However, the current situation forced him to be cautious.
"How about we make a deal? I'll release this girl in exchange for you coming with me. You have great strength, and I won't be able to harm you!"
"I just wanted to steal some money, I had no intention of hurting anyone. Otherwise, this girl would have been dead already. You killed two of my comrades, so we're even!"
"If you come with me, I don't plan on harming you. Killing in Konoha is something I wouldn't dare do unless I want to die. I just want to ensure that I can leave. With you by my side, you won't be able to ambush me, and I'll feel more at ease. If I release this girl, you'll also feel more at ease!"
"This deal is a win-win for both of us!"
"What do you think?"
The scar-faced man spoke one sentence after another, his tone low, deliberately creating an atmosphere of negotiation with Araki.
His train of thought was clear.
From the moment he saw Araki effortlessly kill two lower-level ninja comrades, he knew that Araki was not an ordinary person.
Even though there was an element of underestimating the situation.
He couldn't take it lightly.
Continuing to be deadlocked like this might cause trouble in Konoha, endangering not only his own life but also causing problems for the village.
The simplest solution was to have Araki and Kushina switch places.
Once he restrained Araki, there would be no opponent left, and the girl wouldn't cause any trouble.
After dealing with Araki, he would be able to complete the mission.
The scar-faced man hoped to resolve it through a calculated approach, even though the plan he came up with wasn't flawless. But he wanted to exploit the emotions between Araki and Kushina, Araki's desire to be a hero, and the physical exhaustion caused by using such speed through taijutsu.
As a fellow proficient in taijutsu, he knew very well that with Araki's build, he had already reached the limit in terms of speed and couldn't maintain it for a long time.
This was the method of outsmarting that he could think of.
"If we have to fight to the death, I can't guarantee that I won't panic and make some harmful moves. This trade-off doesn't put you at a disadvantage at all!"
Seeing Araki still not speaking, the scar-faced man decided to further provoke him. He swiftly reached into his ninja tool pouch and took out a kunai, pressing it against Kushina's neck from behind.
The sharp edge of the kunai did not touch Kushina's skin, but the chilling aura emanating from it made the hairs on her back stand on end.
"Have you made up your mind?"
The scar-faced man furrowed his brow tightly, his eyes filled with a fierce and ruthless glint, though only he knew the doubts in his own heart.
What's wrong with this person?
No reaction at all!
Can't he understand what I'm saying?
Are my conditions not tempting enough?
...
Araki heard every word from the scar-faced man, but it didn't faze him in the slightest.
With such a limited brain, he did have a point, but it was far from enough.
Not at a loss...
He's treating people like fools!
Araki remained completely unfazed by it all. He had merely tested his progress in physical training during this encounter to ascertain his physical capabilities.
As for the scar-faced man before him...
Araki realized that this person was slightly stronger than the previous two, but not unbeatable, especially when using Kushina as a pointless threat.
If you have the guts, just stab her!
Stab her, and the Nine-Tails will come out. Then all I have to do is hide, and I won't have to worry about dealing with the aftermath. I can leave it all to the Nine-Tails.
However...
There was a significant drawback to this approach.
By doing so, Kushina being the Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails would be exposed, and their future days might not be as peaceful and smooth.
"Araki, don't agree to him. Run away quickly, find someone from the village for help. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine!"
Thinking that Araki was seriously considering the matter, Kushina became nervous and inexplicably strong. She was willing to endure all of this for Araki.
Even with the kunai pressed against her neck from behind, she believed that as long as her throat wasn't immediately slit, the power of the Nine-Tails would help her recover.
Compared to the exposure of various things, she cared more about Araki's safety. She was genuinely worried that Araki would impulsively agree to the exchange.
"Shut up!"
The scar-faced man's face darkened, and he swung his fist, holding the kunai, heavily against the back of Kushina's head.
"Bang!"
Accompanied by a muffled impact, Kushina immediately felt her head shake, and the scene before her eyes became blurry.
"Stop!"
Araki immediately raised his right hand. Just as Kushina was about to speak, he suddenly came up with a new plan.
Often, when a girl says she doesn't want something, it means she actually wants it. When Kushina said for him to run, he couldn't really run, as that would only lead to problems.
"I agree!"
Araki's lips curled up slightly, revealing a calm smile. He abandoned his fighting stance and took a step forward directly toward Kushina's position, showing no signs of nervousness.
"Let's make the exchange now!"