Saisho Hagaki closed Nara Heino's eyes, carried the middle-aged ninja on his back, gripped the White Fang short sword, and looked with his eyes full of determination towards the distant desert.
There, a dark cloud made of sand iron was approaching him mightily.
As the most watched enemy in Sunagakure, Saisho Hagaki knew he had to pay a price to break into the Wind Country's territory. How could he do it without some sacrifice?
And in Sunagakure, the one who could most likely leave a mark on Saisho Hagaki, such a formidable opponent, was none other than the Third Kazekage, known as the strongest Kazekage in history.
"No need to run anymore; we are safe."
The large black cloud in the sky was visible from a distance.
Noticing this phenomenon, Ishiko breathed a sigh of relief and gestured for everyone to stop.
"That's... the Third's Magnet Release!"
Yan excitedly exclaimed.
"Unfortunately, Chiuichi, a Jonin, stayed behind to cover our retreat and faced Konoha Hakuba... sigh."
Kana sat down on the scorching sand, sighing.
To the uninformed onlookers, Chiuichi, a Jonin, stayed behind until the end, sacrificing himself to protect his comrades, right?
Chiuichi did indeed manage to hold off White Fang for a few moves, buying some time.
"Sacrificing a Jonin and not achieving the mission objective, it seems this mission has failed."
A special Jonin took out bandages from his ninja tool pouch and started wrapping his wounds.
"Let me do it; I know some basic medical ninjutsu."
Seeing Setsu walking over to the special Jonin, a faint green light appeared on her palm.
"No, if I can take down Hakuba, or even just injure him to affect his combat effectiveness, this mission will be a success. There will be gains."
Ishiko controlled the puppets to stand in a row and took a soldier pill from his ninja tool pouch to replenish his chakra.
"With my strength, I should be able to hold off Hakuba for a few moves and create some opportunities for the Third. Messenger ninjas, use the summoning beasts to report the situation back to the village immediately. Yan, lead the team back to Kurosunagakure!"
"Yes!"
Yan nodded solemnly at Ishiko.
The middle ninja, previously known as Hardy, who guided the way, once again bit his finger, summoned the lizard summoning beast from the village's communication unit, wrote down the information on a note on its leg, and then dismissed the summoning.
Subsequently, the group split into two teams: one led by Ishiko with five puppeteers returning, and the other led by Yan heading back to Kurosunagakure.
...
...
Kurosunagakure was one of the few bustling cities in the Wind Country.
A river from the Water Country flowed through the border of the two countries, entered here, and then, blocked by mountains, turned southward towards the sea.
Where there is water, there is the foundation for building a city. The development of Kurosunagakure was triggered twenty years ago when the Third Kazekage, who had just mastered Magnet Release, passed through here and sensed a large amount of iron present.
The mine was organized and people were mobilized for excavation.
The iron ore here is loose in texture, easy to mine, with a large storage capacity, and dark in color, hence the name "black sand." Coupled with the presence of rivers, proximity to the border, convenient transportation, and favorable for commerce, it developed and grew into an economic stronghold of the Wind Country over a period of twenty years.
Iron is essential for making weapons, and the iron ore here also contains some associated veins of other metals, which are valuable to ninjas. Therefore, there are usually many ninjas stationed here, and during wartime, this area is a priority target for enemies.
Although the mine was attacked by elite squads from Konoha, the city remained bustling and lively. At night, the lights were still on.
During normal times, after completing a mission, Hardy might wander around the city and have some fun. However, at this moment, no one had any thoughts of playing around.
"I wonder how the Third Hokage and Captain Ishihouse are doing now," Snow said, sitting on the rooftop of the Sand Village's base, gazing at the moon in the sky with a distant look in her eyes.
"The Third Hokage should be fine. Even if the Third Hokage personally took action, he wouldn't be able to defeat Lord Kazekage. I am mainly concerned about Captain Ishihouse. Byakugan's ability is too restraining for puppeteers," Leaf said, sitting next to her sister, watching Hardy and Scorpion repairing puppets in the courtyard.
The Fat Puppet was still intact, while the little boy puppet had suffered some damage. However, Hardy had some spare parts in his scroll and could repair it tonight. On the other hand, Scorpion's White Ant puppet was almost scrapped, and fixing it would be like building a new puppet from scratch. The Salamander Fish also suffered some damage but was repairable.
"How strong is Byakugan?" Snow asked her older brother.
Hardy put away the wrench, turned his head to look at the rooftop, and listened intently. Before crossing over, he had heard of the name Byakugan from Konoha, knowing that this person was Kakashi Hatake's father and very powerful. He had killed Scorpion's parents in the war, but there was little information about him in the anime, not even a single scene of him taking action. Now, he only vaguely felt a hint of his strength. Although he was busy escaping at that time and didn't see the details of the fight between Kakashi Hatake and Juyi, the momentum emitted by Byakugan was deeply felt by Hardy. A weaker Genin might not even have the ability to move in front of Byakugan's momentum. Scorpion also stopped his movements, his expression calm like stagnant water.
"You might be disappointed. In the battle where almost the entire Sixth Division was wiped out a year ago, I was heavily injured and almost died shortly after the battle began. I was lucky to survive, but I never had a chance to face Byakugan directly. Those who faced Byakugan directly all died," Leaf shook her head.
"Instead of asking me, it's better to wait for the captain to come back and ask him," she added.
As soon as Leaf finished speaking, a dark cloud made of sand and iron descended from the sky.
The Third Kazekage, wearing a white shadow robe, stood on a platform made of sand and iron, carrying Ishihouse, whose body was stained red, on his back.
"Is there a medical ninja here? Ishihouse has suffered serious injuries," the Third Kazekage said, slowly descending and scanning the courtyard, looking at everyone.
"Lord Kazekage! I participated in Lady Chiyo's medical experimental class. Let me help stabilize Captain Ishihouse's condition and stop the bleeding," Snow and Leaf jumped off the roof, with the former taking Ishihouse from the Third Kazekage's hands and carrying him into the room.
The Third Kazekage looked at the closed door, then turned to observe the people in the courtyard.
"I remember you are Leaf. You were promoted to Special Jounin this year at the age of sixteen, not bad," the Third Kazekage said, praising Leaf.
"Lord Kazekage, you are too kind," Leaf replied excitedly, bowing to the Third Kazekage.