Wind Country,
Whoosh~ Whoosh~
The gale, carrying fine grains of sand, could erode any trace of life. Yet when it swept over the golden dunes, it left behind not a hint of having passed through.
Crunch!
Several figures walked across the scorching yellow sand, leaving behind strings of footprints that vanished in an instant.
Taking advantage of the brief lull in the sandstorm, one of them removed the cloak wrapped around his head, revealing a head of short silver-gray hair.
"Thank you, Shu."
Hatake Sakumo looked at the faint patch of green in the distance, his eyes filled with gratitude.
"Aren't we good partners, Aqi?"
Shu, who was leading the way, turned around at those words and flashed him a brilliant smile.
"I'll definitely do what I promised you!"
"If father hadn't led us the wrong way, we would've reached second grandpa's home already."
At that moment, the little burden trailing behind him raised his head and stared expressionlessly at the high-spirited Shu.
"Ahem. Sasori, children shouldn't interrupt when adults are talking, you know~"
Hearing his eldest son's jab, Shu scratched his flushed face awkwardly, then pressed a hand onto his rebellious son's little red head and vigorously ruffled it.
"And how did I lead us the wrong way? Isn't Rōran right over there?"
"If we had turned left half an hour ago, we would have reached our destination by now."
Unfortunately, Sasori had been an exceedingly serious child since he was young. No matter how much his father tried to signal him with his eyes, he still fairly pointed out Shu's earlier mistake.
"You child, wasn't I doing it to train you more? When will you understand your father's painstaking intentions?"
Seeing that his blunder had been exposed, Shu simply stopped explaining and generously admitted it, though the reason