The Third Kazekage

Hatake Sakumo closed Nara Heiya's eyes, slung the middle-aged ninja onto his back, gripped the White Fang Short Sword, and fixed his blazing gaze on the distant desert.

There, a dark cloud formed from Iron Sand was sweeping toward Hatake Sakumo with overwhelming force.

As Sunagakure's most closely watched enemy, how could Hatake Sakumo enter the Land of Wind without paying a price?

And within Sunagakure, the only one capable of leaving wounds on an opponent as powerful as Hatake Sakumo was the Third Kazekage, hailed as the strongest Kazekage in history.

"No need to run anymore. We're safe."

That massive black cloud in the sky could be seen from far away.

Noticing it, Ishido breathed a sigh of relief and raised a hand to signal everyone to stop.

"That's... Third Lord's Magnet Release!"

Miyaki said excitedly.

"Too bad Jonin Kyuichi stayed behind to cover our retreat and voluntarily held off the Konoha White Fang... sigh."

Kana dropped onto the scorching sand with a heavy sigh.

To those who did not know the truth, Jonin Kyuichi had been the last one remaining during their retreat. Wasn't that sacrificing himself for the sake of others, willingly staying behind to protect his comrades?

And Kyuichi had indeed barely withstood a few of White Fang's attacks, buying them some time.

"We sacrificed a jonin and still failed to accomplish the mission objective. Looks like this mission has failed."

A Special Jonin took bandages from his Ninja Tool Bag and began dressing his wounds.

"Let me do it. I know some basic Medical Ninjutsu."

Miyuki walked over to the Special Jonin, a faint green glow blooming over her palm.

"No. If we can kill White Fang, or even merely wound him and affect his combat ability, then this mission will have succeeded and yielded results."

Ishido arranged his puppets in a row, then took a Ration Pill from his Ninja Tool Bag and swallowed it to replenish his Chakra.

"With my strength, I should barely be able to hold White Fang off for a few moves and create some opportunities for the Third Lord. Messenger ninja, immediately use a Summoning Beast to report to the village. Miyaki, lead the team back to Black Sand City to rest and recover!"

"Yes!"

Miyaki solemnly nodded to Ishido.

The Chunin who had previously guided Shimizu and the others bit his finger again, using blood to summon a lizard from the village's messenger unit. After writing the message on the slip of paper tied to its leg, he dismissed the summoning.

Afterward, they split into two groups. Ishido alone operated five Human Puppets and headed back against the flow, while the other group returned to Black Sand City under Miyaki's leadership.

Black Sand City was one of the few prosperous cities in the Land of Wind.

A river from the Land of Rivers passed through the border between the two countries and flowed all the way here. Then, blocked by towering mountains, its course bent southward toward the sea.

Where there was water, there was a foundation for building a city. What allowed Black Sand City to flourish was that twenty years ago, the Third Kazekage, having just mastered Magnet Release, passed through this area and sensed a vast quantity of iron ore here. He then organized people to mine it.

The iron ore here was loose in texture, easy to mine, abundant in reserves, and black in color, hence the name Black Sand. Combined with the river and its proximity to the border, which made transportation and trade convenient, the city had grown over twenty years into an economic hub of the Land of Wind.

Iron could be used to make weapons, and the mines here also contained several associated veins. Some of those metals were valuable resources for ninja. Naturally, many ninja were stationed here in peacetime, and during war, this was also an area enemies prioritized for destruction.

Although the mines had been attacked by the Leaf Elite Squad, the city remained prosperous and bustling, its lights blazing through the night.

Under normal circumstances, Shimizu might have wandered around the city and had some fun after the mission ended. But now, no one was in the mood for that.

"I wonder how the Third Lord and Captain Ishido are doing now... sigh."

On the roof of Sunagakure's outpost, Miyuki sat on the eaves and gazed at the moon in the sky, her eyes unfocused.

"The Third Lord should be fine. Even if the Third Hokage personally made a move, he wouldn't be able to defeat Lord Kazekage. I'm mainly worried about Captain Ishido. White Fang's abilities are simply too effective against Puppeteers."

Miyaki sat beside his sister, watching Shimizu and Sasori repair puppets in the courtyard.

The Fatty Puppet was still intact. Little Boy had suffered some damage, but Shimizu had spare parts in his scroll, so it could be repaired tonight.

Sasori's Termite, on the other hand, was practically scrapped. Repairing it would be almost the same as building a new puppet from scratch.

Ibuse had also sustained some damage, but it was still within repairable limits.

"Just how strong is White Fang?"

Miyuki asked her brother.

Shimizu put away his wrench, turned toward the roof, and listened closely.

Before crossing over, he had heard of the Konoha White Fang. But he only knew that the man was Hatake Kakashi's father, immensely powerful, and had killed Sasori's parents during the war. The rest had barely been shown in the anime; there had not even been a single scene of him fighting.

It was the same now. Shimizu knew that Hatake Sakumo was extremely strong, certainly a powerhouse on the level of a Kage, but he did not know exactly where that strength lay.

This time, he had at least barely felt a trace of that sharp edge.

Although he had been busy fleeing for his life and had not seen the details of Hatake Sakumo's fight with Kyuichi, the aura that erupted from the man had left a deep impression on Shimizu.

If it had been a weaker Genin, they might not even have been able to move in the face of White Fang's aura.

Sasori also stopped what he was doing, his expression as still as stagnant water.

"I may have to disappoint you. In the battle a year ago, when our Sixth Division was nearly wiped out, I was severely wounded, near death, and unconscious not long after the fighting began. I was lucky to escape with my life, so I never had a chance to face White Fang directly. And everyone who did face White Fang directly died."

Miyaki shook his head.

"Rather than asking me, wait until the captain comes back and ask him."

Speak of the devil, and he appeared.

The moment Miyaki finished speaking, a dark cloud of Iron Sand drifted down from the horizon.

The Third Kazekage stood atop a platform made of Iron Sand, dressed in a white Kage robe. On his back was Ishido, half his body stained red with blood.

"Is there a Medical Ninja here? Jonin Ishido has suffered serious injuries."

The Third Kazekage slowly descended, sweeping his gaze over the courtyard as he addressed the group.

"Lord Kazekage! I attended Lady Chiyo's medical training class. Let me stop Captain Ishido's bleeding and stabilize his condition first."

Miyuki and Miyaki leaped down from the roof. The former took Ishido from the Third Kazekage's hands, carried him in her arms, and entered the room.

The Third Kazekage watched the door close, then turned and examined everyone in the courtyard.

"I remember you. Your name is Miyaki, and you were just promoted to Special Jonin this year. Becoming a Special Jonin at sixteen—not bad."

"You flatter me, Third Lord!"

Miyaki lowered his head in an excited bow to the Third Kazekage.