The Land of Fire and the Land of Wind did not directly border each other. The Land of Rivers lay between them, though one could also travel north through the Land of Rain to pass between the two.
As a small nation, it was destined to become a battlefield for the great nations at war.
This had also been the original purpose of allowing small nations to exist when the First Hokage of the five great nations established their villages.
Small nations served as buffer zones between great nations, preventing direct clashes between them.
Tōka's route this time passed through the Land of Rivers.
The Land of Rivers had dense forests connecting the Lands of Wind and Fire, as well as endless yellow sands stretching from the Land of Fire's border all the way into the Land of Wind.
Without question, the team led by Sakumo Hatake had chosen the desert route.
They had chosen the desert not only because it was the shortest path, but also to avoid drawing attention.
Sunagakure Shinobi would never guess that Konoha would send people infiltrating through a desert filled with raging sandstorms.
Moreover, the occasional sandstorms would completely erase any traces they left behind.
Just as Konoha's White Fang team infiltrated toward the Land of Wind, two figures in dark brown trench coats slowly emerged from the depths of the yellow sands.
"Karura, what do you think the chances are that we can persuade the Raikage to send troops when we reach the Land of Lightning?" Pakura pulled up her high collar and tucked her head deeper into her coat.
"If Konoha wins quickly, the Land of Lightning will not send troops." A trace of concern flashed through Karura's eyes as she spoke softly.
"Wins quickly?" Pakura tilted her head, not quite understanding.
Sunagakure and Konoha had clashed on a small scale in the Land of Rivers and the Land of Rain hundreds of times, and the two sides had already been fighting for a year.
Was a year not long enough?
"I mean Konoha defeating us before Iwagakure and Kirigakure truly enter the war." Karura looked up at the sky, where a massive storm seemed to be brewing on the horizon.
Kumogakure was a powerful nation whose military strength was said to rival Konoha's. They wanted to reap the benefits, but they did not want to act too early.
On one hand, they hoped the major nations would wear down Konoha's foundations. On the other, they hoped Konoha would drain the strength of the other villages.
If Konoha swiftly ended its war with Sunagakure,
then even if Iwagakure went to war, it would only be fighting alone and would have nothing to fear.
At that point, Kumogakure would be far more likely to choose to wait and see.
After all, the Land of Water was an extremely xenophobic nation. Kirigakure was currently in the midst of internal strife and was destined to be unable to send too many shinobi to the front lines.
At most, it could station troops along the border and put some pressure on Konoha.
In other words, Iwagakure was the only one that could truly array its forces against Konoha in open war.
Karura and Pakura's mission on this trip was to persuade the Raikage to directly send troops to attack Konoha.
However, neither of them knew that a Konoha elite assassination squad was rapidly approaching along this route to the Land of Lightning.
Once they put on animal masks, they were operating as Anbu, and during the mission, they could only address one another by codenames.
Tōka wore a fox mask and could not be bothered to think of another codename, so he simply went by Fox.
The other two were just as lazy. The one with the cat face was Cat, while the one with the dog face was Tibetan Mastiff.
As for Sakumo Hatake, the three of them addressed him as Captain.
At the border between the Land of Rivers and the Land of Wind, although both sides were endless stretches of yellow sand, they gave off entirely different feelings.
The Land of Rivers had both desert and vast forests, and its sands felt gentle.
In the Land of Wind, all one could see was yellow sand, and the desert felt dry and scorching.
Konoha's White Fang team quickly arrived at the Land of Wind's border. Sakumo Hatake raised a hand, signaling everyone to stop.
Their orders were carried out without hesitation, and the three instantly halted.
"Cat, sense the area." Sakumo Hatake's command was crisp and direct.
As an experienced Anbu member, the cat-faced man naturally understood Sakumo Hatake's intent.
He closed his eyes and formed hand seals, chakra surging forth.
An invisible aura spread forward in a fan-shaped sweep.
"Two people are approaching from ten li away." Before long, the cat-faced man opened his eyes and stated with certainty.
"Two people?" Sakumo Hatake frowned slightly. Ordinary people would not take this route.
Even black-market merchants would choose the Land of Rain or the forest route through the Land of Rivers.
Especially now, when Konoha and Sunagakure were fighting fiercely, black-market merchants would not travel with only two people.
"Fox, focus on protecting yourself. Cat, conceal yourself. Tibetan Mastiff, come with me. Understood?" Sakumo Hatake pondered briefly before giving the order.
"Understood." The three answered in unison.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!!
As soon as Sakumo Hatake finished speaking, the four quickly headed deeper into the desert.
Whoooosh~~~
The gale roared beside their ears. If not for their masks covering their mouths and noses, they would have gotten a mouthful of sand every time they opened their mouths.
Tōka followed at the rear of the group, using his smaller build to stay behind the dog-faced man.
This reduced both the blowing sand and the resistance.
"They're close! Take cover!" Sakumo Hatake suddenly called out.
Tōka and the cat-faced man instantly darted away, hiding behind a tall sand dune.
Karura and Pakura, approaching from ahead, remained completely unaware as they walked forward step by step, leaving footprints in the sand!
Then, without warning, something changed!
A streak of silver flashed through the yellow sands, and a deadly aura of death swept madly toward the two women.
Pakura's expression did not change. She immediately flashed behind Karura.
Rustle, rustle, rustle...
No one could see how Karura moved, but a vast amount of sand surged forth and formed a sand wall directly before her.
The blade in Sakumo Hatake's hand plunged into the sand. His expression darkened slightly, then he kicked off the sand wall, using the force to pull out his weapon before leaping backward to widen the distance.
"Fireball Jutsu!" Seizing the opportunity, Pakura formed hand seals, and a massive fireball raced after Sakumo Hatake even faster.
"Water Release: Water Wall!" The dog-faced man acted at the same time, and a wall of water appeared in front of Sakumo Hatake, blocking the attack.
With the distance opened up, both sides fell into a standoff.
Tōka, observing from the shadows, brightened. He had thought the dog-faced man was a taijutsu expert, but he was actually skilled in Water Release.
Had he been specifically chosen to deal with Pakura's Scorch Release?
After traveling together for so long, Tōka had finally figured out the abilities of everyone on the team.
The cat-faced man specialized in genjutsu and reconnaissance, the dog-faced man specialized in Water Release and taijutsu, while Sakumo Hatake specialized in swordsmanship and ninjutsu.
"What a carefully selected lineup." Tōka murmured, turning his gaze back to the battlefield.
Pakura stepped out from behind Karura and stood shoulder to shoulder with her.
The dog-faced man appeared beside Sakumo Hatake at the same time.
"Konoha Anbu? Looks like you intend to infiltrate the Land of Wind's rear and cause trouble!" Karura narrowed her eyes and said darkly.
"Karura can freely control sand. The other one..." The dog-faced man took out an intelligence report and whispered into Sakumo Hatake's ear, "is the Scorch Release user—Pakura."
"Go!" Sakumo Hatake shouted. Gripping the White Fang short blade, he became a streak of light and charged forward with a whoosh.
The dog-faced man formed hand seals at the same time. His target was clear.
He would restrict Pakura's Scorch Release. Once Sakumo Hatake dealt with Karura, they would join forces to eliminate Pakura!
That was the most time- and energy-efficient battle plan.
"Pakura, be careful. The enemy is very fast!" Karura had no choice but to raise both hands and control the sand, increasing its speed.
"Since they're from Konoha, there's nothing left to say!" The corners of Pakura's lips curved upward in a fierce smile.
The temperature around them rose with her words, becoming scorching hot.
Whoosh!!
A flash of white light streaked past, and the sharp blade stabbed mercilessly toward Karura's vital points.
The sand surged toward Sakumo Hatake and Karura as though it had a will of its own. Under Karura's deliberate control, it moved more than twice as fast as it had when protecting her automatically.
Puff, puff, puff!!
Ten strikes in one move. Sakumo Hatake's arm became a blur of afterimages as he frantically stabbed into the sand.
The scattered sand fell away, only for countless more grains to rush in.
Sakumo Hatake glanced at the sand beneath his feet, which was nearly rising past his knees. Having made his decision, he unleashed a powerful burst of air that instantly blasted the surrounding sand in all directions.
"What powerful defense!" Sakumo Hatake praised as he withdrew.
Karura pressed her lips together, her indigo eyes fixed warily on Sakumo Hatake, her heart filled with shock.
It had been so close. Her sand defense had almost been broken!
"Scorch Release: Over-Vaporization Kill!"
"Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique!"
Pakura and the dog-faced man shouted at the same time. Chakra surged forth as two powerful currents, one hot and one cold, crashed toward each other.
Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle...
Water and fire could not coexist, and vast clouds of white steam spread through the air.
The moment Sakumo Hatake drew the White Fang short blade, his identity had already been exposed.
Konoha's White Fang had assassinated countless Sunagakure Shinobi during the Second Shinobi World War, including the son and daughter-in-law of Sunagakure elder Chiyo.
As the Fourth Kazekage's wife, Karura naturally recognized this short blade, a weapon stained with the blood of countless Sunagakure Shinobi.
The moment they clashed, both sides used lethal killing moves. After a brief separation, they charged at one another again.
"That woman's defense is terrifying! Captain can't even end the fight quickly?" Behind the sand dune, the cat-faced man stared wide-eyed at the battlefield.
Tōka, however, felt that this was only natural. Gentle-looking, with shoulder-length hair and indigo pupils, this woman was Gaara's mother, Karura!
The sand that protected Gaara was not Shukaku's power, but the power that came from his mother—Karura.
Karura's ability to control sand herself was naturally even more terrifying.
"It seems the previous strategy won't work." Tōka spoke in a low voice.
The cat-faced man nodded in agreement. Pakura's strength lay somewhere between elite Chunin and Jonin, while the other woman was between Jonin and elite Jonin.
However, both of their abilities were extremely powerful, especially since they were currently fighting in the desert.
It would probably be difficult for Sakumo Hatake to eliminate them directly while conserving chakra.
"Perhaps I can support them with genjutsu."
Muttering inwardly, the cat-faced man swiftly formed hand seals. He planned to use genjutsu to assist Sakumo Hatake and the dog-faced man's attack.
Seeing this, Tōka frowned beneath his fox mask. What a bunch of guys who had no idea how to cherish women.
Whoosh!
Tōka moved. Lowering his body, he charged out while gripping two shuriken in his hands, then flung them forward.
Whoosh, whoosh!!
The sound of shuriken tearing through the air rang out, instantly drawing the attention of all four fighters.
An attack like that could not injure Karura, who had automatic sand protection. It could not even hurt Pakura.
However, Tōka's goal was simple: cause trouble—let these two escape!
"There's someone else?" While fighting fiercely with the dog-faced man, Pakura sensed Tōka's presence and immediately fired a massive fireball, forcing the dog-faced man back.
Pakura took the chance to withdraw from the battlefield and reunite with Karura.
Clearly, Konoha's side was stronger than theirs. They might not even win in a two-on-two fight.
And now there was another person, even if he was only a little runt.
But Konoha's Anbu were the most elite force among the five great nations, so they had to be treated with caution.
"Protect Fox!" A dark glint flashed through Sakumo Hatake's eyes. Rather than blaming Tōka for disregarding the plan, he ordered the dog-faced man and cat-faced man to protect him.
Because Sakumo Hatake knew that among the four of them, everyone except Tōka could afford to be injured.
"That brat seems important. Kill him!" Pakura was hot-tempered as well. She raised a hand and hurled a powerful attack at Tōka.
The scorching air twisted even the atmosphere, and within the hazy view, it felt as though something terrifying was rushing over.
A bead of sweat slid down Tōka's forehead. He had intended to let them escape, not come out here to throw away his life!
Yet something strange happened!
Tōka stood completely still, but Pakura's attack passed right by him.
The heat wave swept over him, instantly evaporating the sweat on his skin.
"Already caught in genjutsu?" Tōka's eyes narrowed. Just as he wondered when the cat-faced man had acted,
a white figure flashed before his eyes. Two palm strikes landed with two thuds, chopping down onto Karura and Pakura's necks.
Thud!
Pakura rolled her eyes and collapsed unconscious, but Karura was completely unaffected by the genjutsu because of the sand's automatic protection.
Sakumo Hatake's attack also made Karura realize she had been caught in genjutsu.
Buzz!!
A terrifying aura erupted, and yellow sand from all around surged forth like ocean waves.
Karura drew out more and more violent chakra from her body, breaking the cat-faced man's genjutsu.
As the illusion shattered and reality returned, Karura's pupils suddenly contracted. She saw that Pakura had already fallen into the hands of Konoha's dog-faced man.
"Pakura!" Karura cried out anxiously, but Pakura gave no response.
At this point, the four Konoha members gathered together. Tōka stood at the rear, still unable to understand when the cat-faced man had used his genjutsu.
"Capturing one alive is rather unexpected." Faced with Karura's formidable pressure, Sakumo Hatake remained completely unmoved. He glanced at the unconscious Pakura and spoke blandly.
"What do you want?" Worried about Pakura's safety, Karura did not dare act rashly.
"Since we captured a Scorch Release user, naturally we'll bring her back to the village for research." The dog-faced man gave a lewd grin and even bent down to sniff Pakura.
Yet Tōka knew that while this guy was somewhat unreliable, he was not acting out of lust. He was trying to disrupt Karura's state of mind.
Sure enough!
The moment those words were spoken, Karura's expression changed again and again. Pressing her lips together, she stared coldly at the dog-faced man.
If looks could kill, the dog-faced man would have died countless times already.
The strong wind swept up yellow sand and howled past them, waves of gold crashing through the air.
For a moment, the atmosphere became even more oppressive and murderous.
Taking the opportunity, Tōka quietly asked the cat-faced man, "When did you activate that genjutsu earlier?"
"It was a genjutsu trap. I set it on you beforehand," the cat-faced man said solemnly. "As long as someone attacked you, it would trigger the genjutsu."
"So that's how it was..." Tōka finally understood. No wonder Pakura's attack had missed, and even Karura had been caught in the genjutsu.
This cat-faced man was no simple man!
Before you continue