Prey of the Sea of Sand and the Kazekage's Vigilance

The lights in the Hokage's Office had not gone out all night.

The tea had long since gone cold.

Baishi did not touch it. He simply sat quietly in that chair symbolizing Konoha's highest authority, his fingertips absently tracing the smooth desktop as he felt the newly born, violent torrent within him.

The energy from the Land of Fire's leyline was abundant and vast, yet as rough as an unpolished stone. It rampaged through Baishi's Meridians, intertwining with the greedy vitality of the Hashirama Cells and bringing a tearing sense of unbearable fullness.

This power was strong, but it did not belong to him. At least, not yet.

It was like a pack of wild beasts forcibly caged, ready at any moment to break free and devour their master in turn.

The strand of One-Tail Chakra within him, long since assimilated, was especially restless now. It seemed to have caught the scent of its kind, or perhaps sensed a deeper hunger, relentlessly battering the internal balance Baishi had painstakingly established.

He needed to find an "anchor," one capable of suppressing and completely digesting this Leyline Origin.

Baishi's gaze slowly settled on the enormous map of the Shinobi World spread across the desk.

His finger moved across the fertile territory of the Land of Fire, passed over endless mountains and rivers, and finally stopped at the vast, withered expanse to the southwest.

The Land of Wind.

His fingertip lightly tapped the marker at the center of that region, the one representing Sunagakure.

The sound was faint.

"Tap."

As if confirming the prey's location.

A dark figure silently appeared in the office's shadows, dropping to one knee with his head deeply bowed.

"Lord Hokage." His voice was dry and utterly emotionless. "Lord Shikaku Nara has led his forces to the southern border.