Sensory Suspicions and the Kazekage's Temporary Formation Change

Sunagakure, the underground headquarters of the Sensory Unit.

The air was thick with a constant smell of dry dust.

A sensory ninja wearing goggles hurried through the corridor, his footsteps especially clear in the silent passage.

He pushed open the door to the Kazekage's temporary command room without the slightest hesitation.

"Kazekage-sama."

Rasa stood before a massive sand table, examining the troop markers extending toward the border of the Land of Rivers. He did not turn around.

"Speak."

"Fifteen minutes ago, a miniature underground Barrier at location Xuan-7 in the 'Eye of the Sandstorm' region of the hinterland was triggered."

Rasa's movements stopped.

He slowly turned around, not a hint of emotion in his golden eyes.

"A miniature Barrier?"

"Yes. It was physically triggered, not activated by Chakra detection. The disturbance was extremely slight and vanished completely in less than a second."

The reporting ninja handed over a Scroll.

"What did the subsequent full-range scan find?" Rasa did not take it.

"...Nothing, Kazekage-sama. The wind speed and sandstorm interference in that area are too strong. Any surface traces would have been wiped away instantly. We found no Chakra residue."

The command room fell silent.

A Jonin adviser standing nearby frowned and spoke. "Sandworms often move beneath the Eye of the Sandstorm. They occasionally cause minor shifts in the strata. Perhaps it was triggered by accident."

It was the most reasonable explanation.

Rasa said nothing. He walked to the map, his gaze settling on the ring-shaped Forbidden Zone marked "Eye of the Sandstorm."

That location was almost diametrically opposite the main forces they had dispatched toward the Land of Rivers.

It was too far away. And too remote.

If Konoha's target was the Land of Rivers, why would they send a squad deep into such a godforsaken hinterland? It had no