The Border Outpost's Material Buck-Passing and Leveraging to Gain Entry to the Inner Village

The wind was fierce.

Sand stung his face.

With every step Baishi took, the burning pain in his abdomen intensified, but the blank Fox Mask on his face hid all expression.

Rather than a watchtower, Sand Sea-7 Border Outpost was more like a camp barely enclosed by sandbags and rusted metal sheets. The Sunagakure flag atop the flagpole had faded from the wind, and its edges were already tattered.

Two guards saw him and lazily raised their spears, crossing them to block his path.

"Password."

"Konoha Logistics Department, Baishi. I've come to report as ordered." Baishi's voice was steady, betraying nothing unusual.

One guard looked him up and down, his gaze lingering on the black windbreaker that was not part of Sunagakure's standard uniform.

"Report? Go register over there." The guard jerked his chin toward a slightly larger plank building in the corner. Its door was tightly shut.

Baishi nodded and walked straight over.

As soon as he reached the door, he heard suppressed roars from inside.

"...The Combat Unit used up the last of the medical supplies without even a requisition form! The wounded are lying in the infirmary, and you want me to save them with sand?"

"Captain Baki, you can't put it that way. The front line was in an emergency. Saving lives first and filing the paperwork afterward is standard practice. The problem is that this batch of supplies never entered the Logistics Department's inventory. Where are we supposed to authorize them from?"

"Bullshit! The supplies the village allocated half a month ago are piled in your warehouse. Don't think I didn't see them!"

"That's strategic stock. Using it requires the Kazekage's written order!"

The room fell into a brief dead silence, followed by a muffled thud as a teacup was slammed onto the table.

Baishi