The Blame-Shifting Battle over Barrier Fluctuations and the Professional Counterattack of Data Overload

A faint, rapid hum came from the inner wall of the metal carriage.

The sound was very low, like mosquitoes beating their wings on a summer night, but in the deathly silent Black Sand Valley, it was especially grating.

Baishi did not stop walking, and his gaze remained fixed straight ahead, as though nothing had happened.

But the instant that sound rang out, every nerve in his body had already tensed.

Immediately afterward, several runes embedded in the carriage's outer armor flickered erratically. They brightened and dimmed twice before finally stabilizing at a level far dimmer than before.

The Barrier had fluctuated.

Inuzuka, at the very front of the team, abruptly stopped. The few ANBU beside him immediately spread out and assumed defensive stances.

"What's going on?" Inuzuka's voice was full of pressure. He did not turn around, but everyone knew whom he was asking.

An ANBU ninja responsible for driving the carriage hurried forward and reported in a low voice, "Commander, it's the Barrier... The energy output is unstable."

Inuzuka spun around. His cold gaze swept past everyone and locked onto Baishi like two poison-coated blades.

"Leaf shinobi, didn't you say your primary duty was monitoring the energy levels?"

His voice suddenly rose, carrying a faint echo through the empty Canyon.

"This is the result of your monitoring? You dropped the ball at the most critical moment. If the 'cargo' is damaged, can you bear the responsibility?"

The hat had been placed on him again.

And this time, it was heavier and more lethal than when they had set out.

"Insufficient maintenance"—those four words were enough to subject any technician to the harshest investigation after the mission ended.

Several ANBU ninjas looked at Baishi with undisguised schadenfreude. In their eyes, this auditor from Konoha was merely a pawn in