On the night Senju Genma left, Sunagakure's forces discovered that Makima was missing and immediately sent reinforcements to investigate the base. Seeing the Sand Ninja base nearly reduced to rubble and corpses strewn everywhere, Asaro, an Elite Jonin of Sunagakure who was usually calm and collected, flew into a rage.
"Wake those two up!"
"Yes!" Two ninjas from the unit went over to the two unconscious guards and injected chakra into their bodies to dispel the genjutsu.
"What exactly happened here?" Asaro used Magnet Release, sending sand and gravel swirling around the two guards and lifting them up in front of him.
"A Konoha Ninja infiltrated the base!"
"One person?!" Asaro froze for a moment, then asked in surprise.
He knew how many troops were stationed at this base: nearly fifty ninjas, including Chunin and Jonin, as well as Makima, an Elite Jonin. And yet a single ninja had taken them all down.
"That's right. A Konoha Ninja wearing red layered armor, with long silver-white hair!" The guard nodded emphatically. "It might have been Hatake Sakumo!"
After speaking, the guard furrowed his brow. He felt as if he had forgotten something, but he couldn't remember what.
Hearing this, Asaro lowered the two guards and bowed his head in thought.
Someone who could silently breach the barrier around the base, kill dozens of elite ninjas in an instant, and cause destruction on such a massive scale—and whose most notable feature was long silver-white hair. Could it have been Hatake Sakumo?
No. Hatake Sakumo's swordsmanship was formidable, but he wouldn't have caused so much damage to the surroundings.
Then there was only one possibility: the man who stood at the pinnacle of the ninja world, the legendary ninja who had defeated Hanzo... White Yasha... Senju Genma!
At the thought, Asaro's palms began to sweat.
It had to be him. They said that when the man fought Hanzo, he had badly damaged the terrain of the battlefield. If he was still in the Land of Wind and hadn't left...
"This man is too dangerous to have in the Land of Wind. We have to report this to Lord Kazekage."
"Lord Asaro, the base has fallen. Isn't it enough to report it to the surrounding units? They'll send reinforcements themselves. Why bother Lord Kazekage?" one of his subordinates asked, baffled.
"What the hell do you know? That's White Yasha! Do you have any idea how much damage he could do to the Land of Wind if he wanted to?" Asaro slapped his subordinate across the face and roared, "Only Lord Kazekage can deal with this!"
At the mention of White Yasha, most of the Sand Ninja fell silent with fear.
Only a few young Genin rubbed their hands together, looking eager to test themselves.
"But is Lord Kazekage really a match for White Yasha?" one Sand Ninja asked.
The Sand Ninja around him immediately glared at him.
Asaro's gaze turned cold.
He didn't know who was stronger, Lord Kazekage or White Yasha. And he had no idea how he'd ended up with a subordinate this stupid.
Whatever the case, this was not the time to ask such a question.
"Third Kazekage is the strongest Kazekage. White Yasha can't possibly defeat him. Our job is to report this to Lord Kazekage!" Asaro said gravely.
In an oasis near the border of the Land of Wind, Senju Genma strolled leisurely down the road.
"After one more town, I'll reach the Land of River. I wonder if Tsunade's getting impatient."
He hadn't used the Reverse Summoning Technique to return to the Land of River because he wanted to see the Land of Wind's unique customs and landscapes, and leave a few Flying Thunder God Formulas in various places along the way.
There wasn't much fun in fighting all the time.
Senju Genma gazed at the sand beyond the oasis and thought of Shukaku, who could control sand.
Since I've come all this way to the Land of Wind, should I go capture the One-Tail?
Never mind. Getting the One-Tail wouldn't be useful right now, and it would be a bit of a hassle. Once I'm strong enough, I can capture them all at once like Madara. There's no need to rush.
Senju Genma shook his head and looked back toward the town. "I should keep exploring!"
As he walked, something suddenly pressed against his lower back.
But he didn't sense any danger, so he spoke without turning around. "Long time no see, Big Sister Karura."
"Has Big Sister Karura gotten so weak she can't even hold a Kunai anymore?"
"Or is it that you can't bring yourself to hurt me, so you're not putting any strength into it?"
As he spoke, Senju Genma quickly turned around and grabbed the hand Karura was holding her Kunai with.
Senju Genma was about to tease her some more, but then he saw the look of dejection on Karura's face.
"It seems things aren't going well for you, Big Sister. You're an important Sand Release Kekkei Genkai user in Sunagakure, yet they're letting you wander around all by yourself."
"And your body..."
Karura shook her head and spoke gently. "It was Hanzo. The legendary ninja lives up to his reputation. I heard you've already defeated him, while I wasn't even close to being his match."
"I'm no longer a ninja of Sunagakure, and I can't be a ninja anymore!"
"My body's already completely broken."
Senju Genma froze for a moment.
Wasn't Hanzo still the sort of man who valued talent at this point in time?
How could he have hurt a genius like Karura so badly?
Had I hit him too hard last time and changed his state of mind?
"Doesn't that make you a sitting duck now? The two countries are at war. Why would you dare show up in front of me?"
"I'm traveling." Karura showed no fear at all. Instead, she smiled warmly. "I'm just an ordinary person now. As a legendary ninja, you wouldn't hurt an ordinary girl like me, would you?"
"Besides, Sunagakure started the war. Even if you did hurt me, you'd be justified."
Traveling, huh? That was obviously an excuse.
Karura clearly wasn't in a good state of mind.
This town was close to the battlefield. Perhaps the shock had been too much for her, driving her to the brink. Maybe she wanted to die in an "accident."
"Big Sister Karura, you're pointing a Kunai at me without posing any threat. Don't tell me you're deliberately trying to get me to kill you?!" Senju Genma asked as he took the Kunai from her hand.
"I couldn't do something like that."
Karura's gaze began to shift, as if he'd touched on something she'd been hiding.
"If you don't want to, then forget it. I'm leaving," Senju Genma said, still holding her hand. After they stood there locked in a stalemate for a while, Karura was the first to give in.
"Where are you going?"
"I'm thirsty. I want a drink."
Senju Genma spoke firmly. "You're not getting away that easily. I happen to have time right now, so let me keep you company. You don't get to refuse!"
"But you're still a child. You can't drink," Karura refused earnestly, as if she were genuinely concerned about Genma's health.
Senju Genma raised an eyebrow. He hadn't expected Karura to still be thinking of him, even in this state.
But who did you think you were looking down on? I might not be very old in this life, but my body's almost as strong as any adult's.
Big Sister Tsunade can vouch for me!