Dealing with Sealing Techniques!

Kawaki Aoba froze for a moment, then shook his head. "No... I just feel like this mission isn't as simple as it seems."

Asuma raised an eyebrow, his gaze deepening. "Oh? Tell me. What did you notice?"

Kawaki Aoba hesitated, then said quietly, "Sunagakure's recent movements have been too quiet. Quiet enough to be abnormal.

The Hokage sent us here in such a hurry to gather intelligence, which means they might be planning something big.

And..."

He paused and lowered his voice. "I keep feeling like someone has been watching us from the shadows."

Asuma's eyes narrowed slightly, but he quickly returned to his usual relaxed manner. "Not bad, kid. You've got sharp instincts.

But don't scare yourself.

Sunagakure's ninja aren't so bored that they'd spend their time watching two wandering ninja.

Get some rest. We'll reach Sunagakure tomorrow."

Kawaki Aoba nodded, but he could not fully relax.

He swallowed his dry rations and turned his gaze once more toward the darkness in the distance.

The caravan moved slowly and heavily through the barren wilderness, where yellow sand filled the sky. Its wheels rolled over the parched ground with low creaks, as though the desert itself were whispering something.

The wind swept up fine grains of sand and lashed them against the caravan's wagons and the travelers' faces, bringing a faint sting.

Kawaki Aoba walked along the edge of the group at an unhurried pace, yet his gaze was as sharp as a hawk's as it swept across every inch of the horizon.

The sun blazed overhead, and the air was filled with the dry, earthy scent of dust. His ninja instincts kept him constantly alert, though outwardly, he was merely a quiet young man following at Sarutobi Asuma's side, like a "tagalong" the senior had casually brought along.

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