You's Position

Uchiha Yū gave him a few precautions, telling him not to use ninjutsu for the time being.

The other man was not his companion. Knowing that Sand Village was very likely to betray them later, he was no saint and had not fully healed the man's injuries.

"Thank you."

Feeling the pain in his chest, the Sand ninja touched his wound in disbelief. Only a white scar remained, proving that he had been injured just moments ago.

A moment later, a ninja came over to report the situation. Holding the notes he had organized, he read aloud:

"Report, sir. The supplies have been inventoried."

"Half the food was damaged. The weapons sent as aid suffered little damage, but all the explosive tags were swept away by the Great Waterfall and can no longer be used."

The Sand Village jonin's face had turned liver-colored with rage. Suppressing the fury in his heart, he gritted his teeth and said:

"Rain Village! We cannot coexist under the same sky!"

"People of Konoha, how was our route exposed?"

His tone shifted as he began questioning Konoha, making the atmosphere between the two sides more tense. The leading Konoha jonin was not afraid that they would tear things apart, but he was equally confused by this matter.

"I don't know either. You should understand that if the supplies are damaged, neither of our sides benefits."

"Send these supplies back first, then investigate which link in the chain went wrong."

Now was not the time to argue. No matter how furious they were, they had to send everything back first, lest more trouble arise.

If another wave of attacks came, it would be difficult to protect the remaining supplies.

In truth, the Konoha jonin already had a faint suspicion. There were signs of battle on Uchiha Yū when he returned, yet he had clearly left the battlefield. Combined with Uchiha Shuiyun's disappearance, there was a good chance Shuiyun had done it.

He could not mention this in front of the Sand Village people, lest they try to extort them again. Konoha was not some gullible fool—how could they keep giving them supplies again and again?

Uchiha Yū did not ask about what they were discussing. Instead, he lowered his head and gathered the salamander venom left on the ground.

He carefully collected it in test tubes. If he encountered salamanders in the future, he could develop an antidote in advance and neutralize their greatest threat.

With more than half the supplies gone, their traveling speed noticeably increased.

When they reached the border of the Land of Wind, the terrain was completely different from that of the Land of Fire. The desert weather was scorching and unforgiving.

The wind blew sand into their faces, making it impossible to keep their eyes open.

Fortunately, the ninja leading the team had prepared conical hats in advance. They were the most common equipment in the Land of Wind.

"Our Sand Village ninja have it far worse than Konoha, whether in supplies or education. We can't compare to you."

The ninja Uchiha Yū had saved was resting on a pile of straw at the back due to his injuries. Seeing the confusion in You's eyes, he knew that You had never been to the desert before and explained:

"But don't underestimate us. Sand Village has its own specialties. Poison and puppet techniques are what allow us to stand among the Five Great Ninja Villages."

Though they could not compare to Konoha's prosperity, confidence could be heard in his voice. His faith in the village came from the Third Kazekage's leadership.

Known as the strongest Kazekage, that title was never empty. It had been earned through strength.

Before the Third Kazekage, Sand Village's situation had been even worse than one could imagine.

After entering the Land of Wind, they encountered a group of Sand ninja who had specifically come to receive them.

But when they saw the damaged supplies, the replacements were stunned. Only after some discussion did they learn that Rain Village had caused this mess.

Once both sides arrived at Sand Village, the mission was finally considered complete.

Uchiha Yū stood on the outskirts, observing Sand Village's natural terrain. In the world of Naruto, it had seemed nothing more than a barren wasteland.

Only by seeing it in person could one discover Sand Village's layout. The outer layer effectively blocked the wind and sand.

However, compared with Konoha, their living conditions were undoubtedly much worse.

Just as they were preparing to leave, a jonin appeared at the village gate and immediately halted their departure.

"Everyone, Lord Kazekage wishes to see you."

Those words made the situation delicate. The Konoha ninja even secretly drew their weapons in case anything unexpected happened.

Seeing their wariness, the Sand Village ninja quickly shook his head and softened his tone.

"It is to discuss this attack. Please do not overthink it. Since we accepted Konoha's supplies, we will not go back on our word."

With their concerns dispelled, the Konoha ninja's furrowed brows relaxed somewhat. Led by the other party, they entered the village.

Since the discussion inside concerned the higher-ups of Konoha and Sand Village, the rest of them were arranged nearby.

Uchiha Yū noticed the looks some children were giving him. Most were curious, though some were afraid.

"Hey! Are you Konoha ninja?"

An orange-haired girl stood on a rooftop, looking down at them. Her proud expression was written all over her face.

Because of their identities and the village they were in, the chunin and jonin whom Pakura was staring at could not make a move. They merely cursed at her a few times, trying to drive her away.

But Uchiha Yū recognized her.

"Pakura..."

She did not yet possess the future image of a valiant woman. She was just a little blonde girl around his age. As for her strength, the fact that she dared appear before Konoha ninja showed that she had some courage.

Looking further, he could see a group of little followers hiding behind her.

Their gazes happened to meet. Pakura was drawn in by his appearance. Every member of the Uchiha Clan was handsome or beautiful, and given Sand Village's location, most boys in the village had rough skin and simply could not compare to those from Konoha.

"He's so handsome!"

Sure enough, looks were justice. Back at the Ninja Academy, that face alone had attracted quite a few little fangirls.

As he grew older and entered adolescence, Uchiha Yū's features had gradually sharpened, giving him an air of cold arrogance.

"Cough, cough."

Remembering how proudly she had jumped out just now, she must have left him with a bad impression. Wanting to salvage her image, she leaped down from the roof and gave a brief introduction.

"I'm a Sand Village ninja, Pakura!"

"What's your name?"

Her slightly flushed cheeks astonished the group of Sand ninja kids behind her. It was the first time they had ever seen Pakura act shy.

Was this really their big sister?

The Konoha ninja all looked like they wanted to laugh but were holding it in. A few of them egged Uchiha Yū on.

"Go for it, You. Lure that Sand ninja back to Konoha."

"Don't worry, the Hokage will pay your bride price."

"Kid, it's time to show your worth!"