Sunagakure's Surprise Attack

The Land of Wind.

Sunagakure is nestled between massive rocky ravines, where yellow sand swirls everywhere, the sun beats down relentlessly, and even the air is dry and scorching.

3 PM.

The Fifth Kazekage, Gaara, stood on the rooftop of the Kazekage Building, arms crossed, his black Kazekage robe fluttering in the hot wind.

The dark circles under his eyes had faded somewhat, and there was a calmness in his pupils—completely different from the violent and bloodthirsty monster he had been a few months ago.

Ever since his Absolute Defense was shattered by that blond boy's punch Chunin Ninja Exams, and the One-Tail seal was rewritten by being infused with the Supreme Yang Energy, Gaara slept for the first time in his fourteen years of life without Shukaku's roar.

He wouldn't admit that he was grateful to that person.

But he did indeed stand in this spot every three days, looking southeast—towards Hidden Leaf.

"Lord Kazekage, today's border patrol report has been compiled."

A member of the Anbu knelt behind him.

Gaara didn't turn around. "Put it on the table."

The Anbu retreated.

The wind is strong.

The desert sky takes on a strange orange hue in the afternoon, the clouds hang low, and the oppressive heat makes it hard to breathe.

Gaara narrowed his eyes.

Wrong.

This stuffiness isn't from the weather—it's from Chakra.

Extremely subtle, deliberately concealed Chakra fluctuations are seeping down from somewhere high in the sky.

Most people cannot perceive it.

But Gaara is the One-Tail Jinchuriki.

The sand avatar within him, which had become docile after being soothed by Yang Release, was now growling softly deep within his abdomen.

It's not anger.

It is fear.

Gaara suddenly looked up.

Sky.

A gaping hole was torn in the clouds high above, and a huge white flying object swooped down from the crack.

It was a giant bird made of clay—with a wingspan of over twenty meters, its entire body deathly white, and two hollow black dots in its eye sockets.

It hovered 300 meters directly above Sunagakure, its wings flapping slowly, casting a shadow.

A person was standing on the bird's back.

Her long golden hair covered half of her face, and the one eye that was visible was filled with manic excitement.

The black robe with red clouds billowed wildly in the high-altitude wind.

Deidara.

He pulled a handful of white powder from the clay bag at his waist, chewed it for three seconds with the mouth in his palm, and spat out a dozen or so Clay Spider the size of fists.

"Scorpion Danna."

Without turning his head, his tone was as excited as a child celebrating the New Year, "One-Tail is right down there. This is the perfect stage to showcase my ultimate art, hmm!"

Fifteen meters behind the giant bird, a hunched and short figure hovered in mid-air.

Hiruko Hu's expressionless, puppet-like face gleamed eerily in the sunlight, and a short, thick iron tail protruded from under his robe, its tip still stained with the dried blood of his previous prey.

Sasori of the Red Sands's voice came from the puppet's abdomen, hoarse and muffled, like sandpaper rubbing against sheet metal.

"Stop talking nonsense. Let's finish this quickly."

He paused for a moment.

I hate waiting.

Deidara's lips curled into a smirk, revealing an extremely arrogant smile.

He held his arms out to the sides, and simultaneously opened his mouth at the palms of his hands.

"C3!"

A giant clay golem swelled up from the palm of his hand.

He casually tossed a two-meter-tall clay sculpture of a human figure downwards.

Free fall.

300 meters.

Two hundred meters.

One hundred meters --

"Art is an explosion! Yeah!"

Hand Seals.

"Drink!!"

White light.

The sky over the entire Sunagakure was swallowed up.

The shockwave from the explosion spread outwards at a visible speed, and the scalding heatwave tore the outermost watchtower to pieces.

The ground cracked, buildings collapsed, and the screams of countless civilians were drowned out by the explosions.

But the explosion did not actually land on the ground.

A second before the white light touched the houses, a massive sand wall rose out of thin air—over fifty meters high and over ten meters thick—enveloping the entire core area of the village.

The sand grains were burned into glass fragments at high temperatures, cracking, peeling off, and then regenerating.

Gaara stood Kazekage Building, his arms outstretched, his ten fingers trembling as if playing a piano.

Veins bulged on his forehead, and beads of sweat slid down his cheeks.

He was using his Chakra to withstand a C3-level explosion.

Sandstorm Defense - Absolute Sand Barrier.

"Evacuate everyone!"

His voice, amplified by Chakra, resounded throughout the entire village. "Non-combat personnel, evacuate to the underground shelter! Jonin and above, assemble at the south gate!"

His jaw was clenched very tightly.

The outermost layer of the sand wall has begun to melt.

The second wave of attacks has arrived.

Countless fist-sized Clay Spider descended from the sky, densely adhering to the surface of the sand wall.

Each one shimmered with an ominous white light.

Deidara's voice came down from the sky, carrying a chilling pleasure.

"You little brat with One-Tail —let's see how many rounds of sand you can withstand! Hmm!"

A series of explosions.

A third of the sand wall collapsed.

South side of Sunagakure.

Temari was on Chunin patrol with two Chunin.

The moment the explosion occurred, her feet were rooted to the ground.

The white light illuminated her entire face.

He gripped the Iron Fan fan tightly in his hand, his knuckles clenching until they turned white.

A gust of wind blew in from behind, whipping up her four ponytails.

She turned to look at the center of the village.

The sand wall is collapsing.

It shattered into pieces.

"Lord Kazekage..."

Her throat tightened.

Temari is not one to panic. She defeated the Heavenly King during the Chunin Ninja Exams and faced a chaotic battle involving thousands of people during the Konoha Crush Plan.

But at this moment--

The oppressive feeling emanating from the two black figures with red clouds in the sky was on a completely different level.

Sasori of the Red Sands.

The puppet master of the Akatsuki.

It is said that he single-handedly destroyed a country.

Her feet were numb.

"Temari- sama! We're going back to provide support--"

"What can you do if you go back?"

Temari interrupted the Chunin behind her, her voice a half-tone higher than usual.

She realized she had lost her composure, swallowed hard, and stared intently at the sky.

Deidara dropped a third bomb.

Gaara's sand wall rose again, but at a noticeably slower speed than the first time.

He's consuming it.

One against two.

Facing two S-rank missing-nin.

Temari's breathing became rapid.

The Iron Fan opened and closed repeatedly.

She wanted to rush forward.

But she knew that going up there would only mean certain death.

Wind Release has some effect against Deidara's flying clay—but only if the opponent isn't taking it seriously.

Faced with the all-out effort of the Akatsuki's two-person team, her Three-Star Iron Fan wasn't even enough to tickle them.

A sense of powerlessness.

An extreme sense of powerlessness.

It felt like the day of the Chunin Ninja Exams when Naruto grabbed my Iron Fan with one hand—except that time I was facing an absolute powerhouse, while this time, I was facing an absolute crisis.

Naruto.

The name surged up from the depths of my mind without warning.

Temari's pupils flickered slightly.

That blond, arrogant, domineering twelve-year-old brat who makes you want to punch him.

That monster that evaporated four hundred missing-nin and a military fortress into a crater overnight.

When he put his arm around her waist, his palm was unnaturally warm...

Temari suddenly shook her head.

It's not a time to think about him.

But--

A fourth round of explosions fell from the sky.

Gaara's sand wall failed to completely block it this time.

A piece of debris pierced through the defenses and crashed into the residential area, causing three buildings to collapse instantly. Amidst the flying dust, heart-wrenching cries could be heard.

Temari's eyes welled up with tears.

Her hand holding the Iron Fan was trembling.

It's not because I'm afraid.

It's because we're powerless to do anything about it.

Her lips moved.

The wind carried her voice away, and no one heard it.

But those two words were indeed squeezed out from between her teeth.

Extremely light.

Extremely low.

It carried an almost pleading tone that even she herself was unwilling to admit.

"... Naruto."

The Kazekage Building.

Gaara knelt on one knee, his left hand supporting him on the ground, while his right hand continued to control the sand flow.

His Chakra has already been depleted by 40%.

The One-Tail Beast writhed restlessly within the body, its sand Chakra, suppressed by the Yang Release Seal, raging against the cage.

It figured it out.

It wants to go berserk.

But the golden sealing patterns held it firmly in place.

Warm.

Stable.

Like the pressure of that person's palm pressing on his forehead.

Gaara looked up.

Deidara laughed loudly high in the sky, constantly creating new Clay Bomb with his hands.

Sasori of the Red Sands's iron tail had already pierced the chests of three Hidden Sand Jonin had come to provide support.

A massacre.

A one-sided massacre.

Gaara bit his teeth until they bled.

He slowly stood up.

The last sand in the gourd began to cover his body—he was half-transformed into Shukaku.

"Bring it on."

His voice was low and flat.

Beneath the dark circles, something was burning in the emerald green pupils.

At the same time.

Konoha is located 1,700 kilometers away from Sunagakure.

The second floor of Naruto's apartment building.

A blue pop-up window from the system appeared out of nowhere in Naruto's field of vision.

[Urgent Warning--]

[A dramatic fluctuation in the vital signs of the bond target "Temari" has been detected!]

[Emotional state: extreme fear, despair,... and intense longing for the host.]

[Threat Level Assessment: Level S]

[Additional Information: Two extremely dangerous high-dimensional energy reactions have been detected in the direction of Sunagakure, and their characteristics closely match those of members of the Akatsuki.]

Naruto's hand, which was resting on Hinata's waist, stopped.

He turned his head and looked at the northwest horizon outside the window.

The smile on his lips disappeared.

Instead, an extremely dangerous, cold light shone deep within his azure pupils.

"... They've touched my people."

The sound was very soft.

But the temperature inside the room dropped three degrees instantly.