Sand Village

The ruins of the Loulan Ancient Kingdom stood deep within the desert. Gale-force winds swept yellow sand into the sky, shrouding broken stone pillars and crumbling walls in a dim, dusty haze.

The howling wind sounded like the wails of ancient dead, echoing through the shattered ruins.

The air was thick with the dry scent of sand and dust, mixed with an ancient, decaying stench that sent chills down their spines.

Neji and the others stood at the entrance to the ruins. Sand continuously shifted beneath their feet in the wind, as though the entire desert were breathing.

He activated his Byakugan, veins bulging around his temples. His three-hundred-sixty-degree vision pierced through the swirling sand as he scanned every suspicious shadow around them.

"No ambush," Neji said quietly, though his brows furrowed slightly. "But something still feels off."

Shizune tightened her grip on the scroll in her hand and warily surveyed their surroundings. "This place is too quiet. There isn't even a single scorpion."

Just as they were about to enter the core area of the ruins, a sudden change struck!

Whoosh—!

A wind blade that nearly blended into the gale suddenly slashed in from the side, moving so fast it was suffocating!

Relying on the Byakugan's foresight, Neji twisted aside at the critical moment. The wind blade grazed his clothes and left a crack nearly an inch deep in the stone wall behind him, sending fragments flying.

"Sand Village ninja?" Neji asked coldly, a hint of gravity in his voice.

"So you do have some skill. I didn't expect you to hide in the sand and even put up a barrier."

As though in response to his words, the sand around them suddenly rippled like water, and more than a dozen figures slowly rose from beneath it.

The leading Jonin carried something almost as tall as a person on his back as he walked down from a sand dune, every step radiating heavy pressure.

Eight Sand Village ANBU followed behind him, each wearing a different Sand Village mask and flickering in and out of sight amid the windblown sand.

"Konoha ninja," the Jonin said in a hoarse, low voice, "this is not a place you should be."

Neji's gaze swept across the object on the man's back, and his pupils contracted slightly—it was a Sand Village puppet. The man was a Sand Village puppeteer.

"The Loulan ruins have been sealed off by the Sand Village," the Jonin continued, his right hand already resting on the puppet behind him. "Anyone who enters without permission will be treated as an invader."

Neji's face remained expressionless, but chakra was already circulating rapidly through his body. "We have a reason we must enter."

The Jonin narrowed his eyes, the blazing desert sun casting deep shadows across his face. "For the Dragon Vein?"

Neji did not answer, but his silence said everything. The air was thick with tension, as though a fierce battle could erupt at any moment.

The Sand Village Jonin snorted. "The Dragon Vein's power is extremely dangerous. The last time someone tried to use it, they nearly threw the entire Land of Wind into chaos."

He tore away the bandages around his puppet. "I won't let you take that risk!"

"Then try and stop me." Neji's voice was as cold as ice.

Before his words had even faded, his figure abruptly vanished! Only a cloud of sand crushed beneath his feet remained where he had stood.

"So fast!" The Jonin's pupils shrank as he instantly retreated, forming hand seals with both hands. "Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"

A violent gale erupted from his mouth, sweeping up endless yellow sand and forming a wall of sandstorm.

However, Neji's Byakugan had already seen through his movements. The instant the wind wall formed, he appeared like a ghost at the Jonin's left side and struck toward his shoulder with a palm charged with fierce chakra!

Bang!

Amid the dull impact, Neji felt that what he had struck was not flesh and blood, but that did nothing to hinder the explosive force erupting from his palm.

A puppet had blocked the Jonin at the very last instant.

After taking one of Neji's Mountain-Crushing Strikes head-on, the specially made puppet's body immediately creaked as it shot backward under the explosive force.

"His strength... is greater than expected!" The Jonin gritted his teeth and used chakra threads to steady the puppet, swiftly forming hand seals. "Sand Village forces, form up!"

The eight ANBU instantly scattered, forming an encirclement. Each of them drew a specially made Sand Village weapon.

Two of them began forming hand seals, and the sand on the ground began to writhe like living creatures.

"Sand Burial Vortex!" the two ANBU shouted in unison.

Dozens of swirling streams of sand suddenly burst from the ground, twisting toward Neji's legs like turbines.

Neji flashed away, tracing a graceful arc through the air as his hands struck out rapidly. "Eight Trigrams Air Palm!"

Invisible chakra shockwaves blasted the two ANBU away, but more currents of sand had already formed, turning the entire battlefield into an ocean of quicksand.

"Neji!" Shizune shouted as she swiftly made her move. "Senbon Rain!"

Countless emerald senbon shot toward the Sand Village ninja like a torrential downpour, forcing them to split their attention.

Xiao Xi activated her Byakugan and instantly drove back two Sand ninja with the Eight Trigrams One Hundred Twenty-Eight Palms.

The battle instantly reached a fever pitch!

Seeing the situation turning against him, the Sand Village Jonin rapidly pulled his chakra threads with both hands. "Hundred-Change Performance: Sand Iron Missiles!"

Countless sand bullets sprayed from the puppet's mouth, blanketing the entire battlefield.

Neji quickly fell back to defend, his hands moving to form a chakra barrier. "Rotation!"

The rapidly spinning sphere of chakra deflected every sand iron missile, but several still grazed his arms, leaving bloody marks.

"Looks like we won't be getting in unless we deal with you!"

Neji said coldly, a trace of killing intent entering his voice. It was not that Neji did not want to reason with them—ninjas were not the sort who reasoned with others in the first place.

They had held back earlier out of consideration that they were allies, but all they had received in return was the Sand ninja's stubborn refusal to listen.

"Everyone, stop!"

At that moment, Tsunade, who had been sitting in the bamboo sedan chair behind them, suddenly spoke.

"May I ask which Sand Village leader you are? Could you grant me this favor and take a step back? We merely wish to enter and inspect the seal left by a Konoha Jonin. We will not do anything else. How about it?"

"Princess Tsunade of Konoha?!" the Jonin cried out in shock.

"So it is Princess Tsunade herself. I am Arai Hayato, Jonin of the Sand Village patrol force. Please forgive my earlier offense!"

Jonin Arai hurriedly put away his puppet, walked before Tsunade, and respectfully bowed. "Since Princess Tsunade has made such a request, I naturally would not dare make things difficult for you. Sand Village forces, withdraw!"

At Arai Hayato's command, the eight ANBU surrounding them immediately retreated.

"Konoha helped the Sand Village seal the Dragon Vein. We were merely afraid someone might damage it. Princess Tsunade, please do not take offense!"

Arai Hayato bowed properly once more before leaving as well.

Neji watched from afar for a while and saw that the Sand Village forces were only patrolling the perimeter rather than leaving. Somewhat puzzled, he said, "The Dragon Vein's seal has been there for ages. This place has long since fallen into ruin, so any secrets it held should have vanished long ago. What is the Sand Village doing, deploying such important Jonin strength and ANBU here?"

"Who knows? There's probably some conspirator at work again. The Ninja World never lacks those!"

After saying that, Tsunade glared at Neji again before stepping down from the bamboo sedan chair. "You don't always have to start fighting. When you're out in the world, you need to rely on reputation!"

With that, she planted her hands on her hips smugly.

Neji was speechless, inwardly grumbling, They're only wary of your status. What reputation does the Ninja World's biggest sucker have?

Though Neji grumbled inwardly, he put on an admiring expression. Tsunade immediately beamed when she saw it, clearly enjoying it immensely.