Sand Village

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

The howling wind echoed through the shattered remnants like the wails of ancient dead.

The air was filled with the dry scent of dust and sand, mixed with something ancient and decayed that sent chills down the spine.

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

He activated his Byakugan. Veins bulged around his temples as his three-hundred-sixty-degree vision pierced through the swirling sand, scanning every suspicious shadow around them.

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

Shizune tightened her grip on the scroll in her hand and warily looked around. "This area is too quiet. There isn't even a single scorpion."

Just as they were about to enter the core area of the ruins, an abrupt change occurred!

"Whoosh—!"

A Wind Blade that nearly blended into the wind suddenly struck from the side, moving so fast it was suffocating!

Using his Byakugan to predict it, Neji twisted aside at the critical moment. The Wind Blade grazed his clothes and carved a crack nearly an inch deep into the stone wall behind him, sending fragments flying.

"Sand Shinobi?" Neji said coldly, a trace of gravity in his voice.

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

As if in answer to his words, the surrounding sand suddenly rippled like water, and more than a dozen figures slowly rose from beneath it.

The leading Jonin carried an object nearly as tall as himself on his back as he slowly descended from a dune, each step carrying a heavy sense of oppression.

Eight Sand Village ANBU followed behind him. Each wore a different Sand Village mask, appearing and disappearing amid the blowing sand.

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

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

"The Rōran Ruins have been sealed off by Sand Village," the Jonin continued, his right hand already resting on the puppet behind him. "Any unauthorized entrant 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 go in."

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. Tension filled the air, as though a fierce battle could erupt at any moment.

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

He pulled the bandages from the puppet. "I won't let you take that risk!"

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

Before his words had even faded, his figure suddenly vanished! Only a cloud of crushed sand 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 hurricane burst from his mouth, sweeping up yellow sand and forming a wall of sandstorm.

But 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, striking his shoulder with a palm filled 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 in his palm.

A puppet had blocked the Jonin at the crucial moment.

After taking Neji's Mountain-Crushing Strike head-on, the specially made puppet's body immediately creaked, blasting backward under the explosive force.

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

The eight ANBU instantly scattered into an encirclement, each drawing a specialized Sand Village weapon.

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

"Sand Burial Vortex!" the two ANBU shouted at once.

Dozens of sand currents 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 Vacuum Palm!"

The invisible chakra shockwave sent the two ANBU flying, but even more sand currents 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 Shinobi like torrential rain, forcing them to divide their attention.

Xiao Xi activated her Byakugan, and her Eight Trigrams One Hundred Twenty-Eight Palms instantly drove back two Sand Shinobi.

The battle instantly reached a fever pitch!

Seeing that the situation was unfavorable, 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, covering the entire battlefield.

Neji swiftly moved back to defend, his hands spinning to form a chakra barrier. "Rotation!"

The rapidly spinning sphere of chakra deflected every sand iron missile, though several still grazed his arms, leaving streaks of blood.

"Looks like we won't be getting in without dealing with you first!"

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

They had held back earlier because they were allies, but all they had received in return was the Sand Shinobi's utter refusal to listen.

"Everyone, stop!"

At that moment, Tsunade, who was seated in the bamboo palanquin behind them, suddenly spoke.

"May I ask which Sand Village officer you are? Could you give me this much face and take a step back? We only wish to go inside and inspect the seal placed by Konoha's Jonin. We will not do anything else. How about it?"

"Princess Tsunade of Konoha?!" the Jonin exclaimed.

"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. Sand Village forces, withdraw!"

Following Arai Hayato's order, the eight ANBU surrounding them instantly pulled back.

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

Arai Hayato gave another proper bow before leaving as well.

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

"Who knows? There's probably another schemer behind it. The Ninja World never lacks those!"

After saying that, Tsunade glared at Neji again before stepping down from the bamboo palanquin. "There was no need to start fighting the moment you met. When you're out and about, you need to rely on face!"

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

Neji was speechless, inwardly grumbling, They only backed down because they feared your status. What face does a big fat sheep of the Ninja World have?

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