The Third Kazekage's Disappearance

Just as Shaye was rapidly growing through border missions and gradually becoming the backbone of the "Sandstorm" squad, a shocking upheaval with no warning whatsoever—one capable of overturning Sunagakure's entire order—swept in like the deadliest sandstorm in the desert.

The incident began with what appeared to be an ordinary high-level border inspection.

With the border situation growing increasingly tense, the Third Kazekage—hailed as the strongest Kazekage in history and wielder of the terrifying Magnet Release Kekkei Genkai—decided to personally lead an escort team composed of elite ANBU to inspect the northwestern border, hoping to steady public morale and demonstrate that Sunagakure's military might remained strong.

The weather was clear on the day of departure, though the wind still carried sand. When the Third Kazekage appeared at the village gates, he was as upright and imposing as ever, and the powerful fluctuations of his chakra put people at ease. Many villagers were even encouraged, believing that with the Kazekage personally taking action, he would surely deter any troublemakers and keep the border safe. Under everyone's watchful eyes, the team soon vanished into the boundless sands.

The days passed one by one. For the first few days, everything seemed normal. Encrypted routine messages occasionally came back, reporting that "everything was normal."

However, the scheduled inspection period ended, and the Kazekage's team did not return as expected.

At first, the village higher-ups were not overly concerned. Given the Third Kazekage's strength, which stood at the pinnacle of the Ninja World, combined with elite ANBU, it was difficult to imagine any danger they could not resolve. Perhaps some trivial matter had merely delayed their journey.

But before long, clouds of unease began to gather.

One day, two days, three days... A full week passed.

The Kazekage and his escort team remained completely unheard from. There was no emergency distress signal, no battle report of encountering a powerful enemy—nothing. That team, representing Sunagakure's highest military force, seemed to have been completely swallowed by the endless sea of sand, leaving behind not the slightest trace.

Panic began spreading uncontrollably through the village like ink dropped into clear water.

"Lord Kazekage... still hasn't returned?"

"The patrol teams don't seem to have found anything..."

"Impossible! That's the Third Kazekage!"

Whispers spread through streets and alleys, mission halls, and even ninja households. The villagers' former calm had vanished, replaced by worry and fear. An extremely ominous foreboding weighed heavily on everyone's heart.

Shaye's "Sandstorm" squad soon felt the panic hanging in the air as well. When they returned to the village for supplies during a break between missions, they immediately sensed how strange the atmosphere had become. The staff at the mission center wore grave expressions as they murmured among themselves, while villagers hurried down the streets with unease written all over their faces.

When Captain Jing Liang went to hand over their mission, he was urgently summoned by the higher-ups. By the time he returned, his expression was exceptionally grim.

"Captain, what happened?" Xu, ever perceptive, was the first to notice something was wrong and asked softly.

Jing Liang was silent for a moment. His gaze swept over the three squad members, and when he spoke, his voice was low and hoarse. "The higher-ups have ordered... a change in our next mission's priority. The original mission has been canceled. Our new mission is... to expand the search area and find... traces of Lord Kazekage."

"Lord Kazekage?" Lukado looked up in shock. "What happened to Lord Kazekage?"

"He disappeared." Jing Liang forced out those three words as though they had drained all his strength. "Along with his escort team, he... completely lost contact at the northwestern border. It has already been... more than ten days."

"What?!" Xu covered her mouth in fright, her face turning pale in an instant. Lukado's eyes also widened, his face full of disbelief.

Shaye's heart sank sharply. Though he had been mentally prepared, hearing the news confirmed still dealt him a tremendous blow. He had really... disappeared. The man known as Sunagakure's pillar had vanished without a sound.

He immediately thought of Sasori—of his increasingly twisted hatred and those words, "Unforgivable." A cold fact almost instantly surfaced in his mind: Sasori did it! Only that genius, who had inherited his parents' exquisite Puppet Technique and harbored extreme hatred toward the Third Kazekage, could possibly have accomplished something so inconceivable!

But he could not say anything. There was no evidence, and exposing the truth would only create greater chaos. It might even bring death upon him at once.

Over the following days, the changes became visible to the naked eye.

All high-level meetings requiring the Kazekage's attendance were postponed indefinitely.

The village's defenses were raised to wartime status. The number of patrolling ninja increased greatly, and a grim, murderous atmosphere settled over the village.

The already tense border situation became even more unpredictable because of this incident, as though a greater war could ignite at any moment.

Search teams were sent out wave after wave, but all returned empty-handed, bringing back only deeper confusion and fear.

Neither alive nor dead could he be found.

This complete, bizarre disappearance was more capable of breaking people's will than a crushing defeat. It meant the unknown. It meant that their enemy might possess methods beyond imagination and comprehension.

It was as if half of Sunagakure's sky had collapsed overnight. The confusion and panic of losing its strongest weapon and highest leader spread through every corner of the village like a plague.

Shaye stood on the bustling yet deathly silent street, gazing at the empty place atop Kazekage Rock, his heart churning. He knew that the Third Kazekage's disappearance was far from the end. It was the beginning of an even more turbulent and dangerous era.

The shadow of war had not yet faded, but an enormous internal crisis had erupted first.

He, his squad, and even all of Sunagakure had been swept into the center of this sudden storm.

(End of chapter)