Kumogakure Attacks!

The Third Kazekage had been missing for nearly half a year. Not only had the heavy gloom failed to lift, it had instead worsened like a Sandstorm in the desert, crushing Sunagakure until it could barely breathe. The initial all-out search had yielded nothing, and the flame of hope gradually died amid day after day of fruitless effort. Rumors spread throughout the village, and panic took hold. A silent consensus was forming: the Kazekage hailed as the strongest in history had likely already been murdered.

Meanwhile, the situation across the Ninja World was accelerating toward the abyss.

Sunagakure's leadership kept receiving suffocating reports: Hidden Rock Village's clashes with Konoha in the Land of Rain were growing increasingly intense, with small-scale engagements becoming routine; Kumogakure had massed troops against Konoha's northeastern defenses in the Land of Hot Water, and the tension was taut as a drawn bow. Trust between the Five Great Nations had long since vanished. The entire Ninja World was like a cage packed with Explosive Tags, waiting only for a spark to blow it apart.

Most of Sunagakure's fighting forces, including Jing Liang's Squad, to which Shaye belonged, had been dispatched to the long border adjoining the Land of Rivers. The mission briefing still grandly stated, "Search for clues possibly left behind by the Third Kazekage," but everyone knew the truth. It was more like an armed patrol and strategic defense born of desperation. In an almost numb mutual understanding, crossing the border into the Land of Rivers to "search" had become routine—both a final struggle against slim odds and a powerless deterrent against neighboring Konoha.

Eleven-year-old Shaye was still somewhat thinner than others his age, but his complexion had grown much rosier and healthier. The childishness in his eyes had faded further, replaced by a calm focus