Beast Trap

A convoy struggled through the raging sands of the vast desert. Their attire identified them as Hidden Leaf Village ninja, and the large carts carried drinking water and supplies bound for the front lines. (A quick note here: if you consider the entirety of Naruto, you could see that its technology was somewhat distorted. In some respects, it surpassed Earth civilization—for instance, Orochimaru's laboratory—but it still could not escape the broader reality that communication basically relied on shouting and travel basically relied on walking. Though the anime never went into much detail about the worldbuilding, careful observation of certain scenes revealed that industrialization had already begun to emerge. So for now, technology and civilization would be based mainly on the manga. As for Boruto, that could be tossed aside and not used as a reference. We could not make things up where we had not seen them. For example, if you searched through every scene involving Sunagakure in Naruto, you would barely spot a single camel. So there was no helping it—these large carts had to be pulled by manpower.)

"Something's coming!" said a Hidden Leaf Village ninja scouting at the front of the convoy. His eyes widened, veins bulging from his temples. His pupils had turned completely white. He was apparently a ninja from the Hyuga Clan.

The convoy halted at once, and every ninja assumed a guarded stance.

Before long, a force seemed to be charging toward them through the sandstorm. Amid the biting wind, they could even faintly hear something like the turning of a well pulley.

Many Hidden Leaf Village ninja decided to strike first, hurling kunai and shuriken into the rolling cloud of dust ahead. Yet no cries of pain followed. They heard only several sounds like blades chopping against a cutting board. When the dust finally dispersed, the sight of their attackers left them dumbfounded.

Ten white-clad puppets of varying shapes stood at the very front, while several hundred Sunagakure ninja wielding all kinds of weapons followed closely behind them, rushing into the convoy like a gale...

"How many times has Sunagakure attacked our supply convoys now?"

"Four times!"

"Who led them?"

"Sunagakure Elder Chiyo!"

"Good!" Danzo abruptly rose to his feet, as though he had heard something that delighted him.

"Jiraiya, Orochimaru, Tsunade, you will escort the next supply convoy. I have only one demand: make sure you deal a devastating blow to the ambushing Sunagakure forces!" Danzo issued his orders to the Three Legendary Ninja.

The Three Legendary Ninja had already accepted the mission and left. Danzo then turned toward the ninja who had come to report to him.

"Why are you still here?"

"I haven't reported the battle losses yet. In this attack, we lost eighty-two men. Fifteen carts of drinking water, food..."

"Enough. I don't want to hear it. Inform Matsumoto to ration the drinking water and food for the next few days. This situation will be resolved soon enough."

Danzo impatiently cut off the ninja.

"Food is manageable, but the drinking water..."

"Then organize ninja proficient in Water Release and have them use Water Release techniques together to gather it."

"The climate here is dry, and there is very little moisture in the air. Water Release techniques are not very effective."

So-called Water Release was merely a means of rapidly using chakra's shape transformation and energy conversion to condense moisture from the air into liquid water for attacks. Water Release could not create water from nothing. With so little moisture in the desert, Water Release techniques naturally would not be very effective.

"Did you not hear my order clearly?!" Danzo's tone grew displeased.

"Ninja must always make certain sacrifices."

"Yes!" The ninja withdrew from the command tent helplessly.

"Fool." Danzo calmed his emotions somewhat, then spoke to a figure in the darkness.

"You should prepare as well."

The battle was progressing exactly as Jing Hang had anticipated. Danzo's army at the front could not break through his defensive fortifications, while he had organized several guerrilla squads to circle around and harass Hidden Leaf Village's supply lines. By his calculations, Hidden Leaf Village's food and water could last no more than ten days, perhaps even less. When the time came, if Danzo retreated, Jing Hang would pursue him. If Danzo refused to retreat, then he could die of thirst, the bastard! The scales of victory were gradually tipping toward Sunagakure.

"Lord Kazekage, our guerrilla squad failed to attack the Hidden Leaf Village transport convoy." Garukei's face was covered in blood, and a kunai was still lodged in his shoulder.

"Hm? Didn't I tell you? If you encountered a transport convoy with a large escort force, you only needed to destroy the water carts."

"The escort force was not large, but their leaders were formidable."

"Who?"

"Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Tsunade!"

"All three were there?"

"Yes."

"Then it is not your fault. Go get treated and rest." Jing Hang waved his hand.

It seemed Danzo was truly willing to go all out. He had actually deployed such powerful forces to protect the supply route.

"Elder Chiyo, Jonin Uekusa, please hold the main camp. Maki, select three hundred men and follow me to intercept Hidden Leaf Village's transport convoy." Jing Hang gave his orders and began putting on his cloak.

"No. Haven't I told you before? You are the Kazekage; you must not move lightly." Chiyo reached out to stop Jing Hang.

"Grandma Chiyo, don't worry. As long as we intercept this supply convoy, Hidden Leaf Village will certainly be defeated. The Three Legendary Ninja are guarding it. If I don't go, which of you can guarantee that the mission will be completed? Rest assured, I'll only destroy their water carts and leave. I won't linger." Jing Hang smiled faintly, put on his windproof veil, and flashed out of the tent.

"Those who refuse to heed their elders always suffer for it. Maki and the others should have already withdrawn, right?" Looking at the middle-aged man with a topknot before him, Jing Hang instantly realized that he had paid the price for his arrogance.

"Shadow Imitation Technique! You're from the Nara Clan, aren't you?"

"Nara Shikacho." The middle-aged man gritted his teeth and maintained the Shadow Imitation Technique. Jing Hang was no weakling, after all.

"Looks like you've got me figured out?"

"By my calculations, there's a seventy percent chance you'll die here."

"Is that so? But your technique can't hold me for long."

"A short while is enough." Orochimaru spoke in a gloomy voice. Beside him stood Jiraiya, arms folded and grinning smugly, while Tsunade wore little expression.

"Just you three? I may not be able to take your heads right now, but if I want to leave, none of you can stop me!" Jing Hang directed Iron Sand tendrils to undo the scroll and release even more Iron Sand.

"Don't be so sure of yourself." Jiraiya tossed out a wooden kunai, which stuck into the ground. As though it had triggered some mechanism, five towering arched iron towers suddenly sprang from the ground around Jing Hang and swiftly closed in. At the same time, five rawhide ropes shot out through a series of pulley mechanisms, binding Jing Hang tightly in moments. The released Iron Sand was also drawn onto the iron towers.

"Whew! You're incredibly strong!" Nara Shikacho collapsed onto the ground. His Shadow Imitation Technique had reached its limit, and his face was pale as sweat drenched his forehead.

"Well, where did you find so many magnets? Impressive. To deal with me, Danzo must have gathered every magnet for miles around." Jing Hang looked at the iron powder being pulled away and feigned surprise, while secretly studying his surroundings for a way out.

"More than that. Every magnet in the Land of Rain was gathered up. To build this Beast Trap, we laid this scheme for a full two months. Shouldn't you give us some praise?" Jiraiya said bluntly.

At Jiraiya's words, lightning flashed through Jing Hang's mind. In an instant, he understood every link in the chain.

Danzo Shimura! You really are something. To catch one chicken, you were willing to scatter half a load of grain.