Fugaku and the Sand Shinobi commander vanished into the crowd, setting off an uproar.
Many guessed that Fugaku Uchiha had abducted him. The commander was probably as good as dead.
"We must inform the Kazekage as soon as possible that Lord Yuansha has been taken by Fugaku Uchiha.
"Konoha may learn everything the Kazekage has arranged. This is a critical moment. The slightest carelessness could bring Sunagakure to ruin."
The Sand Shinobi discussed what to do. Fugaku had already put considerable distance between himself and their forces, with Yuansha still under the Mangekyo Sharingan's control behind a veil of Black Mist.
After crossing several dunes, Fugaku found an empty stretch behind one and expanded the Black Mist's cover again.
From a distance, everything behind the dune looked normal. Up close, it was clearly wrong: a section of desert appeared to sink on its own, and even when the wind blew, the sand above it did not stir.
The Black Mist released by the Mangekyo Sharingan had concealed the desert's surface and rendered it invisible.
The two men stood facing each other. Fugaku's Mangekyo Sharingan turned slowly, giving off an eerie red glow.
"Did the Kazekage take the One-Tail back to Sunagakure?"
"I don't know. No word has come out since the Kazekage captured the Tailed Beast."
Fugaku nodded. He had hoped to release the Tailed Beast inside Sunagakure and deal the village a devastating blow, but that plan would not work. The Kazekage had likely considered the risk of revealing its location.
"What exactly has the Kazekage arranged in the desert? How are the Sand Shinobi deployed?"
"There's no set deployment pattern. Hawks patrol the skies over the entire Land of Wind.
"They focus on the border to keep Konoha shinobi from crossing it. If they do cross, the Kazekage