"But with this first step taken, the road ahead would be much easier."
The battle on the Gobi had settled.
The three Sunagakure ninja-two dead and one unconscious-had become Uchiha Makoto's "spoils."
Although Test Subject Number One had taken a vicious hit to his left chest, damaging his Lightning Release Heart, the tenacious repairs of the Earth Grudge Fear tendrils and hashirama cells had stopped the bleeding. He could still move without issue.
The data collection had gone well, leaving Uchiha Makoto in a good mood. He was about to tidy up and head home with his "materials" and test subject to continue his delightful research.
But the heavens apparently felt he had been too lucky today and needed a little excitement.
Just as Uchiha Makoto stuffed the unconscious Sand Shinobi into a Sealing Scroll and prepared to deal with the Puppet Master's corpse, a searing, razor-sharp, oppressive chakra presence swept in from afar without warning, like a desert heat wave!
Uchiha Makoto froze, then sharply raised his head.
A tall figure had appeared atop a distant dune without his noticing.
The newcomer was a woman, her dark green hair tied into a neat ponytail, with a few orange bangs hanging over her forehead.
She wore a standard Sunagakure Jonin flak jacket, but paired it with hot pants that allowed easy movement. Most striking of all was the open-backed design of her top, which exposed a broad expanse of smooth skin to the dry, scorching air.
In the Land of Wind, with its enormous temperature swings between day and night and its raging sandstorms, that outfit seemed particularly... unconventional.
Yet combined with the powerful chakra she made no effort to conceal and her hawk-sharp eyes, it gave her an imposing air, as though this was exactly how she ought to