Before long, Bieshu Feifan and the other three stepped into the territory of the Land of Wind.
There were no border markers.
But they had entered the desert.
Needless to say, this had to be the Land of Wind.
The Land of Rivers had no environment this harsh.
From the moment they entered the desert of the Land of Wind, Uchiha Qiongyue grew quieter, constantly examining the traces on the ground.
Whether the three expendables could keep up or not, he never stopped or spoke.
He only occasionally glanced at the three of them, his gaze distinctly off.
Bieshu Feifan frowned. There was killing intent in Uchiha Qiongyue's gaze.
Was he considering killing the three of us?
Was that possible?
Bieshu Feifan secretly raised his guard.
Could he have discovered last night's deal?
Or did he simply think the three of us were in the way?
Earlier, Bieshu Feifan had subtly reminded him that the higher-ups were watching this mission, hoping he would not do anything reckless.
But now, this Uchiha Qiongyue seemed to have other ideas.
Also, the Genin who had assigned him the mission at the outpost had been operating with them earlier, and he had not died.
Could he be following at a distance, ready to strike at any moment?
Bieshu Feifan discreetly moved farther away from Uchiha Qiongyue, then activated his Byakugan and scanned his surroundings.
His expression immediately darkened. Sure enough, the Genin who had assigned his mission was trailing far behind him.
There were also several insects with chakra in the sky.
The Aburame Clan again. Didn't they like wearing sunglasses?
Why was this one dressed like an ordinary person?
Was he watching Uchiha Qiongyue, or me?
Bieshu Feifan was deeply annoyed. With a tail watching him from behind, nothing he did felt comfortable.
And how could this Aburame be certain I could lure Uchiha Qiongyue over to Sunagakure?
Could he know something?
After thinking it over, Bieshu Feifan decided that was impossible.
If his talent were known, Danzo would probably have already dragged him off to be sliced up for research.
There was good news, though. This Aburame was alone, with no other accomplices detected so far.
Could he be grasping at straws?
Bieshu Feifan came up with another possibility.
Danzo had assigned this Aburame a mission, but he wasn't confident he could do it. Since I happened to be at odds with the Uchiha, had he simply come to me?
Whatever the truth was, Bieshu Feifan now had to guard against both the Uchiha and the Aburame behind him.
He also had to worry about being discovered by Sand Ninja. This was truly difficult.
At that moment, Bieshu Feifan wanted to just defect from the village and be done with it.
Uchiha Qiongyue scouted for quite a while, then ran straight deeper into the desert.
He set off decisively, without saying a word to Bieshu Feifan or the other two.
Watching Uchiha Qiongyue's retreating figure, Feng You was the first to cry out.
"Where's the captain going?"
Dajirō spat, his voice low.
"Keep up."
Although he disliked Uchiha Qiongyue as their captain, being abandoned still made him furious.
Besides, Uchiha Qiongyue was strong. If they encountered Sand Ninja, he was their protection.
Watching Dajirō and Feng You follow closely after Uchiha Qiongyue, Bieshu Feifan had no idea what Uchiha Qiongyue intended.
He trailed far behind to guard against a sudden attack from him.
He also wanted to see what the Aburame at the very back would do.
Uchiha Qiongyue kept running forward, though not particularly fast.
He kept Dajirō and Feng You trailing after him while allowing them to barely keep up.
But when he saw Bieshu Feifan hanging back at the rear, Uchiha Qiongyue frowned slightly.
Sure enough, this Bieshu Feifan was a slippery one.
Seeing how purposefully Uchiha Qiongyue moved, Bieshu Feifan was certain he was up to no good.
He just did not know exactly what he intended.
He had examined the ground too, but found nothing unusual.
Bieshu Feifan quickly caught up with Dajirō and Feng You and whispered:
"The captain wants to ditch us deadweights. Be careful."
Dajirō rolled his eyes at Bieshu Feifan.
"You're judging a decent man by your own petty standards. Do you think everyone's like you?"
Feng You also looked at Bieshu Feifan and shook her head.
"Feifan, the captain won't abandon us. You're worrying too much."
Bieshu Feifan had wanted to win over the two expendables so they could take the hits for him later.
But since they were in such a hurry to die, he said no more.
Too stupid. We couldn't work together.
Uchiha Qiongyue kept Dajirō and Feng You trailing after him until they were utterly exhausted.
Suddenly, sounds of things cutting through the air came from ahead, along with Uchiha Qiongyue, who was rapidly doubling back.
Behind Uchiha Qiongyue followed a squad of Sand Ninja.
Bieshu Feifan was startled at the sight.
Using someone else to do the killing?
Who said the Uchiha were brainless?
Wasn't this pretty clever?
Fortunately, his Byakugan was no mere decoration either, and he had run off in advance.
Bieshu Feifan had been subtly reminding Uchiha Qiongyue not to make trouble for the three expendables. He had never expected him to go straight to Sunagakure for help.
"Come help me!"
As he approached Dajirō and Feng You, Uchiha Qiongyue suddenly shouted, fully exposing them to the Sand Ninja.
Seeing that it was a Konoha squad, the Sand Ninja squad fired a signal flare while moving to surround them.
Dajirō and Feng You were frightened. Facing the Sand Ninja closing in to kill them, they did not know what to do for a moment.
At the sight, Uchiha Qiongyue grinned.
Although he had failed to catch Bieshu Feifan, it did not matter. He could simply repeat the trick later.
If Bieshu Feifan dared to flee, even better. He could get a taste of being branded a rogue ninja.
Seeing that the outcome was settled, Uchiha Qiongyue immediately drew a kunai and intercepted the pursuing Sunagakure Chunin.
The two instantly clashed, locked in a fierce, evenly matched fight.
Watching the battlefield from behind with his Byakugan, Bieshu Feifan's expression was grim.
Uchiha Qiongyue was holding back.
The three Sunagakure Genin soon formed a partial encirclement around Dajirō and Feng You.
But seeing the pair standing motionless, the one in front hastily stopped.
"Careful! They came prepared."
The other two Sunagakure brats caught on when they heard him.
The stance of these two Konoha brats clearly meant they had laid traps in front of themselves and were waiting for them to walk right in.
The Sand Ninja's shout snapped Dajirō and Feng You out of their daze. The moment the three opponents stopped, the pair yelled, turned, and ran.
The three Sunagakure brats had now taken a detour and resumed chasing Dajirō and Feng You.
This darkened Uchiha Qiongyue's expression as he fought the Sunagakure Chunin in the distance.
I miscalculated.
Sunagakure's Genin were also forcibly recruited cannon fodder, with no real ability at all.
Watching this unfold, Bieshu Feifan thought it over and decided to save Dajirō and Feng You after all.
If those two died, Uchiha Qiongyue's attention would be entirely on him.
Then he would be branded a rogue ninja for sure.
Uchiha Qiongyue would also turn around and pin the blame on him.
Just thinking about it disgusted him.
Watching Dajirō and Feng You flee in panic, the three Sunagakure Genin brats gradually felt victory was assured.
Our first military merits were within reach.
Then, as they ran, a sudden whoosh rang out, and a kunai lodged in one of their legs.
Before a scream could escape, a sizzling sound reached their ears.
Before the three Sunagakure brats could react, bang!
The explosive tag on the kunai detonated.
All three Sunagakure brats were wiped out instantly.
The explosion frightened Dajirō and Feng You so badly that they fell to the ground. Looking back, they saw Bieshu Feifan had already begun searching the bodies.
Their mouths hung open as they stared at the sudden reversal, unable to recover for a long while.
Bieshu Feifan searched the three mangled corpses and spat. They were all paupers.
Between the three of them, they had only three secondhand kunai and nothing else.
Of course, there was no special chakra either.
Meanwhile, seeing the three Sunagakure ninja killed left the Sunagakure Chunin rattled as well.
He actually exposed an opening, and Uchiha Qiongyue slit his throat.
Seeing his opponent die so carelessly, Uchiha Qiongyue cursed inwardly. All useless.
Having gathered the spoils, Bieshu Feifan caught sight of Uchiha Qiongyue approaching out of the corner of his eye and immediately bolted.
He had already tied an explosive tag to his kunai and hidden in the yellow sand far behind Dajirō and Feng You.
Uchiha Qiongyue did not react to Bieshu Feifan fleeing for his life. He merely looked at Dajirō and Feng You.
"There's a Sunagakure Camp over there. Let's destroy it."
With that, Uchiha Qiongyue ignored their reactions and headed straight in the direction the Sunagakure squad had come from.
Dajirō and Feng You exchanged a look. Rather than follow, they both turned to Bieshu Feifan.
Bieshu Feifan chuckled. We'd already burned bridges, yet he was still pretending to be civil.
Just what you'd expect from a warped Konoha Ninja.
Ignoring their questioning looks, Bieshu Feifan retreated, disappearing completely into the yellow sand.
Whether Uchiha Qiongyue had figured something out or simply thought the three of them were holding him back,
after what he had just done, Bieshu Feifan would never operate alongside him again, no matter what.
Besides, Uchiha Qiongyue could even locate the Sunagakure Camp by following traces in the desert. He was far too dangerous.
As for Dajirō and Feng You, they had never had a chance of surviving from the start.
Before you continue