As the hot winds of the Land of Wind swept across the border of the Land of Rain, carrying yellow sand, the Second Kazekage Shamon, was toying with a golden puppet in his tent. The rubies embedded in the joints of this puppet, crafted from Iron Sand, were "spoils of war" he had just plundered from a nobleman of the Land of Rain. Outside the tent came the sound of a soldier reporting victory, "My lord! Three more villages have been burned! Two hundred cartloads of grain have been looted!"
Shamon smirked and turned to his lieutenant, saying, " The Land of Fire only sent ten thousand Konoha soldiers? That's laughable. Back then, the First Kazekage was beaten to the ground by Hashirama Senju, and now Konoha dares to play with this little bit of people?" He casually tossed a puppet into the air; the poison needles on its fingertips gleamed a ghostly blue in the sunlight—this was the Sunagakure's newly improved " Red Scorpion Poison," which would turn anyone struck into a dried-up corpse within three breaths.
Thirty thousand Sand shinobi swept through the Land of Rain like they were in an empty field, turning villages to ashes in their wake. Shamon, sitting atop a camel, watched the soldiers escort captured civilians of the Land of Rain past. He suddenly remembered Tsubasa's boast in Konoha about "single-handedly killing Reto "—what utter nonsense! That was clearly Senju Yasuhei work of that old man Senju Hohei. These ninjas of the Land of Rain couldn't even defend the border; they deserved to be ridden and humiliated.
On a dark and windy night, Masataka Hatake squatted on a tree branch in the dense forest of the Land of Rain, munching on a hard biscuit. Behind him, three hundred elite White Tiger Army soldiers were all dressed in black stealth suits, their faces painted with camouflage, even their breathing controlled in sync with the wind. This was the " Special Operations Shadow Assassination Unit " personally proposed by Tsubasa, each member proficient in more than three assassination techniques, capable of disappearing silently in deserts, rainforests, and snowfields.
"Captain, the Sunagakure's supply convoy is here." The ninja beside him lowered his voice. Masataka squinted and looked through the gaps in the leaves. He saw twenty supply wagons moving slowly forward under the light of torches. The Sand shinobi escorting the wagons were chatting and laughing, completely unaware that Death God was right above them.
"Attack." Masataka gestured, the Ninja Blade "Kiba" in his hand gleaming coldly. The next moment, countless black figures swooped down like night owls, and before the Sand shinobi could even cry out, their throats were slit. Masataka leaped to the grain cart, his blade flashing, and the ropes binding the cart snapped, golden grain cascading to the ground like a waterfall—this wasn't stealing grain, but letting the Sunagakure know that their every move was under the control of the Konoha.
When Shamon arrived with his army, he found only devastation and the corpses of Sand shinobi. Beside the bodies, a line of words was written in the sand, "The grain has returned to the earth, the people have returned to the west. --Left by the White Tiger Army." Shamon was so angry that he kicked over the grain cart, but then he heard the hooting of an owl in the distance, its voice carrying a hint of mockery, as if it were laughing at his incompetence.
For the next two weeks, Sunagakure was plunged into a nightmare.
Whenever the Sand shinobi set up camp to rest, arrows would always be shot from the shadows, specifically targeting their exposed throats; when they pursued, they would step into Explosive Tag traps set by the Konoha Village; even when they went to the toilet, a White Tiger Army ninja might jump out and stab them through the back. The 30,000 Sand shinobi were tortured to the point of nervous breakdown, afraid to take off their helmets during the day and afraid to close their eyes at night, and even had to check for poison before drinking water.
"Sir, we've fallen for Konoha's 'sparrow tactics'." The lieutenant, with dark circles under his eyes and bloodshot eyes, said, "They're like sparrows, pecking once and then flying away. They're all top-notch assassins, impossible to catch!"
Shamon's face was grim as he crushed the puppet in his hand. He knew, of course, that this was a guerrilla siege, but as the Kazekage, when had he ever suffered such humiliation? Sunagakure always fought openly and brazenly; he'd never seen such a "treacherous" tactic. What infuriated him even more was that every time he considered leading his army into the Land of Fire, he would receive urgent reports from scouts: "There are signs of reinforcements at the Land of Land of Fire's border, and three rune barriers have been set up!" "Reinforcements from the Land of Fire are gathering at the border!" -- Who knew if those barriers and reinforcements were real? But he dared not gamble; after all, Sunagakure had suffered considerable losses in the battle, and their food supplies were only enough to last until spring.
The torrential rain in the Land of Rain finally stopped. Masataka Hatake at the muddy valley entrance, watching the Sunagakure military flag slowly approach in the distance. The Second Kazekage Shamon, rode a giant scorpion puppet, followed by five thousand elite soldiers, each step leaving deep puddles in the mud. Masataka Hatake touched the Ninja Blade at his waist; the character "Kake" on the scabbard gleamed from the rain—it was a keepsake left to him by his father, and also the symbol of the White Tiger Corps.
" Masataka Hatake!" The Shamon's voice boomed like thunder, "You and I, one-on-one, do you dare?"
Masataka raised an eyebrow. "Why wouldn't I dare? But let me make this clear from the start: don't try to renege on your debt if you lose."
A clearing was quickly cleared in the valley, where three hundred White Tiger Army and five thousand Sand shinobi faced off. Masataka removed his stealth suit, revealing a white tight-fitting outfit underneath, the hem of which was embroidered with a white White Tiger with its head held high. Shamon manipulated three puppets to leap into the center of the arena, the scimitars, chains, and poison needles in their hands gleaming coldly in the dark clouds.
"Take this! Sand Release: Great Sand Waterfall Technique!" Shamon made the first move, the yellow sand surging from his palm turning into mud upon contact with water, surging towards Masataka like a tide. Masataka lightly touched the ground with his toes, leaping into the air, his Ninja Blade "Kiba" drawing a silver light. " Konoha Style: Water Cutter!" The sword energy cleaved through the mud, revealing the puppet hidden within—it turned out that Shamon had long ago concealed a deadly move in the mud.
The two fought from the ground into the air. Masataka's Ninja Blade was as fast as lightning, each strike aimed straight for Shamon's throat; Shamon's Puppet Technique was insidious and unpredictable, his poisoned needles and chains like a leech. A torrential downpour began, the valley flooding past their ankles, staining Masataka's white outfit crimson, and Shamon's puppet losing an arm. When the seventh poisoned needle from the puppet grazed Masataka's cheek, both stopped simultaneously and retreated to the valley entrance.
"A draw." The Shamon panted heavily, looking at the puppet's remains beneath Masataka's blade. "You're very skilled, but unfortunately, you chose the wrong master."
Masataka wiped the blood from his face. " Lord Kazekage is also very powerful, but unfortunately... he chose the wrong opponent." He pointed his sword at the distant dense forest, where the faint sound of Konoha's army horns could be heard—not ten thousand, but thirty thousand. It turned out that Tsubasa had long anticipated Shamon's arrogance, instructing Masataka to use guerrilla warfare to wear down the Sand shinobi, while secretly redeploying troops.
Shamon's expression changed drastically when he suddenly heard a cry of alarm behind him, "My lord! The grain supply camp is on fire!" Turning around, he saw thick smoke billowing in the distance—it was where he stored his winter provisions. Masataka seized the opportunity to sheath his sword. " Lord Kazekage, the mud from the Land of Rain probably doesn't taste very good, does it?"
Late at night, the defeated army of Sunagakure finally retreated to the border of the Land of Wind.
Sitting atop his camel, Shamon gazed at the routed soldiers behind him, his heart aching more than if he'd swallowed sand. His 30,000-strong army had been utterly routed by 10,000 Konoha soldiers; half their food supplies were burned, 70% of their puppets destroyed, and even he, the Kazekage, had nearly perished in the Land of Rain. What infuriated him even more was that Masataka Hatake had sent half a cartload of medicine after the decisive battle—this wasn't charity, it was blatant humiliation!
"Sir, Konoha scouts have dropped leaflets along the border." The lieutenant handed over a crumpled piece of paper with a drawing of a White Tiger standing on a scorpion, and next to it written, "Gentlemen of Sunagakure, next time before you raid grain, learn how to prevent theft!"
Shamon tore the leaflet to shreds, his nails digging deep into his palms. He suddenly recalled the look in Masataka's eyes during the decisive battle earlier that day—it wasn't hatred, but a kind of pity, like looking at a lost child. But he was the Kazekage, the king of Sunagakure; how could he accept such pity?
The night wind whipped up yellow sand, obscuring the stars and moon in the sky. Shamon pulled out a fragment of a puppet from his robes, a piece slashed off by Masataka's Ninja Blade. He gripped the fragment tightly, then suddenly let out a cold laugh—this time, Sunagakure was unlucky, but one day, he would make Konoha know that the sands of the Land of Wind were not so easy to trample!
The distant sound of the Sunagakure echoed. Shamon pulled his cloak tighter around himself and heard a soldier mutter, "If I'd known it would be this bad, I would have preferred to stay home for the New Year..." He closed his eyes, letting the yellow sand lash his face. This winter was destined to be a difficult one for Sunagakure. And he, Shamon, was likely to become the most disgraceful Kazekage in the history of Sunagakure.