"Captain, there's someone down there!"
Maki examined the traces around the hole and quickly came to a conclusion.
The person below had probably been unable to find shelter in time during the earlier sandstorm and had been forced to dig a hole on the spot.
Hoshino nodded, grabbed the cover with one hand, and ripped it off.
A cloud of sand and dust rushed into their faces.
Maki and Hizuki turned sideways to avoid it, then narrowed their eyes and peered into the hole.
"Hey! Can you hear me down there? Get out here!" Hoshino shouted.
But all was silent below, and there was no response.
Maki frowned and said quietly, "Is he injured, or has he already passed out?"
Hoshino shook his head and snorted coldly. "Not coming out? Then don't blame me for getting rough."
With that, the Spirit Control Beads glimmered with pinpricks of light.
The surrounding sand and dust suddenly began squeezing the hole, threatening to crush the person inside alive.
"Don't... don't hurt me! I'm coming out, I'm coming out!"
A moment later, a hand covered in sand and dirt reached over the edge of the hole, followed by a thin figure who struggled to climb out.
The man looked to be around thirty. His face was full of exhaustion and fear, and his clothes were in tatters. He had clearly suffered a great deal in the sandstorm.
Hoshino sensed that the man was a ninja, but a very weak one. He might not even be a match for a Ninja Academy student.
He was probably a lucky fellow who had refined Chakra by accident.
"Tell us about yourself. Don't even think about hiding anything," Maki said, stepping forward.
The man took a few breaths, his eyes darting about as he said, "My name is Satō. I'm a villager from a nearby oasis. When the sandstorm came, I got separated from my family..."
"You're lying!"
Before he could finish, Hizuki drew the Ninja Blade at her waist and moved to strike.
Maki caught Hizuki by the wrist and spoke to Satō.
"We're Anbu from Sunagakure. We can tell whether you're lying. Tell the truth, and don't force us to use other methods. I guarantee you won't enjoy it."
Hizuki snorted coldly and put away her Ninja Blade, but her eyes remained fixed on Satō, ready to strike again at any moment.
Hoshino stood to one side, watching it all coldly.
The Spirit Control Beads were still glowing faintly, and the surrounding sand and dust showed signs of gathering again.
Satō went pale with fright and hurriedly said, "My name really is Satō. I didn't lie to you."
Maki demanded sharply, "What about the rest?"
"I took an easy job from the black market. All I had to do was stay here and report anything that happened right away!"
"What were you stationed here for?"
"To keep watch. If anyone came, I was to notify them. I really don't know anything else!"
"Who are they?" Hoshino asked with a frown.
"I don't know. The rule on the black market is to take the money and do the job, and not ask about anything else," Satō replied.
"Then how did you contact them?" Hoshino continued.
"With this!"
With trembling hands, Satō pulled a palm-sized device from inside his clothes.
Maki took it, examined it, and said to Hoshino, "Captain, it's a radio!"
Hoshino nodded slightly, turned to Satō, and asked, "You said you took the job from the black market? Who exactly gave it to you?"
"I... I really don't know. Black market jobs are all posted anonymously. All I know is that they paid a lot, and the job was very simple!"
Hizuki snorted coldly. "No matter how anonymous black market jobs are, there has to be a contact, doesn't there?"
Satō hurriedly explained, "There really wasn't one! The job was posted through a black market intermediary, and the payment was left at a designated location in advance."
Maki frowned and spoke quietly to Hoshino.
"Captain, if he's telling the truth, they're extremely cautious about how they operate. They clearly don't want their identities exposed."
Hoshino nodded and said to Satō, "Contact them now. Tell them you've spotted suspicious people and need backup."
Satō's face went pale, and he said in a trembling voice, "B-but if they find out I'm lying to them, I'm dead!"
"If you don't do it, you'll die right now."
Hizuki's Ninja Blade was pressed against his neck again, its edge tight against his skin. The icy touch made Satō tremble all over.
"All right, all right! I'll do it!"
Satō nodded hurriedly, took the radio device with trembling hands, and pressed the button.
The device gave off a faint crackle of static.
After a short wait, a hoarse voice came from the device.
"What is it?"
Satō glanced nervously at Hoshino and said, "I... I spotted a team of Sunagakure ninja approaching in this direction. They look like Anbu. They're all wearing masks."
The other end of the radio fell silent for a moment before the voice replied, "Understood! We'll send someone over. Keep watching them, and don't act rashly."
"Y-yes!" Satō answered hurriedly.
The radio signal cut off, and the indicator light on the device gradually dimmed.
Hoshino smashed the radio device, a cold smile curling at the corner of his mouth as his gaze swept over Satō's face.
Satō trembled all over under his gaze and stammered, "I... I did what you told me to. You can let me go now, right?"
Maki asked quietly, "Captain, are we going to wait here for them to come?"
"Wait?" Hoshino shook his head. "They won't come. Follow me."
With that, Hoshino took the lead, racing off in a direction deeper into the desert.
He had only made Satō use the radio earlier to try to identify the other party's approximate location with Magnet Release.
His other goal was to lure the snake out of its hole.
The Sunagakure Anbu had found this place. Once the other party received the message, they would surely prepare to flee. At the very least, they would reveal an opening.
Finding them would be much easier.
Maki watched Hoshino's retreating figure and hurried after him.
Hizuki, who had remained at the back, glanced at Satō, whose face was full of fear.
Her Ninja Blade turned lightly, tracing a cold arc through the air.
Satō fell to the ground before he could even scream, his blood staining the sand red.
After confirming that Satō was dead,
Hizuki followed in the direction Hoshino had gone.
Hoshino was fast, and Maki and Hizuki had to run nearly all out to keep up.
Wind and sand howled past their ears as the three figures raced between the dunes.
Before long, Hoshino suddenly stopped. Maki and Hizuki, close behind him, soon came to his side.
Directly across from the three of them stood three ninja who also wore masks.
Judging by their mask designs, clothing, and Forehead Protectors, they were Konoha Anbu Ninja.
"Halt!"
The Konoha Anbu Ninja in the lead wore a fox mask and shouted the command.
"Konoha Anbu? What are you doing here?"
Hoshino looked at the three Konoha Anbu across from him. Rather than stopping at the command, he took a step forward.
Maki and Hizuki stepped forward with Hoshino, ready for battle.