At the Land of Rivers border, in the Red Sand Clan's garrison camp.
Akasuna Arashi stood inside a tent, his brow tightly furrowed. Five fellow Red Sand Clan ninjas stood around him, all of them Jonin.
They had received the village's notice: the Red Sand Clan had been declared missing-nin, and all ninjas would be mobilized to hunt them down.
Only one morning had passed, and they had already lost contact with every clan member in the village.
"Looks like they're serious."
Outside the tent, ninjas gathered in twos and threes, discussing the village's notice in low voices.
The ninja force stationed near the Land of Rivers usually had little to do. Konoha's ninjas never started trouble, so their everyday duties consisted of little more than patrols.
Now that such momentous news had arrived, they felt a tension and unease unlike anything they had known before.
In an instant, strange looks filled the camp, but no one proposed attacking the Red Sand Clan's ninjas.
That included the three Elite Jonin of the same rank as Akasuna Arashi.
"Elder Arashi, what should we do?" a Jonin asked gravely, a trace of anxiety in his voice.
Akasuna Arashi fell silent for a moment, then said slowly, "The village has abandoned us. That means we've been completely isolated."
"If we don't take action, only death awaits us."
"But we only have a little over two hundred people, and they might not all side with us. How can we fight the entire village?" another Jonin asked with a frown.
"We don't need to fight the entire village. We just need to find a way to survive," Akasuna Arashi said.
"The Land of Rivers is a buffer between the Land of Wind and the Land of Fire. If we can enter the Land of Rivers, the village might not pursue us."
"Enter the Land of Rivers?" a Red Sand Jonin exclaimed.
"Elder Arashi, do you know what that means? Once we enter the Land of Rivers, we'll truly become missing-nin. There'll be no turning back."
"Then what do you suggest?" Akasuna Arashi snapped. "We have no choice left!"
"First, we'll go to the Land of Rivers. Then I'll contact the clan members stationed in the oasis city and see if we can get the nobles to have the wanted order lifted."
Silence fell over the tent as the Jonin struggled with the decision.
It was too risky.
What if they couldn't return? Would they really stay in the Land of Rivers?
Leaving aside whether the village would let them go, Konoha alone would never allow it.
Who knew whether they had truly defected or were only pretending, plotting to take control of affairs in the Land of Rivers?
Akasuna Arashi swept his gaze over the Jonin present and continued, "Now, assign people immediately to ask the civilian ninjas in the camp how many are willing to follow us."
"Remember, don't force anyone, and don't cause too much of a stir. Those who are willing can come; leave the rest be."
The Jonin nodded and quickly left the tent.
The atmosphere in the camp grew even more tense.
"Should we go with them?"
"Are you crazy? If we go with them, we'll truly become missing-nin. We'll never be able to come back."
"But if we don't leave, will the village let us off? Don't forget, we're Akasuna Arashi's direct subordinates!"
"I'm going, anyway! The Red Sand Clan paid for my schooling, gave me resources to train after graduation, and got me into the border force. I owe them for that. If it means defecting, so be it!"
"You're an orphan, so of course you don't care. My wife and kids are still in the village. If I defect, how could things possibly go well for them?"
"..."
Similar conversations played out in every corner of the camp.
The civilian ninjas were caught in a dilemma. They didn't want to become missing-nin, but they didn't dare stay in the camp and wait for the village to settle accounts with them.
After a count was taken, the results were not encouraging.
Of the nearly three hundred people in his direct force, fewer than two hundred were willing to follow Akasuna Arashi into the Land of Rivers.
That number... actually exceeded Akasuna Arashi's expectations.
He had thought that, aside from his fellow clansmen, fifty ninjas would have been a good result. Instead, more than a hundred were willing to follow him.
It seemed the clan's past decisions had been quite good after all.
They had needed to spend only a few insignificant resources to win over many civilian ninjas who might not even have been able to afford food.
It was just a pity...
Akasuna Arashi took a deep breath, turned, and headed for another tent in the center of the camp.
It was where the other three commanders were stationed.
They were the same rank as Akasuna Arashi, all Elite Jonin, and commanded most of the forces in the camp.
Inside the tent, the three commanders were seated. They seemed to have expected Akasuna Arashi to come to them and had been waiting for some time.
"Elder Arashi, you're here," one of the commanders said mildly, his tone betraying neither pleasure nor anger.
Akasuna Arashi nodded and got straight to the point. "You should already know that the village has declared the Red Sand Clan missing-nin. We have no choice but to enter the Land of Rivers."
Another commander sneered. "Commander Arashi, this is your Red Sand Clan's business. It has nothing to do with us, so don't try to drag us down with you."
The third commander added, "Elder Arashi, we regret what happened to the Red Sand Clan too. We're only letting you leave for the sake of our past ties. Don't make things difficult for us."
Akasuna Arashi nodded and said, "I understand. There won't be any major disturbance!"
The three commanders exchanged looks and finally nodded.
The first commander said, "Judging by the time, the Anbu will be here soon! You must leave before noon, or we won't be able to answer to the village."
"Thank you."
Akasuna Arashi bowed slightly, then turned and left the tent.
The three commanders' meaning was clear enough.
He was to leave before the Anbu arrived, and they would make a token pursuit.
Once his group crossed the border between the Land of Rivers and the Land of Wind, the commanders could call off the pursuit on the grounds that it would "affect both countries."
After all, the Land of Rivers was a buffer zone between the Land of Wind and the Land of Fire.
A military operation by either side could spark a diplomatic dispute, or even escalate into a conflict between the two countries.
Rasa would not lightly risk worsening relations with the Land of Fire by pursuing them across the border.
Of course, there was an exception: a small team like the Anbu could enter, wipe out the Red Sand Clan, and withdraw immediately.
But was that possible?
Given the size of the Red Sand Clan, at most two squads, around ten people, would come to the Land of Rivers.
With so few people, they wanted to take on a force of two hundred ninjas? They had to be joking.
Akasuna Arashi figured the Anbu's original plan was to use Rasa's written order to mobilize the border force and hunt them down.
Unfortunately for them... he had spent so many years building connections in the border force that, while getting those three to help was impossible, getting them to turn a blind eye was no problem.
Besides, it was impossible to say the three had no self-interest.
After all, the Red Sand Clan's withdrawal meant a major shift in the camp's power structure.
They would also have reason to ask the village to keep sending ninjas to fill the vacancies, taking the opportunity to expand their own spheres of influence.
The Anbu were destined to have no part to play!
As the minutes and seconds ticked by, the Red Sand Clan's ninjas gradually finished assembling.
Akasuna Arashi took one last look at the camp where they had been stationed for so many years. Then he waved his hand and quietly led the group out of the camp.