"We're entering the Land of Wind now."
Another day had passed, and the combined Konoha forces had finally reached the border. Crossing it meant officially entering the territory of the Land of Wind.
Looking at the completely different geographical environment ahead, Nawaki felt increasingly excited.
He was eager to clash with Bunpuku.
Once he defeated Bunpuku, he might even have a chance to deliver the final blow to Rasa.
The thought made him so happy he couldn't help but chuckle softly.
"Hmm, still, we should be cautious."
"I believe Sunagakure must have already prepared something."
Kakuzu's reasoning was sound. He stared straight ahead, his expression calm.
Under normal circumstances, Sunagakure would surely prepare personnel to deal with approaching enemies.
Still, no plan survives contact with the enemy!
"Don't worry, I've already sent scouts ahead."
Nawaki wouldn't make such a basic mistake. He had long since sent several Hyuga scouts into the Land of Wind in advance.
"In that case, that's good."
"I'll leave it to your command."
Since preparations were already in place, Kakuzu didn't intend to interfere further. His next mission was simply to face off against Rasa.
"No problem."
A confident smile appeared on Nawaki's face as he kept moving forward without pause.
Under Nawaki's leadership, the Konoha forces marched directly into the Land of Wind without hesitation.
Stepping onto the sandy yellow ground, a wave of heat hit them like a blast from an oven. The temperature here was far higher than in the Land of Rivers.
"This place really has terrible conditions."
Kakashi pulled on a mask he'd prepared earlier, clearly frustrated.
He'd imagined it might be bad, but hadn't expected it to be this harsh.
No wonder the Land of Wind remained consistently poor—building an economy here would be tough under these conditions.
He wondered how Lady Tsunade planned to run this place once it was taken.
"Sure, it's rough, but the Land of Wind is the biggest nation in the Ninja World."
"There must be some advantages to it."
Kurenai ducked behind Kakashi, using his frame to block the blowing sand.
"Big? That's all it's got going for it."
"For half a day now, not only haven't I seen anyone, I haven't even spotted a single bird."
Maito Gai looked around; his eyes scanned endlessly at nothing but sand.
"Watch your step or you might get bitten by poisonous creatures."
"They're extremely venomous."
Rin casually crushed an unsuspecting scorpion underfoot as Obito instinctively stepped in front of her.
"How dangerous could something this small be?"
Asuma seemed unconcerned, brushing off Rin's warning.
"Well...not too dangerous."
"Just cut off the affected area if you get bitten."
Rin offered a sweet smile, appearing completely unbothered by his doubt in her expertise.
"A little toxic? A little toxic?"
Hearing Rin say that, everyone immediately changed expressions.
They all became extra careful with each step—if they ended up getting bitten here, they'd never live it down back in the village.
As the group joked around, one of the Hyuga scouts who went ahead returned.
"Lord Nawaki."
"We found no sign of enemy activity."
The Hyuga ninja truthfully reported his findings, but Nawaki found it confusing.
"What do you mean 'no signs of enemy activity'?"
Nawaki widened his eyes in surprise. What kind of situation was this?
"There wasn't a single Sand ninja anywhere."
"They don't seem to have set up any defenses along the way."
"The captain expanded the scouting range and moved further ahead."
The Hyuga ninja was also somewhat incredulous, unsure what Sunagakure was planning.
"Hiss~"
"Could Rasa know he doesn't stand a chance and be planning to make a stand somewhere for a decisive battle?"
Nawaki mulled it over for a moment before settling on a somewhat plausible explanation.
"Unknown, sir."
The Hyuga ninja hesitated to answer—he definitely didn't want to be blamed if things didn't go that way.
"I see. Report immediately if anything comes up."
"You go do your thing."
Nawaki waved off the Hyuga ninja and returned to his endless theorizing.
But he had already ruled out the correct answer—how could he possibly guess the truth?
Kakuzu wore an indifferent expression, clearly having no intention of getting involved at all.
After confirming there were no nearby dangers, the combined Konoha forces continued moving forward at a steady pace.
However, when repeated reports from the Hyuga scouts all came back the same, Nawaki gradually began to feel something was off.
They'd already been in the Land of Wind for two days; it was unrealistic to think Sunagakure hadn't noticed them by now.
Even if they were preparing for a decisive battle, how could there not be even one Sand ninja appearing?
A terrifying thought surfaced in Nawaki's mind.
He couldn't accept it—not after he'd been looking forward to settling an old grudge.
"Could it be that Sunagakure doesn't plan to resist at all?"
Confusion filled Nawaki's heart, and he couldn't help but ask Kakuzu beside him.
If Kakuzu denied his suspicion, at least he would feel slightly better.
"Given the current situation, that's definitely possible."
But Kakuzu's response was exactly what Nawaki didn't want to hear.
He spoke bluntly, completely disregarding Nawaki's feelings.
Still, you couldn't really blame him—Kakuzu genuinely believed that surrendering was reasonable for Sunagakure.
"No way! No way!"
"You just don't understand Rasa at all."
"He's not the type to surrender willingly."
Nawaki shook his head repeatedly, refusing to accept this possibility.
In truth, Nawaki didn't really know Rasa either—all they'd shared was a single clash during the Second Shinobi World War.
"Is that so?"
"Then they're probably waiting for us in the village to make their final stand."
Kakuzu remained unemotional, giving a vague reply in an obviously perfunctory manner.
The Konoha allied forces had already approached close to Sunagakure.
"That's right, it must be that."
Happily latching onto the answer he wanted to hear, Nawaki's frustration quickly lifted.
When he arrived near Sunagakure and saw the wide-open gates of the village,
His hopeful heart finally sank!
"They actually... actually..."
Nawaki pointed at the open gates of Sunagakure, too furious to form words.
At the gates, several unarmed Sand ninjas raised white flags high—their intention was clear enough.
"Avoiding war entirely isn't a bad thing, right?"
Thinking about not needing to waste time on a pointless fight where he wouldn't earn any money, Kakuzu couldn't help but smile slightly.
"Great. Just great."
Awkwardly, Nawaki lowered his hand, helplessly accepting the current situation.
"Guess there's no battle today after all."
Kakashi shrugged with an open-palm gesture. He wasn't particularly disappointed either.
Everyone had secretly expected it—except perhaps Nawaki, whose fighting spirit still burned bright.
"Hmph… Guess they're smarter than to resist."
Kurenai crossed her arms, a strong sense of pride rising within her.
This was her village—one capable of subduing enemies without even going to war.
As they started chatting among themselves, Nawaki gathered his thoughts and walked toward Sunagakure's village gates.
"Konoha, Senju Nawaki."
"You have chosen to surrender, correct?"
Nawaki approached the Sand ninja holding up white flags, confirming once again.
"Yes."
"It was an order issued by the Kazekage before stepping down."
"You may now lead your massive army into the village."
The Sand ninja bowed his head slightly. His heart swelled with shame, though there was a flicker of relief as well.
"Lead the way then."
Nawaki didn't dwell on it for long. He didn't think there would be any ambushes lying in wait within the village.
Of course, even if there were, he wouldn't fear them at all.
"As you command."
The Sand ninja turned around and led the way, never lowering the white flag in his hand.
The vast Konoha allied forces marched in behind him in an orderly manner, entering Sunagakure.
The streets were eerily deserted, save for small gaps left ajar in some windows, through which countless villagers watched in silence as events unfolded.
When he met Rasa again and saw the man bow respectfully before him,
He could no longer see even a trace of the arrogance he once knew from that proud youth.
Only then did Nawaki truly believe everything before him was real.
On this day, Sunagakure surrendered.
Not long afterward, the Daimyō of the Land of Wind also willingly pledged loyalty to the Land of Fire.
Only one final piece remained to complete Konoha's unified vision of the Ninja World.
...
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