"A long, long time ago, I came to the Land of Wind with Father. It's been so many years already."
The same scenery, the same yellow sand desert.
Faced with this scene, Sakuma Shanyuan couldn't help sighing repeatedly.
Kakashi Windseer didn't speak, but instead remained vigilant, glancing toward one direction before calling out: "Sand ninja friends hiding in the shadows, we're here from Konoha to participate in the Chunin Exams."
"Kakashi Windseer! Humph, didn't expect it'd be you leading this team."
Sand ninja!
Everyone was startled and immediately looked toward the source of the voice. What appeared before them was a strange 'monster'.
"A Puppet!"
Sakuma Shanyuan's expression turned serious.
"This is a Puppet?"
Tsunade curiously examined it. From appearance, it seemed like some sort of mechanism.
"They hide their real body and control the puppet to do battle."
Shishio memorized this silently.
These were fighting habits of the Sand ninja, which would greatly help them during the upcoming Chunin Exams.
"Let's go."
Kakashi Windseer no longer looked at him, turning sideways toward the direction of Sunagakure.
"Damn it!"
The ninja hiding in the sand was taken aback, then angrily gritted his teeth.
This guy didn't even bother to greet!
However,
Who's going to remember the name of some lowly grunt?
The Hatake Clan possessed extraordinary talent; during the Windseer battle, he had already become an elite Jonin.
To him, enemies who weren't Jonins weren't worth remembering.
Especially those hiding their heads and showing only their tails.
After walking for a while, Sakuma Shanyuan lifted the carriage curtain and saw Akaba lying limply inside. Concerned, he asked: "Akaba, are you okay?"
"I'm fine, just a bit exhausted."
Akaba's voice sounded weak—partly genuine, partly faked.
Since entering the Land of Wind, the dryness, heat, and blowing sand made it hard for him to adapt.
Feeling unwell? Naturally, he wanted to lie down!
"Looks like he's gotten a bit better. Normally, after resting a bit more, you should be able to walk again."
Tsunade leaned over for a look, then confidently stated.
She had learned some medical techniques from Mito. Although she hadn't used them much lately, whatever Akaba had wasn't even a real illness—his symptoms were easy enough to figure out.
"Don't say it like that, my condition is pretty severe."
Akaba hesitated awkwardly.
Does she already have such medical skills now?
He had finally managed to lie down, so he definitely didn't want to get up and walk across this cursed desert sand path again.
"You're just faking it to get out of walking!"
Tsunade scoffed disdainfully, though her posture...
"Tch, you clearly wanted to sit too."
Comfortably settled, Akaba lay back down.
Like the saying goes, you don't fear an intelligent enemy—you fear one with no wants or needs.
"Hehe!"
Tsunade smiled and sat on the edge of the cart, refusing to get down.
Sakuma Shanyuan opened his mouth as if to say something but finally exercised restraint and kept silent.
To live comfortably, sometimes one must turn a blind eye to certain things—after all, he couldn't afford to offend either of these two.
Besides, catching a ride was no big deal.
However, even the horses struggled to adjust to the desert landscape.
They advanced slowly step by step until late afternoon when the weather gradually became cooler.
By dusk, eventually—
"We've arrived at Sunagakure! We're finally here!"
Jiraiya's voice rang out.
Akaba immediately pulled aside the curtain. Not far away, buildings in the style of Sunagakure appeared before them.
The sky was dim, but under the faint sunlight, the village looked incredibly charming and lovable to everyone's eyes.
"Finally arrived!"
Akaba pushed the curtain open and gazed at the desert-style houses, a deep sense of emotion stirring inside him.
This place is the worst—I'm never coming back here again!
"Quickly find somewhere to stay; I can't wait to take a bath."
Tsunade shouted loudly.
Everyone couldn't wait to get some rest after walking through the desert for so long.
Stepping down from the carriage, Akaba entered Sunagakure with the others.
As they reached the entrance, a sudden killing intent made them all stop in their tracks.
Turning around, they saw only a young boy—slightly older than Akaba's group—staring intently at them from a distance.
Kakashi Windseer glanced over briefly with little interest before turning away again.
"You're the Konoha ninja!"
The chunin at the gate hadn't recognized him at first, but when Kakashi Windseer turned his gaze toward him, the image of that face and those eyes suddenly surged into his mind.
Frightened, he held his pen with trembling hands.
At that moment, the boy started walking over.
The chunin lowered his head in embarrassment, then took a deep breath to calm himself before offering a slight bow.
The boy nodded slightly in response, then slowly scanned the group with his gaze, frowning as he spoke, "Konoha guests, huh? How many exactly? Why so many?"
"It's a caravan. I've already discussed it with Kazekage-sama."
Kakashi Windseer said without emotion.
"I see. Then welcome, everyone. Please register your names first, and then I will personally guide you to your accommodations for tonight."
He didn't dwell on it further, brushing the matter aside quickly.
Akaba observed silently.
This boy had deep blue hair and seemed quite young, yet the chunin had bowed to him—his status must be quite high.
Could he really be... The Third?
More than that, the guy wasn't even wearing a chunin uniform. He might still be just a genin!
Sunagakure had hidden away a fierce card.
Outwardly expressionless, Akaba was deeply surprised inside.
The Third Kazekage was the most powerful of all Kazekages. True, his death was tragic beyond words—but while alive, he truly was a noble man.
Need to warn everyone...
Akaba turned away and looked at the guest registry on the table.
Several names already filled the top portion, written by the chunin.
Kakashi Windseer glanced at it casually, added the remaining names without reaction, and handed the list back to the gatekeeper.
"Please follow me, honored guests."
The blue-haired boy remained polite and stepped forward to lead the way.
After walking for a while, Akaba struck up a conversation, "Hey, what's your name, buddy?"
"My name is Sankai."
He smiled mildly, appearing harmless enough.
"As you can see, I'm part of the caravan. Just asking—if we wanted to set up a stall or organize an event, where would be suitable around here?"
Akaba asked curiously.
"A stall? An event?"
Sankai hesitated for a moment, trying hard to understand Akaba's meaning.
After thinking briefly, he said, "It's getting late. I'll explain while we walk."
"Sounds good."
Of course, Akaba didn't refuse—it was just small talk, after all.
In the Naruto universe, the Third Kazekage left no heir behind, yet he was absolutely certain that the person standing before him was indeed the Third Kazekage.
Because of the caravan, their speed was significantly slower than others. Therefore, along the way, they encountered many ninja from other villages.
However, with Kakashi Windseer leading the way, no ninja from other villages dared provoke them—they kept their distance.
As they walked, Akaba spotted an open plaza.
Inside the plaza, numerous ninja were training while others observed around the edges, gathering intelligence.
"Hey Sankai," Akaba immediately asked, "can we set up a stall here?"
"A stall? Here?" After a brief hesitation, Sankai replied, "I can't decide that. You'll have to ask Lord Kazekage."
"No big deal, it's too late to set up shop today anyway."
Before Akaba could respond, Sakuma Shanyuan quickly cut in, preventing the kid from making any further unreasonable requests.
Setting up a stall right on the training field—can you imagine? That'd be totally out of line!
Unlike him, Shishio thought this place would make it more convenient to gather intelligence, and his eyes lit up immediately.
Sankai nodded apologetically, then turned a corner and came to a stop.
He pointed ahead and said, "Esteemed guests, your accommodation is just up there."
The building was entirely made of sandstone, yet far more impressive than the rest—a clear sign of Sunagakure's special treatment for the Konoha ninjas.
"Thank you."
Kakashi Windseer nodded in appreciation before stepping inside first.
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