"What now?"
Kakashi Windseer sat down, unable to hide his curiosity.
Despite the presence of Sakumo—his father and their team leader this time—Akaba still chose silence.
You'll die from curiosity!
He secretly cursed.
Desert illusion—this was the illusion transformation Akaba had been contemplating since entering the Land of Wind.
But until recently, he'd struggled to control it perfectly.
After continuously using True Illusion throughout the day, he gradually sensed that he could finally master it.
Of course, Akaba naturally disliked such complications, but who could've guessed these guys would become so obsessed with Protecting Konoha Village?
"I'm guessing desert."
Kakashi Windseer closed his eyes, pretending not to care about what kind of illusion it might be.
Yet if he truly didn't care, he wouldn't have gone through so much trouble trying to guess.
Akaba remained silent, fully focused on the illusion. Maintaining such a massive illusion placed immense strain on his mental capacity.
Furthermore, with his ability, observing the illusion felt almost like watching a live broadcast.
"Using Summoning Technique for reconnaissance is practically cheating!"
Innumerable snakes slithered across the desert.
Though they weren't accustomed to desert conditions, as summoned beasts, they diligently fulfilled their mission—gathering intelligence.
It was just a torn piece of paper—but clearly part of a manga.
"Manga?"
Orochimaru picked it up, glanced at it, then carefully studied its contents after a moment's confusion.
"To train elite ninja, Sunagakure sends them into the desert, simultaneously releasing poison mist. Only those who obtain the antidote and reach Sunagakure can survive."
A single-page manga—but its content was more than enough for Orochimaru to grasp the full picture.
The poison mist expands, while the antidote remains scarce.
Only some will survive this battle, and these torn manga pages contain critical intelligence.
Interesting!
He couldn't help but let out a cold, twisted laugh.
Fighting against comrades—an unprecedented experience.
Elsewhere,
Sakumo summoned Fang using the Summoning Technique, similarly relying on summoning beasts for information gathering.
Though still small, Fang's nose was already impressively keen. In no time, he caught an odd scent.
After a brief search—
"A kunai."
"Not as good as a tanto, but passable."
Sakumo tested the kunai with a quick slash, feeling more confident.
Armed with a weapon, his combat effectiveness increased significantly.
"Fang, let's find the others first."
He grabbed the kunai and headed off to meet his teammates.
Fang let out a bark, then sprang forward with his tiny legs in motion.
"Good job!"
Sakumo praised him and followed closely behind.
Man and dog searched across the desert.
Not long afterward, he encountered Fang's target.
"Shinnosuke?"
Sakumo expressed surprise before asking curiously after a pause, "What do you have there?"
"Hmm, looks like a pot."
Noticing the kunai in Sakumo's hand, Shinnosuke looked at his own frying pan and instantly felt humiliated.
Now *that* is a weapon!
"Well, maybe Suna ninja pots are actually pretty useful—for both defense and attack."
"I guess I'll go with that."
Shinnosuke tucked the frying pan into his waistband with a helpless sigh.
"Let's find the others first."
Sakumo barely suppressed a grin, maintaining his serious demeanor as he ordered Fang to lead the way.
Before long
Wuwuwu—
Fang let out a strange cry and fell onto the sand. It tried to push itself up, but after one or two failed attempts, it simply couldn't rise.
"What's going on?"
Shinnosuke froze in confusion—why had it suddenly collapsed?
Sakumo quickly crouched down to check Fang's condition. He had to admit, Akaba's illusion was incredibly realistic. Even though Fang was an illusory projection, every detail—from its behavior to symptoms—was perfectly lifelike.
After touching it, and drawing upon his knowledge of his teammate's habits, he immediately understood what had happened.
"It's been poisoned."
"Poisoned? Did it accidentally eat something toxic?!"
Shinnosuke's face paled as he became alert, scanning the surroundings.
"It wouldn't have eaten anything accidentally. Animals are more sensitive than humans — it's been poisoned, but we haven't felt any effects."
Sakumo spoke at unusual length.
He wasn't short on intelligence—after only a moment's thought, he pieced everything together.
"You're saying the air is poisoned!"
Shinnosuke sucked in a sharp breath.
Desert terrain, poison… and now puppets would complete Sand ninja's typical battlefield strategy.
Just as this thought crossed his mind, he suddenly stiffened.
Puppets?
Something's off!
Shinnosuke pressed his hand against the ground, channeling chakra through the sand, and immediately sensed enemies beneath.
"There are enemies!"
"I already know that."
Sakumo kicked Shinnosuke aside in one swift motion, his entire body radiating intense lightning.
[Chidori Current!]
Under the onslaught of electricity, several puppets emerging from the sand were instantly blown into pieces.
"This technique—"
"No time! Run!"
Sakumo gasped for breath. The more chakra he used, the more clearly he could sense the presence of poison mist.
If they stayed any longer, they'd die here from poisoning.
"I understand."
Shinnosuke got up, grabbed Sakumo, and formed hand seals with both hands.
[Earth Release!]
"You idiot! The ground's poisoned too—just run!"
"…"
Time to start running from the poison.
Akaba chuckled coldly. This was just an illusion, not reality.
If Earth Release could really handle it, would they even call it "running from poison"?
Still, what surprised him most was Tsunade. While everyone else was gathering intel or searching for weapons,
She didn't even waste time looking for weapons. Using her medical knowledge, she quickly detected the toxicity in the air.
Most importantly—
While the poison mist increased the physical strain on others, it seemed completely ineffective on her.
While everyone else scrambled to escape the toxin, she wandered around like she was strolling through her own backyard.
The Senju constitution is practically godlike.
Akaba muttered internally.
As he swept his gaze across the illusion, nearly everyone had noticed the poison issue, and while fleeing, they all tried to gather possible clues in their surroundings.
However, the severity of their struggles varied depending on individual physical conditions.
Take Gekko Nightdance, for example.
Already frail and weak by nature, despite having Kinton, it proved useless.
The poison mist was unaffected by Kinton.
Under continuous exposure, his stamina and chakra rapidly depleted. Combined with attacks from the puppets...
[Gekko Nightdance has been killed. Killed by: Poison Mist.]
A voice echoed throughout the illusion.
Instantly, everyone paused.
Then came a chorus of laughter. To die from poison mist? How utterly pathetic!
"Someone's been eliminated. Now even if I die, I won't finish last."
Shinku Yuhi smiled briefly, then winced as he realized the eliminated player might be his teammate.
"This game doesn't really have teammates anyway, especially with only three antidotes up for grabs."
A folded piece of paper lay in his hand.
This folded piece of paper was his sole—and most crucial—discovery so far!
"I see you've also obtained information, Shinku-kun."
A cold voice spoke behind him.
That voice belonged to Orochimaru!
Shinku looked up and saw a figure standing proudly atop a nearby sand dune.
"This world itself is an illusion. The theme is survival, escape, and kill-or-be-killed. We not only have to obtain the antidote, but also make it to Sunagakure Village to survive."
Orochimaru spoke while slowly approaching.
"What exactly are you trying to say?" Yuhi Shinku asked cautiously.
"An intelligence exchange. I want to know what information your *manga* holds."
Orochimaru explained.
"That simple?"
Shinku's expression turned serious. He never particularly liked Orochimaru—the guy always gave off a cold, unsettling vibe.
Still, he had to admit...
He was no match for Orochimaru in strength.
[Genjutsu: Magical Forest Binding Murder!]
The genjutsu took immediate effect, but...
In the next instant, he saw Orochimaru before him transform into a snake.
A Shadow Clone?
No. That move was merely meant to distract him.
Shinku immediately became alert, quickly jumping forward.
But he was just a moment too slow.
His foot was grabbed from below.
[Earth Release: Decapitation Jutsu!]
"I need the information in your possession, but killing you directly might result in my being reported," Orochimaru said with a shrug. "Sorry, but I'll have to hold you up here for now. Good luck." He pried another page from Shinku's grasp.
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