[Land of Wind]
The sky was dotted with stars, and Ryosuke's group sat in the middle of the desert.
Four camels, each facing a different direction, were lying on the ground resting, forming a circle that acted as a windbreak.
Sasuke was tossing collected firewood into the campfire.
This was one good thing about the desert, whether it was firewood, camel dung, or other things, everything was baked dry of moisture and bacteria under the sunlight, making it very flammable and not very smelly.
Rei hugged her knees, resting her chin in her hands, watching Sasuke skillfully cook over the fire.
Ryosuke, on the other side, held Sasuke and Rei's math exercise books, seriously grading them.
This quiet and peaceful scene fell into Kakashi's eyes, slightly dispelling the haze in his heart.
It had already been a week since they left Konoha, and by tomorrow morning they were expected to arrive at Sunagakure.
According to Ryosuke's plan of action, they would first go to Sunagakure, pay a visit to the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, and exchange information about Shinnō with him.
Shinnō and the Sky Ninja Army weren't only targeting Konoha, they were targeting the entire existing ninja village system.
Once the Sky Ninja Army was formed, the first to suffer the impact would be Sunagakure.
Ryosuke wanted to get more information from the local overlord.
Once they had gathered enough intelligence… it would be time to launch a surprise attack on Shinnō.
To ensure the effect of the surprise, Ryosuke had hidden his identity all the way, even leaving behind a "stand-in" in Konoha.
A ninja put on Ryosuke's face every day and strolled around the village.
On the road, Kakashi had asked, "What if something goes wrong in the middle, and the intel leaks?"
Ryosuke's answer was simple.
"If it leaks, it leaks. Planning and changes are both parts of action."
They had trump cards, and so did their enemies. In the end, it was nothing more than both sides playing their cards and seeing who could seize final victory.
And to have an in-depth conversation with Rasa, Ryosuke had to personally see what life in the Land of Wind was really like.
After observing along the way, his conclusion was, 'A familiar terrible feeling.'
Kakashi sighed.
He knew the Land of Wind well, and the reason was simple, because of his father.
Stronger than the Sannin, and someone who made enemies tremble even more…
Konoha's White Fang, Hatake Sakumo.
Kakashi had shown ninja talent from a young age, and many called him a genius. But Kakashi knew clearly, compared to his father, his own talent was nothing worth mentioning.
When Kakashi was a child, in order to coax him to sleep, that man, who was invincible on the battlefield, had to rack his brains, trying all kinds of ways to tell battlefield stories to Kakashi.
What he told the most were stories about the Land of Wind and Sunagakure's battles.
So, Kakashi knew the Land of Wind's customs, knew desert beetles, knew Sunagakure's puppet techniques.
After his father's death, Kakashi hadn't deliberately thrown away his father's belongings.
But with time, one by one, things aged and faded, just like the memories of his father in his heart.
At home, traces of his father's life gradually disappeared. Until recent years, Kakashi felt he had already forgotten that old man who scratched his head every time he told a story.
But…
The scorching heat of the Land of Wind brought Kakashi back to those summer days of the past.
In the summer when he was three or four, Hatake Sakumo fanned him with a fan while clumsily telling stories.
In the summer when he was seven, Hatake Sakumo ended his own life at home amid rumors and gossip.
The same heat, the same unforgettable pain.
Kakashi let out a quiet sigh. "Lady Tsunade really knows how to give me hard problems."
"Perhaps, she only wants you to hear your father's story… from another angle."
Ryosuke's voice came from across the campfire.
Kakashi was stunned.
He licked his dry lips, thought for a moment, and asked, "You can read minds?"
"No."
Kakashi realized that the things about his family weren't really secrets. Almost everyone who lived through that era knew about them.
He was silent for a while, then asked, "What do you mean by 'another angle'?"
"From the enemy's angle."
Ryosuke said, "Many people have forgotten the terror of Konoha's White Fang, forgotten his deterrence on the battlefield."
"Tsunade hopes that you can hear and see your father's past from the enemies."
Kakashi was someone who followed the 'Will of Fire.'
He knew his father was right, and that there were many hidden truths in that year's events.
But for the sake of the village's stability, Kakashi chose to suppress his emotions.
Like shoving a pile of dirty laundry randomly into a closet, pretending not to see it that way.
And this mission, one of Tsunade's goals, was to let him, in the vast desert, take out those thoughts stuffed in the closet one by one, and sort them out clearly.
Hate what should be hated, love what should be loved.
Kakashi was a smart man, and with a single thought, he understood the cause and effect.
He stared blankly at Ryosuke.
"Could it be Lady Tsunade wants…"
Ryosuke finished grading the last problem, put down the exercise book, and softly said, "Under the Third Hokage's rule, Konoha's hearts have become too 'damp.' Once damp, insects and germs easily grow."
"They need to be taken out and laid in the sun, properly dried."
Kakashi was momentarily speechless. Many memories he had deliberately sealed away suddenly resurfaced like stars filling the night sky, yet after years of active forgetting, they now flickered like real stars, indistinct and unclear.
Finally, Kakashi closed his eyes, leaning against the camel and lying down.
"Then… let the memories dry in the sun."
———
"This damn sun, I really have had enough of it."
Shinnō, bare-chested with a towel around his neck, held a watermelon in his hands. His once fairly pale skin had already darkened three shades after spending some time under the Land of Wind's sun.
Though Shinnō looked like a farmer, in reality, he had lived a pampered life his whole life, and had never before suffered so much.
But…
He looked at the secret base he had built in the desert.
A brand-new Sky Fortress was about to be completed, faster, stronger, and far more terrifying than the previous one.
And at the core of the Sky Fortress was its most powerful weapon.
"The Zero-Tails Core."
For the revival of the Land of Sky, for his ambition, every bit of it was worth it.
"Once Unit No. 2 is completed, that Ryosuke and that Konoha are nothing but stinking dog shit trampled beneath my feet."
As if imagining that scene, Shinnō showed a simple, honest smile.
"Lord Shinnō, bad news! Ryosuke is here!"
Shinnō's laugh cut off halfway. He lost his breath, and the sixty-something old man coughed violently, his eyes almost rolling back.
The adjutant of the Sky Ninja Army, who had rushed to deliver the message, hurriedly patted Shinnō's back and explained, "Lord, you misunderstood. It's not that Ryosuke found us, it's that he has come to the Land of Wind."
"I misunderstood your mom!"
Shinnō finally caught his breath, shoved the adjutant aside, and asked, "Wasn't Ryosuke in Konoha?"
"That one in Konoha is a fake. Just now the latest intel came in, Ryosuke's group has arrived at Sunagakure."
"Bastard!"
Shinnō had never seen an enemy like Ryosuke.
Strong enough already, yet still playing at sneaking in and surprise attacks.
"Such a despicable outsider."
The adjutant asked, "What should we do next? Do we make a move?"
Shinnō stroked his chin, thought for a moment, and said, "No rush, let's toy with him first."
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