Chapter 66 – The Sand's Movements
This particular Sand shinobi had only just been promoted to jōnin. Not long ago, he had been standing shoulder to shoulder with the three comrades who now lay dead at Nan's hands.
The ease with which Konoha's "Lightning Flash" had dispatched them left him shaken. Nan's reputation, it turned out, was not mere rumor—his strength was terrifyingly real.
The jōnin quickly understood he stood no chance of defeating him. His only hope had been to send out a signal flare, summoning nearby reinforcements. Yet even that chance was stolen from him.
The nameless Konoha ninja in front of him—someone he hadn't even heard of—was already more than he could handle. Just fending off his relentless strikes demanded his full concentration. He couldn't spare a single motion to escape, let alone reach for his signal.
Two of them… both at jōnin-level?
It seemed absurd. Yet that was the conclusion forced upon him. Lightning Flash Uchiha Nan was clearly at least jōnin-class, and this unknown shinobi's power matched his own.
So this is the might of Konoha—the wealthiest village in the shinobi world… To assign not one, but two jōnin to a single squad. In Sunagakure, such luxury is unthinkable. Some of our squads don't even have a single jōnin to lead them.
Of course, he couldn't know the truth. Kosuke was merely a genin. Nan, despite his fearsome reputation, only held the rank of tokubetsu jōnin. Their strange, unbalanced team had completely misled him into overestimating Konoha's strength.
But when he saw his final comrade cut down and Nan sprinting toward him, the last fragments of his will crumbled.
Kosuke was already the superior fighter. Were it not for the mission's demand to take him alive, the battle would have ended much earlier. Now, with Nan closing in—a shinobi loathed and feared by the entire Sand—there was no path left to survival.
Escape was impossible. Capture meant interrogation and the spilling of vital village secrets.
So he chose the only path left to a loyal shinobi of Sunagakure.
With grim resolve, he bit down, shattering the small poison capsule hidden in his molar. The lethal toxin spread instantly across his tongue, seeping into his veins.
It was a virulent, unforgiving poison—swift and incurable. Within moments, his body would shut down completely.
This was the Sand's final safeguard: a shinobi's last, desperate measure to ensure no secret would ever fall into enemy hands.
The poison slid down his throat, burning like fire from gullet to heart. The Sand shinobi collapsed instantly, frothing at the mouth as his body convulsed violently.
Kosuke blinked in alarm. What the—? Why did he suddenly fall? A grim realization struck him: the man must have guessed their intent to take him alive, and swallowed poison to end his own life.
Panic stirred in Kosuke's chest. If this shinobi died, gaining intel on Sunagakure's movements would become far more difficult. But he wasn't a medical-nin—detoxification was beyond his ability.
Fortunately, their squad did have one. A prodigious one at that—his captain, Uchiha Nan.
"Captain!" Kosuke shouted urgently. "This guy swallowed poison—he's about to die! What do we do?"
Nan, already aware of the situation, dashed over with speed. His expression tightened. If they lost this chance, Sand would only grow more cautious, and rooting out their plans would become nearly impossible.
Placing a hand on the man's chest, Nan probed his body with medical chakra, sensing the nature of the toxin. Relief flickered in his eyes.
Potent… but not beyond saving.
In the past, such a poison would have been a nightmare. But after learning Tsunade's advanced medical techniques, Nan had more tools at his disposal. Curing it entirely would take time, but suppressing the poison long enough to keep him alive? That was well within reach.
Time—that was all he needed. Once stabilized, the man's own tongue could be loosened with genjutsu.
Quickly, Nan sealed off the spreading venom, using chakra to isolate it and prevent further damage. The Sand shinobi's body slackened, his agony fading to a faint weakness.
Eyes fluttering open, he stared at his trembling hands, confusion etched across his face.
Strange… I should be dead. So why am I still alive?
Before he could make sense of it, a rough hand seized his chin, forcing his gaze upward.
The last thing he saw before his mind unraveled was a pair of scarlet eyes, tomoe whirling in ruthless spirals.
Nan wasted no time. He didn't know how long the toxin suppression would hold. The moment the genjutsu ensnared him, the Sand shinobi's eyes glazed over, his body slumping into a trance.
"What is your name?" Nan asked.
"My… name is Inoue Hiroki," came the flat reply.
"Good, Inoue. Now tell me—how many squads has Sunagakure hidden around Konoha's encampments? How many men per squad? And what is your mission?"
Under the Sharingan's thrall, Inoue answered truthfully.
He didn't know the exact number of squads, only that there were dozens—perhaps more. All were reconnaissance teams like his, composed mostly of standard four-man cells, though some had three or five members. Their task was to map Konoha's encampments and track the position of every shinobi stationed on the Wind Country front.
Once Sunagakure had gathered enough precise intel, they planned to concentrate their full military force in a decisive strike—an all-or-nothing offensive meant to crush Konoha's presence in Wind Country and win the war outright.
Hearing this, Nan's heart sank. So it's true. They're preparing for the final battle.
In the original timeline, Sand had indeed clashed with Konoha at Kikyo Mountain in a desperate gamble—and lost. That defeat had proven Konoha had discovered their strategy in time. But now… things were diverging. We've uncovered their plan earlier than before. What effect will that have on the future?
After the interrogation, Nan released the genjutsu and withdrew his chakra. The poison, no longer suppressed, surged again. Inoue Hiroki convulsed once more before falling lifeless, dead by his own hand.
Even Anko and Hayate, usually lighthearted, looked grim at his revelations.
"If they succeed," Anko said anxiously, "and learn the exact locations of all our encampments… wouldn't that put every one of us in danger?"
Nan remained silent, lost in thought. It was Kosuke who answered steadily:
"Exactly. This is serious. We need to report to Lord Orochimaru immediately and await his orders."
The situation was far too large for their squad alone. If Sunagakure was truly moving toward a decisive battle, the entire Wind Country front—and even Konoha itself—had to be mobilized.
Nan nodded. "Let's return to headquarters. Orochimaru-sensei should be there."
Together, the four erased the traces of battle, burning the corpses so Sand wouldn't discover their plan had been exposed. Only once the field was cleared did they hasten back to Konoha's command center.
There, they relayed everything to Orochimaru.
As commander of the Wind Country front, Orochimaru saw the broader picture immediately. The implications were severe. Without hesitation, he dispatched a detailed report to the Third Hokage, urging the village elders to convene at once.
Konoha had to prepare—for war was about to reach its climax.