Chapter 50: Intelligence Obtained
The Land of Wind is almost entirely desert, and the winds are so strong that one could easily get a mouthful of sand.
Given this environment, it's no wonder the Sand Ninja Village desperately wanted to attack Konoha. Living in such conditions, and with ninjas being mindless tools for killing, there seemed to be no other option than to wage war and seize territory.
The Land of Wind found it difficult to be self-sufficient in food, largely purchasing it from the Land of Rivers or other smaller countries. Konoha, however, not only had sufficient arable land but could even export grain.
After entering the desert, Hyuga Mirai and his two companions camouflaged themselves, using sand to blend their colors with the desert. Even if a Sand Ninja with good eyesight spotted them from afar, as long as they remained still, the Sand Ninja wouldn't be able to tell there were three people there.
"There are three supply routes for the Sand Ninja Village. We'll use Exploding Tags to set up an ambush on this route. As long as there are no more than ten people, once the Sand Ninja step into the trap, we'll immediately strike."
Hyuga Mirai told the two women. He had made a very detailed plan. If any Sand Ninja walked into the trap he set, even a Jonin would find it difficult to escape alive.
The main characteristic of his trap was its concealment, making it difficult to detect. Furthermore, this was within the Land of Wind, behind Baosha Town. In those days, only Konoha White Fang could lead a small team to raid enemy territory like a sharp dagger.
After Konoha White Fang's death, almost no one in Konoha performed such missions anymore.
Moreover, the two countries had not yet officially started a war. The Sand Ninja were merely stockpiling troops at the border. According to Konoha's nature, they should send envoys to advocate for peace, not send people to cause trouble in the interior of the Land of Wind.
Hyuga Mirai couldn't guarantee that someone would definitely pass through this outermost route, so they could only wait patiently.
It was also possible that no Sand Ninja would pass through this area within the mission's timeframe, in which case Hyuga Mirai would have no choice but to declare the mission a failure and return the way they came.
However, Hyuga Mirai's luck was quite good. After waiting for only half a day, three small teams approached from a distance.
'Ten people, three of whom are very young, likely newly graduated Genin. The rest are Chunin!'
Hyuga Mirai's Byakugan could already see movement eight kilometers away. As soon as these Sand Ninja entered his visual range, Hyuga Mirai saw them clearly.
After a short while, as the group drew closer, Hyuga Kiyomi also issued a warning.
"Someone's coming, ten in total. Three of them have slightly weaker Chakra levels; the rest should all be Chunin."
Upon hearing Hyuga Kiyomi's words, Hyuga Mirai immediately ordered, "We can attack. Once the trap is activated, strike immediately!"
Subsequently, the three of them dispersed to their respective positions, lying motionless on the ground, camouflaged by sand. Even within a hundred meters, it would be difficult to discern that three people were hidden on the ground.
"Senior Sugiki, we're almost at Baosha Town anyway. Can you tell us about the war?"
A newly graduated Genin, assigned under Sand Ninja Sugiki, asked his squad leader with curiosity.
They had only graduated a few months ago and were about to participate in their first war.
However, these fledglings were not afraid; instead, they harbored thoughts of bringing glory to their families and becoming heroes of the Sand Ninja.
Moreover, at this time, many Genin in the Sand Ninja Village believed the Sand Ninja Village was very strong because the Third Kazekage was the strongest Kazekage in history. Although he was poisoned by Konoha using despicable means, the Fourth Kazekage was a powerful individual who repelled the Third Raikage.
Under the leadership of the Fourth Kazekage, most Sand Ninja believed that the Sand Ninja Village could decisively defeat Konoha and occupy more habitable territory.
Sugiki saw that these three subordinates had asked many times along the way, and since they were almost at Baosha Town, he decided to tell them some things about the war in advance, fulfilling his duty as a senior.
"You brats, never underestimate war! You must know that once you're on the battlefield, you'll constantly face danger from all directions. Even now, you might encounter an ambush!"
Sugiki didn't want these three subordinates to die as soon as they entered the battlefield, so he warned the three Genin with a hint of intimidation.
The female Genin waved her hand and laughed, "I know, Senior Sugiki, you're scaring us again. How could there be an ambush here?"
Sugiki also knew it was unlikely there would be an ambush here, but his senior's pride wouldn't allow him to back down, so he stubbornly said, "You guys were just born late. If you had joined the battlefield a few years earlier, you would have encountered a ninja known as Konoha White Fang. You know, back then, Konoha White Fang and I…"
Boom!
Rumble!
Before Sand Ninja Sugiki could finish his sentence, the Exploding Tags beneath his feet suddenly detonated, emitting a violent explosion and scorching flames that instantly engulfed him.
Then, as if triggering a chain reaction, the sounds of Exploding Tags detonating continuously echoed within dozens of feet nearby.
The three Sand Ninja Genin didn't even react; the smiles hadn't faded from their faces before they were directly consumed by the flames from the Exploding Tags.
Among the ten Sand Ninja, only the three in the back instantly jumped away, shielding themselves with their arms, thus avoiding the Exploding Tag's blast damage.
"It's an ambush, it's the enemy!"
This thought instantly flashed through the minds of the three surviving Sand Ninja. They immediately reached for their ninja tool pouches, preparing to take out puppet scrolls or Kunai to deal with the enemy, but the next wave of attacks came too quickly.
Throwing sounds came from behind them. They turned their heads and saw the Exploding Tags, on the verge of igniting, making their hearts tremble.
Six Kunai, each with an Exploding Tag attached, blocked three directions for the three Sand Ninja, forcing them to flee forward. However, in that direction, Hyuga Mirai's teammates were already prepared to strike.
"Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!"
"Demonic Illusion: Tree Binding Death!"
Hyuga Kiyomi and Kurenai Yuhi also possessed Chunin-level strength, and they immediately used their signature techniques. Furthermore, among these three Sand Ninja, two were puppet masters, but they didn't have time to open their puppet scrolls.
Bang, bang, bang!
Hyuga Kiyomi's Eight Trigrams Palm domain directly covered two people. With rapid pressure point strikes and internal organ attacks, the two Sand Ninja only managed to resist the first few moves. They then couldn't withstand Hyuga Kiyomi's increasingly fast attacks. In a short while, their internal organs and acupuncture points and meridians were struck, and they fell to the ground severely injured.
The other Sand Ninja, after falling under Kurenai Yuhi's Genjutsu, stood frozen in place. Hyuga Mirai scanned him with his Byakugan and saw that his entire Chakra system had been disrupted by Kurenai Yuhi's Chakra. If no one dispelled it for him, he would likely not regain consciousness for an entire day.
"Clean up and retreat immediately!"
Hyuga Mirai threw ten Shuriken. Whether dead or temporarily alive, all the Sand Ninja were struck in vital points by Hyuga Mirai's Shuriken, instantly losing their lives.
He then immediately took out three sealing scrolls and quickly sealed the ten bodies into the scrolls.
After collecting the bodies, Hyuga Mirai quietly called out, "Kiyomi, Kurenai!"
"Understood."
The two women responded and then immediately retreated in another direction. Although this location was still some distance from Baosha Town, the sound of the explosion might have been detected by the Sand Ninja's patrol units.
About ten minutes after Hyuga Mirai and his two companions left, a Sand Ninja patrol team arrived at the scene. However, by this time, there were very few clues. They only knew that a fierce battle had occurred here, and a large number of Exploding Tags or Fire Release Ninjutsu had been used.
"Go back and report this!"
After giving a signal, the captain of the Sand Ninja patrol team quickly rushed back to the camp.
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