RBCT Chapter 537 The Uninvited Guest in the Desert
Chapter 537 The Uninvited Guest in the Desert
On the third day, near dusk.
When Sakumo Hatake's foot lifted off the slippery moss for the last time and then fell back down, the sensation under his feet was completely different.
It was no longer soft, decaying fallen leaves, nor moist soil, but a dry, coarse sand with a slight warmth.
The lingering stench of decaying vegetation and earthy odor that had permeated the air for days was dispersed by a scorching, dry wind. The wind carried fine dust particles that stung the face slightly.
They emerged from the boundless muddy swamps and primeval forests of the Grass Kingdom and officially entered the territory of the Wind Kingdom.
This land belongs to Sunagakure Village.
Without any verbal reminders, the pace of the group naturally slowed down, and the distance between the three people subconsciously increased. The tight formation they had formed while moving through the dense forest was transformed into an equilateral triangle that was more conducive to supporting each other in open areas.
Danzo Shimura stopped, took the water bottle from his waist, unscrewed the lid, took only a tiny sip to moisten his slightly dry throat, and immediately put the lid back on.
"Starting now, let's conserve water."
He spoke in a factual tone, his voice slightly distorted by the wind, "And the temperature difference is huge at night in the desert."
Uchiha Kagami nodded, but he didn't touch his water bottle.
As an Uchiha, his precise control over his chakra and physical energy far surpasses that of ordinary people, allowing him to maintain his endurance for longer in harsher environments.
His attention was more focused on his surroundings. In his warm, dark eyes, three black tomoe silently appeared and slowly rotated.
In his view, the world was analyzed into the most basic flow of chakra.
However, this place is almost entirely blank.
The thin natural energy in the air, sluggish and lethargic due to extreme dryness, was a stark contrast to the vibrant, almost exuberant life in the forests of the Land of Fire.
This is a dead zone.
But precisely because of this, any unnatural fluctuation of chakra will be as conspicuous as a campfire in the dark.
"I'll go ahead and scout ahead."
Sakumo Hatake's voice was concise and clear.
He was the spearhead and eyes of the squad. His years in the assassination unit had given him unparalleled stealth and reconnaissance abilities in the ninja world.
Even in this unfamiliar desert, he is still the most suitable candidate.
Danzo and Kagami had no objections; this was a tacit understanding they had already reached.
Konoha Instantaneous Movement —
Shuo Mao's figure swayed slightly, and his entire being, like a sand painting scattered by the wind, silently merged into the dim yellow sand. His aura, his presence, was compressed to an extreme degree that was almost imperceptible to an ordinary person in just a second.
They haven't gone far.
Danzo and Kagami both knew that Sakumo was just ahead, perhaps just behind the ridge of the next sand dune.
Like a sharp blade already drawn from its sheath, yet hidden within, ready to deliver a fatal blow at any moment.
Danzo and Kagami maintained a relatively normal speed, one on the left and one on the right, speeding across the vast sand dunes.
Their steps were light, each landing precisely on the firmest part of the dune, leaving only shallow marks that would soon be smoothed over by the wind.
Yellow sand stretches endlessly, the setting sun is like blood.
The setting sun cast their shadows long and long, twisting and deforming them in the undulating sea of sand.
The only sounds in the world were the howling wind and the rustling of the sand beneath our feet.
Vast, desolate, and barren.
This kind of environment itself is a kind of invisible pressure.
It amplifies the loneliness and anxiety in a ninja's heart, making their spirits vulnerable after prolonged tension.
But for these three people, this level of pressure was already commonplace.
Danzo's face was as resolute as a rock. He glanced at the surrounding terrain out of the corner of his eye, his mind racing to calculate possible ambush points and how he should use his most proficient Wind Release technique to counterattack in different situations.
The Land of Wind is both the most beloved and the most disliked battlefield for Wind Release ninjas.
The wind here can be both an aid and a cover for the enemy.
Uchiha Kagami, on the other hand, focused more on perception.
The three-tomoe Sharingan slowly rotated, observing the flow of every bit of energy within hundreds of meters around it.
The wind's trajectory, the sand's flow, the refraction of light... everything was within his calculations.
He knew that from the moment they set foot on this land, they had already entered the battlefield.
There were only Sunagakure ninjas and these uninvited guests here.
Time slipped away silently, little by little.
The blood-red sunset finally sank completely below the horizon, leaving only a poignant crimson hue on the horizon.
The temperature in the desert began to drop sharply. The sand, which had been scorching hot during the day, was rapidly radiating heat, and a chill was seeping out from deep underground.
Just then, Uchiha Kagami, who was running on the left, and Shimura Danzo, who was running on the right, stopped in their tracks almost simultaneously without warning.
Their movements were perfectly synchronized, as if they were connected by an invisible thread.
The two crouched down simultaneously, concealing their figures in the shadows of the sand dunes, their presence instantly becoming completely suppressed.
It's Shuomao's signal.
There's something going on.
Danzo's right hand was already on the ninja tool pouch at his waist, and his expression became extremely sharp.
Uchiha Kagami raised his head and looked ahead, his Sharingan spinning rapidly as he tried to capture the scene further away.
……
The top of a huge sand dune.
Sakumo Hatake half-squatted on the ground, his entire body blending perfectly into the shadow of the sand dune.
A night breeze blew by, lifting his long white hair, but he remained motionless, like a stone sculpture.
He stretched out his finger, gently picked up a pinch of sand, and sniffed it.
A faint scent, seemingly not belonging to this desert, drifted on the wind.
It was very faint, but it was enough for Konoha's White Fang.
He slowly raised his head and looked into the distance.
At the horizon where the night sky meets the horizon, a line of black dots is moving slowly.
The Sharingan can perceive chakra, the Byakugan can see through meridians, but his eyes see the purest physical world.
By observing the speed and spacing of those black dots as they moved, as well as the depth of the marks they left on the sand, he had already constructed a basic understanding of the other party in his mind.
Standard Sand Village patrol squad configuration.
The formation was somewhat loose; clearly, the long hours of monotonous patrols had worn down most of their vigilance.
Sakumo Hatake's body didn't move at all, but his mind was working at a terrifying speed.
Location, distance, wind direction, enemy numbers, estimated strength, our advantages, possible surprise attack plans, success rate of capturing and interrogating the enemy alive, escape route...
Countless possibilities intertwined and collided in his mind, and were then filtered and eliminated one by one.
Finally, his gaze settled on the Sand Village ninja.
After a long while, a slightly cold murmur escaped from Sakumo Hatake's lips, his voice so soft that only the wind could hear it.
"Hmm, I didn't expect the opportunity to gather intelligence... to come so soon."
Sakumo Hatake's mutterings were softer than the sand drifting in the wind.
His gaze was fixed on the moving black dots on the distant horizon.
Twelve people.
A standard Sand Village patrol squad structure.
The leader, with the most abundant chakra and the most steady gait, was likely a Jonin leading the team. The remaining eleven members had mixed chakra fluctuations of varying strengths, forming a mixed squad of Chunin and Genin.
The formation was loose, with the distance between each other fluctuating, indicating that their vigilance had been reduced to a minimum.
This most basic information was instantly analyzed and modeled in Hatake Sakumo's mind. He didn't need the Sharingan or the Byakugan.
His almost instinctive observation and analytical skills, honed through years of carrying out top-level assassination missions in the shadows, are his most powerful investigative tools.
His mind, like the most sophisticated instrument, began to operate at high speed.
Wind direction: Northwest, force 3. Wind speed: 5 meters per second.
The air humidity is below 10%.
The sand density is below average.
Danzo Shimura and Kagami Uchiha remained lurking in the shadows of the sand dunes. Without receiving any new orders, they remained like two lifeless statues, minimizing their presence.
They trusted Sakumo Hatake's judgment.
……
On the vast sea of sand.
The patrol team of twelve Sand Village ninjas was moving forward at a leisurely pace, braving the increasingly biting wind.
Leading the group was a young Jonin who looked to be in his early twenties.
His name is Sasori, the captain of this squad, and one of the few ninjas who survived the devastating war against the Land of Lightning.
This experience became something he boasted about to the new recruits.