In the wind-swept Land of Wind, Baki, the leader of Sunagakure's Jonin Team, walked against the wind on the streets.
Passing by the oval, semi-subterranean houses of Sunagakure, he ascended the rear mountain of the village.
At the mountainside, there was a massive metal gate, behind which lay a seclusive dwelling carved out of the entire mountain.
Click!
The lock opened, and Baki entered the brightly lit interior.
He stopped before an elderly man fishing by a pond and bowed to the two. "Ebizo-sama, Chiyo-sama, as you instructed, the request for support has been sent to Konoha!"
"Then, what was their response?"
It took a long moment before Ebizo, with bandages wrapped around his head, spoke up.
"They have dispatched a team of supporting Ninja." Baki hesitated slightly. "However... the one leading them is that disciple of the Fifth Hokage!"
"Hah, the one who killed Rasa, that little brat?"
Chiyo, sitting opposite, flicked her fishing rod and sneered. "Quite the big shot has arrived."
Chiyo did not feel regret over Rasa's death. Back when she and her brother Ebizo were advisors, the Fourth Kazekage they primarily supported was actually the Scorch Release Ninja… Pakura!
But the exceptionally talented Rasa had suddenly risen at that time. He also developed the Third Kazekage's Kekkei Genkai, Magnet Release, into a secret technique passed down but also developed the Gold Dust technique.
These actions made the Sunagakure's higher-ups, blinded by immediate gains at the time, stand behind Rasa. Ultimately, they even used Pakura as a political bargaining chip to hand over to Kirigakure.
The actions of Sunagakure's higher-ups left the two elders, who had fought for the village their entire lives, disheartened. They chose to retire within the village, waiting for death.
Yet, Rasa lived up to expectations by leading Sunagakure into ruin. To this day, the village's intelligence and connections couldn't even compare to those of her, an elder retired for many years.
"To think Konoha values our request for aid so much. Were they provoked by your scheme, nee-san?"
Ebizo watched his sister's fishing hook stir ripples on the calm water surface, unable to help but laugh heartily.
"But currently, there's no one suitable to receive her."
Baki pressed his lips together, his face full of bitterness.
If it were any other disciple of the Fifth Hokage, it might have been manageable… find a higher-up of equivalent rank to handle the reception.
But the person heading to Sunagakure was none other than Haruno Sakura, a famed Kage-level Ninja, the one who killed Rasa and oversaw Sunagakure's postwar order!
In other words, she was currently Sunagakure's nightmare, the uncrowned Kage.
Tossing out some incompetent higher-up to receive her now could lead to a diplomatic incident. What then?
"Hmph, that Tsunade, she's even figured this out."
Chiyo sighed. It seemed Sunagakure's interior was truly like the rocks outside… full of holes!
"Nee-san..." Ebizo cast a worried look at Chiyo.
"It's fine. We brought this upon ourselves!"
Chiyo waved a hand at him dismissively, then stood up, leaning on her knees. "Since there's no one to receive her, let me go meet her then!"
Even if buried by the sands of karma, the enduring Flower of the Desert rose once more. After experiencing long years and making many regretful choices, she decided to tidy up the loose ends of her life one last time.
"Wait, Chiyo-sama!" Baki hurriedly tried to stop her. "That person is too ferocious. I think it's better..."
He hadn't expected that coming to ask for a strategy would result in coaxing the old lady out of retirement.
But after all, she was one of Sunagakure's last remaining elder figures. If anything happened to her, he'd be in big trouble.
"Ferocious? Had I met few ferocious ones?"
Chiyo walked to the iron gate, glancing back slightly. "Should I avoid her ferocity?"
…
Boom!
Flames like a flowing river surged across the sky, piercing through the sand dunes on the ground, incinerating all matter within their range.
Like colossal pillars, the flames wantonly spread between heaven and earth, bringing even more terrifying heat to the already scorching desert.
A howling gale blew out from the explosion's center, stirring up billowing sand and dust, ascending into the sky.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm really sorry! Pfft, hahahaha!"
Amidst the flowing magma on the sand dunes and countless storms, a girl's laughter pierced through the thunder.
Behind her, a pink dragon gave relentless chase, brilliant light gathering between its sharp teeth.
"You malicious bastard! I... Ugh!"
Just thinking about forcing himself to finish that disgusting fruit last night made Sasuke's stomach churn endlessly.
The anger in his heart flared up. The will contained within the ability seemed to grow more volatile, allowing him to unconsciously learn how to breathe fire.
"Exactly! After I trusted you so much... Blergh!"
Another boy's voice sounded from behind the dragon. He seemed to be scattering something into the air.
Blazing spears of light ignited in the nearby sky, descending like meteors from the heavens, piercing toward the girl hidden within the sand and rocky hills.
With bursts of intense light and burning fragments, highly irritating smoke spread. Toxic phosphorous compounds diffused among the sand.
Thus, the girl projected Flying Thunder God kunai across this desert, which is nearly transformed into hell. Her figure flickered as she swiftly headed toward Sunagakure's direction.
Seeing her accelerate, the dragon and the boy in the sky, leveraging their aerial advantage, sped up their pursuit.
On the other side, at the towering stone walls of Sunagakure.
Accompanied by the few remaining Jonin in the village, Chiyo, leaning on her cane, arrived at the village's main gate.
"Truly, time waits for no one!"
The eyes of the former 'hero' were now too clouded to clearly see this wall that had witnessed her triumphant returns many times.
Nor did she know what state Sunagakure would reach after she passed away.
"Baki, when is the other party expected to arrive?"
Chiyo leaned both hands on her cane, sweeping an inspecting gaze over the village guards on the high wall.
Even though village security had been tightened due to the emergency, such defenses still seemed full of loopholes in Chiyo's eyes.
"They should be arriving soon. The time they agreed upon with us was this morning."
Baki glanced up at the sky beginning to lighten, confirming that Konoha's Ninja should be arriving shortly.
However, the color of the light on the horizon seemed a bit off, like the glow of a flame-lit sunset.
'Wait, that thing seemed to be... getting closer!!!'
"Fish-Man Karate - Tidal Wave - Over-the-Shoulder Throw!"
A clear roar pierced through the wind and sand. Deafening thunder reverberated.
Amidst the fiery glow enveloping the arid desert, a dragon wreathed in flames was hurled with immense force from a distant place, smashing violently through Sunagakure's tall stone walls.
"Eh—?! A dragon?!"
The Sunagakure's Ninja scrambling up from the ruins opened their mouths wide in shock, their exclamations soaring to the heavens.
"Isn't that a legendary creature..."
Baki's face-covering bandana fluttered, revealing a face covered in cold sweat.
'A summon, or... from one of the Three Holy Lands?'
With her extensive experience, Chiyo narrowed her eyes, privately guessing its origin.
Within the smoke, a figure pushed aside a massive stone and stood up from the ruins.
"Hahaha, safe landing!"
Sakura patted the dust off herself, looking around, taking in the faces around her, all too shocked to speak.
She raised a hand in greeting. "Good morning, everyone of Sunagakure. I am the support sent from Konoha."
Looking at the girl standing with one foot on the dragon, Baki, having regained his senses, whispered to Chiyo beside him.
"Perhaps... you should avoid her after all!"