Once everything was prepared, Natsuhiko immediately set off, carrying the unconscious Yashamaru over his shoulder.
In truth, Yashamaru had actually woken up once while Natsuhiko was making his preparations. But since Natsuhiko had no intention of letting any of his little secrets slip out, he decisively knocked the man unconscious again.
Sure, hauling someone around was a bit troublesome.
But Natsuhiko figured that was still better than letting his hidden tricks be discovered.
Besides, thanks to all the basic attribute training he had piled up since childhood, this kind of weight was nothing to him. If he really had to, he felt like he could probably fight while carrying Yashamaru without too much trouble.
"Though… Yashamaru's a guy."
Natsuhiko let out a self-deprecating chuckle.
"For some reason, that makes me feel like I got the short end of the stick."
If he had to carry someone around, he'd much rather it be a woman.
After all, he was a perfectly normal man—he had no interest in "charging bravely into other men." Still, he had been the one who told Kakashi Hatake to take Pakura back to Konoha.
Complaining now would be pointless.
As he moved forward across the desert with Yashamaru slung over his shoulder, the expression hidden beneath his ANBU mask slowly turned strange.
Because the journey wasn't nearly as quiet as he had imagined.
"Human coming through. Everyone, stay sharp."
"Do you think he'll eat us?"
"Relax. Look at him—he's one of those things humans call a ninja. Should be fine."
"Ninjas are the scariest ones! When they're hungry they eat us alive. Better stay far away."
"Oh? There's a lizard over there. Shame it's too close to that human… otherwise it would've made a nice meal."
"…"
Natsuhiko swore this was the first time he had ever realized just how noisy a desert could be.
There were voices everywhere.
And apparently, some of them were even eyeing his lizards as potential lunch.
The whole experience felt… strange.
It was his first time truly using this ability, so naturally he wasn't used to it yet.
But one thing was certain—the animals hidden throughout the desert were everywhere, and they could provide surprisingly useful information.
For example, the lizards he had scattered earlier were all buried beneath the sand.
Completely invisible to the naked eye.
Even if a sensory ninja detected them, without knowing the full details of Natsuhiko's methods, they probably wouldn't consider them worth paying attention to.
Aside from feeling a bit unfamiliar… it's actually pretty manageable.
And kind of interesting, too.
Carrying Yashamaru along, Natsuhiko walked slowly forward while mulling over the experience.
The feeling was oddly fascinating.
In fact, it even stirred up a bit of playful curiosity in him.
Through his sensing ability, he suddenly noticed a snake nearby.
The creature seemed wary of him and had already begun slithering away through the sand.
"Wait a moment."
After a brief pause, Natsuhiko called out.
He could hear the animals speaking, but he hadn't actually tried talking back to them yet.
Communicating with the lizards didn't really count.
That was more about chakra resonance and the effects of their summoning contract allowing them to understand one another's intentions.
This, however, was different.
Natsuhiko was curious.
When he spoke now, would the words become animal language, or would they remain the human speech he already knew?
The answer came quickly.
What he spoke was still human language.
But along with his voice came a strange, subtle chakra vibration.
The snake hidden beneath the sand froze.
Then, within Natsuhiko's perception, it began flicking its tongue repeatedly—apparently trying to determine whether the voice it heard came from another snake nearby.
"I'm that human," Natsuhiko said with obvious amusement. "You can turn around and take a look."
"A human? I'm… talking to a human?"
The snake clearly didn't believe him, but after a moment of hesitation it cautiously poked its head out of the sand.
The moment it did, Natsuhiko was startled.
Because the snake was actually a Rattlesnake.
The distinctive horns above its head stood out sharply, and its scales blended almost perfectly with the surrounding sand.
If not for his sensory perception—and the special ability granted by the little lizard that allowed him to communicate with animals—he probably never would've noticed that such a dangerously venomous creature was lying just a few steps away from his feet.
"This is strange… Did I starve so badly that I started hallucinating?" the snake muttered, staring at Natsuhiko as though it couldn't trust its own eyes.
"Whether you're starving or not, I can't say," Natsuhiko replied, stepping forward a little—though not too close. "But I do know that I can communicate with you. It's one of my abilities. I'm just testing it out."
"You humans are insane."
The snake quietly slid a few inches backward when it saw him move.
"Whatever. I still need to hunt. If you're not planning to eat me, I'm leaving.
Damn it… a whole bunch of people showed up where I used to hunt. And now I run into a weirdo like you."
Natsuhiko couldn't help chuckling at the snake's complaints.
But at the same time, his attention sharpened.
A bunch of people?
For someone in the ANBU, any piece of information was worth examining. You never knew when a random detail might turn out to be exactly what you needed.
Especially when you were operating deep inside enemy territory.
"Where was this hunting ground of yours?" Natsuhiko asked after a brief moment of thought.
At the same time, he pulled out a few raw eggs and waved them lightly in front of the snake.
"Tell me, and these are yours."
"That way."
The snake didn't hesitate for even a second, lazily pointing with its tail.
"It's a place totally different from here. There are trees there… water too. Plenty of food. That place—"
"Alright, that's enough."
Natsuhiko cut it off.
The snake kept flicking its tongue and hissing as it spoke, yet he could understand every word perfectly.
The whole experience felt incredibly bizarre.
But by now he had already figured out where the snake meant.
A small oasis a few kilometers outside Sunagakure.
In the harsh environment of the Land of Wind, it was one of the rare places covered with patches of green.
Because of its proximity to Sunagakure, nearly every traveler heading to the village would stop there to rest—unless they were in a hurry.
"Thanks."
Natsuhiko placed the eggs gently onto the sand before asking one more question with a smile.
"But I've got one more thing to ask."
"Do you know roughly how many people there were?"
The snake's attention was now completely locked onto the eggs. It clearly looked half-starved.
"Ten… I think?" it replied distractedly.
"I don't know if anyone came after that. But when I left… there were ten of them."
"Good."
Natsuhiko nodded in satisfaction and slowly stood up, his gaze drifting toward the distant horizon.
Ten people.
It seemed those guys had come well prepared. Just as he had suspected, they had no intention of letting him leave so easily.
"Then again… this mission was never meant to be public in the first place."
...
At the oasis outside Sunagakure, Ebizo stood waiting in silence.
At this point in time, Ebizō had not yet retired. He was still the head of Sunagakure's ANBU, responsible for nearly all intelligence and espionage operations within the village.
Even years later—long after his supposed retirement—he would still maintain an extensive network of informants across the major nations.
That alone said plenty about how formidable he truly was.
Normally, missions of this sort would never require him to appear personally.
But this time was different.
Because the order had come directly from the Kazekage.
"You know what must be done, Director Ebizō."
The words echoed in his mind.
Of course, he knew what to do, especially for a mission like this, which neither side would record or document. Even though it was extremely dishonorable, shinobi from opposing villages never really cared about honor.
Leaving someone alive—like the Yashamaru who was about to be returned—was already considered generous enough.
Ebizō waited silently.
According to the message passed through Konoha's ANBU, the escort team should be arriving soon.
Of course, he knew they would never step inside Sunagakure.
If their positions were reversed, his side wouldn't either.
And frankly, Ebizō wouldn't allow them into the village even if they tried.
If a battle broke out inside Sunagakure, they might indeed capture the intruders more easily—
But if the enemy grew desperate, the casualties among civilians would be unimaginable.
No.
An ambush outside the village was the best solution.
"Sir."
While Ebizō waited, a Sunagakure ANBU appeared beside him and dropped to one knee.
"We've located the target."
"Oh?"
Ebizō came back to the present and turned his gaze toward the kneeling shinobi.
"How many of them are there? And how far away are they?"
"They're already quite close, Sir. But…"
The ANBU hesitated before continuing.
"There's only one person."
"He's carrying Yashamaru by himself."
"One person?" Ebizō frowned.
"What kind of fool would be that bold?"
"And did we receive any intelligence from Konohagakure?"
To be honest, Ebizō couldn't quite make sense of it.
Who would accept such a mission and come alone?
Konoha couldn't possibly be unaware of how troublesome this task was. After all, Yashamaru's identity was far from ordinary.
If that was the case, there were only two possibilities.
The first—
The man was powerful enough that numbers didn't matter.
The second—
The man had no value whatsoever.
Even if he were an ANBU operative, he might possess zero meaningful intelligence. Someone expendable—someone Konoha wouldn't mind losing.
Ebizō sighed quietly.
Logically speaking, the second possibility seemed far more likely.
Konoha had probably realized the risks and simply sent a worthless operative.
That way they wouldn't have to worry about intelligence leaks, nor about losing valuable personnel.
If the man was captured… it wouldn't matter.
Still, Ebizō intended to confirm things first.
Only with more complete information could he properly judge the situation.
"Sir, there is another piece of intelligence."
The ANBU quickly produced a scroll and handed it over.
"The report says the escort volunteered for the mission himself."
He hesitated for a moment before adding:
"And according to the records… he's a Division Commander."
"A Division Commander?"
Ebizō paused for a moment when he heard the report. Then a faint smile spread across his face.
"Well now… that's interesting."
Within the ANBU of Konohagakure, the position of Division Commander was far from ordinary.
For someone of that rank to come alone…
How could Ebizō not find that surprising?
How could he not find it intriguing?
He pondered briefly before asking another question.
"Did anyone notice them when they entered the Land of Wind?"
"And are you absolutely certain you checked thoroughly? There was no one else with him?"
"Sir, we found no one else," the ANBU replied, head still lowered, his voice tinged with helplessness. "As for their entry into the Land of Wind… the border units didn't detect them. The sandstorms have been extremely severe lately."
Ebizō shot the man a sharp glare.
But he didn't scold him.
Sandstorms were a problem the Land of Wind had never managed to solve.
At the same time, they were also Sunagakure's natural defense, much like how Kirigakure remained perpetually shrouded in dense fog.
Large armies trying to cross such storms often ran into trouble—or outright disaster.
But those same storms could serve as the perfect cover for small infiltration teams.
Still, as Suna ninja, letting enemies slip through because of a sandstorm wasn't really acceptable, even if it was unavoidable
"Go and lead that man over here," Ebizō said at last, waving the matter aside.
"And inform everyone to prepare."
"If he truly is a Division Commander… then we absolutely cannot allow him to leave alive."
"Yes, sir!"
The ANBU nodded sharply and disappeared at once.
Ebizō withdrew his gaze, curiosity growing stronger by the moment.
Just what kind of person would dare walk straight into Sunagakure alone?
What kind of confidence—or madness—was that decision built upon?
...
Meanwhile, Natsuhiko, who had been walking forward at a steady pace, suddenly sensed a stream of chakra approaching him.
He slowed his steps slightly.
But soon after, a faint smile appeared on his face.
The owner of that chakra had no intention of hiding at all—in fact, the figure soon stepped directly into Natsuhiko's line of sight.
The Suna ANBU glanced at him briefly before making a tactical hand signal, clearly indicating that Natsuhiko should follow.
"How interesting," Natsuhiko murmured quietly.
"Looks like the information from that little snake was accurate after all."
Being able to communicate with animals really was a surprisingly useful ability.
More importantly…
He already knew roughly how many people were waiting at that oasis.
With that kind of information, he could prepare far more thoroughly.
Quietly, he directed one of his small lizards to lag behind, hiding in the sand.
At the same time, several other lizards darted ahead through the desert, spreading out invisibly beneath the shifting dunes.
Only after everything was arranged did Natsuhiko continue walking toward the ANBU.
Everything was ready.
Now he was quite curious.
Just what kind of game were the shinobi of Sunagakure planning to play?