In a place like the desert, the daytime makes one feel as if all the moisture in their body is being baked dry, while at night, it feels as if one's blood is about to freeze. If Fūmori Masaki and the others hadn't been trained Ninjas, they likely wouldn't have been able to persevere after entering the desert for such a long-term, high-difficulty mission for the first time.
Since entering the Land of Wind, they had infiltrated the oases supplying the army multiple times to destroy the logistical supplies. If they encountered a large number of samurai, they would cease their operations and leave. Those samurai were unable to catch up with Fūmori Masaki and his group, and the Sunagakure Ninja who were capable of pursuing them were all eliminated once they had put some distance between themselves and the army, due to the disparity in numbers and strength.
Over time, the logistics of the Land of Wind suffered significant blows. The Sunagakure troops near the Land of Rain began to fall behind in their conflict with the troops of the Land of Rain and the reinforcing troops of the Land of Fire. After causing trouble for the army there, Fūmori Masaki and his team changed locations, heading towards the Land of Wind's camp in the Land of Rivers, which was where the main force of the Land of Wind was stationed.
The good times didn't last long before Fūmori Masaki and his team encountered a counterattack from the Sunagakure Ninja. It wasn't entirely unexpected; after all, the Sunagakure Ninja were known for being few in number but elite in quality. Their reaction speed couldn't possibly be that slow—in fact, it was much faster than they had initially estimated.
Fūmori Masaki and Danzo had no intention of engaging in a direct confrontation with the pursuing Sunagakure Ninja. That wasn't their mission, and there was no point in wasting energy and manpower. It was better to skirmish with them while destroying the Land of Wind's logistical supply lines as much as possible, and then return to the Konoha forces when they neared the main battlefield.
Thus, for the past few days, the Konoha Ninja and the Sunagakure Ninja engaged in a series of long, drawn-out pursuits. Although the Sunagakure Ninja were intimately familiar with the terrain and were fighting on their home turf, the Konoha Ninja possessed the Byakugan, which could be considered a "wallhack," as well as unique sensory abilities. The Sunagakure Ninja's ambushes never succeeded, and they couldn't even take a single life.
The commanders of the pursuing Sunagakure Ninja were Chiyo and Ebizo. At this time, the young pair were promising Ninjas in the Village. Chiyo's Medical Ninjutsu and Taijutsu were outstanding. After the Second Kazekage developed the Puppet Technique, she displayed a talent for controlling puppets. She was taken on as a student by Monzaemon, who had realized the Second Kazekage's vision and was the first to create powerful puppets and use them in combat. After inheriting the Puppet Technique, her strength became even greater. Her younger brother, Ebizo, was more inclined towards strategy than combat ability. His sister was a person of extremely high initiative, so he chose to cover for Chiyo, filling in the gaps and creating a suitable environment; he was the one who silently helped his sister from behind the scenes. What he studied were the Sand Secret Techniques, which were very suitable for a tactical Ninja like him.
At twenty-three, Chiyo was in her prime, with a beautiful appearance and powerful strength, appearing like a flower on a high peak in the eyes of others, whom no one dared to approach easily. At this moment, she, who was usually confident and proud, was gritting her teeth. When she received the mission, she had guaranteed to the Second Kazekage that she would quickly capture the Konoha Ninja who had infiltrated, but now, she hadn't even seen a shadow of them.
"They really run faster than rabbits!" After failing again, Chiyo was so angry that she stomped a scorpion crawling on the ground into the sand and ground it fiercely several times.
Beside her, Ebizo remained calm and advised, "Don't be anxious, sister. At least this time we saw their shadows, so it's not like before where we could only find the traces they left behind."
"I know that without you telling me, it's just that I feel uncomfortable not finding them!" Chiyo was a bit impatient. In her youthful vigor, she didn't have the steadiness she would have in later years—even in later years, she would suddenly become agitated due to her emotions, let alone now.
"Having just seen them with my own eyes, I have roughly confirmed their identities," Ebizo said. "The one leading this Konoha Ninja squad should be a student of the Second Hokage. Judging from their style of operation, one of them is Danzo Shimura, and the other is Fūmori Masaki."
While engaged in war, the Sunagakure Ninja were also gathering information on other conflicts. With Ninjas appearing openly in war, gathering intelligence was not as troublesome as it had been during the Warring States Period. Although detailed reports still required face-to-face contact or information from others, at least some general information could be obtained.
Tobirama's Anbu had been secretly active before the war broke out, and had collected quite a bit of information after the war began. After such a long time, the Sunagakure Ninja had also established a similar unit. They were quite lazy with the naming, simply copying the name "Anbu," and they performed the same tasks.
Ebizo was intelligent and good at analysis, and he served as an intelligence analyst in the Anbu. Naturally, he paid exceptional attention to the enemy he was about to face, Konohagakure. He had noted down all the notable individuals and their characteristics so that he could identify them quickly.
It was just a brief contact, without even a direct confrontation, yet Ebizo had judged their combat style from their hand movements, thereby realizing their identities.
"Fūmori Masaki? Is that the person who killed Ginkaku of the Gold and Silver Brothers from Kumogakure?" Chiyo asked.
Because he had killed Ginkaku with his own hands, Fūmori Masaki's reputation was even greater than that of his fellow disciples. In truth, Danzo's contributions were actually only slightly lower than Fūmori Masaki's, but when comparing the two, he was directly overlooked by Chiyo.
"Yes, that's the person." Ebizo narrowed his eyes slightly. "Although he killed Ginkaku, who couldn't use Ninjutsu, he was, after all, a dangerous individual who could consume Nine-Tails Chakra. Moreover, Ginkaku's arm was previously severed by Fūmori Masaki. In any case, his strength must be astonishing."
"Interesting. If we could kill such a person, wouldn't that be a huge blow to Konohagakure?" Chiyo laughed. "I also want to see what the Second Hokage's students are like. That Uchiha Kagami only knows how to turtle up and defend, not daring to come out and meet the enemy. This time, I must put them to the test."
"Sister, don't underestimate him. Also, be careful to guard against Danzo Shimura. Judging from the intelligence, he doesn't have any combat record that surpasses Fūmori Masaki's, but he seems to be quite skilled at waiting for an opportunity to strike for a one-hit kill," Ebizo warned.
"What do you take your sister for? Although I haven't fought them, Kinkaku and Ginkaku were Ninjas of the older generation. Those who dared to ambush the alliance ceremony of the Raikage and the Hokage are certainly not to be trifled with. How could I be careless with someone who managed to kill one of them?" Chiyo scoffed, feeling that her younger brother had underestimated her.
"I was just giving a reminder," Ebizo said quietly.
"Anyway, let's catch up quickly. It would be troublesome if we lost them. I don't want to continue playing hide-and-seek with them." After saying this, Chiyo signaled for the squad to continue moving forward.
After all, they were on their home turf. No matter how convenient the Byakugan and sensory abilities were, Chiyo and Ebizo still found a way. They formulated a plan with the others, set up an encirclement, and surrounded Fūmori Masaki's squad.
Although it wasn't an inescapable net—they could escape if they could tear a hole in it—the prerequisite was that both sides had to make contact. In other words, Fūmori Masaki and his team could no longer avoid fighting; they had to engage in a proper battle to have any chance of escaping alive.
Chiyo saw the shadows of the Konoha Ninja appearing not far away. She subtly moved her hands, a faint smile appearing on her face as she thought to herself, "Come on, let me see what kind of skills the Second Hokage's students really have."