Three unarmored Suna ninja, captured during the initial confusion, were tied securely beneath an overhang. They were terrified and defiant, refusing to speak.
Makima approached them alone, carrying a small, water-stained, but completely fictitious, Konoha battalion roster. She knelt, her golden eyes burning with an almost hypnotic focus.
"You three," she stated, her voice as smooth and cold as polished ice. "You are going to live. You are now more valuable to Konoha alive than dead."
"We will release you," Makima continued, slowly unfurling the false roster. "You will report back to your village with a detailed account of this operation. You will tell them what you saw: the Sage, the Red Demon of the Chains, and Minato's unmatched speed."
"No," Makima whispered, her smile a chilling sliver of menace. "You will tell them that this was merely a Special Operations Insertion Team—a small, elite force—deployed two days after the main Konoha force has crossed the border."
She tapped the scroll. "You will report that the main body of Konoha's army, the two full divisions, are already three days deep into the Land of Wind and are converging on your capital."
She was turning their failure into a strategic crisis for their leaders, forcing Suna to recall forces to defend their home front.
Makima's eyes hardened, the oppression radiating off her. "If you deviate from this script, or if they question the authenticity of this intel, we will know. And we will send Minato to retrieve the three of you, individually, from your homes. Do you understand your duty to us?"
The prisoners, faced with the oppressive certainty of Minato's impossible speed and Makima's chilling control, nodded frantically, their wills utterly broken. Makima released their ropes, watched them scramble away, and confirmed her psychological victory.
.........
As Minato secured the front, Kushina was responsible for clearing any immediate threats to the flank. She was tired, her chakra levels recovering, but her inherent frustration—the kind that fuels all great battles—was reaching a comical peak.
They were traversing a wide, flat dune when Makima's voice came through the seal: "Kushina-san, two flanking runners, using sand camouflage. They are carrying a captured tactical document and are attempting to evade. Intercept them."
Kushina rolled her eyes. "Tactical document? Ugh. Can't you just let them run away and get lost in the desert, Makima?"
"Negative. The document's data is irrelevant; their morale is essential. Intercept and terrify, but do not kill," Makima instructed.
Kushina sighed dramatically. She spotted the faint outlines of the two Suna runners, expert at using the sand to hide. They were fast, determined, and annoying.
Kushina decided against subtlety. She exploded outward, using her chains like high-powered grappling hooks, dragging her across the desert at surprising speed.
"Hey! You big chicken-legs! Give me that scroll!" she yelled, her voice easily overriding the sound of their soft running.
The Suna runners panicked and split up. One of them, a bulky man, tried to make a sudden, hard turn, hoping Kushina would overshoot.
He did not account for her unpredictable methods.
Kushina didn't stop her chain-run. Instead, she swung one of her Chakra Chains in a massive, chaotic arc. It missed the first runner entirely, but the enormous whip of chakra and sand created a sudden, violent updraft of loose dirt directly in his face.
The runner instantly covered his eyes, stumbled, and ran directly into a low-hanging rock outcropping. THWACK! He collapsed, unconscious, with a large, cartoonish lump forming on his head.
Kushina skidded to a stop, laughing despite herself. "Ha! The canyon itself is fighting you guys!"
The second runner, seeing his partner incapacitated by what looked like an invisible giant, tried to throw the tactical document away.
"Oh no you don't!" Kushina shouted, her eyes blazing red. She launched a single chain—this one aimed with perfect precision—not at the runner, but at the rolling scroll. The chain snagged the scroll mid-air, yanking it back to her.
The runner, defeated and terrified of the raw, volatile power of the Red Demon, simply dropped to his knees.
Kushina retrieved the scroll and trotted back to the team, dusting her hands off. "Two runners down! One knocked out by a wall, one surrendered to a chain. We good, Makima?"
Makima appeared briefly on an adjacent dune, examining the downed shinobi with a professional, humorless gaze. "Acceptable. The display of localized chaos will contribute to the fear of the 'Red Demon.' Resume movement."