Land of Wind, a vast, withered yellow desert.
The scorching sun was like a giant furnace, baking the earth, and the air was filled with a burnt smell.
"Boom!"
A loud explosion shattered the tranquility of the desert.
A secret supply station, thirty kilometers from Sunagakure's defense line, erupted in huge flames and black smoke. Several Konoha Anbu ninja emerged from the sand like ghosts, quickly cleaned up the battlefield, and then melted back into the yellow sand, disappearing without a trace.
"Report to Captain, target number three has been destroyed. No casualties on our side," an Anbu with a cat mask reported to their leader through the team's short-range communication device.
"Received. Proceed to location number four as planned," a calm voice, devoid of any emotion, responded.
This elusive unit was the Anbu surprise attack squad led by the White Fang of Konoha, Hatake Sakumo.
For the past half a month, they had been like ghosts in the desert, precisely and efficiently destroying seven large and small supply stations deployed by Sunagakure on the front lines. The amount of supplies they seized and burned was immeasurable.
Their actions had thrown the Sunagakure front-line troops, who were already in a standoff with Iwagakure and had long supply lines, into unprecedented chaos and predicament.
Shortages of food, water, and ninja tools occurred frequently, and morale plummeted.
The name "White Fang of Konoha" began to spread among the Sunagakure ninja for the first time, carrying with it fear and hatred.
...
Sunagakure, Kazekage's Building.
Crash!
A teacup was fiercely smashed on the ground, shattering into pieces.
"Useless! A bunch of useless fools!"
The Third Kazekage's face was ashen as he looked at the battle report in his hand, his whole body trembling with anger. "Seven supply stations! A whole seven! Thrown into chaos by a mere squad from Konoha! You have all disgraced Sunagakure!"
The Sunagakure higher-ups in the meeting room were as silent as cicadas in winter, their heads bowed, not daring to speak.
Only the advisor, Elder Chiyo, a respected elder in the village, spoke with a grave expression: "Lord Kazekage, now is not the time for anger. According to intelligence, the leader of this Konoha squad is Hatake Sakumo, known as the White Fang of Konoha. This man's swordsmanship is superb, he excels in assassination and stealth, and his style is ruthless and decisive. He is a very difficult opponent."
"Difficult?" the Third Kazekage sneered. "No matter how difficult, he is only one person, one squad! Can't our great Sunagakure find someone to deal with him?"
"I suggest we dispatch the village's top puppet masters," a sharp glint flashed in Elder Chiyo's eyes. "Against this type of speed-based assassination ninja, fighting one-on-one makes it easy for him to find an opening. Only large-scale, no-blind-spot puppet attacks can completely restrict his movements."
"Puppet masters..." the Kazekage pondered for a moment, his gaze sweeping over two people present.
They were a young couple who looked to be in their mid-twenties.
The man was calm and composed, the woman gentle and quiet. Sitting together, they seemed a bit out of place.
They were Sunagakure's most renowned and top-tier genius puppet master duo—Rōra and Uzuki, known as the Couple of the Sand.
"Rōra, Uzuki," the Kazekage's voice sounded.
"Here," the couple stood up at the same time.
"I order you to lead the puppet brigade and, at all costs, annihilate Hatake Sakumo's unit and bring me his head!" The Kazekage's voice was filled with killing intent. "I want Konoha to know that those who dare to set foot in our Land of Wind's desert will only find death."
"Yes, Lord Kazekage!"
The couple exchanged a look, their eyes filled with confidence and tacit understanding.
As the strongest puppet masters in Sunagakure, they had this confidence.
...
Three days later, in a canyon near the Kandar Oasis.
Hatake Sakumo's unit was silently lurking on the rock walls on both sides of the canyon, waiting to ambush a Sunagakure transport team that was about to pass through.
However, time passed minute by minute. The scheduled time had already passed by half an hour, but the canyon remained empty.
"Captain, something's not right," the cat-masked deputy said in a low voice. "Sunagakure's transport teams are usually very punctual."
Hatake Sakumo's brow furrowed slightly, a sense of unease welling up in his heart.
He closed his eyes and extended his sensory abilities to their maximum.
The sound of the wind, the sound of rolling sand, the sound of a lizard crawling... everything seemed so normal.
But it was this "normalcy" that was the most abnormal.
It was too quiet.
There wasn't even the slightest extra fluctuation of chakra. On a battlefield, this in itself was an anomaly.
"All units, on alert!" Sakumo made a decisive call. "We may have been exposed. Prepare to retr—"
Before he could finish his words, a sudden change occurred.
"Screech—"
A piercing sound came from all directions.
Then, the sand beneath their feet and the surrounding rock walls began to move strangely.
Dozens of scorpion-shaped puppets emerged from the sand, the poison needles on their tails glinting ominously.
On the rock walls, hundreds of spider puppets, camouflaged as rocks, appeared.
In the sky, a dozen or so crow-shaped puppets circled, their open mouths revealing dense rows of senbon launchers.
A huge, invisible encirclement had quietly formed, completely sealing their squad of a dozen or so men in this canyon.
"Not good! It's a puppet trap!" the deputy exclaimed.
"Where are the puppet masters?" Sakumo's eyes became incredibly sharp. He knew he had to find and eliminate the controllers immediately.
"Hahaha, looking for us? White Fang of Konoha."
A gentle male voice came from above the canyon.
Everyone looked up and saw the couple, Rōra and Uzuki, standing side by side at the top of the canyon, looking down at them as if they were trapped beasts in a cage.
"We have been waiting here for you for a long time," Uzuki said with a smile, but that smile sent a chill down one's spine.
"To deal with you, we even brought out the Ten Puppet Collection of Chikamatsu," Rōra said, raising his hand. Countless chakra threads, almost invisible to the naked eye, extended from his fingertips, connecting to the puppets below.
"Attack!"
With his command.
"Buzz—"
All the puppets moved at the same time.
Poison needles, senbon, and poisoned claws rained down on Sakumo's squad from the sky, the ground, and all directions, like a violent storm, leaving no blind spots.
"Form up! Defend!" Sakumo roared. The White Fang short sword in his hand was instantly unsheathed, dancing in a silver curtain of light, blocking all the attacks coming at him.
The Anbu members also reacted quickly, forming a defensive formation back-to-back, using Earth and Water Release to block the endless attacks.
However, there were too many enemies.
"Pfft!"
An Anbu member, in order to cover for his comrade beside him, had his back slashed open by the claws of a spider puppet, a wound so deep the bone was visible. Blood instantly stained his clothes.
"Yamanaka!" the deputy cried out.
The injured Anbu ninja grunted, his face quickly turning purple. It was clear that the claws were coated with a deadly poison.
"I'm fine, I won't die!" he shouted through gritted teeth.
Hatake Sakumo looked at the puppet master couple at the top of the canyon in the distance. They were the main commanders of this mission.
He then looked at his subordinates who were fighting a bloody battle beside him, who had begun to suffer casualties.
Should he, at all costs, break through the enemy lines, kill the enemy commander, and complete the mission?
Or... should he lead his already wounded unit, abandon the mission, break out and retreat, to save the lives of his subordinates?
The words of his teacher, Sarutobi Hiruzen, seemed to echo in his ears again.
"No mission is more important than the life of a comrade."
But... if the mission failed, Sunagakure's supply line would be preserved. The main Konoha forces on the front line would then have to bear greater pressure and suffer more casualties.
To abandon these few comrades before him to achieve a greater victory... this seemed to be the most correct choice for a commander.
Watching the poisoned subordinate's face grow paler and his breathing become weaker, Hatake Sakumo tightened his grip on the White Fang short sword.
<><><><><><
Read Advanced Chapters on : patreon.com/Kaizo247
~ Every 150 PS = Bonus Chapter!
~ Push the Story forward with your [Power Stones]