Sand and wind swept across the land.
Blades of grass were picked up by the fierce gale, spinning endlessly in midair.
Iwagakure had already been left far behind by the allied forces.
The column stretched long across the wasteland.
At the front were the elites of Sunagakure. Every one of them held their heads high, chests puffed out. Even though many were injured, the arrogance etched into their bones had not faded in the slightest.
Behind them were Konoha's so called remnants and defeated soldiers.
This was the tone Orochimaru had deliberately set for the Western Corps.
Since they were putting on an act, they had to carry it through to the end.
Stretchers followed one after another.
Bandages were wrapped layer upon layer.
Konoha shinobi who had once been full of vitality now walked with crutches even if they were not seriously injured, limping along deliberately. Their appearance was truly pitiful.
"Too slow."
Rasa came to a halt, his brows tightly furrowed.
Watching the sluggish Konoha procession, impatience surfaced in his expression.
At this pace, when would they even reach the border of the Land of Wind?
"Kazekage-sama."
Orochimaru's hoarse, unmistakable voice sounded from behind. He took two quick steps forward and came to Rasa's side.
"I truly apologize."
"As you can see, the people I am leading are all wounded. Those who were uninjured were taken away by the Hokage and the others."
Orochimaru gestured toward the dispirited Konoha shinobi behind him, his tone filled with helplessness.
Rasa followed his gesture and looked.
Several Konoha shinobi stumbled over a stone, supporting each other as they nearly fell into a heap.
Sunagakure shinobi passing by burst into unconcealed laughter.
"Hey, watch your step, Konoha young masters."
"You cannot walk properly with injuries that light?"
Faced with the mockery from Sunagakure, the Konoha shinobi remained completely silent.
Was this still the once overbearing Konoha?
The irritation in Rasa's heart inexplicably eased, replaced by a quiet sense of superiority.
The Land of Fire was indeed wealthy and well supplied.
But their willpower was far inferior to Sunagakure, which had been tempered by endless sandstorms.
At the same time, the fact that Orochimaru was only bringing the wounded back clearly showed how severe Konoha's internal divisions were.
During the fighting, Orochimaru's Western Corps had not suffered many casualties.
Yet after the battle, the other two Konoha divisions handed over their wounded to him, while his original troops were reassigned as reinforcements for those two divisions.
How miserable.
Rasa could not help but feel that Orochimaru had been treated unfairly.
"If that is the case, I will have my troops slow down a little more."
"Thank you, Kazekage-sama, for your consideration."
Orochimaru bowed slightly, his long hair falling forward and concealing the malice surging within his eyes.
"We will have to rely on Sunagakure to ensure our safety along the way."
The flattery pleased Rasa greatly.
Once upon a time, how arrogant this Konoha Sannin had been in front of him.
And now?
Now he was asking for Sunagakure's protection.
"Rest assured."
Rasa waved his hand, gold dust stirring faintly at his feet.
"Since we are allies, Sunagakure will naturally ensure your safety."
"Then we are deeply indebted to you."
Orochimaru thanked him again, turned, and returned to his unit.
The moment he turned around, the helpless look on his face vanished completely.
His tongue slid across his pale lips.
Idiot.
The procession continued onward.
Night gradually fell.
The temperature on the desolate plain dropped sharply.
The two forces set up camp within a sheltered mountain hollow.
Although they camped together, the separation between them was clear.
Sunagakure occupied the most sheltered inner area, lighting over a dozen bonfires. The aroma of food filled the air.
Konoha's camp, on the other hand, was pushed to the exposed outer edge.
The cold wind howled, making the simple tents flap violently.
"It is freezing."
A Sunagakure jōnin tore into the dried meat in his hand and glanced toward the Konoha shinobi shivering in the distance.
"I really do not know how these people survived the Great Ninja World War."
The shinobi beside him nodded.
"Pure luck."
"If we had the resources of the Land of Fire, we would have become the strongest nation long ago."
A young Sunagakure shinobi stood up, carrying a half full waterskin, and walked toward the Konoha camp.
"Hey, do not go causing trouble."
The older shinobi called out, but did not move at all, clearly saying it without much concern.
After all, during the Third Great Ninja World War, they had suffered badly at Konoha's hands.
The young shinobi swaggered to the edge of the Konoha camp.
Several Konoha genin were eating at that moment.
"Hey."
The young Sunagakure shinobi called out.
The Konoha genin looked up, eyes filled with vigilance.
"I will give you a little extra food."
The Sunagakure shinobi loosened his grip.
The waterskin fell to the ground, and the stopper accidentally popped free.
The precious drinking water spilled out, quickly soaking into the cracked earth, leaving behind only a patch of mud.
"Oh no, my hand slipped."
He shouted dramatically, an unpleasant smile on his face.
"But I doubt you injured people can drink much anyway. Why not lick it off the ground?"
The fists of several Konoha genin clenched instantly.
Their knuckles cracked.
One of them suddenly stood up, chakra just beginning to surge.
Clap.
A pale hand pressed down on his shoulder.
Orochimaru had appeared behind him without warning.
"Stand down."
The voice was quiet, yet carried a bone chilling coldness.
"Orochimaru-sama, he…"
The genin's face flushed red, his eyes moist with grievance.
"I said, stand down."
Orochimaru did not even glance at the Sunagakure shinobi. His gaze remained fixed on his subordinate.
"Do not cause trouble for our allies."
The genin clenched his teeth hard.
In the end, he could only loosen his fist, sit back down, lower his head, and say nothing more.
Seeing this, the provocative Sunagakure shinobi became even more smug. However, facing a Sannin famous throughout the shinobi world, he did not dare provoke further.
Soon, bursts of loud laughter rang out from the Sunagakure camp.
Orochimaru stood in the wind shelter.
The cold wind lifted his long black hair.
He watched the retreating back of the Sunagakure shinobi as if staring at a corpse long since gone cold.
"Endure."
Orochimaru whispered, his voice audible only to the trusted subordinates beside him.
"Do not forget our plan."
In the darkness, countless pairs of Konoha shinobi eyes gleamed with a terrifying light.
Inside Rasa's main tent.
"Kazekage-sama."
Baki entered and reported in a low voice.
"The men below got a little carried away and caused some trouble on the Konoha side."
"Did anyone die?"
Rasa was wiping a kunai in his hand and did not even lift his head.
"No."
Baki shook his head.
"Orochimaru intervened and stopped it. It seems they truly do not want to cause trouble."
"Then let it be."
Rasa placed the kunai back into his ninja tool pouch, his tone casual.
"The soldiers have been fighting for too long. They have pent up anger. Letting them vent a little is not a bad thing."
"Besides…"
He stood up, walked to the tent entrance, and looked out into the pitch black night.
"The more we probe, the clearer Konoha's true state becomes."
"For someone as vengeful as Orochimaru to tolerate this, it proves that the people he brought really are wounded soldiers."
Baki nodded, though a trace of unease remained between his brows.
"I just feel something is off."
"Off?"
Rasa sneered.
"What could be off? It is nothing more than an internal power struggle within Konoha."
"When the Second Great Ninja World War ended, Orochimaru was sidelined."
"This time, Konoha reassigned his subordinates and dumped all the wounded on him. It is simply another act of suppression."
"There is no need to overthink it."
"Tomorrow, we will split our forces. You will take some men to escort Konoha for the remainder of the journey. I will lead the rest back to the village first."
"The sooner I return, the sooner I can receive those five hundred million ryō in reparations."
As long as he had the money, he could expand military equipment and train new recruits.
Sunagakure's rise was close at hand.
Baki said nothing more, bowed, and withdrew.
Rasa stood alone in the wind, gazing toward the southern horizon.
That was the direction of the Land of Wind.
And the direction of home.
What he did not know was that the road home did not truly lead where he thought it did.
(To be continued.)
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