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Ebizō's expression was ugly as he watched Hikaru vanish—and as the boy's last words rang in his ears like a slap.
The moment he saw Flying Thunder God, Ebizō already knew the truth:
That "Nightingale" could absolutely escape their encirclement.
Put yourself in his shoes—if you possessed a space–time technique like that and walked into enemy territory, you'd come with preparations. You had to.
Now Ebizō understood why the boy dared come alone.
Not because he had no value—
but because he was too valuable, and he never needed to fear being trapped.
If that brat returned to Konoha… even if this mission was unofficial, unrecorded, never spoken aloud—
the boost to Konoha's prestige would be unimaginable.
And for Sunagakure—whose reputation was already hanging by a thread—
it would be a devastating blow.
Ebizō took a slow breath and forced himself to steady.
Then his gaze sharpened again.
"He's probably gone," he said coldly. "No need to stay so tense."
He turned to the survivors.
"Gather the bodies. Check them carefully—see if there are any lingering chakra reactions."
"And send someone to the units that haven't arrived yet. Have them relay orders back to the village."
His voice hardened.
"All ANBU captains and division commanders: mobilize. Full pursuit mission."
"All village garrison forces: move."
"We do not let that brat leave Wind Country. Understood?"
"Lord Ebizō… isn't this a bit—" one ANBU hesitated, clearly uneasy. "Mobilizing like this, even moving garrison forces…"
"Go inform the Kazekage," Ebizō said calmly, looking at him. "Tell him this is my decision."
"And tell Chiyo as well."
He paused, voice flat.
"Any further questions?"
"…No, Lord Ebizō." The ANBU lowered his head instantly, not daring to speak again.
Ebizō's gaze lingered for a moment.
He knew what that was.
That man was one of Rasa's people.
Since becoming Kazekage, Rasa had been reclaiming power aggressively. Not unreasonable.
But questioning Ebizō to his face?
Is that really the kind of person who belongs in ANBU?
Ebizō sighed inwardly.
At his age, retirement wasn't far away. And honestly, he wanted it.
He could see it clearly: the Fourth Kazekage was not a "generous" man.
The only reason Ebizō still sat in the ANBU chief's seat was because he and his sister supported Rasa—
and because Ebizō controlled the village's intelligence web across the Five Great Nations.
Rasa simply couldn't replace him yet.
Once someone else fully inherited and stabilized those networks…
Ebizō would be "retired."
So be it.
Ebizō had pride.
Better to step down on his own terms than be pushed out when the knife finally came.
But first—
that boy had to be dealt with.
"Before anything else… we end the Nightingale problem."
He turned and walked toward Sunagakure.
He didn't notice—
beneath his feet, hidden in the soil, a small lizard flicked its tongue again and again.
…
Wind Country's sandstorms continued to devour the horizon.
Deep within that roiling yellow world, a lizard lay buried—indistinguishable from any other desert creature—
if not for the strange seal etched onto its body.
Suddenly, it sensed something.
It clawed its way up through the sand.
In the same instant, a chakra pulse snapped onto the seal—fast, seamless, without warning.
And then—
a figure appeared above it like a phantom stepping through reality.
"So… I'm out."
Hikaru looked into the endless sand and sighed.
He truly hated this country's environment.
But as ANBU, you didn't get to complain about the weather.
He glanced back.
The oasis was already nearly a kilometer away.
And people often misunderstood that distance.
For a shinobi, a kilometer was nothing.
A minute, at most.
For a speed-type? Even less.
He couldn't help comparing it to his previous life—running one kilometer there had nearly killed him just to barely squeeze under four minutes.
Here?
If he went all out, thirty seconds wasn't impossible.
"…Still, it's chakra."
Hikaru exhaled.
Compared to Minato—who could teleport Gamabunta plus the Nine-Tails in one go while alive—
and later, even in Edo form, jump from Fire Country to near the battlefield in Lightning Country—
Hikaru's "one kilometer limit" was pathetic.
Even accounting for Edo's infinite chakra… Minato's living feats were still monstrous.
"My chakra is still the bottleneck."
Which meant this trip couldn't end with simply "escaping."
He had to solve it.
And now, with Kakashi sent away and Yashamaru delivered…
Hikaru had the perfect excuse.
He was being hunted.
Of course he couldn't return directly.
Of course he needed to hide, evade, recover, and "find a chance" to go home.
That blank window—created by pursuit—was exactly the kind of gap he needed to move on Loulan.
Because even if the outcome was uncertain—
if he didn't try, he'd never accept it.
But before he went to Loulan…
he needed to manufacture a lie.
A convincing one.
Make them believe he was fleeing toward the Land of Rivers—or the Land of Rain.
Not toward the ancient ruins.
"As long as they look the wrong way… I win time."
As he walked, he sensed something and quickly formed hand seals.
Smoke puffed.
A small lizard appeared in front of him—one he had intentionally left behind at the oasis as a "free camera."
He hadn't expected anything useful.
It was just a casual plant.
But the moment the lizard's chakra resonance fed him the message—
Hikaru's mouth curled.
Information imbalance…
was addictive.
"This is like gaming," he thought. "They're stuck placing wards and scouting like idiots…"
"…and I'm running a full-map hack."
For a heartbeat, he even understood why some villages obsessed over Byakugan.
In pure duels, Sharingan was terrifying—especially for lightning-speed fighters.
But on a strategic level?
Byakugan was absurd.
If your troop movements, ambush points, and hidden setups were exposed—
how do you even fight?
Konoha's victories weren't just "strong ninjas."
They were information wars.
Know where the enemy is, know their plan, know their preparations—
and even a bloody victory becomes more likely.
"Unless you can personally wipe out a nation…"
"…intel decides everything."
Hikaru let the lizard sink back into the sand.
Now he had to think clearly.
Ebizō was going all-in.
ANBU pursuit. Garrison mobilization. Borders tightened.
That was dangerous.
But also—
useful.
Because large-scale troop movement couldn't be hidden.
Sunagakure had to posture against Iwagakure. They couldn't move too much without provoking the wrong war.
And any sudden spike in security, patrols, searches…
would immediately be noticed by other villages.
Konoha, in particular, never took its eyes off Suna.
"If Suna moves," Hikaru thought, eyes narrowing, "Konoha will smell it."
"And when they gather intel…"
"…my excuse becomes even cleaner."
Hikaru smiled.
He wasn't worried about being captured.
With animal communication + lizard scouts + Flying Thunder God…
as long as he didn't get reckless, he'd survive.
Still—
before anything else, he had to misdirect them.
Leave traces. Spill blood. Force them to commit resources in the wrong direction.
Make them believe:
He's running toward the Land of Rivers.
So Hikaru turned and headed toward a different route—
one where Ebizō's net was already closing.
…
"Captain… where do you think that guy went?"
East of the oasis, in the sand leading toward the Land of Rivers, eight Sand ANBU searched in tight formation.
This direction mattered.
If the intruder fled toward Rivers, he could potentially slip into neutral routes and vanish into the broader map.
Originally, their order had been "encircle the Konoha intruder."
But by the time they reached the region, the update came:
He escaped. Immediate search.
They were furious.
But ANBU didn't get to complain.
A Konoha ANBU running wild inside Wind Country was humiliation.
And this search was… miserable.
Sandstorm visibility. Endless dunes. No footprints that lasted.
Nothing.
"I don't know," the squad captain answered. "But stay sharp."
"If he broke out of that encirclement, he's not weak."
"Yes, Captain."
Some responded. Others stayed silent.
But several sets of eyes noticed something—
lizards crawling through the sand toward them.
"…Great," one ANBU muttered. "No intruder, just lizards—"
He didn't finish.
A streak of cold light cut across his throat like a falling star.
He collapsed without a sound.
"Alert—!" the two captains shouted at the same time.
Too late.
A ghost flickered into existence.
A blade edged in blue chakra slid across another throat—silent, precise.
At the same time, a kunai punched into a third man's chest, blue chakra still shimmering around the metal.
One breath.
Three down.
Only then did the remaining five truly react.
But reaction meant nothing.
Blue light moved like flowing death—blade and kunai rotating in a rhythm too clean, too cruel.
The five Sand ANBU didn't even understand what they were fighting.
They only felt warmth spilling from their throats.
A deep, spreading pain.
Strength draining fast.
Vision blurring.
And as their consciousness collapsed into darkness—
they finally saw him clearly.
A masked ANBU wearing Konoha's black-and-white standard gear.
Standing right in front of them.
His ninja blade dripped steadily—
with their blood.
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