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The next morning,
the three students—Sasori, Shizuka, and Daigo—could be seen waiting for their sensei to carry out the mission.
Though no one noticed any nervousness in any of them, that didn't mean it wasn't there.
For Daigo, this was going to be his first mission, and finally, he would go beyond Suna. This was a big step toward his goal.
Sasori and Shizuka had very similar reasons, though their control over hiding emotions made them seem calm.
Soon after, Takumi arrived—but not alone. Behind him, from Suna's main road, several camels could be seen pulling carts loaded with boxes covered by protective tarps to block the desert heat and sand.
Takumi signaled for them to come over and quickly explained the mission.
"As I told you yesterday, the mission we have today is to guard this cargo and take it to the border between the Land of Wind and the Land of Rivers," Takumi said, looking at his students.
"The mission should be quiet, right, Sensei? Or is there any danger?" Shizuka asked.
"Normally there shouldn't be, since the deserts are usually empty except for merchants moving in groups, but sometimes there are attacks from nomadic bandits who use the desert to their advantage," Takumi said.
"So it's 50/50 whether they'll show up. Well, that'll be enough to warm up and test my techniques against someone who's not just training," Daigo said, looking toward the desert.
Thus, the convoy left Sunagakure at dawn.
The three loaded carts pulled by camels carried rare desert herbs for trade, poison antidotes, treated bandages, and skin treatments against the sun. The main merchant, an older man named Jirō, rode in the central cart, nervous but confident with the shinobi escort. Two merchant assistants rode the other carts, completing the caravan.
Sasori led the march—though in his place was a puppet in triangular formation, while he himself rode beside the first camel cart. At the rear, Daigo watched to ensure nothing fell and that there were no surprise attacks. Takumi was on the right, scanning the area, and Shizuka on the left doing the same. No one spoke. The early desert silence was absolute, broken only by the creak of wheels and the thud of camel hooves.
Daigo walked with a somewhat relaxed step, keeping the First Breath of the Seven Heavens active to train it. He couldn't waste time doing nothing. He felt his body starting to get used to it—not like when he began. It wasn't the only thing he was doing: he was thinking about what jutsu to try learning next.
Sasori, sitting beside Jirō, could only continue controlling the puppet from his spot. After the destruction of his puppets against Takumi's clone, he had worked all night. Five new creations—lighter, with reinforced joints and improved poison compartments. Everything was going perfectly, but right now an idea occurred to him: instead of sitting here, what if he created a puppet he could be inside and control other puppets from there? It would leave enemies confused about where his real body was.
Though that would have to wait until they returned from this mission.
Shizuka, from her side, could only sigh. She hadn't slept well yesterday from training, so she took advantage of this calm along with the desert winds. Though that didn't mean she was doing nothing: as she walked, she kept training her new technique.
Whisper Release: Echo Scan was a terrain scanning technique. Her father had given it to her because it was very useful, and her progress in her bloodline had improved.
The technique consisted of sending ultra-fine, completely silent wind waves that acted like an invisible "echo," bouncing off objects, people, or chakra in the surroundings. Since they were in the desert, the only way Shizuka could use it was over the infinite sand ground.
As it was at a basic level, her range was around 50-100 meters, though it could increase with use and understanding of the technique.
Thus, the first day passed without incidents. They advanced on their way and, at night, when the winds grew strong and the camels needed rest, they stopped and rested to continue the next day.
The next day, the desert was a bit hotter than normal. Jirō, feeling this heat wave was stronger than yesterday, imposed short stops to hydrate his camels and check the convoy. During one of them, beside a small ex-oasis on some rocks where they sat, Takumi took the opportunity to teach them the basics of escort missions.
"Escorts like this seem easy, but no one controls the desert. A delay, a storm, a heatstroke... and everything gets complicated. Keep your eyes open in case something happens."
Daigo nodded.
"Sensei, have you done many missions like this?"
Takumi looked at the horizon.
"Too many. Many ended well, but some didn't."
Silence continued, as neither of the other two had questions, and Daigo preferred to rest his body after using the breath for a good while.
At dusk, they set up camp in the middle between two tall dunes, protected from the wind. Small fire, rotating guards. Daigo took the first shift with Shizuka.
Sitting in silence, watching the stars beginning to appear.
"Nervous?" Daigo asked quietly to start some conversation.
Shizuka shook her head.
"No. At the beginning, yes. And you?"
Daigo smiled.
"That's good. I'm more excited than nervous."
She glanced at him sideways.
"You always seem excited when it comes to combat. Why is that?"
"Huh? Don't you get excited for a good fight against strong people?" Daigo returned the question.
"Yes, but I prefer to prevent battles or end them quickly. That saves time—not like you," Shizuka said.
"Well, thinking about it with your bloodline and style, it's obvious you prefer that. But there's nothing better than going all out against a strong enemy. Have you heard about the fights between Madara and Hashirama?" Daigo asked.
At this, Shizuka seemed confused but nodded. Who didn't know about the legendary battle in the Valley of the End? Even if they weren't from Konoha, it was told to remember the old times when Konoha was the strongest and to inspire new generations.
"Well, if you know, Hashirama with his Wood Release and Madara with his Fire Release must have had the most exciting fight. But above all that, I'd love to have been there when they had a hand-to-hand fight without jutsu—just pure physical skill. That's living," Daigo said, clenching his fist at the thought of being in that battle.
"I think you're crazy, Daigo. You'd be defeated in seconds there. I didn't know you could be funny," Shizuka said, letting out the first giggle Daigo had heard from her.
"Huh? But why not? You know, Shizuka, when I become the strongest in Suna and the Kazekage, I'll challenge the other Kages to a battle among all of us. That way I'll show Suna's strength along with what a true battle is—surpassing Hashirama and Madara and leaving my name in this world's history as the man who defeated all the Kages from the strongest villages. And I want you in the front row to feel the excitement. So don't die until that moment," Daigo said, standing up to guard another spot.
Shizuka didn't respond, but she watched Daigo's back as he walked away, and an image struck her mind, making her shake her head to herself.
"Maybe you're right. I won't die until I see that moment, future Kazekage."
The night passed quietly.
On the third day, the terrain changed. The dunes became fewer, the path narrower. The border outpost was a few hours away.
Then it came.
A strange wind blew from the north. Not natural. Too sudden and strong to be natural.
Takumi raised his hand.
Jirō and his companions stopped the camels.
Daigo felt the tension in the air. Sasori already had his fingers in position. Shizuka closed her eyes, extending her technique.
"Eleven," she whispered. "150 meters away, behind the dune. They're moving to surround us."
Takumi nodded.
"Bandits. More than expected. Prepare defensive formation."
The merchants paled. Jirō hid in his cart, used to this.
The bandits appeared like shadows on the dune crest.
Ten men armed with spears, swords, and kunai. Cloth masks covering the lower half of their faces. In the center, a larger man with a reinforced vest and a war hammer.
"Hand over the convoy and we'll let you live," the leader shouted. "Medical supplies are worth more than your lives, right? So don't make this difficult."
Takumi stepped forward.
"I don't know who you are, but I'll give you one warning: run and don't show up in these lands again, or I'll have to deal with you."
The leader laughed.
"One jōnin and three brats. Perfect. You know what to do, boys," the leader said.
The attack began.
Four bandits came down the left dune, throwing poisoned kunai. Another four from the right. The leader and two more charged straight ahead.
Takumi, seeing this, didn't react immediately. He just looked at Daigo, who nodded.
Doton: Doryūheki.
An earth wall rose from the ground, blocking all the kunai and shuriken coming from their direction.
Sasori, from his side, deployed.
Five puppets emerged from the scrolls. Two stayed back for vigilance, three launched toward the right flank, invisible threads extending, controlling every movement.
Shizuka, without wasting time on hand seals, disappeared silently as if the wind had swallowed her.
Her voice came from three different directions.
Musei Kaze no Yaiba.
Invisible cuts. Two bandits on the left flank screamed as their legs were sliced without a sound. They fell without knowing what hit them—only their screams were heard loudly.
The other bandit who was the only survivor, seeing his companions' legs cut out of nowhere, didn't think twice and ran at full speed to save his life. But in the next second, his body froze.
The bandit, noticing he couldn't move, looked down to see where his heart was supposed to be—a clean hole straight through, where he could see from above. Then his body fell completely dead.
With Daigo.
The leader struck Daigo's wall with his hammer. The stone cracked but held.
Daigo jumped from the right side, his fist shooting quickly toward the leader, who—with reflexes far superior to a bandit's—blocked with his strong arm and counterattacked with his hammer.
Daigo, seeing the hammer coming, didn't hesitate and with one hand used the necessary seals for Kawarimi, dodging the blow.
The rock he used for substitution was shattered by the hammer, letting Daigo know this person wasn't normal.
"Interesting, kid. I thought I'd take you down quick, but you seem pretty competent," the leader said, stepping back and dropping his hammer to the ground.
Daigo, from his new position, just smiled at the words.
"You're not a common bandit. That tells me you're probably a rogue ninja, right?" Daigo asked, looking at the man.
"Huh, looks like you figured me out. That's right—I was a chūnin from the Hidden Rock Village, but I didn't like their rules, so I decided to go my own way. Not without taking a little gift first," the man said, starting to form hand seals.
Daigo, seeing the seals, prepared for what was coming.
Doton: Ganchūsō.
Rock spears surged quickly from the ground and headed toward Daigo.
End of chapter