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Just as Sayo was cementing his position as the tactical anchor of the "Sandstorm" squad, an upheaval capable of shattering the foundations of the Hidden Sand Village swept over them. It was a crisis far deadlier than any border skirmish—a silent, absolute erasure that struck at the very heart of the Land of Wind.
The incident originated from a high-level strategic inspection. Given the escalating tensions of the Third Great Ninja War, the Third Kazekage—the man hailed as the strongest in history, the master of the legendary Iron Sand—decided to personally stabilize the frontier. Leading an elite guard of Anbu, he departed for the Northwest Border to project strength and reassure the troops.
On the day of his departure, the atmosphere was one of confidence. The Kazekage's tall, imposing figure and his vast, reassuring chakra reserves served as a psychological bulwark for the village. The team vanished into the swirling desert haze under the respectful gazes of the populace. For the first few days, encrypted routine messages reported "all clear."
Then, the silence began.
The scheduled return date passed. Initially, the High Council remained calm; it was inconceivable that a shinobi of the Kazekage's caliber, backed by an elite Anbu detachment, could encounter a threat they could not overcome. Perhaps they were delayed by a tactical opportunity or a weather-induced communication blackout.
But as the days bled into a week, the calm evaporated. Ten days passed with no distress signals, no combat reports, and no trace of the unit. The pinnacle of Sunagakure's military might had simply been swallowed by the desert.
Panic, like ink dropped into a basin of clear water, began to permeate the village. Whispers turned into frantic rumors in the mission halls and marketplaces. The collective composure of the Sand was failing, replaced by a cold, hollow dread.
The "Sandstorm" squad felt the shift instantly upon their return for resupply. The mission center was a hive of frantic, hushed activity; the usual professional efficiency had been replaced by a grim, jittery tension. Captain Iryō was summoned to an emergency briefing and returned with a face so pale it looked carved from bone.
"Captain? What's the status?" Xu asked, her voice trembling.
Iryō remained silent for a long moment, his gaze fixed on a point far beyond the room. "Mission priorities have been overridden," he said, his voice a hoarse rasp. "The border patrol is secondary. Our new objective is to expand the search radius for... the Kazekage."
"The Kazekage?" Lucado's voice rose in disbelief. "What happened to him?"
"He's missing," Iryō forced the words out. "Total loss of contact at the Northwest Border. It's been over ten days."
Xu gasped, her hands flying to her mouth, while Lucado stood frozen. Sayo, however, felt a different kind of chill. His analytical mind immediately discarded the possibility of a foreign ambush—no nation possessed the firepower to erase the Third Kazekage and his guard without leaving a massive, detectable signature of battle.
A single name surfaced in his mind: Sasori.
He recalled Sasori's twisted hatred and that final, chilling declaration: "Unforgivable." Only a genius who understood the internal mechanics of Suna's techniques—and who possessed a heart of ice—could have engineered such a quiet, impossible assassination.
But Sayo remained silent. Without proof, to speak would be to invite execution or spark a civil war. He watched as the village's defense level was raised to wartime status, the number of patrols tripling overnight. Wave after wave of search teams returned empty-handed, bringing back nothing but deeper fear.
No signs of struggle. No bodies. No survivors.
This absolute disappearance was more devastating to morale than a crushing defeat. It suggested an enemy that moved like a ghost, an incomprehensible force that had decapitated the village without a sound.
Sayo stood on the street, looking up at the empty space on the Kazekage Rock. He knew this wasn't just a disappearance; it was the prologue to a catastrophe. The Third Kazekage's master-level Jiton had been the village's greatest deterrent. Without it, the "Greatest Strength" of the Sand had become its most gaping wound.
The storm was no longer approaching—it had arrived, and it was tearing the village apart from the inside out.
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