Watching Natsuhiko's figure vanish in an instant—and hearing the irritating words he left behind—Ebizō's expression darkened.
The moment he saw the Flying Thunder God Technique, he had already understood something.
That boy with the codename Nightingale could absolutely escape their encirclement.
Putting himself in the boy's shoes, the logic was obvious.
If he possessed a technique like that and had infiltrated enemy territory, he would certainly have prepared multiple escape routes beforehand.
Now Ebizō finally understood why the boy had dared to come alone.
It wasn't because he had no value.
It was the exact opposite.
He was far too valuable—and with a technique like Flying Thunder God, he never had to worry about being surrounded.
One could easily imagine what would happen if that boy returned safely to Konohagakure.
Even if this mission was unofficial and would never appear in any records, the boost to Konoha's reputation would be unimaginable.
And for Sunagakure, whose prestige was already hanging by a thread…
The blow would be devastating.
Ebizō inhaled deeply and shook his head with quiet resignation.
Then his gaze hardened once more.
"He's already gone. mly. "You don't need to stay on edge anymore," he said calmly.
"Gather the bodies of the fallen. But check them carefully—see if there are any remaining chakra reactions."
"Also, send someone to intercept the units that haven't arrived yet. Have them relay a message back to the village."
He paused before issuing the next order.
"All ANBU captains and Division Commanders are to be mobilized for the capture mission."
"And activate all village defense forces."
"We cannot allow that boy to leave the Land of Wind."
"Understood?"
"Sir… is that really necessary?" one of the surviving ANBU hesitated before speaking. "Mobilizing forces on this scale—even the defensive troops…"
"Then go back and inform the Kazekage," Ebizō replied coolly, glancing at him.
"Tell him this was my decision."
"And report the situation to Elder Chiyo as well."
"Do you still have any questions?"
"…No, sir."
The ANBU immediately lowered his head, not daring to say another word.
Ebizō watched him for a moment before turning away.
Of course he knew the man was actually loyal to Rasa.
Ever since Rasa ascended to the position of Kazekage, he had been steadily reclaiming power within the village.
That was understandable.
Ebizō didn't object to it.
What displeased him was something else.
Being publicly questioned when issuing orders.
Was someone like that really suited for the ANBU?
With a quiet sigh, Ebizō shook his head.
At his age, he was already approaching retirement anyway—and frankly, he didn't mind stepping down.
He could clearly see that the Fourth Kazekage wasn't exactly a magnanimous man. The only reason Rasa had allowed him to remain as head of the ANBUwas because both he and his sister supported him.
And more importantly, Ebizo still controlled an extensive network of spies across nearly every major country and village.
Rasa simply couldn't replace him yet.
But once Rasa's own people gradually took over and became familiar with those intelligence networks, Ebizo knew what would happen.
His "retirement" wouldn't be far away.
Still, Ebizo had his pride.
Rather than waiting for that moment to arrive, he would rather step down on his own terms.
After all, his life had already been full.
He had no need to cling to this position.
If he had truly been ambitious, competing for the title of Kazekage himself back in the day wouldn't have been difficult.
"But before that…"
Ebizō thought quietly.
"…we need to deal with that boy."
Turning around, he began walking toward Sunagakure.
The orders had already been given.
Now he only needed the results.
And to ensure those results went in the right direction…
He needed to meet two people.
His sister.
And the Fourth Kazekage.
What Ebizō didn't know…
Was that beneath the ground he had just walked across, a small lizard was quietly flicking its tongue.
...
The sandstorms of the Land of Wind continued to sweep endlessly across the desert.
Hidden at the heart of that swirling sand was a tiny lizard.
At first glance, it looked no different from any other desert reptile.
Except for one thing—
A strange seal was etched onto its body.
Suddenly, the lizard seemed to sense something. It quickly crawled out of the sand, and at that exact moment a ripple of chakra connected to the seal on its back.
The connection happened almost instantly.
So quickly that it felt as if there had been no warning at all.
And then—
A figure appeared above the lizard like a phantom.
"Looks like I made it out."
Watching the endless yellow sand swirling through the sky, Natsuhiko let out a quiet sigh.
He truly disliked the environment of this country.
But as an ANBU operative, you didn't get to choose the terrain when carrying out missions.
Turning his head, he glanced back at the small oasis nearly a kilometer behind him.
Then he started walking toward the distant desert.
That distance—about one kilometer—was already near the limit of his Flying Thunder God Technique teleportation range.
And honestly, that wasn't very far at all.
For a ninja, covering a kilometer might take less than a minute.
For speed-type shinobi, it could be even faster.
Truthfully, if shinobi existed in Natsuhiko's previous world, every single one of them would probably be considered superhuman.
Back then, running one kilometer had been torture for him.
He had struggled desperately just to squeeze under four minutes.
Now?
He could do it in under a minute without breaking a sweat.
If he sprinted at full speed, even thirty seconds wouldn't be impossible.
"Still… it all comes down to chakra."
Natsuhiko sighed again.
When he thought about Minato Namikaze—who, while alive, could teleport both Gamabunta and the Kurama outside the village in one go—
And then later, after being revived through Reanimation Jutsu, teleport himself from the Land of Fire all the way to the battlefield near the Land of Lightning…
His own range suddenly felt pretty pathetic.
"Sure, Edo Tensei grants nearly unlimited chakra… but even when he was alive, his performance was insane."
"My chakra reserves really are lacking."
Chakra had always been Natsuhiko's biggest limitation.
And this time, he had already decided—
He needed to solve that problem.
Now that Kakashi Hatake had been sent away, and the mission involving Yashamaru was essentially complete…
He had the perfect excuse.
He was currently being hunted.
In other words—
He had a perfectly reasonable reason for being unable to return to Konoha immediately.
After all, if your life was in danger, the logical thing to do was evade the enemy first and only return once it was safe.
Right?
That gap of time gave Natsuhiko exactly what he needed.
A rare window where he could quietly travel to Rōran.
No matter what the outcome might be, he knew one thing for certain—
If he didn't try, he would regret it.
"Still, before heading to Rōran…"
"I should create a little illusion for them."
He continued walking while thinking.
"I'll make it look like I'm fleeing toward the Land of Rivers… or maybe the Amegakure."
But just as he was considering his next move—
He suddenly sensed something.
Natsuhiko immediately began forming hand seals.
A moment later, a cloud of smoke burst into the air.
When it cleared—
A small lizard had appeared in front of him.
This little lizard had been deliberately left behind by Natsuhiko at the oasis—just to see if it could pick up any useful information.
Originally, he hadn't expected it to yield anything of real value.
But now, as messages came trickling in through the lizard's chakra link, Natsuhiko realized just how one-sided this intelligence advantage was. And man… it was exhilarating.
"This feels like playing a game where the other side can only rely on wards," he muttered to himself, "while I've got the entire map revealed."
For a moment, Natsuhiko felt like he finally understood something he'd never quite grasped before.
Why had Kumogakure gone after the Hyuga Clan instead of trying harder to seize the Sharingan?
Logically speaking, the Sharingan seemed far more suited to them.
Shinobi like the Fourth Raikage, who specialized in the Lightning Release Chakra Mode, possessed terrifying speed.
At those velocities, the enhanced perception of the Sharingan should have been far more valuable than the long-range vision of the Byakugan.
Or so Natsuhiko used to think.
Now he realized the truth—
His perspective had been too narrow.
In a one-on-one fight, the Sharingan was practically unmatched.
But when viewed from a strategic perspective, the Byakugan's value far surpassed it.
If your enemy could see your troop deployments…
Your formations…
Even the smallest hidden maneuvers…
How exactly were you supposed to fight?
One of the major reasons Konohagakure had performed so well during wartime—especially during the Third Great Ninja War, where they faced multiple enemies and still managed a brutal victory—was intelligence warfare.
Yes, Konoha's shinobi were well-trained.
Yes, they had powerful fighters.
But their information network had played an equally critical role.
If you knew your opponent's plans…
If you understood their battlefield preparations…
Then even if the battle itself was brutal, your chances of victory would skyrocket.
"Intelligence…" Natsuhiko sighed softly.
"Unless someone can wipe out an entire nation alone, information is priceless."
After that, he instructed the lizard to burrow back into the sand.
Now he had more important things to think about.
Ebizo had made a surprisingly bold move.
Mobilizing that many forces just to capture him…
That was no small operation.
Leaving aside the ANBUunits alone, even the defensive troops were preparing to seal him inside the Land of Wind.
That definitely wasn't good news.
Then again…
It wasn't entirely bad either.
Because such large-scale movements inevitably caused major shifts in troop deployment.
Sure, Sunagakure was currently maintaining a tense standoff with Iwagakure.
But the number of forces they could mobilize was limited.
If too many troops were withdrawn, the front line could collapse—and a full war with Iwa might erupt.
At the same time, even if units were mobilized, they still had to maintain proper defenses.
If they pulled too many soldiers away and left parts of their territory exposed, an enemy incursion could spell disaster.
In other words—
Even tightening patrols or increasing search efforts would inevitably attract attention from other villages.
"Konoha has been keeping an eye on Sunagakure all this time," Natsuhiko thought, smiling faintly. "If they shift their troops now and I gather a little intel on top of it… my excuse just gets even better."
He grinned. He wasn't worried about being caught.
With his ability to communicate with animals—and with the intelligence he'd gathered—he was confident that as long as he stayed careful, nothing would touch him.
"But before that…" he muttered, "I'd better leave them some false leads. Can't have them realizing I'm heading for Rōran."
With that thought in mind, Natsuhiko turned and began heading in a completely different direction.
After all, he hadn't forgotten that Ebizo had already dispatched multiple encirclement teams.
...
"Captain," one ANBU whispered to another, "where do you think that guy went?"
East of the oasis, in the rolling sands, about eight Sunagakure ANBU were combing the area, eyes sharp for any sign of movement. This path led toward the Land of Rivers, which made it a priority—but also a trap for anyone trying to slip through unnoticed.
Originally, their orders had been simple: surround the Konoha shinobi. But as soon as they arrived, a message came through—he'd escaped. Immediately: search and pursue.
Frustrating? Absolutely. But ANBU didn't get the luxury of arguing. A Konoha operative running wild inside the Land of Wind wasn't just a problem—it was an insult.
Still, the search dragged on. Despite their immediate mobilization, nothing. Not a footprint, not a clue.
"I don't know either," one squad leader muttered, speaking to his two standard squads.
"But everyone stay sharp. And careful. Whoever ran off like that? They're no amateur."
No kidding. Getting past such a heavy perimeter, slipping into Sunagakure, and reaching this far—this was no ordinary ninja.
"Yes, Captain."
Three of the men responded.
The other four remained silent.
Their attention, however, shifted toward several lizards crawling slowly across the sand nearby.
"Honestly... we can't find a person, but there are lizards everywhere..." one ANBU grumbled.
Before he could finish his sentence, a flash of cold steel, like a falling star, swept across his throat. His body slumped silently into the sand.
"Alert—!"
Both squad leaders caught sight of a shadowy figure that seemed to appear out of nowhere, and they immediately shouted a warning.
But before the word could fully leave their mouths—
The phantom-like figure flashed again.
The blade in his hand, glowing with brilliant blue chakra, slid silently across one man's throat.
At the same time, a kunai shot forward and buried itself deep in another shinobi's chest, its chakra edge shimmering in the desert light.
In the span of a single breath—
Three men fell.
Only then did the remaining five seem to react.
Unfortunately for them, their reaction meant nothing.
As the chakra-coated blade and kunai flickered through the air like streaks of blue lightning, the five Sunagakure ANBU had no idea what was happening.
Not until blood began spilling from their throats and chests.
Not until their strength drained rapidly away.
Not until the pain finally surged into their minds.
Only then did they realize their consciousness was fading.
And in those final moments—
They saw him.
Standing before them was a man dressed in the standard black-and-white uniform of Konoha ANBU.
The ninja blade in his hand dripped steadily with blood.
Their blood.