Hiding in the sand, splitting into many places, starting with Arkham

The next day.

Today, Team Six still had a rare day off.

Inside the Puppet Brigade's base, Shimizu was in the covered training ground, practicing puppetry with the public training puppets.

This was also one of the many benefits of the Puppet Brigade.

Both puppets were heavy-duty puppets weighing over a hundred kilograms, and they were equipped with non-lethal weapons.

Shimizu was currently manipulating the two puppets to fight each other, training his puppetry skills.

Scorpion wasn't very interested in this, because his talent was evident, and he could master those skills with a little practice. His real interest was in puppet research and manufacturing.

Yuki was reading a book under the eaves.

Until Yomi suddenly appeared in the training ground.

"Brother, why are you here?"

Yuki asked Yomi curiously.

"First, you have fifteen minutes to prepare. Gather at the village entrance in fifteen minutes, and I'll explain on the way."

Yomi's expression was unusually serious.

"No need, our puppets are all here. If there's a mission, we can leave immediately."

Shimizu withdrew his chakra threads, wiped his sweat, and said.

"I'll go call Scorpion!"

Yuki dashed into the house and called out Scorpion, who was still manufacturing puppets.

"Then I'll make it short. The garrison ninjas stationed on the border reported that a small elite team from Konoha broke through the border and infiltrated the Wind Country. A day ago, they destroyed the Black Iron Mine in Black Sand City and disappeared. The village leaders have ordered the Puppet Brigade to cooperate with the border garrison ninjas to search for this team of Konoha ninjas."

"Right now, we're the only ones in the Puppet Brigade who can leave immediately. Once found, prioritize capturing them alive. Mission rating: A!"

Yomi said with a stern expression, seeing Scorpion walking out of the house.

"An A-rank mission? Doesn't that mean… there are Jonin-level enemies…?"

Yuki said hesitantly.

She didn't think that a Special Jonin and a Chunin could complete an A-rank mission with two Genin.

"We… capture a Jonin alive?"

Shimizu pointed at himself with a constipated expression.

"The target to capture alive is not the enemy Jonin, but according to intelligence, there is a Uchiha who has awakened the Sharingan in this small team. As for the enemy Jonin, Captain Ishido and the border garrison Jonin will be responsible."

That made sense.

Without Wood Release, Sharingan was the number one bloodline limit in the ninja world, greatly enhancing combat power.

Apart from Konoha, every ninja village coveted the Sharingan. If that Uchiha was captured by Sunagakure, he would only end up as a breeding pig.

And Scorpion's eyes lit up.

An Uchiha!

It would be great if he could be made into a human puppet, but human puppets currently can't retain the bloodline abilities of the puppet's lifetime, which is a pity.

"Leave now, head to First Line Sky to rendezvous with Captain Ishido. Destination: Black Sand City!"

"Yes!" × 3

…

…

A few minutes later, Shimizu and the others arrived at Sunagakure's gate—First Line Sky.

First Line Sky was Sunagakure's most important and last line of defense, and also the entrance to Sunagakure.

This was an extremely narrow canyon, looking as if a large mountain had been split in half, leaving only a tunnel barely wide enough for two carriages to pass through.

One man can hold the pass against ten thousand, that's what this terrain was like. If a Kage-level expert led a few stronger Jonin, outsiders would almost be unable to break into Sunagakure.

But the strongest fortress is often broken from within.

In the future, Scorpion and Deidara were able to invade Sunagakure because Scorpion used Sand Manipulation to control Yura, a high-ranking Sunagakure official, which allowed them to easily break through First Line Sky.

However, this road also restricted Sunagakure's economic development, so it had both advantages and disadvantages.

After checking their mission certificates with the ninjas guarding the gate, Shimizu and his group quickly set off towards Black Sand City.

Ninjas traveled quickly. They received the mission after lunch, and before the sun had set, the group had arrived at their destination.

"The reinforcements have finally arrived?"

"Jonin Kunoichi has been tailing that Konoha team with a sensory ninja. The Konoha ninjas on the border who were preparing to meet those guys have also been driven back by Jonin Rasa. We just need to gather enough strength, and we can wipe out that Konoha team."

The Chunin in charge of the liaison respectfully said to Ishido.

"Arrange someone to lead the way, we'll leave immediately to provide support!"

"I can lead the way!"

The Chunin bit his thumb, formed hand seals.

A few seconds later, a small desert lizard was summoned, with a note tied to its leg.

The Chunin opened the note and handed it to Ishido.

"Let's go!"

Ishido waved his hand and ordered.

…

…

"Tch! What kind of brain-dead order did the higher-ups give us, telling us to destroy the Wind Country's rear! This is all desert, how much can we destroy!"

On a sand dune, a young man wearing black clothes with red and white fan patterns wiped his face and spat out a mouthful of sand.

"Isn't it all because of you! Uchiha Sen! The captain's order was to use the Sharingan's genjutsu to hypnotize those Sand ninjas, so that we could sneak in, but you directly killed them, causing us to be exposed!"

A companion wearing a green vest couldn't help but mock.

"What do you mean? If I hadn't been trying to save you, why would I have directly attacked? Civilian ninjas are civilian ninjas, you don't even have this much knowledge!"

Uchiha Sen glared, showing his red eyes and yelling at his companion.

"Sigh…"

The leader, Konoha Jonin Nara Hirano, couldn't help but sigh.

The conflict between the Uchiha clan and Konoha was becoming increasingly fierce, not only between the Uchiha and the villagers, but also with the major ninja clans.

The police force violently enforced the law, regardless of whether you were a civilian or from a ninja clan, they would all be arrested and thrown into jail, waiting for the Sharingan's genjutsu to hypnotize and interrogate them.

Now this conflict has spread to the ninja class.

"Alright, now most of the planned mission to destroy Sunagakure's logistics is impossible to complete. What we need to do now is how to break through the Wind Country's border. Although it will be difficult to break through the blockade, I have already contacted Sakumo-sama with a summoning beast. He will try to lead an elite team to attack the Sunagakure line and meet us, so before that, our goal is to survive and hold on until White Fang arrives!"

Nara Hirano said decisively to his subordinates.