FWF Chapter 547 The Ghost in the Desert, The Pursuers Being Played with
Chapter 547 The Ghost in the Desert, The Pursuers Being Played with
Golden sunlight spilled across the boundless sea of sand, baking each grain until it was scorching hot, refracting a dazzling light.
The air was distorted, and the distant scenery swayed in the heatwave; everything seemed so unreal.
Ebizo, the chief tactical advisor of Sunagakure, is leading a large pursuit force of fifty elite ninjas, speeding through this desert that he knows as well as the lines on his palm.
His face showed no superfluous emotions, only deep wrinkles left by years of wind and sand erosion, and a pair of eyes that remained incredibly sharp even under the scorching sun.
"Report! Tracks found!"
A Sand Ninja responsible for tracking knelt on the ground, carefully examining the almost imperceptible marks on the ground.
"Three different sets of footprints, all of uniform depth and steady stride, were heading towards Black Rock Hill. Judging from the degree of sand subsidence, they had been here for no more than half an hour."
"Black Rock Hill?"
Beside Ebi, a young Jonin frowned.
"The terrain there is complex, with jagged rocks, but there's no water source or any caves to hide in. What were they going there for? Were they courting death?"
Ebizo did not answer, but simply raised his hand to signal the troops to continue advancing.
Confidence, or rather, a certainty stemming from home advantage, permeated the entire team.
They are children of the desert; the wind and sand are their cradle, and the scorching sun is their medal.
On this land, they are the absolute rulers.
No matter how cunning the three Konoha rats that wandered into the desert were, their ultimate fate was to be dried into mummies.
"Speed up!"
Ebizo gave a concise order: "Before sunset, I want to see those Konoha ninjas turned into corpses."
"yes!"
The fifty-person team responded in unison, their chakra surging, and their speed suddenly increased, leaving clear tracks on the sand as they headed straight for Black Rock Hill.
However, when they arrived at Black Rock Hill with great momentum, completely surrounding the intricate rock formations and digging three feet into the ground, they couldn't find even a single hair of a Konoha ninja.
The enemy's footprints vanished into thin air after they entered the area.
It was as if those three people had grown wings and flown away from this completely sealed-off area.
"What's going on?!"
The young Jonin, his face filled with confusion and anxiety, yelled at the sensory ninja, "Where's your target acquisition technique? Where are you?!"
The scout ninja was covered in sweat, his hands forming hand seals as he searched the surrounding remnants again and again, but to no avail.
"The trace... abruptly ends here. It's very abrupt, without any transition, as if... it was erased out of thin air by something."
Ebizo silently walked forward, squatted down, and picked up a pinch of sand.
His fingers traced the rough rock surface, then he looked up at the scorching sun in the sky.
An ominous premonition quietly rose in his heart.
"Splitting into three teams, expand the search area in three directions! The rest of you, rest where you are!"
Ebizo's voice remained steady, but those who knew him could hear the gravity beneath that composure.
Meanwhile, atop a massive sand dune, more than ten kilometers away from Black Rock Hill.
Sakumo Hatake, Danzo Shimura, and Kagami Uchiha were sitting leisurely, looking down at the vast sandy land below.
Danzo formed a hand seal, and an invisible wind swirled from his palm, gently brushing across the distant sand and silently smoothing out a series of newly created false footprints leading in another direction.
This was the third time he had used this exquisite wind technique this morning.
He wasn't fighting like a warrior; he was more like a master chess player, using the heavens and earth as a chessboard and the wind and sand as pieces, manipulating them at will to create endless illusions and lead his opponents into one abyss of error after another.
"They went to Black Rock Hill."
In Uchiha Kagami's eyes, the three tomoe slowly swirled, taking in the distant scenery.
He watched the group of Sand Ninja futilely running through the intricate rock formations, a faint smile appearing on his face.
"Ebizo was more cautious than I expected. He didn't blindly pursue them and even knew to split his forces to search."
Danzo commented expressionlessly, his tone neither praising nor mocking.
"After all, he is the chief advisor of Sunagakure, a person who can be compared with his sister Chiyo, so he is certainly not a fool."
Uchiha Kagami said softly, "However, even the smartest hunter will be worn down and killed if he keeps chasing a prey that doesn't even exist."
His gaze shifted to Danzo beside him, with a hint of mockery.
"Your plan is like teasing a group of kittens that have gotten lost in a maze."
"No."
Danzo uttered a single word coldly, his face devoid of any hint of joking, his eyes sharp and icy.
"I am draining the tiger's blood, drop by drop, so that it will become weak and powerless due to excessive blood loss before the final battle with us."
"Fear stems from the unknown, and fatigue amplifies fear. Only when they are on the verge of physical and mental collapse can we achieve the greatest results with the least cost."
This was Shimura Danzo's code of conduct: practical, efficient, and ruthless to the extreme.
Upon hearing this, Uchiha Kagami simply smiled gently and did not refute further.
He knew that his companion's mind was always focused on efficiency and the optimal solution.
Turning to look at Sakumo Hatake on the other side, one would find that the renowned White Fang of Konoha was currently holding a small notebook and quickly jotting something down with a charcoal pencil.
He paid no attention to the pursuers below, nor did he participate in tactical discussions; all his attention was focused on the sand in front of him.
"Sakumo, what are you looking at?" Uchiha Kagami asked curiously.
Without looking up, Hatake Sakumo replied while writing, "I'm recording the soil composition and sunshine duration here."
"Huh?" Uchiha Kagami and Danzo were both taken aback.
"The sand here is slightly alkaline, but the particles are fine and it's very breathable. The sunshine hours are at least three hours longer than in the Land of Fire, and the temperature difference between day and night is significant."
Sakumo spoke at a steady pace, as if he were stating an extremely important discovery.
"If we can solve the water problem and use the Aburame clan's secret techniques to improve the soil and cultivate a batch of highly active chakra earthworms... perhaps we can try planting a new variety of drought-resistant cactus here."
He turned a page in his notebook and continued writing.
"Orochimaru's research report mentioned that there is a type of cactus that grows in the south. Its fruit is rich in various vitamins and trace elements, and has a sweet and sour taste. It is very suitable for making pickles or jams, which can greatly enrich the villagers' winter meals."
Uchiha Kagami: "..."
Danzo Shimura: "..."
Looking at the serious-looking Hatake Sakumo, Uchiha Kagami was momentarily at a loss for words.
He finally understood why Lord Hiruzen had given the position of manager of the ecological farm to Sakumo.
This guy... he really loves this job!
Sakumo closed the notebook, carefully placed it back in his arms, then looked up at another Sand Village squad that had been led in the wrong direction in the distance. "You guys continue, don't worry about me."
He simply felt that since he was already here, he might as well take the opportunity to survey the geology of the Land of Wind and do some forward-looking research for Konoha, which would also be a manifestation of the Will of Fire.
The whole day passed slowly in this bizarre game.
The elite pursuit force of Sunagakure Village traversed countless kilometers across the vast desert, chasing after one non-existent phantom after another.
They started out full of confidence, then became confused, then anxious, and finally, all that remained was a deep-seated exhaustion.
The scorching sun mercilessly baked the earth, and it also scorched the nerves of every Sand Ninja.
They had already used up more than half of their water supply, and their chakra was almost depleted from several pointless dashes.
The atmosphere within the team became increasingly oppressive.
"Another fake target!"
A Sand Ninja kicked a camp mark that had been faked using Wind Release techniques, sending sand flying. His voice was filled with uncontrollable anger and frustration.
"This is the fifth one already! What are we chasing? A ghost in the desert?"
"Shut up!"
Haibizang sternly stopped him.
But he also knew that the ninjas' patience was nearing its limit.
His own heart was also filled with confusion and unease.
As one of the most outstanding scouting and infiltration ninjas in Sunagakure, his scouting abilities have become a complete joke in this desert.
The traces of chakra left by the enemy appeared and disappeared intermittently, sometimes in the east and sometimes in the west. One moment they were in the south, and the next moment they appeared ten kilometers to the west.
The feeling was as if dozens of enemies were acting simultaneously, but all the clues ultimately pointed to those three mysterious people.