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The wind rustled, and the cold seeped into their bones.
For Sand Ninja who had lived their entire lives in the water-scarce desert, this moisture was like a bone-deep affliction. The chilling sensation, penetrating their clothes and reaching their marrow in weather that wasn't even particularly cold, was extremely unfamiliar.
However, no matter how difficult the environment, it could not stop their firm resolve.
All Sand Ninja knew very well that the water, which their Land of Wind's citizens treasured as a precious commodity, was merely a common, even abundant, thing in the country to their east.
Only by fighting fiercely on the battlefield, striving to tear a piece of flesh from the body of this powerful Land of Fire, could their nation possibly become a strong country on par with it.
Unlike the Land of Fire, which was self-satisfied due to its strength and wealth, these Sand Ninja, who had lived in a sand-swept environment since birth, understood the significance of this war for the Land of Wind better than anyone.
However, just as they were about to wait for the elite assault unit ahead to tear a gap in Konoha's defenses so they could pour in, the sounds of battle from Konoha's direction suddenly ceased.
Kazuma, the Commander of this unit, lay on the ground, most of his body hidden beneath the damp, cold forest litter, his expression involuntarily stunned.
"Allen, what's going on?"
He waited for a moment, then finally couldn't hold back and called out the name of the sensory Ninja beside him.
But the sensory Ninja he called out to also had a stunned expression:
"Gone, gone."
"What's gone?"
Kazuma's expression was confused as he instinctively spoke.
Allen kept his hands in the hand-seal posture for sensing, his voice suddenly becoming very urgent and pressing: "Lord Dick and their Chakra, before they even had a chance to plunge into the densely populated areas of Konoha's position, were all eliminated by a very strong Chakra signature."
"No, to be precise, three."
"The strongest one's signature is between Kage and Jonin, ruling out the Nine-Tailed's possibility! The other two's signatures are slightly weaker, but both are at least Jonin level."
"They are very fast!"
Upon hearing this, Kazuma's heart suddenly felt as if it had been tightly squeezed:
"How could this be?"
"So many Jonin-led assault teams, actually...?"
Could it be that Hatake Sakumo or Orochimaru, who were stationed in the rear, had arrived?
As a Sunagakure Jonin, he naturally understood the enemy's trump cards.
However, Lord Third had already taken the initiative to go to the front line to tie them down.
Why...?
As Kazuma thought this, his Adam's apple slid unnaturally, but he then bit his teeth tightly and looked at the two hundred or so people behind him.
Just as he was about to forcefully order this follow-up unit to charge into the enemy's formation, at least to see who had wiped out that entire assault team, the voice of Commander Rasa suddenly came through the puppet headset on his left ear.
"Retreat, Kazuma... static..."
"Tonight's probing is over."
Even though Rasa's voice was as steady and emotionless as possible at this moment, Kazuma, who had grown up with him, could still vaguely hear an extremely heavy sense of apprehension in his tone.
A variable had appeared on Konoha's side.
However, this was no longer his concern.
Kazuma secretly breathed a sigh of relief, turned to look at his still bewildered colleagues behind him, and finally gave the order:
"Retreat!"
On the other side.
Yakushi Nonou knelt on the ground, holding Sawara Kiri's right hand with both hands, her head slightly bowed, concentrating on performing medical Ninjutsu.
Pale blue medical Chakra covered his palm, feeling warm like the sun, and the blisters on his hand were continuously being repaired and restored.
Under Yakushi Nonou's exquisite healing technique, in less than half a minute, Sawara Kiri's scalded hand was completely recovered.
Not even the shape of a scar could be seen.
"Thank you, Yakushi Nonou."
Sawara Kiri smiled at her and tried to clench his five fingers.
Although he himself had the Reversal Technique that could be used to repair his body, this was a battlefield now.
Although they had just eliminated a wave of enemy troops, they didn't know if there were more behind them.
Every bit of stamina and Chakra Sawara Kiri, as a combatant, saved at this moment was crucial—the reason their squad brought a medical Ninja was precisely to consider long-term combat endurance.
"No, no problem!"
Yakushi Nonou lowered her head and said timidly in a low voice: "This is what I should do."
"Then, I'll have to trouble you again next time."
"Eh? Yes, yes!"
Ever since Sawara Kiri exposed her identity, Yakushi Nonou had always been this cautious and careful.
However, besides being afraid to speak in front of Sawara Kiri, she also seemed very afraid of being abandoned if she became worthless. Therefore, when she saw him injured, she rushed over quite quickly.
This subtle sense of contrast made it quite interesting.
However, Sawara Kiri still knew his limits.
The reason was simple.
In his 360-degree Six Eyes vision, Uchiha Megumi, who was standing not far behind him, leaning against an ancient tree, was holding her chest with both hands, seemingly inadvertently glancing over with her peripheral vision.
Her dark pupils stared intently at Yakushi Nonou's hands covering his palm.
The young girl's Ninja shoes tapped impatiently, and she unconsciously bit her thumb, as if every second passing at this moment made her feel an inner vexation.
Too long!!!
That little undercover agent with impure intentions...
Is this that?
Damn it, how did they know Kiri would fall for this?
Miss Uchiha Megumi, inadvertently, uttered a very serious slander against Mr. Sawara's interests!
However, even though all sorts of dark, unspeakable thoughts were intertwined in a chaotic mess, when Sawara Kiri turned to look at her, Miss Megumi's face immediately switched to her usual elegant, ethereal, and calm demeanor, so much so that no one could find fault with her expression.
Following that, the young girl acted as if she had just noticed his gaze and happened to meet his eyes, smiling seemingly casually.
Heaven knows how much stalking experience it took to accumulate and master this face-changing technique.
"What heavy emotions," Sawara Kiri muttered to himself, ". Is this the Uchiha's 'love'?"
"Lord Sawara?"
Yakushi Nonou didn't hear clearly and looked up at him.
"No, nothing."
Sawara Kiri quickly stopped talking and pretended to look into the distance.
At this time, Konoha's position behind them also returned to order under the command of the front line, quickly restoring the command hierarchy.
Just as he was about to return to the tunnel, Miss Megumi suddenly followed beside him, inadvertently blocking Yakushi Nonou behind them, walking shoulder to shoulder with the young man, and took out a roll of dusty bandages from her pocket.
"Kiri, use this."
Miss Megumi was still as calm and reliable as ever, her peripheral vision sweeping over Sawara Kiri's recently healed hand: "This is fire-resistant fabric that our Uchiha Clan uses when practicing Fire Release."
"Wrapped around the hilt of your sword, it should slightly reduce the burning sensation."
"Oh?" Sawara Kiri immediately showed a surprised expression, quickly taking it, "You've really saved my life."
"But, Megumi, how did you know I needed something like this?"
Uchiha Megumi pursed her lips, not letting her smile show too obviously.
"As long as it's about Kiri, I know everything!"
"Eh—?!"
Hearing the young man's seemingly puzzled long sound, Miss Megumi's face showed a sly smile like a little fox.
Although Kiri's training ground choice a few days ago was very secluded, after only losing track of him twice, Miss Megumi, relying on her superb tailing skills, found the place and made some preparations in advance.
Originally, she wanted to give this small gift to Kiri more naturally.
However, she didn't expect that little girl to interfere.
Miss Megumi 'casually' glanced at Yakushi Nonou.
The spy girl suddenly felt a chill down her spine, instinctively shrugged, and got goosebumps.
Uchiha Megumi slowly withdrew her gaze, following closely behind the young man, like a child stepping on his long shadow stretched by the morning sun, her hands behind her back, turning her head to look at him:
"What? Don't you believe me?"
"Ha."
"How arrogant you are, Miss Megumi."
Sawara Kiri slanted an eye at her, but said nothing.
The two maintained a synchronized, subtle demeanor of 'you don't know that I know everything,' even their gazes towards each other carried a very tacit understanding.
Yakushi Nonou followed behind them.
At this moment, the feeling of being superfluous suddenly became more pronounced than ever.
However, Sawara Kiri was quite satisfied with the current 'stopping just short' state.
As for the reason, it was simple.
He squinted his eyes, looking at the lines of text appearing on the panel.
「Bond Path: Uchiha Megumi」
「Final Bond Path 1: Nine-Tomoe Rinnegan」
「In this world without Kiri, I truly cannot stand even a second. (Delicate feet stepping on Ōtsutsuki Kaguya's broken neck, fingertips digging out her eyeballs)... This, is the eye rumored to be able to reverse everything, right?」
「Well, I finally found it.」
「Final Bond Path 2: I Refuse」
「No, what does it mean to be with her? With that woman! Then... what about me, what about my feelings...?」
「I refuse! How could such strange words come from Kiri's mouth, this is too strange! Hypnosis? Genjutsu? Could it be that his consciousness has been completely altered?」
「Is that so? As expected, Kiri, have you even lost your self-awareness, why are you saying things I don't understand? Ha, how strange—what do you mean, you've never liked me? I completely fail to grasp the meaning.」
「But it doesn't matter, if it's only that level of ability, then let me use these eyes to correct you back!!!」
「Open!」
「Bleeding Mangekyo Sharingan.jpg」
「Final Bond Path 3: Reincarnation Chamber」
「Sleep peacefully, Kiri. When you wake up, in this world, there will only be the two of us left. The power of this gigantic Tenseigan can restore all vegetation on earth, and Kaguya's power in the moon's core can restore all non-human life. You and I will be the new progenitors of humanity.」
「By then, you... should be able to focus solely on me, right?」
「All of this is Kiri's fault for only looking at others!」
「But, I will forgive you.」
「After this world ends.」
「Final Bond Path 4: ...」
「Worldline Undetermined」
「Bond Calculation still running...」
This future prediction is truly outrageous.
So, how exactly did you do it, Miss Megumi?
Sawara Kiri thought.
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