"Captain, that Sunagakure boy wearing the black long-sleeved shirt was likely a member of one of Sunagakure's major clans."
Halfway back to their temporary camp, Tenkō suddenly spoke up.
"How do you know?"
"The genin from Sunagakure was wearing clothing made from a special fabric unique to the Land of Wind… it's extremely expensive."
"Are you certain?" Shimizu immediately raised his hand, signaling the entire unit to halt.
"Certain! During the Second Great Ninja War, I once killed a Sunagakure ninja. He was wearing the same kind of black fabric."
You can tell from that?
Shimizu was momentarily stunned.
"I can't distinguish fabrics just by looking at them," Tenkō continued, "but their insulation properties are completely different… I already checked earlier. That boy's corpse temperature is almost the same as when he first died."
The Land of Wind is the largest nation in the ninja world by territory, yet deserts occupy most of its land.
Because of the arid environment and scarce rainfall, its people can only build settlements around desert oases, living in specialized sand-constructed structures.
The unique geography creates extreme temperature differences between day and night in Sunagakure. As a result, their ninja clothing must balance breathability with insulation to adapt to the harsh desert climate.
It is said that there is a native desert plant in the Land of Wind. When processed and refined, fabric made from it possesses exceptional breathability and heat retention.
However, because the plant is extremely rare, the fabric remains prohibitively expensive. Only prominent clans can afford garments made from it.
For powerful, strong-willed jōnin, such clothing might not be essential. But for weaker genin and ordinary civilians, garments made from this material help them endure the drastic temperature shifts between day and night.
Therefore, the deceased Sunagakure genin was very likely a member of a prestigious clan within Sunagakure.
And the corpse of a major clan's ninja carries value—possibly even a bloodline limit.
If so, it would strongly motivate the enemy to retrieve the body.
Moreover, that Sunagakure unit had the capability to do so.
They possessed a sufficient number of jōnin… not much weaker than Shimizu's five squads.
A counterattack was entirely possible.
To verify Tenkō's claim, Shimizu personally examined and compared the temperature of each corpse.
Indeed, all the other bodies had exhibited varying degrees of post-mortem cooling.
It was already late autumn in November, the air growing colder. Enough time had passed since their deaths for noticeable cooling to occur.
Yet the body of the Sunagakure boy dressed in black… his temperature was clearly higher than the others.
Shimizu's mind immediately began to race.
Should they return and lie in wait?
He already had a mission at hand. Where had that Sunagakure unit come from? Why were they here? These were critical pieces of intelligence that needed to be uncovered.
If not for the fact that several of his own men were injured and the enemy had attacked so aggressively, Shimizu would never have been willing to withdraw so easily.
Going back to stake out the Sunagakure ninja would be risky—one could even call it aggressive.
But with such an opportunity before them, and the enemy being Sunagakure—
Why let it slip away?
Shimizu's fists clenched instantly.
Not for a single moment had he forgotten that it was Sunagakure ninja who had taken the lives of Natsue and Zeichi.
Tenkō seemed to sense Shimizu's fighting intent and immediately said, "If we really plan to ambush them, then we'll have to abandon the temporary camp. Everyone there must withdraw. Otherwise, if we take all our combat power away and they end up searching the area after finding nothing, they might discover our camp…"
A seasoned veteran indeed. That made perfect sense.
If this had been the old Shimizu, he would have simply charged in and fought without a second thought.
But now, he had people under his command—loose ends trailing behind him.
He had to guarantee absolute security in the rear before considering any offensive action.
After reorganizing and reassigning his personnel, Shimizu decided to withdraw the Second and Seventh Squads—the ones that had suffered the heaviest losses—back to Rakuyō City for recovery. He ordered the Eighth Squad to escort the wounded and the fallen, and instructed their captain to report back immediately if any new developments arose.
All those unable to continue fighting would be sent to the rear.
As for here, Shimizu intended to personally lead the remaining six fully staffed and combat-ready squads—twenty-five Konoha ANBU including himself—to confront the Sunagakure invaders.
This way, the camp would be completely vacated, and there would be no need to worry about being attacked from behind.
Now he could go all out without hesitation.
"Inform everyone to regroup immediately. We're going to pull off something big."
"Understood!"
But while hopes were bright, reality was harsh.
After assembling the six full squads, Shimizu headed straight back to the previous battlefield. They lay in wait in the surrounding area until dusk—an entire half day—yet not a single figure appeared.
They had painstakingly laid a net from heaven to earth.
But where was the prey?
Who had taken it?
Under normal circumstances, if the enemy truly intended to recover the bodies, they should have returned as quickly as possible.
But now, it seemed Sunagakure had abandoned that genin boy.
So—not a bloodline limit after all…
What a pity.
"Captain, could it be that their camp is some distance away? Maybe it just takes time to travel back and forth?" someone speculated. It was Kazawa, captain of the Team 3—a member of the Hyuga clan. A jōnin-level shinobi and an excellent reconnaissance specialist.
"No," Shimizu replied. "Tenkō checked. The supplies on their bodies were only enough for a single day. That means their camp can't be far."
If they had carried supplies for several days, that would indicate a deep infiltration unit or a force that had traveled a long distance to get here.
That would complicate matters considerably.
But the five Sunagakure corpses had all carried minimal supplies—meaning there had to be a Sunagakure camp within roughly half a day's march.
This was the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rivers. If Sunagakure had chosen to set up camp within the Land of Rivers, then Shimizu would have no way to gather meaningful intelligence.
Crossing the border to scout enemy territory wasn't something courage alone could accomplish…
He had no powerful reinforcements behind him. If discovered—and if a full-scale enemy unit was stationed there—the consequences would be disastrous.
For now, aside from waiting patiently, there was little else Shimizu could do.
"Captain, movement!" Kazawa suddenly whispered. "At the nine o'clock direction, 1.2 kilometers out—two shinobi moving straight toward this location."
That direction should fall under the surveillance zone of the Third Division of the First ANBU Corps.
Rogue Sunagakure ninja drifting over?
The numbers were small—just two—but every bit of progress counted.
"Kazawa, keep monitoring their movements. Tenkō, notify the others."
A faint glint flashed in Shimizu's eyes.
"We've got business."
...
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