Seeing the scene before her, Miko puffed up angrily.
"Hey, hey! What's the meaning of this?" she protested. "You promised me that if I brought my two disciples here and they cooperated, you'd release my master! Now you're surrounding us? What kind of double-dealing is this? Shigeo-sama, at times like this, we should just storm in, grab my master, and run for it! That's what my teacher always taught me—when you've got no plan, cut through the mess fast and clean! No hesitation!"
Her chatter went on and on.
A wave of Jiton (Magnet Release) flared from Shigeo's palm, sealing her mouth with a layer of magnetic sand.
"Mmff… mmgh—mmgh!!" she protested, tugging furiously at the sand around her lips and glaring at him with watery eyes.
"Quiet."
His voice was cold and sharp. He turned away, choosing a small hollow in the dunes where the wind was weaker, then gestured toward the surrounding Sand shinobi.
"Go ahead. Inform your superiors."
The Sand-nin, seeing that he showed no hostility, relaxed slightly and hurried off to report.
Meanwhile, Miko finally managed to gather chakra and tear away the sand covering her mouth.
She pouted but didn't taunt the Sand-nin again.
Instead, she raised her wrist in front of Shigeo's face.
He looked down, noticing a faint red mark on her skin.
"What?"
"You held my hand so tightly during that space-time teleportation, Shigeo-sama," she said, biting her lip softly. "You left a mark. You… don't tell me you held me that hard because you like me?"
"Pfft—" Before she could finish, another layer of Jiton wrapped around her instantly.
In a blink, her hands and feet were pinned to a rock wall, her mouth sealed shut again.
She kicked weakly, muffled noises echoing in protest.
Jyakin and Magu often bickered too, sometimes so loudly that their fights turned into sparring matches. They even used their arguments mid-battle to confuse enemies.
Miko, though beautiful—white-haired, curvy, charming—had one fatal flaw.
Her mouth never stopped.
From the moment Shigeo had met her, she hadn't been silent for a single minute.
Before long, several figures approached through the storm of sand.
The leaders were none other than Chiyo and her younger brother Ebizō.
"Nanmo's Shadow, Hyūga Shigeo," Chiyo greeted with measured courtesy. "Our village isn't convenient for guests right now. May we invite you to a western outpost to discuss this matter?"
Sunagakure was in a fragile state. With the Fourth Kazekage dead and Shukaku missing, they couldn't risk letting such a powerful foreign Kage step inside.
If Shigeo meant harm, they'd be ruined.
"Understood," Shigeo replied calmly.
He always followed a simple rule—show respect when it's given.
Until someone broke civility, he would do the same.
Thirty kilometers west, at Sunagakure's outpost, they were treated with warmth and caution.
Before any questions were asked, Master Fuji was already released.
Chiyo questioned Shigeo about several matters—mostly Gaara's disappearance and the Demonic Duo's background.
Shigeo answered honestly on all but one topic: Akatsuki.
He simply explained that Jyakin and Magu had pursued the One-Tail out of curiosity, hoping to test their strength against a tailed beast.
Beyond that, he said nothing.
There was no obligation to share Akatsuki's secrets with other nations. No one knew whether they'd be allies or enemies in the future.
Chiyo, gracious as ever, bowed slightly and ordered that they be escorted out of the outpost without incident.
"This is truly the renowned Shadow of Nanmo?" Master Fuji asked in admiration. His eyes sparkled as he looked Shigeo up and down.
"The man who expanded a nation single-handedly, conquered the Lands of Tea and Bears in a day, and made Nanmo one of the Six Great Nations? Incredible."
He sighed with a smile. "Sunagakure spared me only because of you. Were it not for your intervention, they'd never have forgiven my disciples."
"Indeed," Shigeo said lightly. "We owe Elder Chiyo a favor for this."
He had expected confrontation. Instead, the Sand treated him with food, drink, and courtesy—and released Fuji without resistance.
The three left together, walking through the endless dunes.
Shigeo was about to use Kūkan Idō (Space-Time Transfer) to return—but then he froze.
He felt it.
A flicker of chakra.
One-Tail's chakra.
It was faint, but unmistakable—nearby, hidden within the desert.
He turned toward the horizon and pointed. "What's that area?"
Fuji shaded his eyes and followed his gaze. "That's Kizan Valley. The winds there never rest, and the terrain shifts often—part of the Whistling Wind Basin."
A lifetime of wandering had made Fuji an expert on strange landscapes.
Shigeo nodded. The Rinnegan shimmered in his eyes, glowing faintly.
A pulse—a call—seemed to tug at his very soul, guiding him toward the valley.
"You two wait outside. I'll take a look," he said.
Something told him Gaara might be there.
He entered the valley.
The wind howled like a mourning spirit, weaving through the narrow cliffs.
Shigeo activated Kyōshō Kanshi (Mirrored Sensory Field). His brows tightened.
There were nine chakra signatures—each positioned at different points around him.
They hid within the sandstorms, watching from above.
And then he saw him—
Gaara, chained against a cliff wall by black chakra restraints.
His body was frail, his eyes lifeless, his chakra faint.
He stared blankly at the swirling sands before him.
He was sensing something—something alive within the desert.
The faint resonance between tailed beasts.
Shigeo frowned. This coincidence was too perfect.
Wind screamed through the valley. Amid it, Miko's voice echoed faintly from afar:
"Shigeo-sama! Are you all right? Should we come in?"
"I'm fine!" he called back.
Whether or not this had anything to do with Miko and her master could wait.
Right now, he had to deal with the figures in the sand.
"Who are you?" he demanded.
A cold voice answered from nowhere.
"Guess."
His eyes hardened.
Shigeo lunged toward one of the hidden presences—but the figure vanished into the storm.
The others dissolved as well, melting into the wind.
His sensory range extended ten kilometers—but the cliffs above sat just beyond that radius.
Once they retreated into the storm, they disappeared completely.
When the air stilled again, only Gaara remained.
Shigeo appeared at his side in a flash.
"Are you all right?" he asked quietly.
The sand whirled around them. Visibility was poor.
Gaara's voice was hoarse and weak.
"I'm fine… Hyūga Shigeo," he murmured.
"From the first time I saw you, you felt… familiar.
Haven't we met before?"
(End of Chapter)
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