After the crisis at the medical station was resolved, Hinata Haruki returned to the logistics department to continue managing the warehouse. Half a month passed like this.
That day, just as usual, Haruki arrived at the logistics department—only to see his teacher, Kato Dan, standing there.
"Kato-sensei!" Haruki greeted him with a smile.
"Haruki, you're here." Dan waved back cheerfully.
"Sensei, what brings you here?" Haruki asked curiously.
"Yesterday, I joined Shikaku and the others in a raid on one of the enemy's small supply points. We got quite a haul. I've just returned to report in, and now I'm heading out again with Lady Tsunade on an important mission. I came here to pick up some special equipment."
"Oh? You're going on a mission with Lady Tsunade?" Haruki smirked, a teasing glint in his eyes. "Sensei… did you finally confess to her?"
Dan's face instantly turned red, and he gave an awkward laugh. "Cough, cough… Lady Tsunade and I are just friends for now. Uh… do you have a water source detector here?"
"Yes, I'll get one for you."
Haruki went into the warehouse and soon came back holding a compass-like device. The difference was that it had two parallel upright needles shaped like the "┌" symbol sticking out of it.
"Here you go, Dan-sensei. Just sign here." Haruki pointed to the logbook.
Dan signed his name and handed the log back. "Alright, I'm off. This time I'm heading to the battlefield. See you next time, Haruki!"
"Goodbye, sensei." Haruki waved.
"Dan-sensei… going to the battlefield with Lady Tsunade?" Haruki thought to himself, his brow slowly furrowing.
Inside a command tent, Tsunade sat studying a map. Standing nearby were the Ino–Shika–Cho trio along with several other jōnin.
"So, if we follow the underground river, we'll find a forest oasis—that's where Sunagakure's main supply point is?" Tsunade asked.
"That's right. According to the memories I extracted from a prisoner's mind, that's the exact location," replied Yamanaka Inoichi with a nod.
"Our raid on that small supply post yielded more than we expected. We stumbled upon extremely valuable intel," added Nara Shikaku.
"The Intelligence Division has verified it—these memories are genuine, no signs of falsification," another jōnin from the division confirmed.
During the earlier raid, led by Dan, Inoichi had probed a captured Suna shinobi's mind and discovered the location of the main supply point.
The Land of Wind was mostly endless desert, making logistics a nightmare. Sunagakure would have to maintain a massive supply depot to ease the strain; otherwise, most of their food and water would be lost during long transports.
If that main supply point were destroyed, Suna would lose the war.
Upon receiving the report, Tsunade decided immediately—she herself would lead a team to launch a surprise attack. Right now, she and Inoichi were confirming the depot's position on the map.
"How is the special operations squad's preparation?" she asked.
"Dan-sensei is already getting ready," said Akimichi Choza.
"Good. Once preparations are complete, we move out immediately. Our target: the destruction of Sunagakure's main supply point!" Tsunade declared. "You've all worked hard. Leave the rest to me."
"Yes, Lady Tsunade!" the three replied before taking their leave.
Not long after, Dan entered the tent with nine elite Konoha jōnin. Unlike ordinary jōnin, these were seasoned veterans of exceptional skill.
"Lady Tsunade, we're ready. Leave this mission to us. You should stay here at camp," Dan suggested.
Tsunade shook her head. "This mission is too important to risk failure."
She rose to her feet, raising her arm. "Then let's move! Target: Sunagakure's main supply station!"
The 11-man squad slipped into the desert, silently bypassing the front lines and crossing into enemy territory. Using the detector, they soon located the underground river deep in the dunes, then followed it toward the forest oasis. No one noticed them.
The day was oppressively hot, with heavy rain clouds hanging low in the distant sky.
"This is the place. The number of Suna shinobi in the area just spiked," one Byakugan-wielding jōnin reported after scanning the forest ahead.
"Three hundred meters ahead—six hidden sentries. Two of them are jōnin. Eight hundred meters out, eight more patrolling in the open. Farther out, I can't see clearly," he added after a careful sweep.
"I'll take out the hidden sentries quietly. Protect my body. Spirit Transformation Technique!"
Dan quickly formed hand seals. A translucent version of himself slipped free, glowing faintly white and surrounded by a halo. His spirit form shot forward in silence, weaving through the trees.
The first Suna jōnin, concealed in the rearmost bushes, never knew what hit him—his soul was struck, and he collapsed instantly.
"One down."
A moment later, a chūnin in a nearby tree had his throat slashed.
"Two."
The noise drew another Suna jōnin's attention. He turned just in time for Dan's spirit to enter his body—instant possession.
"Three."
Another ninja approached, asking what was going on. Dan, in his possessed body, gestured forward, luring him closer. A kunai to the chest ended him.
"Four."
Still in disguise, Dan ordered two chūnin to follow him into the trees—neither returned.
"Five and six," Dan noted, leaving the corpse as he returned to his own body.
"The sentries are down," he reported.
"Move in. Take out the patrols," Tsunade ordered.
They closed in on the eight patrolling shinobi and struck in unison—Tsunade's poisoned kunai dropped them before they knew they were under attack.
With the outer defenses neutralized, they approached the depot—a cluster of four large domed sand-constructed warehouses, heavily guarded.
"Eighteen jōnin, sixty-eight chūnin, plus many genin," the Byakugan jōnin confirmed.
"Tsunade, you draw their attention. I'll possess an enemy and sabotage the supplies from inside," Dan proposed.
"Alright. Begin the diversion!" Tsunade commanded.
A long-blade-wielding jōnin summoned a ninken, strapped it with a pack of explosive tags, and sent it underground toward the depot.
"Byakugan—guard our retreat and protect Dan's body. If anything goes wrong, signal and we pull out immediately. Understood?"
"Yes!"
The team split up. Dan's spirit form slipped into the depot, possessing a lone Suna guard.
"Go!" Tsunade led six in a frontal assault while two attacked from the flank. She leapt high—Heaven Kick of Pain!—slamming down to shatter the ground and cripple a squad of chūnin. One jōnin tried to block her punch—his arms shattered, his skull caved in, and he died instantly.
The battle exploded. Ninjutsu lit the air—lightning, fire, earth, and wind tearing through enemy ranks.
Inside, Dan took the ninken's explosive tags, weaving through the warehouse rows to plant them. When the last was set, he retreated, released his possession, and detonated them.
The chained blasts tore the depot apart—roofs blown skyward, supplies obliterated.
"Success! Retreat!" Tsunade called.
But before they could withdraw, the ground trembled—gold-flecked sand erupted from below, wrapping around the Byakugan jōnin.
"Magnet Release: Gold Sand Binding Coffin!"
A Suna shinobi stood on a branch, hands outstretched. The gold sand constricted, threatening to crush its prisoner.
Dan tried to cut the bindings, but the enemy formed another jutsu—Magnet Release: Spinning Gold Spear—a massive, spiraling weapon that shot down and impaled the trapped jōnin through the chest. Blood splattered; the gold sand turned crimson.
Tsunade's group arrived just as the jōnin fell.
From the treetops, Chiyo, Ebizō, a giant-fan-wielding shinobi, and the gold sand user looked down. More Suna reinforcements were closing in.
"Magnet Release: Wave of Gold Sand!"
Sand surged from every direction—the warehouse walls, even the crates had been filled with gold sand. It rose like a tidal wave, swallowing the forest and reshaping the land into a golden sea. The Konoha shinobi were dragged down, surrounded on all sides.
"You'll all die here! Magnet Release: Great Gold Sand Burial!"
The crushing mass descended.