The plight of the Hidden Sand Village did not quickly ease, despite the Herculean efforts of the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa. If Suna was a machine, it was one currently operating on a critically low-power state. The budget cuts from the Land of Wind Daimyō's Manor were like heavy shackles, firmly gripping the Village's lifelines and introducing a throttling effect on every active process.
Supplies in the primary warehouses grew scarcer by the day. Maintenance and replenishment of ninja equipment, the essential "Hardware" of our survival had become a logistical nightmare. The distribution of pensions for the fallen from the Cloud strike was repeatedly delayed, allowing dissatisfaction and anxiety to secretly fester in the village's lower-tier directories. In the tea houses and the training grounds, the "Morale.exe" file was becoming increasingly corrupted.
Inside the Kazekage's office, the atmosphere was heavier than lead. Rasa sat behind his desk, looking at a shocking report detailing the scarcity of supplies. His expression was grim, his eyes reflecting the cold calculations of a man who had already run a thousand simulations and found only one path forward. The emergency meeting with the Council of Elders had already lasted an entire morning, the air thick with the smell of old paper and suppressed panic.
"We can't wait any longer," Rasa finally broke the silence, his voice a hoarse rasp that carried an undeniable, metallic resolve. "Waiting for death is the only path to ruin. A system that does not expand when its internal resources are depleted will inevitably consume itself. We must take the initiative and acquire the resources and space necessary for survival from the outside."
An Elder, his hands trembling as he clutched a cane, asked worriedly, "Lord Kazekage, what exactly are you proposing? Our troops are already spread thin."
Rasa stood up, his finger pressing heavily onto the unfurled map on the table. His nail dug into the parchment within the Land of Rivers, which bordered our eastern frontier.
"Here! The Land of Rivers! The land is fertile, the mineral density is high, and it is a crucial passage leading directly to the Land of Fire. Currently, Konoha's localized conflicts with Iwagakure and Kumogakure are intensifying. Their processing power is scattered across multiple fronts. Their control over the Land of Rivers buffer zone is at its historical weakest point!"
He raised his head, his gaze sweeping over the Elders with the sharpness of a laser. "Under the pretense of 'searching for the Third Kazekage's whereabouts,' the entire army will mobilize, cross the border, and enter the Land of Rivers. This move executes three primary sub-routines: First, it shifts internal conflicts and inspires morale by providing a common external goal. Second, it establishes practical control over fertile resource nodes, allowing us to... 'appropriate' local assets to sustain our war effort. And third, it points our military might directly at the Land of Fire, testing Konoha's true defensive strength. If the opportunity arises, we will tear off a piece of Fire's wealth to fund Suna's future."
This plan was bold, risky, and bordered on a "Hard Overclock" of the village's capabilities. But in their desperation, the Council realized it was the only step that offered a chance to break the deadlock. After an intense debate that nearly crashed the meeting, the majority of the Elders chose to agree. War, in its most brutal form, was the only choice left when every other logic gate had closed.
Orders were pushed to every squad leader within the hour. The entire Hidden Sand Village stirred like a sleeping, starving behemoth, awakening and baring its ferocious fangs. The mobilization was a masterpiece of desperate logistics. Every available exploding tag and Military Ration Pill was distributed, though the quantities were strictly metered. Puppets were pulled from the deep storage vaults for final tuning, the sound of rhythmic clacking filling the village like a mechanical heartbeat.
Appointments were announced: Elder Chiyo would serve as the Supreme Commander of the front lines. Her experience, her legendary prestige, and her master-level Puppet Technique were the most vital guarantee for this campaign. Rasa, meanwhile, would remain in the village's central command, acting as the Root Administrator to coordinate the overall defense and manage the "Gold Dust Extraction" cycles required to keep the lights on.
"Sandstorm Squad! Assemble! Synchronization check!"
The voice of Special Jonin Iryō rang out in the assembly camp. Shiori, Lucado, and I quickly moved to our designated coordinates. After the recent recovery cycle and the synergy gained from our battle in the Ghost-Weep Ravine, the squad felt like a much tighter unit.
Shiori's eyes were firmer, her sensory chakra pulses more stable. Lucado had abandoned his cocky facade for a disciplined, high-alert posture. As for me, the battle with Sasori had acted as a "Stress Test" that finalized my transition. My demeanor was calm, my Natural Energy core was idling at a steady frequency, and the weight of the scrolls on my back, containing the repaired "Spider" Legion and the upgraded Mirage felt like an extension of my own body.
"The mission parameters are clear," Iryō stated concisely. "Our unit is assigned to the Vanguard Force. We depart immediately, following Elder Chiyo's main battalion. We are the 'Probe' that will penetrate the Land of Rivers' perimeter. Check your gear. We initialize movement in five minutes!"
"Understood!" we shouted in unison.
Soon, the massive Sunagakure forces poured out of the village like a yellow torrent, a river of sand-colored uniforms surging mightily toward the eastern border. The clacking sound of hundreds of puppets walking in unison, the rhythmic heavy footsteps of the shinobi, and the irrepressible killing intent mixed together to form a suffocating atmospheric pressure.
Meeting almost no decent resistance from the local border guards, the Suna army easily crossed the frontier. The "Firewall" of the Land of Rivers was practically non-existent.
Elder Chiyo commanded from the heart of the central army, her gaze sharp as an eagle's as she continuously issued orders: "Squad One, occupy the high-ground coordinates to the left! Squad Two, initialize reconnaissance on the right flank! Puppet Squad, disperse and set up Defensive Barrier Nodes! Move with low latency!"
The Vanguard Forces rapidly penetrated forward like a drawn blade. The Sandstorm Squad followed closely, responsible for clearing small pockets of resistance and scouting for any "Konoha-based" interference.
As we moved, the geography began to change. Unlike the endless, monochromatic yellow of the Land of Wind, sparse vegetation, flowing rivers, and small, vibrant villages began to appear. It was a lush "User Environment" that many Suna ninjas had never seen. I watched my comrades' eyes; I saw greed, I saw curiosity, and I saw the cold, detached ruthlessness of conquerors who had been hungry for too long.
I piloted the Mirage in a low-altitude stealth-hover, performing reconnaissance for the squad. From my vantage point, I watched the Land of Rivers civilians fleeing in panic below, their small lives disrupted by our sudden "Data Migration" into their territory. Villages were quickly cordoned off, their food and materials being systematically "Appropriated" by Suna logistics teams.
My heart felt heavy, the thirty-year-old soul of Logan the engineer recoiling at the sight. This was war, a brutal reallocation of resources where the "System" didn't care about the individual files it deleted.
Efficiency vs. Empathy, I thought, my eyes scanning the thermal signatures of a fleeing family. In this world, morality is a luxury that the starving can't afford.
However, I knew that the real test, the "Main Event" had yet to arrive. Our actions were a massive "Ping" on the international radar. Crossing the Land of Rivers and pointing our military might directly at the Land of Fire meant a clash with Konoha was now inevitable. Konoha, the towering giant tree of the Ninja World, would not allow this "System Breach" to go unpunished.
The Sandstorm Squad followed the surging torrent, a single grain of sand merging into the massive storm that was about to sweep across the continent. The Third Great Ninja War was moving into its most violent phase, and I was the one flying the vanguard of the coming chaos.