Naruto: Starting as the Third Hokage with Tears in His Eyes

Chapter 32 Desert Scorpion, White Fang's Choice

The Land of Wind, an endless expanse of withered, yellow desert.

The scorching sun was like a giant furnace, baking the earth, and the air was filled with a burning smell.

"boom!"

A loud bang shattered the tranquility of the desert.

Thirty kilometers from the Sand Village's defensive line, a hidden supply depot erupted in flames and billowing black smoke. Several Konoha ANBU ninjas appeared like ghosts from the sand, quickly cleared the battlefield, and then disappeared back into the yellow sand without a trace.

"Reporting, Captain, Target number three has been destroyed. We have no casualties." A member of the Dark Guard wearing a cat-face mask reported to their leader via the team's internal short-range communication device.

"Received. Proceed to location four as planned."

A calm, emotionless voice responded.

This elusive unit was the surprise attack squad of the Dark Guard, led by Sakumo Hatake, the White Fang of Konoha.

Over the past two weeks, they have been like ghosts in the desert, precisely and efficiently destroying the seven large and small supply depots that Sunagakure had deployed on the front lines, capturing and burning countless supplies.

Their actions plunged the Sunagakure frontline troops, who were already facing off against Iwagakure and had long supply lines, into unprecedented chaos and distress.

Situations of running out of food, water, and supplies occurred frequently, causing morale to plummet.

The name "White Fang of Konoha" began to circulate among the Sand Village ninjas for the first time, carrying with it fear and hatred.

……

Sunagakure Village, Kazekage Building.

Snapped!

A teacup was smashed to the ground and shattered into pieces.

"Useless! A bunch of useless trash!"

The Third Kazekage stared at the battle report in his hand, his face ashen, trembling with rage. "Seven supply depots! A full seven! Turned upside down by a mere small squad from Konoha! You've utterly disgraced Sunagakure!"

The high-ranking members of Sunagakure in the conference room were all silent, heads bowed, not daring to speak.

Only the advisor, Granny Chiyo, a highly respected elder in the village, spoke with a solemn expression: "Lord Kazekage, now is not the time to be angry. According to intelligence, the leader of this Konoha squad is Hatake Sakumo, known as the White Fang of Konoha. His swordsmanship is superb, he excels in assassination and stealth, and his ruthless and decisive style makes him a very difficult opponent."

"Difficult to deal with?" The Third Kazekage sneered. "No matter how difficult he is, he's only one person, a small squad! Surely our vast Sunagakure village has enough people to handle him?"

"I suggest we send out the village's best puppeteer."

A glint of light flashed in Granny Chiyo's eyes. "To deal with this kind of speed-type assassin ninja, one-on-one combat makes it easy for him to find an opening. Only a wide-range, all-encompassing puppet attack can completely restrict his movements."

"Puppet Master..." Feng Ying pondered for a moment, then glanced at the two people present.

They were a young couple who looked to be no more than twenty-five or twenty-six years old.

The man was calm and collected, while the woman was gentle and quiet; the two seemed somewhat out of place sitting together.

They were none other than Rura and Uzuki, the most renowned and top-tier puppeteers in Sunagakure, known as the Sand Couple.

"Rura, Uzuki," Kazekage's voice rang out.

"Yes." The couple stood up at the same time.

"I command you to lead your puppet troops, at all costs, to annihilate Hatake Sakumo's forces and bring back his head!"

The Kazekage's voice was filled with killing intent, "I will let Konoha know that anyone who dares to set foot in the desert of our Land of Wind will only face death."

"Yes, Lord Kazekage!"

The couple exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with confidence and understanding.

As the strongest puppeteers in Sunagakure, they have that confidence.

……

Three days later, in a canyon near the Kandal Oasis.

Sakumo Hatake's troops were silently lying in ambush on the rock walls on both sides of the canyon, waiting to ambush a Sunagakure transport convoy that was about to pass through the area.

However, as time ticked by, half an hour had passed since the scheduled time, and the canyon remained empty.

"Captain, something's not right."

The cat-masked lieutenant whispered, "Sunagakure's transport teams are always very punctual."

Sakumo Hatake frowned slightly, a sense of unease welling up inside him.

He closed his eyes and activated his senses to the maximum.

The sound of the wind, the rolling of sand, the crawling of lizards... everything seemed so normal.

But it is precisely this "normality" that is most abnormal.

It's too quiet.

There wasn't even the slightest extra fluctuation of chakra. This was abnormal in itself on the battlefield.

"All personnel on high alert!" Sakumo made a decisive decision. "We may have been exposed. Prepare to retreat..."

Before he could finish speaking, a sudden change occurred.

"Chirp chirp chirp—"

A piercing sound rang out from all directions.

Immediately afterwards, the sand beneath their feet and the surrounding rock walls began to move.

Dozens of scorpion-shaped puppets emerged from the sand, their stingers gleaming with an eerie light.

On the rock face, hundreds of spider puppets disguised as rocks emerged.

A dozen or so crow-shaped puppets hovered in the sky, their open mouths revealing countless launch ports for thousands of sticks.

A huge, invisible encirclement quietly formed, completely sealing off their small team of a dozen people in this canyon.

"Oh no! It's a puppet trap!" the second-in-command exclaimed.

"Where is the puppeteer?" Sakumo's eyes sharpened. He knew he had to find and eliminate the puppeteer immediately.

"Hahaha, looking for us? Konoha's White Fang."

A gentle male voice came from above the canyon.

Everyone looked up and saw Lulu and Uzuki standing side by side at the top of the canyon, looking down at them as if they were caged beasts.

"My husband and I have been waiting here for quite some time," Uzuki said with a smile, but that smile sent chills down one's spine.

"To deal with you, we've brought out the entire formation of the Ten Machines Exercise." Rura raised his hand, and countless chakra threads, almost invisible to the naked eye, extended from his fingertips, connecting to the puppets below.

"Let's do it!"

With his command.

"Buzz—"

All the puppets moved at the same time.

Poisoned needles, needles, and venomous claws rained down on Shuo Mao's team from the sky and the ground, from all directions, leaving no blind spots.

"Form ranks! Defend!"

With a roar, Sakumo unsheathed his white dagger, which danced like a silver light screen, blocking all the attacks coming at him.

The members of the Dark Division reacted quickly, forming a defensive formation back to back, using Earth Release and Water Release techniques to withstand the endless attacks.

However, the enemy was too numerous.

"Pfft!"

To cover his comrade, a member of the secret service was slashed in the back by the claws of a spider puppet, leaving a deep, bone-revealing wound that instantly stained his clothes with blood.

"In the mountains!" the deputy exclaimed.

The wounded ANBU ninja groaned, his face quickly turning bluish-purple; clearly, the claws were coated with deadly poison.

"It's okay, I won't die!" he shouted through gritted teeth.

Sakumo Hatake looked at the puppeteer couple at the top of the canyon in the distance, who were the leaders of this mission.

He glanced again at his men, who were fighting fiercely and were beginning to suffer casualties.

Is it to break into the enemy lines at all costs, kill the enemy commander, and complete the mission?

Or... lead the already wounded troops, abandon the mission, break through and retreat, and save the lives of the men?

The words of their teacher, Hiruzen Sarutobi, seemed to echo in their ears once more.

"No mission is more important than the lives of our comrades."

However... the mission failed, the Sand Village's supply lines were preserved, and the Konoha main force at the front will therefore face greater pressure and suffer more casualties.

Abandoning these few comrades in exchange for a greater victory... this seems to be the most correct choice for a commander.

Seeing his poisoned subordinate's complexion worsen and his breathing become weaker, Hatake Sakumo gripped his White Fang short sword tightly.