NARUTO: Ninja World Scientific Revolution

The Land of Wind is almost entirely desert, with fierce winds blowing relentlessly. Just opening your mouth could result in a mouthful of sand. In such an environment, it's no surprise that the Sand Village would be desperate to attack Konoha. Living under these harsh conditions, and with ninjas turned into mindless killing machines, there seems to be little other option than waging war and fighting for territory.

The Land of Wind struggles to even be self-sufficient in food, relying heavily on imports from the Land of Rivers or other smaller nations. On the other hand, Konoha not only has enough arable land but also has the capacity to export grain.

After entering the desert, Hyuga Mirai and his two companions used the sand to camouflage themselves, blending their bodies into the desert terrain. Even if a keen-eyed Sand Ninja spotted them from afar, they would remain undetected as long as they stayed still.

"There are three main logistical routes for the Sand Village. We'll set traps along this one with explosive tags. If no more than ten ninjas come through, we'll strike as soon as they walk into the trap," Hyuga Mirai explained to his two female companions. He had meticulously planned the trap. Once a Sand Ninja stepped into it, even a Jōnin would struggle to escape alive.

The traps were designed to be hidden, almost impossible to detect. This was the base of the Land of Wind, behind the town of Storm Sand. Back in the day, only Konoha's White Fang could lead a small team to strike deep behind enemy lines, like a dagger thrusting into the heart of the enemy. After the White Fang died, no one in Konoha had been able to perform such operations.

Since the two countries hadn't officially gone to war yet, the Sand Village was merely amassing forces along the border. Based on Konoha's usual tactics, they would likely send emissaries advocating for peace, not send ninjas into the interior of the Land of Wind to cause trouble.

Hyuga Mirai wasn't confident that any Sand Ninjas would definitely pass through this particular route. So, they could only wait patiently. It was also possible that no one would come by in time, and Mirai would have to declare the mission a failure and return the same way they came.

Fortunately, they had good luck. After just half a day of waiting, three small teams approached from the distance. 

*Ten ninjas, three of whom seem to be freshly graduated Genin. The rest are Chūnin!*

Hyuga Mirai's Byakugan allowed him to detect movements from as far as eight kilometers away, and the moment these Sand Ninjas entered his line of sight, he could see them clearly.

A moment later, after getting closer, Hyuga Kiyo, one of his companions, alerted him, "There are ten in total. Three of them have weaker chakra levels; the rest are likely Chūnin."

Upon hearing this, Hyuga Mirai immediately ordered, "We can engage. Once the traps activate, we strike!"

The three of them quickly dispersed and lay flat against the ground, using the sand as cover. Even at a hundred meters away, anyone would have difficulty seeing them lying there.

"Sensei, we're almost at Storm Sand. Can you tell us about the war?" one of the freshly graduated Genin asked their leader, an older ninja named Sugimoku. They were all excited, eager for their first taste of war.

Despite their excitement, they weren't afraid; in fact, they were determined to make their families proud by becoming heroes of the Sand Village. Most Sand Ninjas at the time believed their village was strong, as the third Kazekage had been the strongest in history. Although he was killed by Konoha's underhanded methods, the fourth Kazekage had defeated the powerful Raikage from the Cloud Village.

Under the leadership of the fourth Kazekage, many Sand Ninjas believed that they could easily crush Konoha and seize more hospitable lands.

Sugimoku, seeing that the three younger ninjas had been asking questions throughout the journey and that they were nearing the town of Storm Sand, decided to share some wisdom with them, fulfilling his duty as a senior ninja. 

"Listen up, you young ones. Never underestimate war. Once you're on the battlefield, you'll face dangers from every direction. Even right now, there could be an ambush!"

Sugimoku didn't want these young ninjas to get careless and end up dead on their first mission. He was speaking half to warn them, half to scare them.

The young female ninja waved her hand and laughed. "We got it, Sugimoku-sensei. You're just trying to scare us. How could there be an ambush here?"

Sugimoku understood that there wasn't likely to be an ambush, but as their superior, he couldn't let his guard down. He forced himself to continue, "If you had been born a few years earlier, you would have faced a ninja known as Konoha's White Fang. Back in the day, I… I met the White Fang…"

Boom! Boom!!

Before Sugimoku could finish his sentence, the explosive tags planted earlier detonated, sending out a violent explosion and searing flames that instantly engulfed him.

Like a chain reaction, multiple explosive tags nearby exploded one after another. The three young Sand Ninjas had no time to react, their smiles frozen as they were consumed by the flames.

Of the ten Sand Ninjas, only the three in the back managed to leap away just in time, raising their arms to shield themselves. They avoided most of the blast, though they were still scorched by the flames.

"An ambush! The enemy!" The three surviving Sand Ninjas quickly realized what had happened. They drew their weapons, readying puppets or kunai to counterattack, but the next wave of attacks arrived too quickly.

There was the unmistakable sound of objects being thrown. They turned around just in time to see kunai tied with explosive tags rapidly approaching, each sealing off one of their escape routes. Their only option was to flee forward, but that route was blocked by Hyuga Mirai's prepared teammates.

"Eight Trigrams: Sixty-Four Palms!" 

"Magical Tree Binding Kill!"

Both Hyuga Kiyo and Kurenai Yuhi were Chūnin and had their signature techniques at the ready. The two Sand Ninjas, despite being puppeteers, couldn't even open their scrolls in time before they were struck down. In mere moments, Hyuga Kiyo's swift attacks pierced through their internal organs and blocked their chakra points, causing them to collapse in heavy injuries.

Meanwhile, the other Sand Ninja, who had been caught in Kurenai's genjutsu, stood frozen in place, completely immobilized. Hyuga Mirai used his Byakugan to assess him, realizing that the Sand Ninja's chakra was now completely disrupted by Kurenai's technique. Without help, it would take him an entire day to regain his senses.

"Finish them off. We need to retreat immediately!" Mirai ordered, throwing ten shuriken, each landing squarely in the vital points of the surviving Sand Ninjas, instantly killing them.

Afterward, he took out three sealing scrolls and began quickly sealing the corpses inside.

Once the bodies were sealed, Hyuga Mirai called out softly, "Kiyo, Kurenai!"

"Understood." Both women responded promptly, and they quickly moved off in different directions. Although they were still a distance from Storm Sand, the explosions earlier could have easily alerted Sand Village patrol teams.

It wasn't until ten minutes later that a Sand Ninja patrol squad arrived, but by then, all the signs of battle had almost disappeared. They only knew that a fierce battle had occurred, with numerous explosive tags and Fire Style techniques used.

"Report this back!" The squad leader signaled to his team, and they quickly headed back to their base.

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(End of Chapter)