The oppressive heat of the Demon Desert pressed down, a tangible weight. Team Twelve huddled in the sliver of shade offered by the overhanging rock, the stone still radiating a faint coolness from the departed night. The hour spent traversing the initial stretch of sand had already taken a toll, fine dust coating their carefully wrapped forms.
Izumi, her Uchiha-crested face covering pulled high, nodded curtly. "Perimeter check. Yuki-san, what do you sense?"
Ryuu closed his eyes, filtering out the rhythmic crunch of Renji shifting restlessly beside him. He extended his chakra sense outwards. "No active signatures within a two-hundred-meter radius. The teams ahead of us have dispersed, their traces are too faint to track reliably from here. Ambient desert life signatures are minimal… mostly insects, a few small burrowing creatures."
"Good," Izumi acknowledged. "The central tower is roughly southeast. Direct route is too exposed. We need a Moon scroll, and water. This far in, most teams will be equally desperate for shade and supplies."
Renji, his usual boisterous energy leached by the heat, ran a hand through his perpetually ruffled hair, now stiff with sweat and dust. "So, we just wait for someone to stumble by?" His trench knife was already loose in its forearm sheath.
"Waiting makes us a target," Ryuu stated, his voice low and even. "We need to be proactive, but not reckless. We're a three-person cell, relatively fresh. Larger, more experienced teams from other villages, or even older Konoha Hojo Butai teams, will be a significant threat."
"He's right," Izumi agreed. "Direct confrontation for a scroll is a last resort unless we have a clear advantage. Ambush or finding a weakened team would be preferable." She looked at Ryuu. "Can you differentiate team strength or number of individuals at a greater distance if you focus?"
Ryuu considered. The principles from Jiraiya's scroll regarding sensory extension were taxing, especially in this environment. "Possibly, but it will drain my reserves quickly. Maintaining a broad scan for immediate threats is manageable. Pinpointing and analyzing specific distant groups requires more concentration. We need to conserve chakra as much as water here."
"Then we move with caution," Izumi decided. "We find a higher vantage point among these rocks, observe. We look for signs – disturbed sand, recent campsites, careless chakra usage. We prioritize targets that are either alone or appear to be struggling."
"What about those desert beasties Gaza-sensei mentioned?" Renji asked, a sliver of his usual bravado cracking through his unease. "Giant scorpions and stuff. We could take a few of those down, right? Might have... edible parts?"
"Survival is secondary to acquiring the Moon scroll," Izumi reminded him sharply. "Engaging unknown, venomous creatures in this heat is an unnecessary risk unless they block our path or we are desperate for food. Water is the immediate concern if we don't find an opponent's supplies."
Ryuu, still scanning their surroundings with his senses, suddenly stiffened. "Movement. Northwest, edge of my range. Three signatures. Moving slowly, erratically. Chakra levels… low, fluctuating. One seems particularly weak."
Izumi's eyes narrowed. "Hostile intent?"
"Difficult to say from this distance," Ryuu replied. "More… desperate than aggressive. Could be a team already in trouble, or a feint. They are heading roughly in this direction, possibly seeking these rocks for the same reason we did."
"A potential opportunity," Izumi mused. "Or a trap. Renji, Yuki-san, prepare to move. We observe from a concealed position. No engagement unless I give the signal, or if they spot us first. Priority is assessment."
They moved with the practiced stealth Genma had drilled into them, Izumi leading the way, her steps silent on the loose scree. They found a narrow crevice higher up in the rock formation, offering a decent view of the approach from the northwest while keeping them largely in shadow. Ryuu settled, extending his senses again, focusing on the incoming group.
"Confirm three individuals," he whispered after a moment. "Their chakra feels… unrefined. One is definitely injured or has exhausted a lot of chakra. Their formation is non-existent."
Izumi activated her Sharingan, just for a moment, a flicker of crimson assessing the distant, heat-shimmering figures. "Kusa Genin, by their headbands. They look… battered. One is being supported by the other two. They have a Sun scroll, like us." She deactivated her eyes almost immediately.
Renji's hand tightened on his trench knife. "Sun scroll? Useless to us. But they might have water. And if they're weak..."
"We need a Moon scroll," Izumi reiterated, her voice firm. "Attacking them for supplies makes us the aggressors, expends chakra, and alerts other teams to our position. Unless they possess a Moon scroll and are demonstrably weaker, we avoid direct conflict. Observe. If they pass without noticing us, we let them."
The Kusa team, a miserable trio, stumbled closer, their movements sluggish, their voices carrying faintly on the hot wind – low moans and desperate encouragements. They were clearly on their last legs. As they neared the base of the rock formation, the one being supported collapsed, the other two struggling to help him up.
"They're done," Renji hissed, a predatory glint in his eye. "We could take them easily."
Ryuu felt a flicker of something akin to pity, quickly suppressed. This was the Chunin Exams. Survival of the fittest. But Izumi's caution was sound. "They are too obvious a target. It might be a trap set by another, stronger team using them as bait," he murmured, though his senses detected no other immediate signatures. "Or taking them out now might attract a scavenger team while we're weakened."
Before Izumi could respond, a different set of signatures slammed into Ryuu's awareness. Fast. Aggressive. Converging on the Kusa team from the south. "Contact! South! three signatures, strong! Coming in fast!"
On the sands below, the Kusa Genin, alerted by the sudden shift in the wind or some desperate, last-ditch instinct, looked up in terror. Figures, wrapped in sand-colored cloaks, Suna shinobi by their look, burst over a nearby dune, kunai already glinting.
The "fight," if it could be called that, was brutally short. The Suna team moved with practiced, merciless efficiency. The already weakened Kusa Genin were overwhelmed in seconds. There were a few desperate cries, the thud of bodies hitting the sand, then silence.
Team Twelve watched from their hiding place, the desert sun beating down. The Suna team quickly searched their fallen opponents, taking a Sun scroll and a few meager water skins. One of them, the leader Ryuu assumed, took out a scroll – a Moon scroll – briefly checked it against the one they'd just acquired, then nodded to his team. They had what they came for.
Without a backward glance at the bodies, the Suna team melted back into the dunes, vanishing as quickly as they had appeared.
A brutal lesson. A stark reminder.
Renji was pale. "They… they didn't even hesitate."
Izumi's jaw was tight. "That is Suna. That is the Demon Desert." She looked at Ryuu. "Yuki-san. Are they gone?"
Ryuu extended his senses. "The Suna team is moving southeast, rapidly. They haven't detected us. The… Kusa team… their chakra is fading. All three."
Silence, heavy and oppressive.
"They had a Moon scroll," Renji said, his voice hollow, staring at the spot where the Suna team had vanished. "And now they have a Sun scroll too."
Izumi considered this. "They expended minimal energy. The Kusa team was no match for them. But they do have what we need." She looked at Ryuu. "Tracking them shouldn't be too difficult for you now that their signatures are active and moving."
"So we go after them, right?" Renji's voice was low, but a dangerous edge, born of his own past trauma and the fresh brutality he'd witnessed, crept into it. "They have both scrolls. They just fought. Maybe they're not at full strength."
Ryuu nodded. His chakra reserves, though significantly larger after months of Genma's relentless training and Kasumi's focused conditioning – including consistent use of subtle weights beneath his desert gear – were still finite.
But the Suna team, while competent, had not displayed the kind of sophisticated chakra suppression that would make them ghosts.
"Their trail is clear. They are confident, moving quickly but not masking their passage."
"Then we move," Izumi decided, her onyx eyes glinting. "We won't engage them in open desert if we can avoid it. We track, we observe, we look for an opportunity. If none presents itself, we create one."
They set off, the brutal scene of the Kusa team's demise left behind, a stark reminder of the stakes. Ryuu took the lead on tracking, his senses pushed to their limit, Izumi and Renji flanking him slightly, moving with a newfound, grim determination. The earlier camaraderie was gone, replaced by the cold focus of predators.
After nearly an hour of relentless pursuit under the scorching sun, Ryuu signaled a halt. They were in a narrow, winding canyon, the rock walls offering some respite from the direct sun and, more importantly, a bottleneck.
"They passed through here no more than fifteen minutes ago," Ryuu reported, his voice hushed. "They're moving slower now, likely conserving energy. This canyon extends for another klick. Limited escape routes. Ideal for an ambush."
Izumi's gaze swept the area, her mind already dissecting the terrain. "Renji, the east wall, find a firing position for your wind-enhanced kunai. Focus on disrupting their formation or targeting their leader if an opening presents. Yuki-san, you're with me. We'll take the west wall, higher up. Your Water Release to control the ground, force them into Renji's line of fire, or to create diversions. I'll engage directly with Katon and Taijutsu if needed. We strike hard, fast. No hesitation this time." The unspoken memory of Kenta hung heavy in the air.
They moved into position. Ryuu, drawing on the "Dance of Still Water" principles from Jiraiya's scroll, suppressed his chakra signature until it was almost one with the faint, dry thrum of the desert. He felt for the subtle moisture in the parched air, what little there was, ready to draw upon it. His training with Kasumi, augmented by Genma's relentless combat drills, had significantly improved his control over even minute quantities of water.
Soon, the Suna team entered the canyon, their sand-colored cloaks making them blend almost perfectly with the surroundings, but their chakra signatures were clear to Ryuu. The leader, a tall, rangy Genin with a confident stride, was in the center, flanked by two slightly smaller figures.
Izumi gave the almost imperceptible hand signal.
Ryuu acted first, his hand seals a blur.
Dragon → Tiger → Hare
"Suiton: Mizurappa!" (Water Release: Wild Water Wave!)
Instead of a wide, dousing spray, Ryuu forced the water into a series of high-pressure, narrow jets, aimed not at the Suna Genin themselves, but at the loose scree and sand beneath their feet on the narrow canyon floor. The ground instantly became slick, treacherous.
The Suna team, surprised by the sudden, unnatural slickness underfoot, stumbled, their formation breaking.
"Ambush!" their leader yelled, his hand already moving for a kunai.
Before they could fully recover, Renji struck. "Fūton: Reppūshō!" (Wind Release: Gale Palm!)
Concentrated blasts of wind, laced with kunai, slammed into the Suna team from their east flank. The leader managed to deflect the wind-enhanced projectiles with a swiftly drawn tanto, but his two teammates were less fortunate, crying out as kunai grazed limbs and the force of the wind sent them sprawling on the now muddy, slick ground.
Izumi dropped from the western wall like a shadow, her Sharingan flaring to life instantly assessing the chaotic scene. "Katon: Hōsenka no Jutsu!" (Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!)
A volley of small, controllable fireballs arced through the air, aimed not to kill, but to separate, to further disorient. One caught the edge of the leader's cloak, forcing him to bat at the flames, his attention momentarily diverted.
This was Ryuu's cue. He formed new seals.
Tiger → Ox → Dog → Hare → Snake
"Fūton: Daitoppa!" (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!)
A powerful gust of wind, far stronger than what he'd managed months ago, ripped through the canyon, focused this time. It wasn't a killing blow, but it transformed the already treacherous footing into an unstable nightmare, kicking up a blinding cloud of dust and sand, and sending the two downed Suna Genin sliding and tumbling further away from their leader.
The Suna leader, cursing, finally extinguished the flames on his cloak, only to find himself isolated, his vision obscured. He swung his tanto wildly, trying to reorient.
Renji, a blur of motion, was on him, trench knives flashing. Their fight was fast, brutal, close-quarters. The Suna Jonin was skilled, but Renji's wind-enhanced strikes, fueled by a desperate ferocity, pressed him hard.
Meanwhile, Izumi, her Sharingan cutting through the dust, moved with deadly precision towards one of the separated Suna Genin. Her Taijutsu was a seamless flow of Uchiha grace and power. A swift series of strikes, a well-aimed kick to a pressure point, and her opponent crumpled, unconscious.
Ryuu focused on support, not wanting to overuse his chakra at this point. He tracked the remaining conscious Suna Genin who was trying to scramble to his leader's aid. With a smaller, precisely aimed "Suiton: Teppōdama!" (Water Release: Water Bullet), he knocked the Genin's feet out from under him again, sending him sprawling.
Before the Suna Genin could recover, Izumi was there, a kunai at his throat.
The leader, now facing a furious Renji and an approaching Izumi, fought with the desperation of a cornered animal. But he was outmatched. A feint from Izumi, a powerful side kick from Renji that audibly cracked ribs, and the Suna leader went down, gasping.
Silence descended again, broken only by the ragged breathing of Team Twelve and the pained groans of the defeated Suna shinobi.
Renji stood over the Suna leader, his chest heaving. "Not so tough now, are ya?" he panted, though the usual bravado was tempered with a grim satisfaction.
Izumi was already efficiently searching the subdued Suna Genin, quickly retrieving their Sun scroll, then their Moon scroll. "Objective secured."