The Winds died down and the sand settled back in the desert slowly. The blood was automatically buried under the sand. Fujin had already stored all 24 dead bodies in scrolls. He also collected the scroll containing the dead bodies of the four ninjas who were protecting Hiroshi's trading group.
He analyzed, 'With 12 mercenaries and the same number of Suna Anbu missing, the deserts will soon become very chaotic. Returning to Wind Capital will be pointless and very risky. I should eliminate a few targets who are outside the city quickly and return to Konoha.'
Having made his decision, Fujin began moving towards his targets.
10 minutes after Fujin left, a squad of Sunagakure ninjas arrived where the fighting had taken place. One of the chunins said, "It doesn't look like anyone was here, Captain Yura."
Yura frowned and said, "It looked like there was a huge battle here. It should have just ended. Inspect the area. We may find some clues."
Since Yura was the team leader, everyone obediently followed his instructions. For half an hour, they didn't find anything. Suddenly, one of the ninjas shouted, "Everyone, come here!"
Immediately, everyone approached him. He had dug the sand a few meters and was standing in a hole. As soon as they reached him, everyone's face became solemn. The sand was dyed red in blood. And it wasn't just a little bit either. One of the ninjas commented, "So much blood-soaked sand. How many people were killed here?"
The spot they were standing on was where Fujin had killed ten of the twelve Anbu ninjas from Suna. Though he had collected their bodies, the blood had seeped into the desert. Fujin didn't bother getting rid of it as it would require a lot of effort and time without providing him with any benefits.
Yura said, "It looks like someone killed a bunch of people here. They didn't bother cleaning up all the evidence thinking that no one would find it there. Unfortunately, they didn't think that we would sense their battle and come investigate so quickly."
Unknown to the Suna ninjas, it was their good luck that the killer didn't waste time clearing all the evidence. Otherwise, they would have run into Fujin and joined their comrades on the trip to the afterlife.
One of Yura's teammates countered, "But who would be so brazen in our country? I think it might be the work of someone from our village. That is why they weren't concerned about others finding out."
Yura nodded and said, "Could be. Regardless, collect as much of this blood-soaked sand as you can. Others will keep scouting this area. If it was an intense battle, then everyone wouldn't die in the same place. We will carry the blood samples to Suna. If it was done by someone else, then it will help the village a lot."
His team immediately got to work. They spent over half a day searching the entire area and managed to collect blood samples of all 24 ninjas who were killed. Of course, they didn't know that and kept searching for hours despite finding all the blood samples. Finally, at noon the next day, they stopped searching and continued their journey to Sunagakure.
At the same time, Fujin was running across the desert. He let out a sigh and muttered, "This country is too damn big!"
Though the Land of Wind didn't have many resources, in terms of Land area, it was the largest country in the ninja world. The deserts went on for thousands of kilometers to the West. Due to this, the country was incredibly difficult to be invaded. It was one of the factors why Konoha didn't push into the Land of Wind despite inflicting grave damage on Suna in every major war.
The large size of the country meant that there were some cities in the West that were very far from the Land of Fire. Due to their geographical location, they had no choice but to be completely subservient to Sunagakure. Konoha and the other villages had zero influence in this area. So Shikaku wanted to weaken Suna's influence by targeting cities and towns in this area.
Yura's squad travelled a few hours through the desert towards Sunagakure when they encountered another squad. Yura noticed them and immediately stopped and greeted respectfully, "Elder Manabu."
Elder Manabu was in his fifties and a member of the Sunagakure Council. He had an illustrious career and made many contributions during the Second and Third Great Ninja Wars. So Yura was very respectful.
Manabu didn't bother making any small talk and asked, "Yura, you are coming from the Land of Bird, right? Did you see any Anbu or mercenaries on your way here?"
Yura shook his head and said, "No, but the place we passed through had a huge battle. We probably missed it by less than 15 minutes. We didn't see anyone there but a lot of blood was spilled there. We estimated that at least 18 people were gravely injured."
Manabu frowned. He had been dispatched by Rasa after they lost communication with that group of Anbu. He analyzed, 'Kazekage-sama said that he sent 3 squads of Anbu to chase them. And the mercenary group had 12 ninjas and 1 civilian. 18 grave injuries could mean that one of the two forces was wiped out.'
Suddenly, he had a very bad feeling. He muttered to himself, 'If our Anbu won, they would have returned or at least sent a message. Does that mean that they lost to merely mercenaries? But how could our Anbu lose to mercenaries? And how did they avoid Yura's group? Did they escape into the desert instead of continuing their journey?'
Manabu asked, "Yura, did you spot any tracks leaving the battlefield?"
Yura shook his head. Manabu frowned and asked for the blood samples. He took it from Yura and handed it to one of his subordinates and said, "Carry this back to Sunagakure and have them inspect the blood. Also, ask Lord Kazekage to prepare multiple units. We may need to scout the entire desert. Yura, you and your squad lead us to the spot where you noticed the combat."
Yura replied, "But we have to hand over the mission report."
Manabu instructed, "Pass it to him. This could be an emergency. I might need all the help that I can get."
Yura nodded and said, "Alright Elder."
He handed another scroll to him and they began their journey back. Yura's squad had already consumed Soldier Pills. So they could continue running. The group returned to the spot where Yura had collected the blood-soaked sand. They investigated a lot but didn't find anything substantial.
Around the same time, Rasa received Manabu's message. He immediately reached the same conclusion as Manabu and frowned. He muttered, "First the issue with the Daimyo and now twelve Anbu went missing? What is happening in my country?"
He immediately got to work and began arranging more squads to reinforce Manabu while analyzing, 'Looks like my suspicion on the mercenary group was right. But, that group didn't look strong enough to take on my Anbu. Was someone hiding their strength? Or did I underestimate the goals of the group creating a mess in the Wind Capital City?'
Rasa over-calculated as he didn't have a clue about Fujin. His Anbu died just because they were unlucky enough to encounter him.
Since they had no success, Manabu's group began moving towards the Wind Capital City to investigate the reason for the appearance of the mercenary group. At the same time, they wanted to investigate the civilian with them.
After another half a day, they finally arrived in the Wind Capital City. Manabu quickly moved towards the city gate where they were spotted and found Ryota. Despite not being under Sunagakure, Ryota greeted the Elder warmly. Manabu directly asked, "Tell us about the mercenaries from Kurogane no Sensen with whom you were talking a few days ago."
Ryota was surprised by the question. He said, "They came here over two days ago when the Kazekage left the city. They were investigating their four-man squad that went missing while escorting a trader group. Their circumstances were quite weird as the trader group made it to the city without any harm but all the four ninjas were missing."
Manabu frowned and said, "The trader group is very suspicious."
Ryota nodded and informed him about the remaining details. He ended by saying, "The trader Hiroshi was worried about their safety. So he volunteered to go with them to tell them where they saw the man."
Ryota lied with a straight face. Instead of saying that he was forced, he said that Hiroshi volunteered. However, this lie helped Manabu as he became even more suspicious of Hiroshi. He said, "Give me the details of where Hiroshi stayed. Also, gather the remaining 11 traders and have them meet me."
Ryota was about to say no as Manabu had no right to order him around. However, Manabu added, "I have a suspicion that this group might have something to do with the recent murders in the city."
Ryota became serious and immediately nodded. He asked his subordinates and informed them about the hotel where Hiroshi stayed. As for others, he would need some time.
Manabu nodded and began moving towards the hotel. He muttered, "Twelve traders, twelve assassins, twelve mercenaries. I think we are finally getting some clues."
