In the land of the wind, the sand flowed freely amidst the wind, the scorching sun beat down mercilessly while the local flora and fauna struggled to survive.
It was a tough environment, but life always found a way to thrive.
In the middle of the endless desert of sand, two figures walked calmly forward, both wearing black clothes with red clouds.
-Hey, Sasori-no-Danna, weren't we planning on dealing with that Orochimaru guy? It was so hard to get him out of Otogakure.- Deidara complained.
-You talk as if you've done something.- Sasori mocked Deidara, already back inside his Hiruko puppet.
Sasori had used a rare Kekkei Genkai he had acquired to lure the snake away from the hole, but before they could even see the effect, Pain's order came first.
They didn't know if Pain had woken up on the wrong side of the bed, they only knew that when they saw him again through the projections of the Akatsuki rings, his figure looked different, although his eyes were the same.
Konan had also disappeared, which could be an indicator, however, the pressure Pain was emitting had not diminished.
There was no choice, Sasori and Deidara were sent directly to go after Ichibi.
Deidara seemed particularly irritated in this hot and cold desert, the day was as hot as hell and the night was as cold as the underworld.
Deidara didn't know how those sand ninjas lived in such a shitty place, although he wasn't going to say that out loud with Sasori beside him.
Sasori, on the other hand, felt something inside himself.
Within his cold, puppet-like body, there was no one in this world who could draw out such conflicting emotions from Sasori, except for one person.
His grandmother.
Sasori wouldn't admit it to anyone, not even himself, but deep down, he didn't know if he could really kill his grandmother, she was the only one Sasori couldn't tell how he would act.
The pair continued to move forward while Deidara occasionally brought up topics to talk about, clearly bored.
-Hey, do you think that guy Kakuzu is still alive? He didn't show up at the last meeting either. Hn.- Deidara said suddenly.
-Who knows.- Sasori replied indifferently. He wouldn't admit it, but he was also curious about it. -Maybe he died somewhere, which is a shame, he would make a great puppet.
-Hey, Sasori no Danna! You really only think about puppets, I already told you, art should be a moment of explosion! Hn!- He said while raising his arms excitedly, clearly striking a pose while shouting "explosion."
Sasori openly mocked Deidara, in the end, both were bored, so they didn't care if the conversation was repetitive.
The pair were getting closer and closer to Suna.
//-//
On the other side, Dosu was on his own mission, along with his 3 Genin.
None of the three became Chunin, which was a source of great shame among them, especially for Ryuta, who considered himself the leader among the three. Even though he was the youngest, he was already quiet before, but now he was even more so, thinking more and acting less.
Nanami seemed much more serious at this point, completely different from her previous relaxed attitude, in this Chunin exam, she was the one who changed the most.
Kenta was the complete opposite, he hadn't changed at all, clearly the most cheerful of the three, and he maintained that cheerfulness, leaving Ryuta and Nanami speechless, but also secretly pleased.
Having a hyperactive boy like him made them see that despite everything, they were still the same friends.
Another point was that all three received the curse mark, and although none of them were fit to be Chunin, it was clear that they had learned their lesson after fighting against so many strong characters.
If the trio were to compete again, provided they didn't encounter overly powerful targets, they should be able to advance without any problems.
The four were escorting a caravan to the Land of Tea. After Otogakure became the world's 'food source', most of the plant products from the Land of Sound became the preferred choice. Every year, several caravans from the Land of Tea came to Otogakure to buy leaves and tea. They would then process it in the Land of Tea and sell it at an even higher price with a label that read 'Otogakure Leaves.'
Some charlatans tried to do the same to make a profit, but there was a group of Oto ninjas subordinate to Guren who specialized precisely in hunting down these individuals.
Since patents in that world still depended on agreements that were easily ignored without a strong regulatory force, a dedicated team was needed. Initially, there was nothing like that in Oto, but complaints soon began to surface, and in the end, Guren took action. If it were up to her, those guys would all have been killed on sight, but in the end, their fates were far worse.
Orochimaru intervened on their behalf, so to speak, the reality was that they all became guinea pigs, so even Orochimaru was involved in this 'business'.
Guren didn't have much to say after that, and Oto's name became increasingly well-known among other nations.
Using the name Oto was taboo in that industry, especially since 'fraud hunters' paid generous rewards to anyone who reported an illegal business.
In any case, the train carrying the leaves needed to be fast or the leaves would lose quality, they had three days, at most, to arrive.
Dosu stayed behind, observing the caravan indifferently, Kenta and Nanami stood on the sides, and Ryuta was in front.
Whether it was Dosu or Ryuta, both possessed ways of detecting enemies through sound, and both were also sensors, so maintaining that position was the best choice.
The merchant was a chubby fellow who was already sweating after only a few hours of walking, but he didn't complain, in fact, he even wanted to walk faster. If it weren't for the speed of the pack animals, that's exactly what he would have asked for.
Kenta, on the right side, was bored, he was upside down, walking on his hands, clearly training. This irritated the merchant a little, but seeing that he was just a genin, he didn't mind much. Dosu was a top-tier Jonin from Oto, so he was already satisfied with this mission. After all, he only paid for a Rank C mission, having a Jonin in the group was already very good.
The group continued to move forward, without haste, but the journey was far from remaining so calm.