Chapter 93: Doing Business

Chapter 93: Chapter 93: Doing Business

Land of Wind.

The fierce winds swept yellow sand across the sky like layer after layer of curtains, obscuring even the sun hanging overhead. The blazing midday sun looked more like the setting sun at dusk.

Walking leisurely along the winding sand dunes, Sasori wore an expression beneath his cloak so gloomy it seemed water could drip from his handsome face.

He surveyed the distance, his delicate brows knitting slightly.

"Another dead end?"

Over the past ten or so days, he had searched the major towns throughout the Land of Wind, the black markets, and even several oases along the trade routes, yet he had found absolutely nothing.

Hyuga Kagami’s trail seemed to have vanished into thin air.

Ever since discovering Hyuga Kagami’s identity, Sasori had been plotting his revenge.

But Kagami was a Konoha ANBU directly under the Hokage. His movements were unpredictable. Either he stayed inside the village, or whenever he left, it was inevitably to carry out some classified mission. Because of this, Sasori had never been able to get a firm grasp on his whereabouts.

This time, after finally receiving a tip from one of his informants in the black market, Sasori had thought he would finally have the chance to wash away his previous humiliation.

Yet after traveling all the way back from the Land of Water to the Land of Wind, he had still come up empty-handed.

"Consider yourself lucky!"

With a cold snort, Sasori pulled his cloak tighter around himself and began heading in the direction of the Land of Rain...

Within the Land of Fire, in a forest.

Hyuga Kagami descended from the sky and exited Tenseigan Chakra Mode. Bracing himself against a large tree, he gasped heavily for breath.

Because he had to maintain the Third Kazekage human puppet all the way over in the Land of Wind, he had less than half of his chakra remaining. As a result, the Tenseigan Chakra Mode that he could normally maintain for ten minutes could now barely last four or five minutes.

Therefore, every time he activated Tenseigan Chakra Mode for a while, he had no choice but to stop and rest.

Fortunately, his flying speed in Tenseigan Chakra Mode was extraordinarily fast. Otherwise, with all these constant stops and starts, he might not have been traveling any faster than if he had simply journeyed normally.

After chewing down a Military Rations Pill, Kagami spread his map out on the ground and studied it carefully.

It had already been two full days since he secretly slipped out of the village. According to his plan, after one more day, he would be able to cross this forest and enter the Land of Rivers.

The main reason it had taken him so long was that the route he had chosen was simply too remote.

The entire route consisted either of dense forests that stretched beyond the horizon or endless mountain ranges. One section even passed through vast stretches of sheer cliffs, swamps, and river valleys.

Choosing such a remote route was really something Kagami had done out of necessity.

The main problem was that Tenseigan Chakra Mode was simply too conspicuous. If he took any of the other routes, there was a good chance he would be detected by sensory-type ninja stationed at Konoha outposts scattered throughout the Land of Fire.

Several days later, Hyuga Kagami finally crossed the Land of Rivers and entered the sand-filled Land of Wind.

Instead of immediately continuing on his way, he first sensed the location of the Third Kazekage human puppet from afar.

A moment later, he opened his eyes and frowned.

"That far away?"

After carefully sensing its position, he discovered that the Third Kazekage human puppet, which was currently tailing the caravan of Roran survivors, was roughly two hundred kilometers away from his current location.

Spreading out the map again, he used a pen to mark a small dot on it.

That dot represented the current location of the Roran survivors’ caravan.

Then, using that point as the center, his gaze swept across the surrounding area on the map before finally settling on an oasis called Manto.

He drew a circle around the oasis and thought to himself, "This should be where they’re headed!"

The oasis known as Manto was one of the larger oases in the Land of Wind. Judging from the Roran survivors’ pattern of moving from one oasis pasture to another, there was a good chance this would be their next stopping point.

Therefore, there was no need for Hyuga Kagami to chase after their caravan. He could simply wait for them at Manto Oasis.

Having made up his mind, he immediately put away the map and entered Tenseigan Chakra Mode once more. Flying just above the ground, he sped toward Manto Oasis.

Another two days passed before Kagami finally arrived at Manto Oasis, where he successfully found the caravan of Roran survivors.

He did not immediately go to meet the Queen of Roran. Instead, he first sealed the Third Kazekage human puppet back into its scroll, allowing himself to return to peak condition.

Afterward, he changed into a black cloak and put on the demon-faced mask he had purchased in a town in the Land of Wind during his previous travels. Then, he quietly waited for night to fall.

Several hours later, the setting sun disappeared beneath the horizon, and the moon slowly climbed into the sky.

By then, trails of cooking smoke were rising throughout the Roran survivors’ caravan. They sat together in small groups of two or three, enjoying one of the few moments of leisure they had during the day.

The Queen of Roran was not sitting with the others for dinner. Instead, she was alone inside her tent, cradling an infant in her arms as she softly hummed a lullaby.

Using the darkness as cover, Hyuga Kagami silently slipped into the Queen of Roran’s tent.

Looking at the somewhat absentminded queen, he asked in a low voice,

"What are you thinking about?"

The Queen of Roran was startled by the sudden voice. She hurriedly clutched the child in her arms tighter and retreated into a corner.

Staring warily at Hyuga Kagami, who was wrapped in a black cloak, she asked, "Who are you?!"

Kagami replied calmly, "There’s no need to be so nervous. I’m here to do some business with you."

The Queen of Roran looked puzzled.

"Business?"

Aside from some livestock, there was nothing particularly valuable in the Roran survivors’ caravan. Therefore, Kagami’s words did nothing to lower her guard.

At the same time, she did not cry out for help.

She understood very well that anyone capable of slipping silently into her tent had to be a ninja.

And if the intruder was a ninja, the Roran survivors outside would be of no help whatsoever. Calling for help would not save her—it would only drag the others into danger.

Hyuga Kagami nodded.

"That’s right. Business."

The Queen of Roran was about to say something when, because of her nervousness and panic, she suddenly began coughing repeatedly. It took her quite some time before she finally managed to suppress it.

When Kagami saw that she had actually coughed up blood, he silently activated his Byakugan and examined her.

To his surprise, he discovered that the chakra pathways within the Queen of Roran’s body were obstructed and her circulation was poor. She seemed to be suffering from a serious illness.

Kagami frowned.

"You’re seriously ill."

After breathing lightly for a while, the Queen of Roran said weakly, "I... I know."

Hyuga Kagami glanced around the Queen of Roran’s shabby tent and said, "If you don’t receive treatment soon, I’m afraid you only have a few years left to live."

The Queen of Roran did not continue on that subject. Instead, she asked with a serious expression, "Just who are you? What do you want?"

"I already told you. I’m here to do business with you."

The Queen of Roran shook her head.

"I have nothing to sell."

"No. You possess a priceless treasure." After a brief pause, Kagami chuckled. "Though for you and your people, it really isn’t of much use anymore."

The Queen of Roran immediately understood.

Looking at Hyuga Kagami behind his demon-faced mask, she asked,

"You’re after the Dragon Vein?"