Sara had no idea what exactly Habara had been up to, but she knew that the Ryumyaku had truly vanished. This left her momentarily lost. The Ryumyaku was something of a double-edged sword—useless in practice, yet a shame to lose. It had long been bound to the fate of Loulan, both the nation and its people. Now that this object, which held a certain spiritual significance, was suddenly gone, it was natural for Sara to feel adrift.
Loulan's mission was to guard the Ryumyaku. Now that the Ryumyaku was gone, what were they supposed to guard?
The following morning.
Habara had re-erected all the collapsed towers of Loulan, albeit in a highly… artistic manner. After a night of exertion, and a considerable expenditure of chakra, he finally managed to suppress the feeling of being over-full.
He then returned to Sara and her "citizens."
"The Ryumyaku is gone," he said bluntly. "What do you plan to do now?"
The arrival of a stranger immediately put these ordinary people on guard. However, beyond being wary, there was nothing they could do.
Sara stood up and took a few steps forward, placing herself between her villagers and Habara. "What do you intend to do?"
"I've gained significant benefits from your land. If you wish to relocate, I can offer my assistance… The difficulty of surviving in the desert is obvious. Compare the original population of Loulan to the number of your citizens now. The difference is clear. Even if you wanted to become nomadic, there's nowhere to graze in the desert. What would you raise? Sandfish?"
Since he had taken the Ryumyaku, Habara decided to help the people here. What was the Ryumyaku worth? To these people, it was worthless, but to Habara, it was practically priceless.
Habara wasn't accustomed to taking things from others without giving something in return. Exchange was always preferable.
"Relocate? We've lived here for generations, despite the hardships…" Sara sounded hesitant. People are creatures of habit, deeply attached to their familiar surroundings. For some, leaving such an environment is incredibly difficult.
"If you like this place, you can come back to visit from time to time. Consider it a 'pilgrimage.' But beliefs are one thing, and survival is another. These people call you their queen, and you let them eat dirt?" Habara's persuasion was direct. What was the point of clinging to this desolate place? In another ten or twenty years, not only would Loulan disappear, but even its citizens would be completely gone.
Time and the desert winds would reduce all beliefs and dependencies to mere bones.
His bluntness sparked a flicker of defiance in Sara. "It's not that we want to die here, but in this ninja world, where could we possibly go?"
Ordinary people like them lacked the ability to undertake a long-distance migration. If they had the opportunity to leave the desert, it might not be a bad thing, but that opportunity simply didn't exist.
"Go to the Land of Fire. I can help you," Habara said.
Although the Land of Fire was the most prosperous country in the ninja world, its population density wasn't as high as one might think. Finding a place to settle five hundred people wouldn't be difficult. It was only five hundred people.
This was a migration, not a forced relocation. Five hundred people being forcibly relocated, Habara couldn't handle that. Five hundred people migrating? That was a piece of cake… Pack up their belongings, and they could leave at any time.
"The Land of Fire?"
Sara was stunned for a moment before she realized. Based on the power Habara had displayed, he was clearly a very powerful ninja, an important figure in Konoha. Therefore, he might actually be able to pull off this long-distance migration.
Habara nodded. He added, "Can you handle that injured person? Set his leg in a splint and keep it stable. Once we get there, I'll find a medical ninja to treat him."
"Really?"
Hearing Habara's words, Sara finally stopped hesitating. They couldn't manage the leg injury of that casualty with their medical skills, but Sara knew that this kind of thing was no problem for a medical ninja… Although ninja villages accepted various missions, skilled medical ninjas almost never participated in rescue operations outside the village. Basically, only ninjas from the same village could enjoy the benefits of expert medical ninjutsu.
"Of course, it's real. You don't even have any ninjas among you. What would I gain by deceiving you?"
Habara continued to persuade them. He wasn't being overly enthusiastic, but rather seeking a balanced outcome based on "equivalent exchange"… He took the Ryumyaku, which was useless to them, but he was helping them solve their future survival problems. Wasn't this a win-win? Everyone came out ahead.
Just as Sara was about to agree, Habara's expression suddenly changed. He raised his hand to stop her. Sara, what does that gesture mean? I'm about to agree, and you tell me to shut up? Was all that talk just polite banter? That banter was so convincing; it's really too much.
Habara was unaware of Sara's inner turmoil. He had simply noticed that a guest had arrived.
A figure had infiltrated Loulan and was slowly approaching. Habara instantly connected this to the intense chakra reaction he had created earlier. It made sense. If there were any Sunagakure ninjas nearby, they would definitely come to investigate what had happened.
The person quietly approached and then stopped, hiding behind a building, seemingly observing the situation.
Habara stood there, fishing. He was contemplating how to deal with this enemy's attack when he saw the person suddenly stop observing and turn to flee.
"Something's not right. This person might recognize me."
Without caring whether Sara and the others understood, Habara left them with those words and immediately gave chase… If that ninja was from Sunagakure, he couldn't let him escape. Otherwise, the fact that he had suddenly appeared in the Land of Wind could potentially affect the alliance between the two countries.
Due to some previous… minor frictions, Habara was a well-known figure in Sunagakure. It was perfectly normal for a Suna ninja to recognize him. He was a person of high interest… Not to mention the assassination of the Fourth Kazekage, he even sealed the Fourth Kazekage's corpse inside a statue. This outrageous behavior indicated that Habara was a ruthless and depraved lunatic.
If a Suna ninja recognized his face, they would immediately report his presence in the Land of Wind back to Sunagakure.
Lightning crackled around Habara, instantly closing the distance between him and the Suna ninja… Confirmed, it was definitely a Sunagakure ninja.
The Suna ninja, seeing the Konoha ninja who had assassinated the Kazekage rushing towards him, instantly became flustered. He instinctively attacked using his most familiar method.
Clack, clack, clack… A humanoid puppet charged towards Habara.
Habara paused, then a smile bloomed on his face. If you were to ask who in the world loved the Puppet Technique the most, that person would undoubtedly be Habara.
Habara extended his left hand. The puppet instantly stopped, then deformed and disintegrated, scattering into a pile of parts on the ground. In the blink of an eye, he had seized control of the puppet and destroyed it.
Then, he waved his right hand, and a massive surge of Iron Sand rushed forward, instantly engulfing the fleeing Suna ninja.
After that, there was no sign of life from the Sunagakure ninja.
Boom, boom…
A series of continuous crashing sounds followed. Because Habara had instantly drawn away the Iron Sand that served as pillars, the towers that had been lifted into the air fell back to the ground… Perhaps he felt they hadn't been shattered enough last night, so Habara had demolished Loulan again.
It was highly likely that this Suna ninja, in his final moments, thought of their Third Kazekage. Habara was finally able to use such a large-scale attack.
After dealing with the ninja, Habara returned to Sara. "Now you have to relocate, even if you don't want to. A Suna ninja accidentally died here. You… no one knows how Sunagakure will treat you now."
Sara: "…"
Accidentally?
Habara felt a pang of guilt, but he truly couldn't allow that ninja to get the message back to Sunagakure.
Sara felt both enticed and threatened. She could no longer hesitate and immediately made a decision. "Everyone, pack your belongings! We need to be quick. We're leaving immediately."
The citizens of Loulan scattered to gather their things. An hour later, they reassembled, carrying their most valuable possessions… Of course, many of them also brought various pots and pans.
About five hundred people, the size of a merchant caravan. Habara decided to see his good deed through to the end. He escorted them across the Land of Rivers and into the Land of Fire.
Once they entered the Land of Fire, they would be safe. Habara's business wasn't finished, so he would continue to escort them a bit further.
He handed a black metal piece to Sara and said, "Head towards Konoha. After a few days of travel, you should be able to get a signal. Then you can use this to contact Konoha. They will ask you for the code phrase A Close Call. You should answer A Fine Day in Late Autumn, then tell them what happened in the Land of Wind. Konoha will then arrange things for you."
"You're not going to continue escorting us?" Sara held the metal piece, stunned for a moment, then looked up at Habara.
"You're safe now. I still have a mission to complete." Habara looked at her, his eyes appearing exceptionally clear.
It had been a long time since he left Konoha, and Habara had no intention of returning immediately. His claim about wanting to capture a summoning animal wasn't entirely false. Since he was already here, he naturally wanted to give it a try.
And as long as he told Daigo his request, and Daigo passed it up the chain, Kushina would definitely provide assistance. After all, the residents of Loulan had a connection to the Fourth Hokage. The Fourth Hokage had saved them, so Kushina would certainly be willing to offer them shelter.
Sara: "…"
But Sara didn't know any of this.
She only felt deceived.
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