Fortunately, there was no mention of encountering danger on the way in this mission, and Mizuki was right next to them, so neither Aburame Shino, Inuzuka Kiba nor Hyuga Hinata were too vigilant, and did not notice the tracking behind them. Of course, this was also the result of the excellent strength and concealment ability of Tenzang and Uchiha Sasuke.

Mizuki actually didn't care much about the two helpers sent by Tsunade. Tenzo was okay, but could Uchiha Sasuke also be considered a helper? Well, Chidori was quite powerful, and could kill people with a long sword, so he might be able to help a little, but if he really fought with a strong man like Orochimaru, Mizuki didn't ask him for help, as long as he could protect himself.

If you think about it this way, isn't this a bit strange? In fact, it's not impossible to understand. Shuimu estimated that these two people were probably carrying out other secret missions, and assisting him might just be a cover.

Mizuki didn't want to ask too much about the affairs of the Anbu, nor did he want to care too much. As long as it didn't cause trouble for him and he could bring them back safely, that would be enough.

Everyone has their own plans, and Mizuki can understand that. As long as they can successfully obtain the Eight-Headed Technique, it doesn't matter if they are used as a cover. As a Konoha ninja, they just need to follow orders.

Inuzuka Kiba, who had not traveled far for a long time, was very happy. It was quite easy to walk on the road to the Land of Wind. This season was the most comfortable time. After a while, it might become a little hot.

It was a relatively easy task in early summer in May. It felt good when I was in the Land of Fire. But after crossing the border to Kikyoyama Castle, the climate suddenly changed and the humidity in the air dropped sharply. The country named after wind was indeed very different from the rich Land of Fire.

There are very few trees and vegetation, and most of the place is an endless sea of ​​sand. Occasionally, a few withered and yellow thorny vines are seen as a rare sight. In such places, the most common are cacti, which are extremely drought-resistant, adding a little green to this country of yellow sand.

"Teacher Mizuki, is there really a country here? The Wind Country, one of the five great nations, lives in this kind of hellhole?"

Akamaru was still young, and his short legs made it impossible for him to walk in the sand dunes. When he stepped on the sand, half of his leg disappeared. When he touched the softer sand, he couldn't even pull his feet out. In the end, he had to lie on Inuzuka Kiba's shoulder to rest.

"Yes! There are also oases in the desert. Such places are like a collection of the essence of a hundred miles around, and they are also quite prosperous. In addition, there are also many specialties in the desert..."

"I know that." Inuzuka Kiba rushed to say, "The gold sand from the Wind Country is very famous!"

Mizuki nodded.

"That's just one aspect. In this sea of ​​sand, there are many valuable animals and plants, many of which have hallucinogenic effects and are even highly poisonous. This is why the Sand Village is good at making poisons and the source of their raw materials."

"Poison? The kind used by puppeteers?"

"That's about right. Of course, there are some valuable things, such as this..."

As he spoke, Shuimu stepped forward with his right foot. A pile of sand rolled up, and in the flying dust, a huge figure appeared in front of everyone.

"Wow, what a big scorpion."

If you were to get hit hard while hiding under the sand, most Chunins wouldn't be able to withstand it.

"Shino, are you interested in this big bug?"

Aburame Shino shook her head.

“Too big.”

Since the insect master didn't want it, Shuimu accepted it as a matter of course. This thing, which had basically no value except for a little strength and poison, was easily obtained by Shuimu.

On the way, the team encountered a desert wolf spider and several desert giant ants, all of which were collected by Shuimu.

"What a great harvest! I didn't expect there would be so many big guys in the desert of the Wind Country."

For a ninja who is good at studying biology, it seems unqualified to have not collected many samples of strange creatures.

"Some things that are not suitable for use on humans may be tried on these large wild animals."

Mizuki decided to give it a try when he had free time, so he simply summoned out the summoning beast, the giant bear Hatajun.

"Come on, there's still a long way to go, save some energy."

No one knows what good food this guy has eaten recently, but his body is getting bigger and bigger. In addition to eating some organic waste, insect corpses, and products of failed cultivation during the experiments of his clone, Shuimu doesn't know what made this guy grow so fast. Not only has his strength increased, but he seems to have become smarter than an ordinary bear.

However, the giant bear is not a creature suitable for living in the desert after all. It was exhausted after walking for less than half a day. Then Shuimu switched to the scorpion.

"This big bug seems to be much more comfortable to sit on than the giant bear. It's really unexpected."

"Bears only have four legs, but scorpions have eight legs, plus two pincers, a total of ten legs. Of course, they are much more stable."

Also, their ability to adapt to the environment is far different, so there is no comparability.

Although the climate of the Wind Kingdom is very uncomfortable, fortunately we did not encounter severe sandstorm weather. If we really encountered such trouble, we would not be able to move at all and could only stop and dig a sand pit to hide.

It is still scorching hot during the day, but at night, the breeze mixed with fine sand blows on the skin, making people feel a little cool.

The temperature difference between day and night was too great, so the eighth class took advantage of the suitable temperature and good weather to hurry on their way for a while before stopping.

Under the gaze of the three students, Shuimu used earth jutsu to dig a large basement, and then used powerful fire jutsu to burn it violently, melting the surrounding sand and gravel into something crystal clear and like crystal.

"Come in, and rest inside tonight."

"Ninjutsu is really convenient, but it's a pity that no one in our class is good at Mizuki-sensei's methods!"

Mizuki glanced at the envious Inuzuka Kiba.

"You can learn if you want, but the lessons are very difficult, and I won't let you give up halfway. If you want to try to learn the art of escape, you can always come to me!"

It seems that I am not strict enough and my authority is not enough!

While Team 8 was resting in the temporary underground room, in the small wooden house, Sasuke was also envious of Tenzang's Wood Release.

"The power of Wood Release, I didn't expect there was such a hidden thing in the village. The first generation's unique skills don't seem to be as unique as the rumors said. I was too naive before."

Only after being promoted to Chunin and joining the Anbu, all kinds of worlds that you had never known before gradually revealed their true appearance before your eyes.

…

The next morning, Shuimu led the eighth class to start the journey early. They could walk a few more steps before the weather got hot. What surprised Shuimu was that in the early morning, some cold-blooded animals, such as desert snakes and poisonous lizards, were lying on the sand to bask in the sun. Because their body temperature was not high enough, their mobility was very weak and they had no ability to resist. Shuimu picked and chose a lot of them.

"Mr. Mizuki, what's the point of collecting these things?"

"I don't know either!"

Mizuki replied with a shrug.

"Maybe it will be useful in the future. Who knows, maybe it will come in handy someday. Even if it's not useful, it's good to roast it and eat it. For example, wolf spiders, you know, they taste good when roasted."

"Hey, are these all edible?"

"How did you pass the wilderness survival course? As long as it's alive, there's nothing that can't be eaten. It just depends on whether you dare to eat it!"

"But, Mr. Mizuki, wouldn't it be better to use the Bingliang Pills?"

"Well?"

These kids from rich families really don't get along with Shuimu. They don't know what thrift is at all...

As Mizuki and his students were moving forward and chatting, suddenly, several chakra reactions in front broke into Mizuki's perception range.

“Stop!”

Mizuki waved his hand and waited for the ninja in front to approach.

"Don't be nervous, they are not enemies!"

A moment later, a jonin from the Sand Village came hurriedly with several subordinates. The leader was the familiar Maki. The female ninja carrying a huge folding fan behind her was Temari. As for the others, Mizuki didn't recognize them. Judging from their chakra reactions, their strength barely reached the level of Chunin.

"Mizuki Jonin, long time no see!"

"It's been almost half a year, Maki-jounin. It's a little strange that you weren't the one leading the team during the Chunin Exam a few months ago."

Maki raised his eyebrows. He was really mean to expose the shortcomings of others as soon as he met them. Who doesn't know that there is a struggle for power within the Sand Village? Fuyi and Maki were left-wingers, and each had a group of supporters who were fighting fiercely. There were also other stubborn elements who held their own opinions and made trouble. This was the reason why the Sand Village could not elect a Kazekage for the first time.

"I am not the only one in the Sand Village who is capable of leading the team. Fukiyoshi is also a powerful and highly respected senior. There is nothing wrong with him representing the Sand Village."

"Really?"

Mizuki was just talking about the troubles of Sand Village. A ninja from another village would not bother to care about it.

"Dear guest from afar, please follow us to the Sand Village. We have been waiting for you for a long time."

"Thank you for your help!"

It's really tiring to talk about these flowery words. I should have asked Tsunade for a civilian staff to help me earlier. Mizuki, who comes from a rustic background, is really not familiar with the things happening in these scenes.

Half a day later, under the leadership of Maki and his group, Mizuki and his three students finally arrived at their destination, the Sand Village.

…

That night, Mizuki met a group of bureaucratic ninjas from the Elder Council who were temporarily taking over the power of the Kazekage of the Sand Village. After meeting Mizuki in a formal communication occasion, some of these people were curious, some were fawning, some were disgusted, and there were even some ignorant guys who wanted to test their own strength.

Well, the weaker the people are, the less they know their correct position. The Sand Village, which was originally quite powerful, created a group of powerful people who were feared by everyone because of its elite ninja policy. Now it seems that except for a few people like Maki, they are all a bunch of good-for-nothings. No wonder Deidara rushed into the village alone and captured Gaara, the One-Tail Jinchuriki. He is the Kage of the Five Great Ninja Villages. I have never seen other ninja villages suffer such a disgrace.

Mizuki obviously didn't want to waste time with these guys. Chiyo and Ebizo didn't show up. The person who really had the final say wasn't there, so it wasn't worth wasting time with these guys. During this time, when Maki and Fushigi came forward, Mizuki exchanged a few words with these two acquaintances.

After exchanging formal documents, Shuimu declined all invitations on the grounds that he was tired from the journey and needed to rest.

That night, in the room prepared for Mizuki in the Sand Village, Tenzo and Sasuke were discussing the details of the next mission with Mizuki. A huge map was spread out on the table in front of them. It looked a little funny to Mizuki, but at least most of the information was fully expressed.

"Are you sure Orochimaru hasn't left yet?"

Tian Zang replied in a deep voice: "There is no way to confirm this kind of thing, but there is a high possibility that it is still there!"

"You are so mysteriously confident. What is the approximate range?"

Tianzang walked closer and drew a rough area on the map.

"Our allies are more familiar with the terrain here than we are, and their intelligence is much more reliable than ours!"

"Does that mean that we have to rely entirely on the Sand Village to help us find Orochimaru's location?"

"There's nothing we can do about it. We can only trust them now. After all, they are our allies. I'm sure they won't deceive us on such a matter."

“That’s true!”

Not only did Orochimaru screw over the Sand Village, he also killed the Fourth Kazekage Rasa and pretended to be him to give orders to the Sand Village. This humiliation made the Sand Ninja hate Orochimaru to the core. It is predictable that since they are unable to deal with this enemy, they want to use the power of their ally, Konoha Village, to get rid of Orochimaru.

"Starting tomorrow afternoon, I will find an opportunity to personally investigate the nearby terrain. No matter what, I can't completely rely on others!"

"How can we assist you?"

"You guys just follow the plan. I have my own plan. We must not be careless in the places with the highest probability."

"What about the Sand Village's public activities?"

After all, there is still a mission to assist allies in improving the level of ninja teaching.

"I'll handle it myself!"

"Use a physical clone?"

Mizuki nodded.

"There's nothing we can do about it. We can't waste our time on meaningless socializing. Orochimaru may leave the Kingdom of Wind at any time. We must hurry!"

The plan was decided, and the three of them prepared to investigate separately according to the plan.

After memorizing the key areas marked on the map, Shuimu instructed:

"Don't rush into a conflict. Wait until I have everything arranged before taking action."

Shuimu's clones have already placed some Flying Thunder God Marks in the Wind Country, but there are still too few to cover the areas required for this mission. It would be safer to wait until Shuimu has arranged these places properly before taking action.

"If you encounter an enemy that is difficult to deal with, send me a signal immediately!"