For three whole days, Mizuki used a physical clone to appear in the Sand Village instead of himself, while his real body continued to wander around the various regions of the Wind Kingdom.

Whether it is the dark and damp insect and beast caves, the crevices in the cliffs, or even the unfathomable underground caves, there are many places marked with the mark of Flying Thunder God by Shuimu.

"This time, I am finally satisfied."

In this densely packed layout, it is very unlikely to escape Shuimu's pursuit without some special means. The only thing that limits Shuimu's performance is his own chakra.

Looking at a marked area on the map, it seemed safe no matter how you looked at it.

If you want to take action, you'd better find a time when the weather is clear and the visibility is good. People who want to escape always hope that the situation will be complicated and easy to find loopholes, and the daytime is more favorable for water and wood.

Tianzang closed the map and put it away.

"During this period, we have also searched some suspicious places, but found nothing. It seems that finding Orochimaru is still quite difficult."

"It's definitely impossible to find it in ordinary places. It may be possible to find it in places where there are few people."

If Orochimaru's hiding place was so easy to find, the Akatsuki organization would have come to him long ago.

Although the location and direction were not very clear, Mizuki still had some impression of Orochimaru's real hiding place.

"We will officially start the operation tomorrow. We have already wasted quite a bit of time. If we delay any further, he might really get away."

This time, it may be Mizuki's biggest action before the resurrection of the Three-Tails. He just needs to make up for the last shortcoming in himself and then prepare for the future.

"Are we going to work together or search separately?"

"Let's split up and search, it will be faster this way. Each person will be responsible for a few areas, and we will gather together once we find something!"

Tenzang and Sasuke nodded in agreement. To deal with Orochimaru, Mizuki was the main force, and the two were just assistants.

…

Finding someone is actually a matter that tests one's patience. Even if one knows the approximate location, finding a person who deliberately hides in the vast sea of ​​sand of the Kingdom of Wind is undoubtedly as difficult as finding a needle in a haystack.

Fortunately, one thing is certain, Orochimaru is most likely somewhere near the east.

The "Great Sand Dunes of the East" is an important base of Orochimaru in the Kingdom of Wind. In the original work, Deidara and Scorpion of the Red Sand fought with Orochimaru in the Kingdom of Wind in order to complete the mission issued by Pain to kill Orochimaru and take back the taken away ring. The battle took place in this remote place.

Since they know the approximate location, they will probably not deviate from the general direction. Scorpion died early, and it is not known whether he ever joined forces with Deidara to hunt down Orochimaru. If this has changed, then Orochimaru's base should not have been exposed, and there is a high possibility that he will continue to stay there.

The search for Orochimaru was not successful, and the climate of the Land of Wind was also very uncomfortable. Even when the sky was clear, a strong wind would suddenly blow, and the sandstorms were really annoying. I was used to the green mountains and clear waters of the Land of Fire, and I was really not used to this kind of ghost place.

Although the mission seemed to be going smoothly on the surface, after two days of searching, there was still no good news, and Tianzang did not seem to be too anxious.

"Should we find some guides from the Sand Village?"

Unlike other countries, many places have obvious signs for identification, but the Kingdom of Wind does not have this condition. The endless sand dunes look almost the same to outsiders. If you don’t have the ability to distinguish directions, getting lost is a foregone conclusion.

"Search for another two days. If there is still no result, ask some natives for help."

Just like Shuimu, we already know the approximate location, and even the place name and landform features, but we still can't find this damn place. It seems that only the locals know where it is.

"Tenzo, who is your contact with the Sand Village? Can he be trusted?"

Tenzang hesitated for a moment, but nodded and admitted: "Many years ago, the Anbu trained several reliable insiders to infiltrate the Sand Village. To this day, three of them still hold important positions!"

"I see!"

Even if they are allies, it is natural for them to be wary of each other, but...

"Why didn't any crucial information reach the village when the Sand Village betrayed last year?"

Tenzang replied somewhat embarrassedly: "In the past year, the Sand Village was short of manpower, so these people had the opportunity to go further. When the Sand Village attacked the village last year, although they did not get accurate intelligence, there were still relevant suspicious information and warnings transmitted to the village, but for some reason it was not passed on to the key responsible persons!"

"Is this an internal problem in our village? How ironic!"

The only one who can tamper with the Anbu system is Danzo Shimura.

"It was not until we knew that the Sand Village was unreliable that we took the initiative to contact them and obtained some not very detailed information. After the Sand Village surrendered, when Tsunade-sama was reorganizing the Anbu system, she discovered that there were such big problems in it. This is our dereliction of duty..."

Well, these top-secret intelligences do make people feel a little helpless. Whether it is Danzo's dissatisfaction with the policies of the Third Generation, or inducing the restless Sand Village to fall into the trap, this action has indeed brought great losses to the village. No matter from which aspect, the alliance between the Sand Village and Orochimaru is just an egg against a stone, but once the conflict begins, it is basically impossible to control the situation.

Thinking of this, Mizuki roughly guessed the purpose of Tenzang and Uchiha Sasuke coming to the Sand Village. They were taking advantage of the decline of Shimura Danzo's influence. Whether it was internal purges or re-establishing contact with the Sand Village's insiders, these were all Tsunade and the Anbu's business, and Mizuki had no say in it.

"Thank you for your honesty, Tenzou!"

"You're welcome. It's okay for Mizuki Jonin to know, but please keep it a secret!"

"That's natural."

Since we have reliable people on our side, we can be more direct about some things.

"Ask a trustworthy insider in the village where the 'Great Sand Dunes of the East' is!"

"Got it, there will be news soon!"

Tianzang did not ask about the specific significance of this location, nor did he inquire about the source of Shuimu's information.

Although both of them obey Tsunade, they belong to different systems after all. There are some things that it is better not to know too much about, as it doesn't make much sense.

…

After a few days of communication, the students of the Sand Village Ninja School are almost familiar with the guests from Konoha. As a contact person, Temari is quite qualified. She cooperates with Shino Aburame and makes the students of Sand Village understand what the basic education of Konoha Village is like. Of course, it is definitely not possible to copy it completely. The degree of wealth and population base are far apart. Some policies are very suitable in Konoha Village, but they need to be considered in Sand Village.

Hinata Hyuga, a noble lady, is very popular. There are more than one person who is interested in the Byakugan and Gentle Fist. Hinata generously demonstrated their power. The good upbringing cultivated by the gifted education since childhood is indeed very popular in the Sand Village.

As for Inuzuka Kiba, he had no intention of taking care of the little ones. Instead, he was very interested in Shira, the older student who only knew taijutsu and who was a promising talent mentioned by Mizuki. Somewhat unconvinced, Inuzuka Kiba even took the initiative to challenge this guy who was not even a Genin.

In the end, the competition was limited to a certain point and ended with Inuzuka Kiba slightly winning. Shira, who was unable to fight with all her strength, had not yet reached the point where her diligence could be turned into real strength.

"Sure enough, he is a master!"

The power of his fists and feet made it difficult for Inuzuka Kiba to deal with him without using the Beast Mimicry Ninjutsu. His speed and strength were not much inferior to his own, but it was obvious that Shira had not received any systematic physical training, and was completely supported by the physical fitness and fighting instinct accumulated through hard work and sweat.

"If there's a chance, I hope we can have a good fight!"

It's a pity that we can't act recklessly when we meet an opponent who is worthy of fighting.

"With pleasure!"

"But you should become a formal ninja first. I won't feel any sense of accomplishment if I beat a guy who's not even a ninja!"

Zi Luo was suddenly depressed after hearing these words, and the feeling of mutual admiration she had just had instantly disappeared.

In the attic not far away, Shuimu was watching what was happening on the training ground through the open window.

"What a joyful and harmonious scene!"

Who would have thought that there was a war between these two villages last year? This may be a true portrayal of the turbulent order of the ninja world. In this world where resource distribution is extremely unfair, the Land of Fire and Konoha Village are the focus of all ninjas. As long as they show the slightest sign of fatigue, the surrounding countries that are eyeing them will not show mercy, and even former allies may not be reliable.

At this moment, Shuimu's heart suddenly moved, and a small piece of paper floated in from the window. Shuimu picked it up and held it in his hand. After turning it over and taking a look, a flame flashed in the palm of his hand, and the small piece of paper turned into ashes and drifted away with the wind.

"The Great Sand Dunes of the East is not the great sand dunes east of the Sand Village. I was misled by the name."

Mizuki suddenly felt amused by the ninja world's useless names. The Kage of Konoha Village is called Hokage, but none of the five Hokages are good at fire escape. Only the third generation Sarutobi Hiruzen is proficient in five escape techniques, which is barely worthy of the name. The others are all wood escape, water escape, wind escape, and even space-time ninjutsu and medical ninjutsu, which have nothing to do with fire. There is also the Kaze Kage, who is not good at wind escape either, but after all, the village is called Sand Village, so it is not outrageous to be good at using sand.

As for the names, Temari does not live up to her name. She can neither do any handicrafts nor play with hand rugs. Kankuro is ranked second. Kurotsuchi is not black at all. As for Mizuki, she knows nothing about water jutsu and wood jutsu.

As for place names, the End Valley is not a valley, but a waterfall; there is no kikuei in Kikuei Mountain City; and the East Sand Dunes means a large sand dune named "East", which has nothing to do with the East. No one knows how this name came about, but it has been called this way for a long time.

Mizuki wasted several days and this was the reason. He didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

"These guys from the Sand Village don't play by the rules!"

The Great Sand Dunes of the East are a bit far from the Sand Village, and there are few people there. If a battle were to take place, it would be basically impossible to be discovered unless someone happened to pass by.

"Let's go now without further delay!"

…

At the Great Eastern Sand Dune that Shuimu never forgot, a giant white bird was hovering over this huge circular rock and soil dune with a circumference of several kilometers.

"This must be it. It's really hard to find it without the help of Scorpion, a native who is familiar with the terrain!"

A mischievous voice came from behind the vortex mask that Ah Fei was wearing.

"Senior Deidara, it's up to you! Orochimaru is down there, go and kill him!"

"No need for your words, Ah Fei!"

Deidara had long been impatient with this new partner who had a chatterbox nature.

"You don't need to teach me how to do it. If you're scared, just hide aside and watch me complete the task!"