Three and a half hours later.

On the border of the Land of Wind, in a vast, wind-eroded, and pockmarked rocky desert region.

Space seemed to twist slightly, and a black falcon-style transport plane appeared out of thin air like a ghost. Driven by powerful retro-thruster engines, it landed steadily and vertically on a flat stretch of sand.

The cabin door opened, and Shisui was the first to step out.

The scorching air and the sky full of yellow sand hit his face, a stark contrast to the humid and mild climate of the Land of Whirlpools.

"First and Second Squads, establish a temporary camp here, set up defensive barrier, and activate anti-reconnaissance techniques. Medical unit, stand by and be prepared to receive casualties at any time."

Shisui's voice was short and powerful, without the slightest bit of hesitation.

"Yes!"

The team members immediately sprang into action, demonstrating high tactical proficiency as they began to execute the orders in an orderly manner.

Shisui did not say another word; his figure merely flickered, and he vanished from the spot like a ghost, leaving behind only an almost imperceptible afterimage.

Body Flicker Technique.

He chose not to have the troops advance with him. Facing two S-Rank Rogue Ninja with unpredictable whereabouts, large-scale troop movements would only alert the enemy.

For tracking and reconnaissance, one person was enough.

The next second, Shisui's figure had already appeared tens of kilometers away, atop a towering rock whose edges had been smoothed by the wind and sand.

Standing at the highest point of this desert, he overlooked the boundless sea of sand beneath his feet.

The Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan was quietly activated.

In his scarlet eyes, three black tomoe slowly rotated, eventually merging into a complex, unique pattern resembling a four-pointed Shuriken.

Hum.

The entire world changed in his field of vision in an instant.

His vision seemed to be stretched into an unimaginable dimension. Macroscopically, he could clearly see the silhouette of a sand scorpion crawling beneath the sand tens of kilometers away, and he could see the subtle heat distortion above a distant oasis caused by the evaporation of water.

Microscopically, he could clearly distinguish every grain of sand floating in the air, as well as the faint, almost imperceptible traces of Chakra attached to those grains.

This was the extraordinary vision brought by the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, which surpassed the limits of ordinary Sharingan perception.

Shisui's gaze, like a high-precision radar, began to scan this vast land inch by inch.

Soon, he captured a trace of extremely weak, foreign Chakra in the air, completely different from the natural Chakra of this land.

It was Earth Style Chakra, but mixed within it was a hint of the manic and destructive aura unique to explosions.

Deidara's Explosive Clay.

Although some time had passed, as long as it had existed, it would inevitably leave traces.

Shisui followed this trace, continuing to track forward. His body flashed rapidly among the jagged rocks, each leap covering several kilometers, with incredible speed.

Combining the intelligence he had received from Uchiha Isamu, he quickly constructed action models of Deidara and Sasori in his mind.

"Deidara, flamboyant personality, likes to overlook his artwork from high altitude, so his route must be open with good visibility."

"Sasori of the Red Sand, puppet master, cautious and secretive personality, prefers to move close to the ground, utilizing terrain for cover. Moreover, according to intelligence, his puppets do not seem to have flight capabilities."

"The two are partners; to maintain contact, their movement distance will not be too far. One in the sky, one on the ground."

Shisui's mind operated at high speed, constantly eliminating false traces.

He discovered several routes with residual Explosive Clay Chakra, but quickly judged that they were discarded works left behind by Deidara to show off or to clear away some ignorant desert creatures.

The real route should be more concealed, better suited for the purpose of traveling.

Finally, his gaze locked onto a concealed route extending along the shadow of a massive mountain range, leading toward the Land of Rivers.

This route allowed Deidara in the sky to have sufficient visibility, while also providing enough cover for Sasori on the ground.

This is it.

Shisui stopped, once again pushing his ocular power to the limit.

His vision pierced through the obstacles of space, extending infinitely toward the end of that route.

Sand dunes, rocks, withered poplar trees... everything flashed by in his field of vision.

Suddenly, his pupils contracted slightly.

In the sky tens of kilometers away, a tiny black dot was flying unhurriedly.

It was a giant bird made of clay.

And on the ground directly below the giant bird, a similarly tiny, yet abnormally stable black dot with no biological characteristics was moving rapidly across the sand.

Hiruko.

Found them.

Shisui had successfully locked onto the targets.

But he did not act immediately.

Impulsiveness is a Ninja's greatest taboo. Especially when facing two S-Rank Rogue Ninja of unknown strength, and needing to prioritize the safety of the hostage.

From his Ninja tool pouch, he took out a palm-sized portable communication device specially made by the R&D Department of the Land of Whirlpools.

Connecting the device's port to his forehead protector, the information from his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan was converted into a data stream via Chakra transmission and sent out in real-time.

"This is Crow, target Sparrow and Scorpion locked."

"Target current location, northeastern part of the Land of Wind, coordinates 73.4, 128.9. Moving toward the Land of Rivers at a speed of thirty kilometers per hour."

"Repeat, target locked."

The voice, via an encrypted channel, was instantly transmitted back to the temporary camp thousands of miles away, as well as to the even more distant command center of the Land of Whirlpools General Staff Headquarters.

After doing all this, Shisui did not end the communication.

He continued to maintain long-range surveillance, while simultaneously transmitting back the tactical deductions he had analyzed based on on-site observations and existing intelligence.

"Sparrow Deidara, ability is Explosive Clay, attack method is large-scale explosions, arrogant and conceited personality, easily provoked. Weakness is that his clay seems to require hand seals to detonate, with an attack wind-up. Also, his defensive capability is relatively weak."

"Scorpion Sasori of the Red Sand, ability is Puppet Technique, attack method is poisoned mechanisms and puppet swarms, precise and lethal. His true form is hidden within the puppet named Hiruko, which has extremely high defensive power. Weakness is the common flaw of puppet masters: fear of being engaged in close quarters. Also, need to analyze the composition of his poison to create an antidote."

"Hostage Gaara, currently on Sparrow's clay bird, is in a coma, vital signs are temporarily stable."

"Suggested tactic: Split the battlefield."

"I will be responsible for pinning down and suppressing the faster and more agile Sparrow Deidara. Using Genjutsu and Body Flicker Technique, I will harass him with high intensity, leaving him no time to pay attention to the ground."

"At the same time, dispatch the Second Squad to flank and launch a surprise attack on Scorpion Sasori of the Red Sand. Use Earth Style Ninjutsu to restrict the movement of his puppets, and Fire Style Ninjutsu to destroy his puppet's Chakra threads. The core objective is to destroy Hiruko and force out his true form."

"Finally, retrieve the hostage and complete the mission."

A calm, clear, and logically rigorous battle plan was formulated in just a few minutes and transmitted in real-time to every link in the command chain.

This is Shisui of the Body Flicker.

What he possesses is not only the ultimate speed that tops the Shinobi World, but also the qualities of a top-tier commander with unparalleled reconnaissance capabilities and tactical acumen.