Suddenly, Chizhao sprang up from the bed, frantically rummaging through her clothes.
Anxiously searching, she realized that the Membrane Card she had on her today was missing.
“Where could it be?” Chizhao looked at the clothes scattered on the floor with a headache, accidentally knocking over the remaining Membrane Cards on the table. Annoyed, she squatted down to tidy them up.
Suddenly, her gaze was drawn to a Membrane Card, which was emitting a faint and mysterious white light.
“What is this?”
She curiously leaned in to observe, and unexpectedly, a deep male voice came from within the Membrane Card.
“Could it be haunted?”
Chizhao hesitated for a moment, then gently touched the glowing page with her finger. Unexpectedly, a powerful gravitational pull instantly dragged her in.
After a dizzying spin, she found herself no longer in her original room, but in an unfamiliar place.
Beneath her was no longer a clean floor, but soft fine sand. The bright view had become dim, and her thin clothes were leaning against a thick wall behind her.
Chizhao looked up, using the faint Gekko, and surprisingly looked around. She had appeared in the place where she played with Gaara during the day.
And lying on the ground was the Membrane Card she had accidentally lost today.
“Can this thing teleport?”
“Have you caught the person?”
A deep male voice came from behind, the same voice she had heard in her room earlier.
She curiously turned her head, only to see two Sunagakure Ninja discussing something in low voices.
“We caught him, but he self-destructed, leaving only this broken mask.”
Chizhao’s pupils contracted; that mask was the same as the masks of the three assassination Ninja she had encountered with Jiraiya in the oasis!
“Understood. Report to Kazekage-sama as soon as possible!”
To hear more clearly, Chizhao leaned forward again, but unexpectedly, the fine sand at her feet scattered.
One of the Sunagakure Ninja suddenly looked vigilantly in Chizhao’s direction: “Who’s there?!”
The Sunagakure Ninja instantly appeared by the wall, pulled out a Kunai, and looked closely under the Gekko, but there was nothing but yellow sand all over the ground.
At the same time, Chizhao in the room tumbled out of a faint light, her back of the head hitting the cabinet, and she cried out in pain.
After holding her head and recovering for a while, she looked at the two Membrane Cards in her hand as if they were priceless treasures.
“Little Wang, Little Wang!”
“I’m here.”
“Why didn’t you tell me earlier that this Membrane Card could teleport?!”
“I’m not entirely sure either. The boss said that other uses require you to explore them yourself.”
“Well, that’s too abstract! If it weren’t for this accident today, I probably would never have known about this function!”
“Otherwise, what would it be called exploration?”
Chizhao was speechless, her eye twitching. This River God was quite good at tormenting people.
Suddenly, the sound of glass tapping came from the side, startling her, and she quickly hid the Membrane Card, thinking that the Sunagakure Ninja had chased her.
After a while, she looked towards the window. It turned out that the night sandstorm had begun to rage, and the sand and wind outside were hitting the glass with banging sounds.
Chizhao held the Membrane Card, pinched her chin, her beautiful eyes darting around, and a bold idea burst into her mind.
She put on a windbreaker, covering her mouth and nose tightly. After confirming that Aihara Keiko’s room was dark, she tiptoed downstairs and opened the door.
Violent winds poured into the house. Chizhao desperately pulled the doorknob to prevent herself from being blown away. She struggled with all her might to close the door.
Looking at the pitch-black sand and stones before her, like true desert demons, they bared their fangs and claws, wantonly roaming within the Village. The howling wind in her ears was like resentful evil spirits, constantly telling their tragic stories with sharp cries.
Chizhao's clothes fluttered wildly, the strong wind constantly pushing her body into the darkness. Her finger joints turned slightly white from gripping the handle tightly, and eventually, she was cut by a small stone. The pain made her release the handle, and she fell into the darkness.
With a “thud,” she hit the wall hard. Chizhao bit her lip, and a metallic taste of blood spread in her mouth.
She struggled to grab a nearby pillar, watching the approaching sandstorm, and threw the Membrane Card out with all her might.
The Membrane Card, unaffected by the strong wind, steadily hovered in the sky, emitting an unusual light. The sandstorm seemed to have found its destination, and wisps of it drilled into the Membrane Card.
Instantly, the pitch-black sky was dotted with stars, and the Gekko gently illuminated the Village. Time in the Village seemed to stand still, utterly silent.
Chizhao knelt on the ground with a thud, tore away the cloth covering her face, and gasped for air.
A Membrane Card floated before Chizhao, emitting a faint glow. She reached out and gently held the Membrane Card in her hand.
Above the card face, the five large characters “Nature · Sandstorm” appeared clearly, and its border was green.
Chizhao chuckled, it was just as she had expected: everything can be sealed, and everything can be used by her.
After everything was over, Chizhao quietly returned to her room. Whether from exhaustion or something else, she fell into a deep sleep, accompanied by the cold Gekko outside the window.
Perhaps because of yesterday’s sandstorm, today’s sky was cloudless, the sun was shining brightly, and the temperature was several times higher than in previous days.
Most villagers reduced their outdoor activities, choosing to spend a leisurely day in their respective houses.
However, in a certain empty training ground in the Village, the sound of metal clashing was incessant.
Gaara’s small body struggled through the training ground. Due to the constant clashes, his small hand holding the Kunai was slightly numb, and fine beads of sweat seeped from his forehead.
Looking at his older brother, who was a head taller than him and showed no signs of fatigue, his heart was filled with grievance.
“Why do I have to train like this, so meaninglessly? It looks like a one-sided crushing, and this feeling is really annoying.”
Looking at his father standing in the shadow in front, arms crossed, looking over coldly, the grievance in his heart turned into unwillingness.
“What are you looking at?!”
Just as he was lost in thought, several Shuriken swiftly flew towards him. Gaara watched in horror as the danger approached him, but his feet were rooted to the spot, unable to move.
“Clang, clang, clang”
The Shuriken were all blocked by Gaara’s sand. His legs went weak, and he collapsed onto the ground.
In that moment, he truly thought his older brother was going to kill him.
“Kankuro, you’re going a bit too far…”
Temari said softly, frowning. Seeing Gaara like a frightened little beast, she wanted to do something, but her peripheral vision caught Rasa behind her, and she ultimately did not step forward.
“What does it matter? It won’t hurt him anyway.”
Kankuro shrugged indifferently, not understanding why Temari had become so emotional, when she was clearly the rising star of Sunagakure, on whom great hopes were placed.
Gaara silently lowered his head, staring at the yellow sand on the ground. Just as negative emotions were about to take over his mind, Chizhao’s face appeared before his eyes.
The uncomfortable feeling eased a little.
“It’s okay, at least Chizhao won’t treat me like this. I need to become strong to protect the people who are important to me.”
Temari and Kankuro were still arguing, neither noticing that Gaara had already stood up from the ground.
“Again…”
The two finally looked at Gaara, only to see a determination on his young face that they had never seen before.
In the distance, Rasa’s expression was hidden in the shadows. He slightly narrowed his eyes, as if calculating some unspeakable plan in his mind.