Chapter 124: Lost

The journey to Loulan was agonizingly dull. There was nothing but endless sand and wind. The camel caravan stretched out for miles, with each animal spaced more than five meters apart, leaving no one to talk to. Baimu was nearly driven mad; one moment he would read *Icha Icha Paradise*, and the next he would belt out songs at the top of his lungs, causing Baki and Pakura to frown in irritation.

Is this guy really a ninja?

Ninjutsu—the way of the ninja—is about enduring all forms of loneliness and pain. If he couldn't even handle this bit of solitude, how could he ever become strong? Every powerful ninja had endured thousands of sword swings a day, countless hours of repetitive hand seals, and had thrown enough shuriken to circle the Hidden Village twenty times over.

However, while they had spent the first seven days complaining that Baimu’s singing would attract enemies, by the second week, they found themselves humming along to the tunes he had effectively brainwashed them with.

"Hey, Baki! Didn't you say there were plenty of sand bandits in this desert? How come we haven't run into a single one after walking for so many days?" Baimu shouted, bored out of his mind.

"The place we are heading is the most desolate part of the central desert. Even cacti won't grow there. The sand bandits aren't stupid; they wouldn't come here. Besides, they're all busy raiding the Land of Fire while it's in chaos," Baki shouted back. In a godforsaken place like this, he was certain no enemy would ever appear.

"So boring! I beg the Great Cthulhu to grant us an enemy! I will surely enjoy the battle!" Baimu shouted, spreading his arms wide.

"Tch, keep dreaming. How could any enemies appear in a place like this?" Pakura crossed her arms, looking utterly disdainful.

"Then Pakura-chan must be bored too, right? Tell me, which chapter of the *Classic of Love* is your favorite?" Baimu rode his camel up beside her.

"Tch, I wouldn't read that trash. And don't call me by that nickname, you brat..." Pakura didn't even look at him, her tone filled with undisguised disgust.

"Oh... so you haven't read it then?" Baimu drew out the sound, raising an eyebrow. He had clearly received a system notification that Pakura was addicted to *Icha Icha Paradise*; the system never lied.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Pakura shot him a sidelong glance.

"Ahaha... nothing. I was just going to ask if you wanted to read the sequel. If you aren't reading it, never mind." Baimu laughed heartily and rode his camel to the other side.

"Tch..." Pakura gritted her teeth.

[Pakura's Favorability -50]

When everything he did resulted in a decrease in favorability, Baimu’s goal shifted. He decided to tease her at every opportunity just to see what would happen when her favorability hit rock bottom.

He steered his camel toward Nonō, staring at her without a word.

"W-what... what do you want? I can't send out my draft from here... and there's no material to collect..." Nonō assumed he was pestering her for her manuscript again.

Baimu continued to stare in silence. If things were going as expected, this woman should have already sent out the intelligence. Why hadn't the Root members appeared yet? Could it be that Danzō Shimura had no interest in the treasures of the desert?

"Gulp..." Nonō felt flustered under his gaze and swallowed hard. "I've already finished some of the draft... and I've already asked the editor for leave..."

"I'm not talking about your manuscript..."

"Then what..." Nonō pulled her clothes tighter around herself.

"Why have you been wearing more and more layers lately? Aren't you hot?" Baimu looked at her suspiciously. For the sake of mobility, ninjas usually dressed lightly, especially female ones.

"N-no, I'm not hot." Nonō shook her head vigorously. She was terrified of Baimu’s tentacles and wore extra layers just to provide herself with a pathetic sense of security.

"That hair clip of yours is nice," Baimu remarked, eyeing the black hair clip peeking out from under her hood.

He remembered that Nonō’s identity was top-secret, even within Root. If Root ninjas were to ambush them, they would certainly have a signal marker to distinguish friend from foe. Because of the sandstorm, Nonō had taken off her glasses and put on windproof goggles, and blonde hair was common enough in the ninja world...

Could it be the black hair clip she had suddenly started wearing today?

It was dark and conspicuous... highly suspicious.

"It's just an ordinary hair clip... are you trying to hit on me?" Nonō remained calm on the surface, but her heart was racing. She immediately tried to change the subject.

She was right; it wasn't an ordinary hair clip. It was engraved with a spatial beacon, allowing Root to track her location via compass. It was her identification token for other Root members.

"Just an ordinary clip, huh? Can you give it to me?" Baimu tested her casually.

"Why do you want a hair clip? I only have this one..." Nonō said weakly.

"A captive must have the awareness of a captive! Your body... and everything on it, belongs to me. If I want something, are you going to refuse? Do you really want me to use my tentacles to take it myself?" Baimu slowly clenched his fist.

"But this was a gift from someone very important to me..." Nonō tried to play the emotional card.

"Heh... then I certainly can't let you dwell on memories." Baimu ruthlessly snatched the black hair clip away.

"No!"

"Fūka!" Baimu tossed it behind him.

"Love, love, love... it’s a love gift from the Master!!!" Fūka was so happy her hair stood on end.

"It's over, it's over, it's all over..." Nonō clutched her head in a panic. The first lesson of being a spy was never to die at the hands of your own people.

...

That was just a small diversion. The group continued forward. With three girls in the party—one whose favorability increased no matter what he did, and one whose favorability decreased no matter what he did—the journey didn't feel quite so lonely.

"Ba...ki!! Are we at the Isolated Oasis yet?! I'm dying of thirst!" Baimu shook his water skin, having finished the last drop an hour ago.

"Almost there." Baki kept checking his map, looking increasingly anxious.

"You said 'almost' yesterday!! Why is it still 'almost' today? Give me a specific time!" Baimu shouted.

"My lord... if you are truly thirsty, this old man still has some water and food." Bunpuku opened his eyes slightly.

"Then many thanks!" Baimu quickly took the water skin and drank greedily. Ever since he gained the two skills from 'Big Mouth,' his appetite had doubled, and combined with the dehydration of the desert, his stomach would burn if he didn't eat for even a short while.

"Troublesome," Pakura rolled her eyes, and her favorability dropped by 10.

"Brother Baki, you haven't gotten us lost, have you?" Baimu took a sip of water and bit into some dried meat, his stomach finally settling.

"That's right, I'm lost," Baki nodded.

"As long as you aren't lost, that's fine." Baimu stretched...

Wait...

"WHAT!!!!" Everyone roared in unison.

"What!" Tobi, who had been in a wilted state, chimed in as well.

"According to the projections... we should have arrived by yesterday evening. I thought we were just slow, but... even at our slowest, we shouldn't be off by a whole day." Beads of sweat appeared on Baki's forehead, mixing with the dust to make his face look grimy and disheveled.

"You've got to be kidding me, brother? You're the living map who's walked all over the Land of Wind! How could you get lost?" Baimu was nearly losing his mind. Baki had been leading the way since they entered the desert, and they hadn't worried about a thing; he had handled sandstorms perfectly. Why get lost now?!

"Baki, don't be nervous. How serious is the situation?" the monk Bunpuku asked with his eyes closed, trying to calm him.

"I... I don't know. The reason the Isolated Oasis is called 'isolated' is that there are no other water sources within a seven-day radius..." Baki wiped his sweat.

"You haven't been here in so many years, could the oasis have been buried by sand?" Baimu asked.

"Impossible. That oasis is huge; there's an entire town and tribe stationed there. People were still delivering supplies just a few months ago. It couldn't have been buried in such a short time," Baki shook his head.

"Could you have misread the map?" Pakura frowned.

"Impossible. Since we left the last oasis, I've been following the sun," Baki pointed to the red sun hanging high in the sky.

Baimu stared blankly as he reached out and rotated Baki's finger 90 degrees to the west.

"Bro...ther! The sun is over here..."