Konoha: The Absolute Justice of the Uchiha.

Chapter 491 The Provocation of the Sand Village Boy

The dry, dusty smell in the air was diluted by the moisture, replaced by a strong, spicy, and vibrant aroma—the unique fragrance of cumin, pepper, dried mint, and the sizzling fat from roasted meat over charcoal.

"This is the 'Crescent Oasis'." Huimei stood on the sand ridge, took off her sun hat, and let the moist breeze caress her face. She couldn't help but take a deep breath. "It's so lively! I thought the Land of Wind was just sand and rocks!"

The group walked down the slope made of sand and stones to the market.

The streets were not wide, and the ground was covered with flattened and hardened red clay. On both sides were densely packed semi-open shops.

The awning, made of rough but thick, earth-brown linen, hung low on the wooden beams, completely blocking out the blazing sun overhead and leaving patches of cool, deep shadows.

The streets were bustling with people.

There were ordinary civilians wrapped in white or khaki robes, desert caravan guards with short curved swords at their waists and tanned skin, and patrolling ninjas with sharp expressions and wearing Sunagakure headbands on their heads.

The camel chewed on the hay gently, the copper bells around its neck making a series of deep, resonant sounds.

"Look at this! Freshly baked crispy naan! Baked with camel milk and dried poplar charcoal, it won't mold even after three months!"

"Authentic sand scorpion and licorice water! Quenches thirst and clears heat; one bowl will keep blisters away for three days!"

The vendors' rough and loud shouts rose and fell, carrying the unique, rugged tone of the Land of Wind.

Like a slippery eel entering the city for the first time, Lu darted in and out of the shady streets, his eyes barely able to take it all in: "Teacher! Look at that! That person is wearing such a thick robe, even his head is completely covered. Isn't he hot? In the Land of Fire's summer, dressed like that, he'd be suffering from heatstroke and dehydration long ago, wouldn't he?"

Chi Quan stopped in front of a pottery stall and picked up a rough, unglazed red pottery pot with two handles.

"This is the survival wisdom of the Wind Kingdom." Chi Quan pointed to the faint water vapor seeping from the pottery pot, and then to the white-robed merchant walking by in the distance. "In an environment where the relative humidity is less than 15 percent, the rate at which human sweat evaporates is much higher than the rate at which it is excreted."

If you expose your chest and back like you would in the Land of Fire, the dry, hot wind will directly dry out all the moisture from your skin, causing the stratum corneum to dehydrate and die, and severely congesting the subcutaneous capillaries, leading to heatstroke.

Chi Quan put down the pottery pot and looked at the three students who had gathered around him: "A wide and thick pure cotton robe will form a miniature heat insulation convection layer between the clothes and the skin."

The trace amounts of moisture that evaporate from the body surface are locked inside the robe, creating a small, humid microclimate while blocking external heat radiation above 40 degrees Celsius.

The more extreme the environment, the more necessary it is to use structures to build barriers, rather than relying on the body to withstand the strain.

The principle behind how ninjas utilize chakra is the same.

Hui Mei listened thoughtfully, then looked down at the leather ninja tool pouch tightly fastened to her waist: "No wonder so few people here wear close-fitting combat suits; most wear loose short jackets and windproof blouses."

"Let's put what we've learned into practice, starting with our digestive system." Chi Quan turned around and pointed to an open-air eatery next door with a dark red curtain hanging over it. "Find a place to sit down."

The restaurant's shed was set up under two ancient poplar trees, with several rough wooden low tables gleaming from the smoke of cooking oil underneath.

The shop owner was a chubby middle-aged man with a thick beard and a thick white headscarf wrapped around his head. He was shirtless and turning over several red willow skewers with fist-sized pieces of mutton on them in front of the clay stove.

"Greetings, guests from Konoha! Please, have a seat!" The owner, with his sharp eyes, immediately noticed the headbands around their waists and Izumi's distinctive attire. He promptly and enthusiastically wiped the table. "What would you like to eat? Our roasted mutton and mint rock sugar tea are renowned throughout the entire Crescent Oasis!"

"Four bowls of mutton noodles with lung, ten skewers of red willow roasted meat, and two freshly baked thousand-layer naan bread." Chi Quan calmly unbuttoned his trench coat, leaned his cane against the table, and sat down. "Also, brew a pot of hot salty mint cheese tea."

Lu plopped down on the bench, and upon hearing Chi Quan order, his face fell. "Teacher! It's so hot outside, the sun is practically steaming the ground, why are you ordering hot tea? And salty tea—is that even drinkable? Can't you give me four bowls of chilled plum juice?"

Black Crow looked at the rough pottery teacup on the table with some confusion.

Chi Quan did not explain immediately.

Before long, the owner brought out a large copper teapot and four rough earthenware bowls.

The spout poured out a stream of scalding hot, golden-yellow tea, with emerald green dried mint leaves and scattered bits of white cheese floating in it.

A rich aroma of tea mixed with milk and a salty, astringent scent wafts over you.

"Drink it." Chi Quan picked up his bowl, gently blew on it to cool it down, took a sip, and said, "Drink it in big gulps while it's hot."

Lu looked at the oil floating in the bowl, gritted his teeth, closed his eyes, picked up the bowl, and took a big gulp.

The saltiness, the bitterness of the tea, and the domineering coolness of the mint exploded in my mouth instantly.

The scalding liquid slid down his esophagus into his stomach, causing Lu to shudder violently. Within seconds, all the pores on his back opened up with a "boom," and a thin layer of sweat quickly seeped out from his forehead.

"call!!"

Lu put down the bowl and exhaled a long breath of hot air.

My throat, which had been dry and tight from rushing, suddenly became strangely moist, and the irritation in my chest caused by the dry sandstorm was completely washed away by the minty coolness that rushed into my nostrils.

"Huh?" Lu touched his forehead in surprise. "I'm sweating, but—why do I feel cooler?"

"It's gone? My stomach doesn't feel burning anymore!"

Huimei also sipped half a bowl, and her lips, which had been dry and cracked by the wind and sand, regained their color.

She examined the ceramic bowl in her hand and said softly, "It's menthol that stimulates the thermoregulatory center and promotes peripheral vasodilation."

Furthermore, the salt and cheese in the tea provide electrolytes and trace amounts of fat, preventing hyponatremia caused by excessive sweating, right, Professor Chi Quan?

"Eighty percent correct." Chi Quan picked up a sizzling, oily red willow mutton skewer that had just been served and handed one to Black Crow next to him. "Most importantly, in extremely arid regions, cold drinks can cause the capillaries in the stomach wall to suddenly spasm and contract, hindering water absorption."

Hot tea can accelerate blood circulation in the gastric mucosa, allowing the body to rebuild its water and salt balance in the shortest possible time.

Learning to listen to your body's feedback in different environments is more useful than simply memorizing a few herbal recipes.

Black Crow took the heavy skewer of meat.

The natural fragrance of red willow wood, after being roasted over charcoal, permeates the firm fibers of the lamb, while a thin layer of coarse salt and dark brown cumin seeds are sprinkled on the golden-brown, crispy skin.

He took a bite.

The juices burst on your tongue, the meat is tender and chewy, and there is no gamey smell at all.

During his years in the shadows, food was merely an energy source to keep his body functioning; compressed dry rations and highly concentrated soldier's ration pills were the most common inhabitants of his stomach.

Sitting like this under the shade of a canopy in the gentle breeze, eating piping hot, juicy grilled meat and drinking savory, sweet tea, it felt like a dream from another distant world to him.

"Is it good, Black Crow?" Lu asked, his mouth full of sesame seeds, while holding a naan bread in his hand.

Black Crow chewed the mutton in his mouth, swallowed it, and nodded: "It has a high protein content and its energy conversion efficiency far exceeds that of standard military rations."

Lu rolled his eyes dramatically: "You idiot—can't you just say 'It smells so good'? You have to make it sound like you're examining a corpse!"

Hui Mei chuckled, instantly lightening the atmosphere at the table.

Chi Quan watched the three boys wolfing down their food, a slight smile appearing on his lips.

He turned to look at the street outside the window. The golden sunlight drew a clear line between light and shadow on the muddy ground. Several children from Sunagakure were chasing and playing barefoot under the jujube trees, holding wooden toy puppets in their hands.

The Land of Wind during peacetime is not as cruel and cold as legend has it.

This desolate land, in its own unique way, nurtures a life that is equally passionate and resilient.

After lunch, the group replenished their supplies at the Oasis's herbal medicine shop with dried sea buckthorn, a specialty of the Wind Kingdom, anti-sand eye ointment, and several rolls of durable silkworm bandages.

Until three quarters past noon, the sun began to slant westward, and the heat wave on the Gobi Desert subsided slightly.

Chi Quan led the three away from the bustling Crescent Oasis and turned northwest along the wind-eroded canyons on the edge of the basin.

According to the plan, they will return to their encampment near the White Stone outpost before evening.

As we passed through a peculiar rock forest composed of countless wind-eroded mushroom-shaped rocks, the canyon terrain ahead suddenly narrowed.

The yellowish-brown rock walls on both sides have been sculpted by the gale into countless honeycomb-like holes. When the wind blows, the holes emit a sharp, low whistling sound, as if thousands of owls are crying at the same time.

The black crow, which was in the middle of its journey, suddenly stopped.

His body pressed down in an instant, his right hand hanging naturally beside the short sword at his waist, his ear twitching slightly: "Stop."

Lu and Huimei stopped almost simultaneously, forming a defensive angle back to back.

"What's wrong, Black Crow? Another stray cat?" Lu joked, but his eyes sharpened in an instant, and his right hand gripped two steel balls in his sleeve.

"It's not a cat," Black Crow whispered, staring at the shadows around the bend in the canyon ahead. "There are footsteps."

They were in groups of three, their steps even and their landings extremely light, leaving a faint rustling sound with their heels. They were ninjas from the Land of Wind, and were in a standard combat patrol formation.

Chi Quan stood two steps behind the three, leaning on his cane, saying nothing, his expression calm.

A moment later, three figures dressed in dark brown sand-covered combat suits slowly emerged from around the corner of the rock wall ahead.

Leading the way was a tall boy, about fourteen or fifteen years old, carrying a heavy black cast iron round shield on his back. He had strong arms and a calm, steady gaze.

To his left rear was a slender girl with neat short hair, a delicate folding iron fan tucked into each side of her waist, and a cold gaze.

On the right rear side was a thin-faced boy wearing a wide sand-colored cloak with his hands tucked into his sleeves. Behind him was a long, narrow bundle wrapped in layers of thick linen.

Behind the three boys, an adult ninja with a blade of grass in his mouth slowly emerged from around the corner.

The man was around thirty years old, with skin that was bronze from years of sun exposure. He had a blue Sand Village tattoo on his left cheek and wore a worn-out Sand Village standard Jonin vest.

His gait was somewhat unsteady, but his narrow eyes flashed with a hawk-like sharpness as they swept over the four people in the pool.

The team leader from Sunagakure is Jonin Akagi Wataru.

Akagi Wataru's gaze lingered for half a second on the cane in Ikezumi's hand and the glasses on his face, before landing on the Konoha headband that was faintly visible under the hem of his clothes.

"Hey, who do we have here lurking around in this canyon?" Akagi Wataru spat out the blade of grass in his mouth, a rough smile spreading across his face. "Isn't this Konoha's famous pathologist, Ikezumi, the Special Jonin? What, the chief anatomist of Konoha Hospital, instead of dealing with corpses, is sunbathing in our rocky hollow in the Land of Wind?"

Chi Quan, with a calm expression, pushed up his glasses: "Akagi Wataru."

During the final stages of the Third Shinobi World War, in the Battle of Tachibana Mountain, he suffered a comminuted fracture of the middle segment of his right clavicle, accompanied by brachial plexus traction injury, leaving him with mild limitation of right shoulder abduction after surgery.

"It seems the Sand Village Medical Department's nerve suturing techniques are quite good; they didn't affect your promotion to Jonin."

Akagi Wataru's smile froze for a moment. He subconsciously moved his right shoulder and couldn't help but laugh and curse, "You bastard—it's been over ten years, and your mouth is still so venomous."

He even remembers my medical records from when I was in the field hospital perfectly.

The two Jonin leading the team had clearly crossed paths on the battlefield before, and the atmosphere immediately eased considerably.

However, the three Sunagakure boys standing behind Akagi Wataru showed no friendliness when their gazes fell on Riku, Emi, and Black Crow.

The tall, imposing boy named "Ishiguma," carrying an iron shield, spoke in a deep, booming voice: "Teacher Wataru, is this the genin squad sent by Konoha to retrieve some documents? They look so thin and small, like seedlings just taken out of a greenhouse."

The short-haired girl "Sara" with an iron fan tucked into her waist sneered and crossed her arms: "I heard that the ninja academy system in Konoha is very lenient. Even the graduation exam only tests your clone technique and transformation technique."

Judging by their age, they've probably never even seen blood.

The gaunt boy standing at the back, "Toru Sunakawa," didn't speak, but his fingers under his cloak twitched slightly, and a very faint sound of a mechanism snapping could be heard from the long bundle on his back.

Faced with the provocation from the Sand Village boy, Riku's temper flared up immediately.

He stepped forward, hands on his hips, raised an eyebrow, and retorted, "Big guy, being big doesn't mean you can fight. Wild boars are bigger than anyone else, but in the end, they still end up being roasted on a rack. And that lady with the fan, the wind can easily chapped your lips. I suggest you put on some lip balm before you come out spouting nonsense."