Sandy Claws

Natsume quickly weaved some hand signs and attempted to form an earthen dome around her. However, due to the constraints of the desert, the dome was thinner and weaker than normal. She clicked her tongue but couldn't do anything about it. There was something unique about sand that was difficult to control compared to normal earth. This is why the kazekage family was so powerful, since the ability to manipulate sand or sand-like particles made them overlords of the desert.

She quickly sat in her earthen dome recovering her strength from the morning hike. Although she was worried about being spied on, there was nothing she could do. Without relying on her Mangekyou, Natsume couldn't pinpoint the location of the stalker. If they turned out to be hostile, she would react appropriately, but for now she was pretending to work for the Land of Wind.

Once she was fully rested, she dropped the dome and continued walking. Natsume would occasionally activate her sharingan in order to confirm the direction she was walking. The genjutsu was becoming more aggressive in its attempts to confuse her. The instances of her being spied on started to increase to the point where she was able to detect the eye almost instantly. She threw a shuriken as it pierced the floating eye turning it to sand.

It had already become dark by then, but Natsume still had plenty of chakra, so she decided to push forward. After only a few moments after sunset, Natsume felt the ground shift underneath. Something large was surfacing. She jumped out of the way narrowly dodging a huge set of pincers. The giant scorpion didn't have a presence at all as it emerged from the sand.

As she contemplated her next move, the mouth of the scorpion opened and a barrage of poisonous needles shot out. Natsume suspected as such when the scorpion evaded her perception. However, she didn't make a move to dodge and pretended to be startled. A sand wall suddenly appeared in front of her and Natsume took the chance to open some distance. She looked toward the direction of the group appearing from the dune.

Originally, the group was completely hidden, but when the scorpion made a move to attack her, one of the shinobi in the group already started using a jutsu. With her intuition, she guessed that they were not the ones attacking her. Puppet users typically don't fight in person. If the person hidden in the dune was an enemy, she was confident in turning the situation around at the last moment.

A man in his 20s with spiky brown hair ran toward her. She recognized him as the one who created a sand wall. He was also the one who had been spying on her until now. Natsume raised her kunai and made a show of protecting herself against him. Seeing this, he had a frustrated frown and made a one-handed hand sign. The sand under her feet shifted, pushing her out of the way, as a giant tail pierced the spot she was standing previously.

"What kind of shinobi are you? Pay attention!" He yelled at her. Natsume smirked but didn't say anything. The man signaled to the others, and they surrounded the giant scorpion. Soon, various talismans fluttered out from the other shinobi creating a thick barrier. "Give it up, Zedi. You can't escape."

Natsume stood at the side and watched closely. It seemed that she was not deemed a threat. Her previous inaction in the face of danger was successful enough to not be killed immediately. However, she could tell part of his attention was still on her. If she made any moves, he would likely strike. Sensing the chakra slowly pooling in the sand underneath, her guess was confirmed.

"Kekeke, how many have I killed already? I hope they were given a good burial… oh wait." A voice came from inside the giant scorpion puppet. He laughed maniacally at his own words before the scorpions back opened. A dozen puppets dressed identically to the other group flew out. They struck out with perfect coordination at the barrier, causing it to crack. The nearest sand shinobi grunted and made an Ox hand seal, causing the cracks to repair.

Seeing his fellow clansmen being used as puppets, the spiky haired man got angry. He stopped paying attention to Natsume and charged forward. He took the metal rod on his back into his hands and entered through the opening in the barrier that was created for an instant. His movements were very fluid and intentional. He stabbed the rod into the sand and stood in a sideways pose.

The scorpion puppet attacked him directly. The man drew the rod out of the sand and a dense hammerhead of sand came out with it. The sand hammer slammed into the claw of the puppet, shattering it to pieces. Much of the sand was lost in the process, but instead of falling to the ground, it pierced into the joints and openings of the scorpion puppet.

The puppeteer didn't stop at just that. The twelve humanoid puppets surrounded the brown-haired man. He gritted his teeth and began swinging his hammer around, swatting them out of the air. The sand left behind in the puppets stuck to the joints causing them to become rigid to the point of losing all functionality. His offense was incredible, but his defense was seemingly flawless as well. Whenever he would be hit, a chuck backward jab with his rod or plume of sand would intercept.

Natsume watched his fight with pure interest. She had never seen a fighting style like his. It was very coarse but had a unique flow. It reminded her of sand falling along an uneven surface. The scorpion puppet wasn't idle during the battle. It would constantly strike at the barrier in attempts to break free. Since the large puppets movements were too slow to threaten the brown-haired man, it focused on siege.

Now would be a good time to slip away, but Natsume was very curious about this group. She decided to stick around longer to see if she could find their main camp. If her guess was correct, they should have a decent repertoire of books and scrolls.