Naruto: Desert Phantom

Camel cracked her fingers, a wide grin on her lips.

"Alright then, Fennec, let's see what you're made of~"

Sabaku suppressed a sigh. He had a feeling he wasn't going to like where this was going.

Camel placed her warm hands on his chest, her fingertips barely touching his skin.

Her medical chakra flowed into him, not forcefully, but with the effortless confidence of a professional who knew exactly what she was doing.

"Just stay still," she murmured as her chakra slowly wandered through his system. "If I find something that's going to kill you, I'll scream loud enough for you to hear~"

Sabaku blinked.

"…What?"

"Relax~" Camel grinned. "I'm a professional lifesaver, not a butcher."

Sabaku closed his eyes and exhaled slowly.

'I'm surrounded by lunatics.'

Her chakra delved deeper, broader, exploring every part of his body with methodical precision.

Sabaku felt it.

The faint hum in his veins.

The slight pull in his muscles, as if his body was instinctively reacting to the foreign energy.

Camel furrowed her brows.

"Interesting…"

"What?"

"You have an incredibly clean muscle structure," she murmured. "Not a single hidden injury. No fractures, no micro-tears… nothing."

Sabaku raised an eyebrow. "Isn't that a good thing?"

"Depends on whether you're a freshly born human child or if you've just never been seriously injured before… either way, it's not normal."

Sabaku grimaced. "Great, thanks for the reassurance."

Camel grinned and let her hands glide upward, over his neck, then along his left shoulder, following the natural structure of his body until she reached the stump where his arm had been.

"Tsk. Amateur work. At best. Those frontline medics should be sent back to the academy," she scoffed. "But we can fix that in the future."

Sabaku, still bright red, said nothing.

The soft touch of the bomb shell before him, let his blood rush to a very sensitive part of his body.

'God! Please if you hear me... don't let me get a boner!'

"Alright, fine. Now for the fun part!" Camel announced cheerfully.

Suddenly, Sabaku heard the snap of latex gloves.

Then Camel, in an almost sadistic tone, purred:

"Stand up and bend over."

'Shit! Seriously?! A prostate exam?!' Sabaku internally screamed.

But as much as he hated the idea, he knew how important early screenings were.

If his cancer had been caught earlier in his previous life, he might still be with his family.

So he gritted his teeth and endured the entire process without complaint.

Like a real man.

"Hmmph. Everything's in order," Camel mused, pulling off her gloves. "Shame, I was expecting more resistance. But hey… to each their own~ No kink-shaming. If you're into it, I could always reward you with a ri—"

"Camel, that's enough." Lion interrupted, voice flat. "Start the actual examination. The Kazekage is waiting for results."

'Fuck, thank you, Lion. You're my bro. My savior. I definitely would have—uh—I mean, I would have said no. Absolutely. Of cource...Fuck i have a 13 year old body now... i know that i am basically an adult here... but still...'

"Killjoy," Camel pouted, biting her lip far too suggestively.

But then, just as quickly, her playful expression disappeared.

Her golden eyes sharpened.

She guided Sabaku back onto the table, pressing her hands firmly against his chest.

A soft glow flickered to life around her palms as she started to sense with her chakrafield inside Sabaku.

Sabaku felt it immediately—her chakra flowing through his charkra network, warm, steady, weaving into every corner, every branch of his system. She tried to go with his flow, but it hurt non the less.

Sabaku clenched his teeth and endured.

Until...

It stopped.

Sabaku felt it.

Her chakra vanished.

Not like it had been blocked. Not like she had stopped on purpose.

It was as if her chakra had simply… ceased to exist.

Camel frowned, pulling her hand back slightly, as if burned.

Lion, who had been silent until now, crossed his arms. He felt her chakra disappearing too.

"Problem?"

Camel said nothing at first. Instead, she pressed two fingers to Sabaku's throat and tried again.

More chakra. Deeper.

Sabaku flinched slightly as the warmth surged through him, hurting like a bitch.

And once again—

Gone.

Camel inhaled sharply.

Then, almost under her breath, she whispered:

"Meiton…?"

'Dark Release?!'

Sabaku froze.

Lion's posture remained steady, but Sabaku could feel the shift in energy.

Excitement.

Not fear. Not tension.

But something close to celebration.

Lion was the first to break the silence. "Explain."

Camel was still processing, her golden eyes gleaming with something that could only be described as genuine curiosity.

Then she exhaled and gave Sabaku a wide grin.

"Well, well, Fennec… looks like you might be sitting on something huge."

Sabaku blinked, his own excitement stirring.

Not a death sentence. Not something to fear.

This… was an advantage.

His ticket to be great.

Camel crossed her arms, her posture shifting into something thoughtful, analytical.

"Let's start with what we know," she began. "Your chakra network isn't just hard to sense. It's—functionally undetectable. That's why Chiyo noticed you. Not because you were suppressing it subconsciously, but because it just... mhh how can i explain it..."

Sabaku nodded along eger for her to continuine.

He had assumed his chakra would be suppressed, but this? This was different.

Camel continued, her voice carrying an edge of pure fascination.

"It's not a normal phenomenon. Chakra suppression can be detected—any skilled sensor would pick up on the 'void' left behind after some time. But in your case?" She smiled, sharp and delighted. "There is no void."

Sabaku felt his pulse quicken.

Lion was silent, but his eyes were keen. Focused.

Camel's fingers tapped absently against her hip. "That alone makes you incredibly valuable. But that's not even the best part."

She turned to Lion, eyes glinting.

"His network reacts to sensor chakra. Actively."

Lion's eyes narrowed slightly. "Fuck!Explain already. Enough games!"

Camel nodded kind of annoyed but her enthusiasm was growing. "When I scanned him, my chakra didn't just vanish into him. It was taken. Not violently, not aggressively—just… absorbed. And it happened strongest when I was actively using my sensory abilities."

She pointed at Sabaku, her grin widening. "Which means, in theory, any sensor that tries to track him feeds into it."

Sabaku's heart skipped a beat.

'No fucking way.'

Lion exhaled slowly, his gaze locked onto Sabaku like he was seeing him for the first time.

"An anti-tracking ability," he said.

Camel nodded. "More than that. It doesn't just make him hard to find. It makes the ability stronger the more people try."

Sabaku felt his lips curl into a grin.

That… was incredible.

He hadn't just gotten a cheat ability. He'd gotten a built-in countermeasure against every sensor-nin in the world.

Camel folded her arms. "It's close to Dark Release in function, but it's not quite the same. The records we have on Meiton describe it as an active absorption—stealing chakra, repurposing it. Sabaku's ability is passive. It takes, but it doesn't attack. It's…" She trailed off, thoughtful.

"A mutation of Meiton?" Lion prompted.

Camel shrugged. "Could be...Or a totally different and rare Kekkei Genkai we haven't documented before. Either way—" she smirked at Sabaku, "—this makes him a nightmare for enemy intelligence."

Sabaku couldn't stop the thrill that ran down his spine.

'Holy shit.'

He won the reincarnation lottery.

Camel turned sharply, too caught up in her excitement to pay attention to where she was stepping.

Then—

A loud thud echoed through the room, followed by a sharp, pained gasp.

"SON OF A—!"

Camel hopped on one foot, clutching her toe with both hands, her face twisting in agony.

Sabaku felt the impact. Because the thing she had just kicked?

Was the table he was lying on.

For a brief, horrifying moment, he thought she might flip the entire thing over out of sheer pain and rage.

Instead, she just stood there, trembling, eyes squeezed shut, mouthing curses.

Sabaku blinked.

Lion exhaled through his nose.

"Fucking hell, who the fuck put this stupid table in the worst possible spot?!" Camel snarled through gritted teeth.

Sabaku, lying right there, raised an eyebrow. "Uh. That's… your table?"

Camel's eye twitched. She slowly turned her head toward him, as if considering murder.

Sabaku held up his hands. "I mean, technically, you propaply did put it here, so…"

Camel groaned loudly, still clutching her foot, hopping in place. "Goddamn stupid heavy-ass furniture, my stupid fucking foot, fuck me!"

'I would love... fuck get your shit together Sabaku!'

Lion cleared his throat. "Are we done?"

Camel wheezed, rubbing her toe before finally putting weight back on it.

"Yeah, yeah, give me a second," she muttered. "I think I saw the fucking Shinigami for a second there."

Sabaku snorted amused.

Camel finally straightened, still wincing.

"Okay, back to the important part," she said, shaking off the pain as best she could. "We need to figure out just how far this goes. If his chakra really reacts strongest to sensors, then we need a controlled test."

Lion nodded. "The Kazekage will want full confirmation."

Camel smirked, rolling her shoulders. "Then it's a good thing I know exactly how to push a sensor's chakra to the limit."

Sabaku felt a shiver crawl up his spine.

That… didn't sound reassuring.

"Wait, hold on—"

Camel clapped her hands together, eyes glinting with pure mischief.

"Fennec, my dear, it's time for your first real experiment."

Lion turned to the door, about to leave him with Camel. He said:" I need to report to the Kage...Camel, don't hurt him to much ... his training starts in the after noon."

Sabaku did not like where this was going. At all.

'Lion! I thought you were my lionking! But now i realise you are Scar all along!'

---

A few moments later, Lion appeared in the Kazekage's office, as if he had just crawled out of the shadow.

The Third Kazekage sensed him immediately and gestured toward the chair in front of his desk.

Lion walked around the table calmly and let himself drop heavily into the chair. A deep sigh escaped his lips as he removed his mask.

Beneath it was the face of a man in his sixties or seventies, marked by a harsh life, the desert, and countless battles.

"And? What has Camel discovered about the boy, Mufasa?" asked the Kazekage.

"Kazekage-sama…" Lion began, only to be interrupted immediately.

"How many times do I have to tell you, old man… just call me Raga. Anything else just feels wrong."

"It is not right. You are the Kazekage, and you deserve respect."

Raga shook his head. He had tried so many times, but Mufasa was simply too proud.

And yet, without this old man, the very title of Kazekage wouldn't even exist.

Without Mufasa's consent, there would never have been a Sunagakure built above the sacred grounds of his clan. Even if he was the last warrior of his people, he alone would have been enough to doom any attempt to failure.

Finally, Mufasa reported everything Camel had discovered.

And the more he spoke, the wider Raga's grin became.

By the time the report was finished, the Kazekage was laughing.

"Haha, I knew it! The boy is something special. Give him the best training methods. Any price is authorized. Let him burn through our stored chakra stones if necessary. A second Kekkei Genkai has finally appeared! Let's just hope it's hereditary, like my Magnet Release… Do you think the boy is ready for marriage?"

Mufasa rubbed his temples.

"Raga… he's thirteen."

The Kazekage waved him off. "Pah, and? In times like these, we can't afford to wait. If he truly has a Kekkei Genkai, we need to prepare. Sunagakure cannot leave such gifts to chance."

Mufasa sighed. "He just found out he has one. Maybe we should give him time to process before throwing him into marriage negotiations."

Raga leaned back, his grin never fading.

"Time is a luxury, Mufasa."

"He is still a child."

"A child who is of immeasurable value to Sunagakure."

Mufasa knew there was no use arguing. Raga was never a cruel man, but he was pragmatic to the core.

"He will receive the best training," the Kazekage repeated, his voice carrying finality. "I want him to develop his potential as soon as possible. We don't know how long this war will last."

Mufasa nodded slowly. "And if he refuses?"

Raga smirked. "Then we'll convince him."

The old Anbu knew this conversation was far from over.

But for now?

Sabaku had no idea what was coming.