As the genin head into the Demon Desert, Asuma and Kurenai question Sunagakure's approach of forbidding them to enter the desert. Guy receives a message from Tsunade to protect Gaara upon receiving intelligence that the Kazekage's assassins are on the move. Within the desert, having came up a strategy with his team to counter their opponents, Neji is puzzled upon failing to detect the other teams before realizing that he and his team mates are caught in a genjutsu. After breaking free from the genjutsu, Neji detects a Sand team up ahead and Team Guy engages them. However, another Sand genin team led by teenage ninja named Shira arrives and enable their fellow Sand ninja to escape while Shira's teammate Sen places Team Guy in another genjutsu to cover their escape. His team rendezvous with two of the Sand teams with the intent to ensure all Sand Village genin pass, Shira finds himself and his teammates betrayed. Luckily, Team Guy arrives to their rescue. Questioning Team Shira's motives, Sen reveals to Team Guy that Shira had only recently become a shinobi. Lee sheds light to the mystery of why someone of Shira's calibre had only become a shinobi by reaching the conclusion that they have a commonality: Both limited to use only taijutsu.