Perhaps because they'd been played for so long, the Iwagakure shinobi were growing unhinged, rushing toward Rasa with reckless abandon.
Meanwhile, Rasa—refining gold dust to fund his gacha while dodging incoming kunai, shuriken, explosive tags, and ninjutsu—hadn't used a single ninjutsu since his desperate escape began. This led the enemy to assume…
[He can't use ninjutsu?]
Otherwise, Rasa couldn't fathom what gave them the audacity to abandon defense and charge head-on.
The Fourth Kazekage could seal the One-Tail into a tea kettle with sheer effort, proving Rasa's strength wasn't lacking. But now… he was both Rasa and not Rasa.
Ninja were called ninja for their unpredictability! Sighing inwardly, Rasa glanced at the frenzied Iwagakure shinobi, who'd ditched their defenses. [Should I wait a bit longer?]
With that thought, he ignored them, noting the darkening night. "Looks like I'll be pulling an all-nighter mining gold," he muttered.
These half-crazed Iwagakure shinobi weren't letting go of this "lunatic" anytime soon!
---
"Cloud ninja?!" Chiyo frowned, staring at the fallen shinobi bearing Kumogakure's distinctive headband. Her aged face showed exhaustion.
"They've already penetrated this deep into the Land of Wind."
"What do we do now?" Ebizō's brows furrowed with unresolvable worry. Sighing, he watched the Sand shinobi collecting bodies and shook his head.
"We're already short on ninja. If this continues…"
"No matter," Chiyo cut in. "Have you forgotten what I used to do? Numbers don't matter!"
"Puppets?" Ebizō ventured.
"Poison!" Chiyo snapped, glaring at her irreverent brother before turning to the weary Sand shinobi with a serious expression.
"We need to retreat. This place isn't safe to linger!"
Ebizō was right—Sunagakure's puppet techniques were renowned across the shinobi world!
The White Secret Technique: Chikamatsu Collection of Ten Puppets! She'd once conquered a fortress with it.
Sadly, her grandson, who could've inherited her White Secret Technique, was gone, likely sacrificed for Sunagakure. Her art might die out.
"Erase our tracks and retreat. We need to scout a new campsite!" Chiyo ordered.
The battlefield… was in the Land of Wind!
---
"The battlefield is in the Land of Wind!" Momu gazed at the moonlit night sky, feeling the chill of the desert breeze. Sighing, he murmured, "I wonder how Rasa-sama is doing."
The Land of Wind had little greenery—just a small lake near Sunagakure. Years ago, it held fish, but as sandstorms grew and the lake dwindled, most Sand shinobi knew… without action, Sunagakure might vanish in decades or centuries, buried like the legendary ancient kingdom of Loulan.
"Rasa-sama, the Kazekage's disciple and the village's only Magnet Release user!" a nearby Sand shinobi said, staring at the sky with resolve. "He's our hope. He'll be fine."
But inwardly, he felt helpless. As one of the five great villages, Sunagakure had lost past wars but could proudly say, [We dared to challenge the shinobi world's top village—can you?] Now, even a minor village like Kusagakure dared to attack them.
"Did something really happen to the Kazekage?" another asked.
"…" Momu fell silent. Deep down, they all knew—if the Kazekage were alive, he'd never let Sunagakure be invaded like this.
He was the village's Kage!
After a moment, Momu turned to the disheartened Sand shinobi, shaken by the Kazekage's absence and Rasa's uncertain fate. Taking a deep breath, he stood, his eyes blazing with determination.
"We can't give up like this! Rasa-sama drew the Iwagakure shinobi away to preserve our strength for the coming war, to protect Sunagakure. How can we be so downhearted now?!"
He shouted to the group, "Even if it means death, we'll show these opportunistic villages that Sunagakure isn't to be trifled with!"
Raising his fist, he declared with conviction, "We absolutely won't let Rasa-sama down!"
"Absolutely not!" the others echoed.
"We Sand shinobi have never been afraid. It's just a war—we've never won one anyway!"
"Shut up!"
Seeing the Sand shinobi's spirits lift, Momu felt a surge of relief. [At least we haven't given up!] Looking at the bright moon, he felt as if Rasa-sama's gaze was upon them, illuminating their lost hearts like moonlight.
A faint smile curved his lips. "Rasa-sama… we won't let you down!"
Watch us from the heavens!
---
"Achoo! Achoo!" Rasa sneezed. The night was chilly!
Was he imagining it, or was someone talking about him? "Could it be Karura, thinking of me back in the village?"
The thought warmed his heart. Someone was waiting for him!
He pulled his clothes tighter. The desert's day-night temperature swings were brutal, especially at year's end. The Land of Wind's nights were freezing.
The cold wind made his gold-mining hands tremble. Forming hand signs was tough!
The Iwagakure shinobi weren't faring much better. Their relentless attacks left them panting. Still, they'd made gains—Rasa had used up his precious blue potions. Glancing at his last red potion…
He sighed, then chugged it.
"Worthy of Iwagakure's vanguard—such stamina!" he muttered. Despite his defenses, he'd taken significant injuries. Mining gold and defending simultaneously was exhausting.
And… "Where are those Sand shinobi? No reinforcements? Guess I'll have to use it."
"We need to retreat!" the Iwagakure commander said grimly, staring into the night. "We can't stay in the Land of Wind too long!"
Nearby Sand shinobi had likely been alerted by now.
And, say what you will—this Third Kazekage's disciple was slippery. His chakra refinement seemed off, causing stuttering ninjutsu, but his timing was impeccable, blocking nearly everything. His resilience was astounding—covered in blood and scabs, yet still standing!
The commander felt a grudging respect. [Standing on sheer will? A formidable foe!]
But just as that thought arose…
His face changed, as did the other Iwagakure shinobi's, staring in disbelief at the writhing sand beneath them.
"Retreat!" the commander shouted.
Too late.
"Magnet Release: Gold Dust Imperial Funeral!" Rasa's icy voice echoed with a terrifying roar through the dark, cold desert.
(End of Chapter)