On the Gobi Desert at the border of the Land of Wind, the afterglow of the setting sun was stained dark red by the smoke of gunpowder.
In the scout outpost at the top of the sand dune, a Suna ninja gripped his binoculars, his gaze vigilantly sweeping across the vast sand sea.
This was the eastern side of the Land of Wind, where ninjas were stationed on rotation year-round, but they did not detect a white figure descending from the sky.
Deidara stood on the back of a clay giant bird, a ball of white clay in his hand. This clay giant bird was pure white, molded entirely from white explosive clay, and it moved with a hint of agility when it flapped its wings.
"These idiots from Sunagakure didn't even notice someone approaching."
He casually kneaded the clay into the shape of several small white birds and tossed them towards the Sunagakure camp below.
"Hmph! Art is an explosion."
A flock of white birds arced through the air, crashing into the ground and exploding with a roar.
Boom… Boom… Boom…
The deafening sounds made the sand dunes tremble.
The screams of the Suna ninjas intertwined with the explosions, and sparks landed on the tents, quickly igniting into raging fires.
The once bustling camp instantly plunged into chaos, with only the flickering light of flames in the darkness illuminating the devastation.
Deidara's attack killed dozens of Suna ninjas, and most of the remaining were wounded.
Discovering that the enemy was flying in the sky, they were utterly unable to organize an effective counterattack.
Seeing the chaos below, Hidan, carrying his scythe, jumped down. Fortunately, the sandy ground was soft, and he suffered no harm.
Hidan moved like a ghost, as if treading on solid ground across the sand, his scythe waving in the air, bringing with it a cold gleam.
He was incredibly fast. In the blink of an eye, he charged into the scattered group of Suna ninjas.
"Kill, kill, kill! Offer your souls as a sacrifice to Jashin-sama!"
Hidan's crazed shouts echoed through the desolate desert, sending shivers down one's spine.
A Suna ninja, seeing this, hastily tried to form hand signs to activate a Ninjutsu, but Hidan was faster. Hidan rushed forward like lightning, his scythe arcing through the air and precisely slitting the Suna ninja's throat.
In an instant, blood splattered onto the ritual array drawn in the sand, forming a stark contrast between the red blood and the yellow sand, as if a blasphemy against life itself.
"Jashin-sama, please accept my offering." Hidan clasped his hands together, a look of devout reverence on his face.
Then, he extended his tongue and lightly licked the bloodstains on his scythe, a moment that seemed eerily satisfying.
"Don't run, all of you! Offer your blood and souls, so Jashin-sama enjoy them thoroughly!"
Hidan stood up, the fanaticism in his eyes growing more intense. His immortal body made him reckless in this slaughter.
The Suna ninjas watched Hidan in horror, their attacks were completely ineffective against him.
Someone stabbed Hidan's heart with a Kunai, but he didn't even pause, casually pulling out the Kunai and then, with a backhand swing, cutting down that Suna ninja.
Just then, an angry shout came from the horizon.
"How dare you run wild in the Land of Wind! You must be tired of living!"
Everyone looked up to see Rasa, accompanied by his wife Karura, flying swiftly towards them.
The two quickly landed, and then Rasa slammed his hands on the ground, drawing a large amount of gold dust from beneath. Then, it condensed into dozens of golden spikes, which he shot towards Hidan.
Magnet Release: Gold Dust Shigure!
Gold dust was Rasa's unique weapon, heavier and sharper than ordinary sand, enough to penetrate hard rock.
Hidan quickly dodged the attacks of these golden spikes, a look of annoyance on his face.
Rasa's gold dust Ninjutsu was quite insidious. Once these gold dust pierced the skin, they could burrow into the flesh and change shape, hindering normal bodily movement. So, even the immortal Hidan was unwilling to be hit by gold dust.
Karura's gaze, meanwhile, locked onto Deidara in the sky.
She formed hand signs, and the sand on the ground was instantly absorbed by her Magnet Release, transforming into yellow sand hands.
"Deidara, you've killed many Suna ninjas, you won't get away."
She manipulated several sand hands to entangle the white clay giant bird, the sand hands twisting flexibly in the air, heading straight for the giant bird's wings.
She knew Deidara's explosive clay was incredibly powerful and that she had to restrain him first to prevent him from launching large-scale attacks again.
Looking at the entangling sand hands, Deidara patted the back of the clay giant bird. "You want to catch me? It's not that easy."
The clay giant bird flapped its wings, its body deftly avoiding the sand hands.
The clay giant bird flew too fast. Each time the sand hands were about to entangle it, Deidara easily evaded them.
"Damn it, this white giant bird is too agile!"
Karura gritted her teeth, once again condensing Chakra, turning the sand hands into a sand net, attempting to trap the clay giant bird within it.
But Deidara pulled out more white clay from his pocket, kneaded it into several white grasshoppers, and threw them at the sand net.
"Art cannot be bound! Hmph!"
The grasshoppers landed on the sand net and instantly exploded, the sand net shattering from the shockwave.
—
Hidan, being pursued by Rasa, was quite displeased. "Tch, it's you two again. I didn't sacrifice you to Jashin-sama last time, but this time I'll make up for it with both of you."
He was about to charge forward but was stopped by a voice.
"Hidan, don't waste time. Rasa is mine. You deal with the others. Finish them quickly and take this camp."
Tobi emerged from the shadows, his face, hidden by the spiral mask, showing no expression.
Rasa's eyes narrowed. He had heard that there was a ninja in Akatsuki who could manipulate space.
"Kazekage, don't just focus on others. Your opponent is me."
Seeing the masked man, Rasa dared not be careless and immediately used his ultimate technique.
Magnet Release: Gold Dust Imperial Funeral!
Gold dust surged like a tide, with an aura that blotted out the sky, pressing down on Tobi and Hidan.
Suna ninjas, seeing this, all showed expectant looks.
This was one of Rasa's strongest Ninjutsu. They didn't believe anyone could block it.
But Tobi was not flustered at all, the Sharingan beneath his mask glowing crimson.
"Don't waste your efforts, Rasa. Your gold dust is useless against me."
His body suddenly turned into a phantom, passing through the gold dust like a ghost, easily avoiding the fatal blow. The gold dust landed on the sandy ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.
"What?"
Rasa's face suddenly changed, his eyes filled with shock.
His Gold Dust Imperial Funeral had never failed. He didn't expect Tobi to dodge it so easily.
Karura's sand tentacles reached for Tobi, but only passed through a phantom, unable to touch his body at all.
Before Rasa could react, Tobi suddenly appeared behind him.
Rasa instantly felt a chilling killing intent, and the hairs on his back stood on end. He manipulated gold dust to condense into a giant gold dust shield, blocking the opponent's attack, and then quickly retreated.
Facing an opponent with spatial Ninjutsu, a sense of powerlessness welled up in Rasa's heart.
He knew that if they continued to fight, not only would he and Karura lose their lives, but the remaining Suna ninjas would also be completely annihilated.
So, he gritted his teeth and shouted, "Suna ninjas, listen! Abandon the camp, retreat immediately! Everyone retreat!"
Although the Suna ninjas were very unwilling, they could only retreat one after another.
Watching Rasa's retreating back, Tobi did not continue to pursue, but instead shouted to Deidara, "Deidara, give them a big gift!"
Deidara nodded slightly, created several white birds, and threw them in the direction Rasa and the others were fleeing.
"Art is an explosion!"
The clay bombs exploded in the air, the huge shockwave overturning the sand dunes, and smoke and dust filled the entire battlefield.
Looking at the battlefield covered in smoke and dust, Tobi's eyes beneath his mask were cold. "Alright, this camp is ours. Next, it's time to take the city."
In just a few days, five cities on the border of the Land of Wind successively fell.
Akatsuki's offensive was like a destructive force, and Suna ninjas were defeated repeatedly.
The situation in the Land of Earth was no better. Onoki was severely wounded by Pain, and the Iwa ninjas' morale was low.
Inside the Royal Palace of the Land of Wind, the atmosphere was so oppressive it was suffocating.
The Daimyo of the Land of Wind sat on his throne, clutching a crumpled paper battle report, his face ashen.
The handwriting on the battle report was clearly visible: five border cities had fallen, Suna ninjas suffered heavy casualties, Rasa and his wife were forced to retreat to the main city, and communication with the border was completely cut off.
The Daimyo slammed the battle report to the ground, roaring, "Useless! All of you are useless! What is Rasa doing? He can't even stop a few people from the Land of Akatsuki and has lost so many cities! If Sunagakure continues like this, my Land of Wind will be dragged down by them sooner or later!"
The minister standing below quickly stepped forward, bowing and advising, "Daimyo-sama, please calm your anger. Rasa-sama has done his best. The strength of the Land of Akatsuki is too great, and their Ninjutsu are bizarre and unpredictable. We still don't know the reason for their sudden declaration of war…"
"Reason? I don't care about any reason!"
The Daimyo interrupted the minister, his tone full of dissatisfaction. "I allocate so much money to Sunagakure every year for them to protect the Land of Wind, not for them to lose cities and territories. Give Rasa one last chance. If he still can't defend the main city, I will cut off Sunagakure's funding and let them figure it out themselves."
The minister dared not say more. He picked up the battle report from the ground, bowed, and retreated.
Inside the Royal Palace, there was only the Daimyo's angry panting.
Sunlight streamed through the windows, but it could not dispel the oppressive atmosphere in the air.
Everyone knew that the Daimyo's dissatisfaction with Sunagakure had reached its peak.
At the same time, on the observation deck of the Land of Water Royal Palace, Shun was looking at the battle report in his hand.
The sea breeze brushed against his robes, and his eyes were filled with the light of strategic brilliance.
The battle report detailed Akatsuki's conquest of cities in the Land of Earth and the Land of Wind, every word confirmed his plan.
"The turmoil in the Ninja World has only just begun. Only by completely breaking the old order can a new balance be established."