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"Byakugan Reconnaissance Technique!"
A single golden-sand-wrapped eye hovered in a hidden spot, invisible to everyone.
Genshi stared at Rasa, emotions swirling—complicated, bitter, and calculating.
"So it's Rasa who came, not Pakura. Fine. Even better."
"If I can kill him, the damage to Sunagakure will be massive. It'll buy Kirigakure far more breathing room. I just need one clean shot."
Genshi let out a long, heavy sigh.
"Such a talent… what a waste he wasn't born in the Mist. If he had been, we would've won this war long ago. Kirigakure would already be the strongest village in the world. But no—he had to be born in that desert shithole. Heaven really doesn't favor us."
Rasa's eyes narrowed.
"This old bastard really did exactly what he told the Hoshigaki clan he'd do. Explosive tags hidden inside his body. Not strapped on the outside like a normal suicide bomber—he swallowed them. A wooden ball tucked in his stomach. How the hell did he even fit that in there?"
"Cold. Ruthless. If I hadn't already known and didn't have the Byakugan, he might've actually caught me."
"Someone this deep in the game isn't aiming for regular Sand shinobi. He's after me… or Pakura."
Rasa gave the order immediately.
"Don't bring Genshi and Kisame over yet. Have them deliver the supplies first. We'll release the matching number of captives once the goods are here."
The Mist ninja nodded.
"Yes, Lord Kazekage."
Both sides began the exchange.
Genshi's brow furrowed.
"What the hell? They're not even interested in me and Kisame? They want the supplies first? Did Rasa figure something out?"
"Impossible. Only a handful of people knew about the tags. Sunagakure doesn't have the Byakugan."
Genshi felt uneasy, but there was nothing he could do. He had to wait. Wait for the right moment. Wait for his chance.
One hand delivered supplies. The other released captives. The trade moved smoothly.
The longer it went, the more suspicious Genshi became.
"Why isn't Sunagakure even asking about Jinpachi Munashi? They specifically demanded him. He should matter more to them than me or Kisame. Unless… they already know he defected. Or worse—he already joined them."
The more Genshi thought about it, the more likely it seemed. After all, Fuguki Suikazan had already defected to Sunagakure. Jinpachi probably had too.
"Those two traitors. The village raised them, trained them, and this is how they repay us. Unforgivable."
But Genshi could only curse them silently in his head.
Finally, the supplies were almost all transferred.
Genshi and Kisame stepped forward.
Genshi's heart pounded as he closed the distance to Rasa and the Sand forces.
"Closer… just a little more…"
"Now!"
But right as Genshi was about to trigger the tags, Rasa suddenly stopped.
A chain of gold dust erupted from the ground beneath Genshi and snapped tight around his ankle.
At the same time, Rasa's hand closed around the hilt of the Lightning Blade.
"Lightning Blade!"
A bolt of lightning shot down the gold chain and slammed into Genshi's body.
The old man seized up instantly, every muscle locked in paralysis. He couldn't move.
Kisame barely had time to react before a massive shockwave slammed into him, sending him flying. He hit the ground hard and blacked out.
When Kisame came to, the first thing he saw was—
BOOM!
A thunderous explosion ripped through the air.
Genshi had detonated the tags inside his own body with everything he had left.
The blast shook the entire area. The ground cratered. Trees toppled. Dirt, rocks, and chunks of flesh sprayed everywhere.
Genshi's body vanished completely.
Rasa watched the spot where Genshi had stood, completely calm. Then his eyes shifted to the remaining Mist ninja.
"Pass the order. Kill them all."
At his command, dozens of Sand shinobi who had been lying in wait exploded from cover and charged.
The Mist forces scattered in panic.
"That old bastard still had some fight in him."
Rasa had hoped to capture Genshi alive, remove the tags, and use him as leverage to squeeze even more reparations out of Kirigakure. But Genshi had still blown himself up—and at the last second he'd shifted position, placing the explosion between the two groups. It didn't hurt any Sand ninja, but it bought the Mist survivors precious seconds to run.
Rasa could live with that.
The blast hadn't killed any of his people, and his forces were already chasing down the fleeing Mist ninja. They'd catch plenty.
More importantly, Genshi had deliberately aimed the blast to hit Kisame too. Kisame had seen it with his own eyes. That fact alone made the boy far more likely to defect to Sunagakure.
"Truth is, if Genshi hadn't pulled that stunt, Kirigakure would've lost even less today. That last-second adjustment barely made up for the damage he caused his own village."
Rasa shook his head.
"Too old to still be playing these games. Should've just died quietly."
Soon the Sand forces split into two groups—one escorting the supplies back, the other herding the captives. Rasa wasn't sticking around. He was taking every prisoner straight to Sunagakure. If Kirigakure wanted them back, they could come beg in person.
Grass Willow was among the captives.
Later, during a rest stop, Rasa landed and walked over to Kisame.
"What's your name?"
Kisame froze for a second, then understanding hit him like a kunai to the chest.
After everything that had happened—the way Rasa had treated him, the fact that he hadn't been specifically named in the demands—Kisame realized the truth.
He hadn't been one of the people Sand actually wanted.
The Mist had chosen him to be sacrificed.
The realization burned.
"Those lying bastards!"
"Why me? What did I do wrong? What did the Hoshigaki clan do wrong?"
Pain twisted across Kisame's face.
In that moment, he felt it deep in his bones.
The village had sold him out. Completely. Utterly. Sold him out.