"Quicksand Shift!"
"Magnet Release: Gold Dust Chains!"
The instant the gold dust chains wrapped around their target, a bolt of lightning shot from Rasa's hand, racing along the chains and into the Konoha shinobi's body.
The Konoha shinobi instantly fell into a brief state of paralysis.
Beside him, a sand soldier raised its spear and thrust forward.
Puchi!
By then, Rasa had already appeared beside another Konoha shinobi.
"Quicksand Shift!"
"Gold Dust Chains!"
"Thunder Blade!"
Two jutsu, combined with the Thunder Blade, delivered the fastest possible assault with the least possible chakra expenditure. Then the sand soldier followed up with the finishing strike.
Rasa's figure turned into a streak of light across the battlefield.
Puchi!
Puchi!
Puchi!
Three figures fell one after another.
The ANBU outside widened their eyes in shock.
"So strong! Kazekage-sama is too strong!"
"What kind of jutsu is that?"
"He cut down three people in a single breath!"
"It was too fast. In an instant, Kazekage-sama closed in, bound one Konoha shinobi with gold dust chains, electrocuted him, and had the sand soldier pierce him with its spear."
"The Konoha shinobi didn't even realize Kazekage-sama had approached before the spear had already gone through him."
Rasa glanced at the three fallen shinobi, then turned his gaze toward the remaining eight.
"This move…"
"…will be called Sand Soldier Gold Lightning Slash."
The word Sand came from Quicksand Shift.
Soldier came from Sand Soldier Manifestation.
Gold came from Magnet Release: Gold Dust.
And Lightning came from the Thunder Blade.
"Low chakra consumption, high speed, sudden attacks, excellent control, powerful lethality…"
"The cost-effectiveness is extremely high."
The eight Konoha shinobi looked at Rasa, their expressions grimmer than ever.
"What just happened? Did any of you see it clearly?"
"No. I only saw a flash."
"That definitely wasn't the Body Flicker Technique."
"It felt like Lord Minato."
"Could it be that Rasa knows the Flying Thunder God too?"
The moment those words fell, all eight Konoha shinobi's faces turned ugly.
They did not truly understand Rasa's strength.
But they understood Namikaze Minato's strength very well.
Now the question was no longer whether they would die.
It was whether, with Rasa wielding such terrifying power, Konoha's alliance with Kirigakure had really been the right decision.
"Why exactly did the Hokage-sama choose to ally with Kirigakure?"
"I can't think of a single benefit."
"Could it really be like Lord Danzo said—that the Hokage-sama is not qualified at all, and that Konoha is actually being held up from the shadows by Lord Danzo?"
"Lord Danzo is truly great."
One of the Konoha shinobi's eyes flickered.
"No wonder Rasa could kill those four members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen. With speed like that, it's practically on par with Lord Minato. It's too fast—it's like the Flying Thunder God Slash created by the Second Hokage."
"Kirigakure knew this information, but said nothing."
"How shameless!"
"They're just taking advantage of Konoha!"
At that moment, Rasa moved again.
"Sand Soldier Gold Lightning Slash!"
Elsewhere, a young shinobi hurried over to Shirasuna Koichi.
"Koichi-sama, this is bad. The plan failed."
Koichi's brows furrowed sharply.
"What?"
The young shinobi quickly recounted everything he had seen in full detail.
Koichi's face darkened.
"Useless. All of them are useless!"
"Danzo's people are utterly incompetent!"
"No wonder he couldn't become Hokage!"
Koichi cursed Danzo inwardly.
"I already went this far. I brought his men into the heart of Sunagakure without them facing a single obstacle. If this was exposed, I'd become a sinner in the eyes of the entire village. And even then, he still couldn't pull it off?"
The young shinobi asked, "Koichi-sama, what should we do now?"
"Run!"
"Run?"
The young shinobi froze and hesitated.
"Koichi-sama… can I stay in the village? I swear, I absolutely won't betray you. And as long as you don't mention me, no one else will know what I did."
Koichi looked at him deeply.
Then, in the next moment, he smiled.
"Of course. You've worked for me all this time. How could I betray you?"
"It's rare to find someone who's followed me for so long and done so much for me. Since we're parting ways this time and likely won't meet again, let me give you a gift."
"Take it as recognition for all your years of service."
The young shinobi's face lit up with joy.
"Thank you, Koichi-sama."
He stepped forward.
But what he received was not a gift.
It was Koichi's kunai.
Puchi!
The blade drove straight into the young shinobi's chest. His eyes widened, filled with disbelief, as he stared at Koichi.
Koichi's expression did not change in the slightest. He shoved the corpse aside.
"Idiot."
Then he turned sharply.
He had hoped this operation against Rasa would succeed.
But he had also prepared for failure.
If it failed, he would flee immediately.
What Koichi did not notice was the pair of eyes watching him from the shadows.
"Go inform Kazekage-sama. Shirasuna Koichi has already fled."
One ANBU received the order and immediately rushed toward Rasa.
At this point, only three Konoha shinobi remained standing.
Their eyes were full of despair.
"This Rasa is using us to test his jutsu!"
"From the start, we never had even the slightest chance."
"That technique of his is monstrous. In an instant, he can move beside a sand soldier. Compared to Lord Minato's Flying Thunder God, it's not inferior at all."
"He's practically a second Yellow Flash."
The Sunagakure shinobi nearby were instantly displeased.
"A second Yellow Flash?"
"What makes Namikaze Minato worthy of comparison with our Kazekage-sama?"
"Our Kazekage-sama is the Kazekage. Namikaze Minato is just an elite jonin."
"And his Flying Thunder God Technique was created by the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama. But our Kazekage-sama created this jutsu himself. Those are completely different things."
"That's right. Kazekage-sama is definitely stronger than Namikaze Minato!"
The three Konoha shinobi huddled together tightly, terrified of being isolated.
They had seen what happened to anyone Rasa approached with that technique.
If one person was caught alone and wrapped in gold dust chains, survival was impossible.
"Only by staying together do we have even a sliver of a chance!"
Rasa shook his head.
"I have many jutsu."
"And combinations far beyond just that one."
A golden line appeared before him.
Its far end extended toward the Konoha shinobi.
A great amount of gold dust floated around the three of them, suspended in the air.
Rasa did not move closer.
He merely grasped the hilt of the Thunder Blade.
"Lightning Release!"
A bolt of lightning shot forward along the golden line in an instant.