Both men's expressions changed at the same time.
Around them, great surges of gold dust rose high into the air like towering walls.
"Shirasuna Koichi, you sold me out!"
Danzo glared furiously at Koichi.
Looking at the swirling gold dust, how could Danzo fail to recognize Rasa's power?
Koichi panicked at once.
"I didn't!"
"It was Rasa! Rasa followed me here!"
But Danzo did not believe him at all.
His carefully selected twelve assassins had failed too easily. They had not wounded even a single person.
That alone had already planted suspicion toward Koichi in Danzo's heart.
And now, the moment Koichi appeared here, Rasa arrived right behind him.
There was no way Danzo would believe Koichi was uninvolved.
"Well done, Shirasuna Koichi. I knew your story was fabricated. And I actually believed you. Across the entire shinobi world, you're the first person who dared deceive me, Danzo!"
"Die!"
Danzo rapidly formed hand seals.
"Wind Release: Vacuum Great Sphere!"
A massive sphere of wind chakra blasted toward Koichi.
Koichi's pupils shrank as he retreated frantically.
"Danzo, I told you, it wasn't me!"
"If you attack me now, you'll only be falling into his trap!"
"Do you not want the intelligence I possess anymore?"
Koichi was suffocating with grievance and desperation.
He had done nothing here, yet Danzo refused to trust him.
And Koichi knew very well that since Rasa had followed him all the way here, Rasa definitely already knew that he had betrayed Sunagakure.
At this point, the only one who could save him was Danzo.
"It's Rasa. This is all Rasa's doing."
"He must have seen through the assassination attempt and learned about me from those shinobi. That's why he secretly followed me in the direction I fled."
"If I were working with Rasa, then why would he wait until now to make his move?"
"Wouldn't he have attacked the moment he saw you?"
"I could have struck first, drawn your attention, and then let him ambush you."
Even in this desperate moment, Koichi's mind spun rapidly, assembling the argument he believed was most likely to convince Danzo and buy him a chance at survival.
Hearing that, Danzo thought it made some sense.
But right now, Danzo could barely guarantee his own survival, let alone spare any thought for Koichi.
That previous attack had certainly been an attack.
But more than that, it had been a way for Danzo to create distance and reposition himself.
He was highly wary of Rasa.
One man suppressing an entire clan. One man slaughtering four of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen in succession. Those were not feats an ordinary shinobi could accomplish.
Even Danzo had no confidence in doing the same.
Even if Koichi was innocent.
Even if Koichi's intelligence really was valuable.
All of it depended on one thing first—
That Danzo survive today.
Danzo turned and broke outward.
Watching Danzo's back, Koichi sank into despair.
Without Danzo, how could he survive against Rasa? Against the Sunagakure shinobi?
Before taking revenge on Pakura, was he really going to die at the hands of Pakura's husband?
Would his entire family end up dying at the hands of Pakura's family?
Unwillingness and rage surged wildly in Koichi's heart.
"Pakura!"
At that moment—
"Sand Soldiers, appear!"
Two sand soldiers materialized from the ground.
One in front of Koichi.
One behind him.
Both thrust their spears at the same time.
Now that Rasa had seen Danzo, Koichi had no further value.
Anyone who betrayed the village deserved death.
Koichi dodged the sand soldier in front.
But not the one behind.
Puchi!
A spear thrust clean through him, piercing his entire body. The tip emerged from his chest as blood ran down the shaft and dripped onto the sand.
"Rasa!"
Koichi glared at him in fury.
"You judge unfairly, all for Pakura's sake, regardless of right or wrong!"
"You're greedy for wealth and women!"
"You're unfit to be Kazekage!"
"The Akayama clan rebelled for a reason!"
Rasa did not even spare him a glance.
Koichi still wanted to keep cursing.
But—
Puchi!
The other sand soldier thrust its spear precisely into Koichi's throat.
His mouth opened wide, but no sound came out.
Rasa's gaze finally settled on Danzo.
Sand soldiers emerged one after another in scattered positions, as if spawning at random across the battlefield.
All of the Root shinobi Danzo had brought revealed themselves.
Danzo and Rasa locked eyes.
The great battle was about to begin.
"Rasa!"
Danzo's face was ashen as he stared hard at him.
"Rasa, very good. At such a young age, you already possess methods like these. No wonder you could become the Fourth Kazekage."
"This entire affair was orchestrated by Shirasuna Koichi alone."
"And now he's dead."
"So let this matter end here. How about it?"
Rasa laughed.
"Danzo, what do you think Sunagakure is?"
"A place you can enter whenever you like and leave whenever you want?"
Before his words had even finished, a huge amount of gold dust surged toward Danzo. At the same time, the sand soldiers charged at the Root shinobi with shields in one hand and spears in the other.
Two shinobi moved to guard Danzo.
Then, suddenly—
"Mind Body Switch Technique!"
A figure hidden behind Danzo made his move.
It was a shinobi from the Yamanaka clan.
But Rasa had already anticipated this.
When Danzo founded Root, he had gathered many orphaned shinobi and also cultivated ties with several shinobi clans.
Among them, aside from the Shimura clan, the Yamanaka and Aburame clans were especially close to him.
The Yamanaka clan's secret techniques were highly unusual.
The Mind Body Switch Technique allowed the user's spirit to invade another person's body.
But it was also subject to chakra quantity and spiritual strength.
"Success!"
The Yamanaka shinobi immediately attempted to seize control of Rasa's body and force Rasa to kill himself.
A flash of delight appeared on Danzo's face.
But before anything could happen—
Puchi!
A sand soldier appeared behind the Yamanaka shinobi and drove a spear straight through him.
Once the Mind Body Switch Technique was used, the caster's original body became completely defenseless and had to be protected by others.
Rasa had already spotted the Yamanaka shinobi through the Byakugan.
The reason he had let the technique hit him in the first place was deliberate.
He wanted to take the hit, then use the sand soldier to kill the Yamanaka shinobi.
That way, when the real battle with Danzo intensified later, the Yamanaka shinobi would not have the chance to strike him at a crucial moment.
Dealing with him now was clearly the better choice.
The instant his body was pierced, the Yamanaka shinobi's spirit was forced back into it. His eyes widened as he turned to look at the sand soldier behind him, his face filled with unwillingness.
But there was nothing left he could do.
The joy that had just appeared on Danzo's face froze at once.