"Old Hiruzen, who are you trying to intimidate with that?"
Rasa's face was filled with undisguised disdain, and his tone was full of mockery.
Everyone could tell that he seemed dissatisfied with the Third Hokage's attitude and believed that the other man was merely bluffing.
The fact that these two villages, which should have been the closest of allies, had ended up like this left everyone feeling that there was more to the situation than met the eye.
Rasa continued, "Do you think your Konoha Village is the only one that has conducted in-depth research into space-time ninjutsu?"
Confidence and pride flashed in his eyes, as if he were demonstrating to everyone that the Hidden Sand Village likewise understood and had mastered space-time ninjutsu.
Then, he questioned them in a provocative tone, a self-assured expression on his face.
"That organization you mentioned just now, the Empire—I already know a little about it."
There was a hint of smugness in his voice, as if he had already seen through its secrets.
He continued analyzing the situation. "Being able to stabilize a Cross-Dimensional Channel and transport some Jonin and Kage-level forces over here isn't something an ordinary person can accomplish. Forget crossing worlds—even traveling from your Konoha Village to our Hidden Sand Village would require an enormous amount of Chakra to achieve this kind of transportation!"
"Even if we gathered all the Chakra in the Shinobi World and added together the Chakra of all nine Tailed Beasts, how many times could we open a channel like this?"
"Not to mention that they crossed between worlds!"
"Your calculations are far too shallow, Old Hiruzen. If you want our help, then fine—but show us some sincerity!"
"Everyone, don't you agree?" Rasa said with a smug smile, a crafty glint in his eyes.
His voice