Are You a Ghost?

After suffering a loss once, the Gold Dust Cloud hovered in mid-air.

Rasa made up his mind to eliminate Otoha as quickly as possible before landing, otherwise Otoha, with the advantage of terrain, could cause him a lot of trouble with just a simple C-rank Ninjutsu!

"Magnet Release: Gold Sand Shuriken"

A large cloud of Gold Dust Cloud in mid-air changed, with some of the Gold Dust separating and turning into a large number of Shurikens. The sheer number of them was countless, and they were all launched with considerable force toward Otoha's foothold. This high-density, all-encompassing attack was incomparable to the little tricks they had used to greet him earlier.

"Earth Release, Earth Style Wall."

A rock wall rose up, blocking his way. The density of this wave of attacks was too great; even with his current Taijutsu, he was not yet capable of intercepting them unscathed.

Fortunately, the Uchiha Clan's disciples were never known for specialization. The Sharingan's copying ability allowed the disciples who awakened it to be proficient in a variety of fighting styles, excelling in ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu, and able to deal with most unexpected situations.

Otoha fought with extreme caution. He did not recognize Rasa, but knowing that the other party was also a user of Kekkei Genkai was enough to make him wary. The Uchiha Clan relied on the Sharingan to become famous, so he knew very well how much Kekkei Genkai could help a ninja, even if not every Kekkei Genkai was as powerful as the Sharingan.

"Hmph, Magnet Release, Gold Sand Cone."

Rasa didn't expect to easily defeat Otoha. The Uchiha were always more troublesome because he needed to be wary of the Sharingan's Genjutsu, which inevitably made him feel somewhat restrained, and the fight wasn't very enjoyable! However, Rasa was still very confident in his own strength.

The golden sand changed again, and a large triangular pyramid quickly took shape and was launched out at an accelerating speed. With a loud bang, the rock wall created by Otoha was shattered by the golden triangular pyramid.

However, there was no one behind the wall.

"He can't escape, Uchiha Clan." Rasa's voice was calm. Otoha's disappearance hadn't escaped his notice, after all, he was also a sensory-type ninja.

Otoha's Chakra appeared underground; he was also an Earth Release ninja, and Earth Release Stealth Technique was a required course for all Earth Release ninjas.

Having detected Otoha's location, Rasa did not take immediate action. Instead, he controlled the Gold Dust Cloud to rise slightly. This was war, not a personal competition. Fighting alone was not a wise decision; it was merely a foolish habit.

"Lava Release, Volcanic Hell"

The earth glowed red, the water on the ground hissed and evaporated, turning into steam that rose into the sky. The soil dried and crumbled at a visible speed, and the scalding magma melted the soil.

With a bang, Otoha burst out from underground and flew away from the land that was turning into lava.

Otoha's sleeves turned to ashes, and his exposed arms were covered with a dozen or so blisters of varying sizes. He grimaced in pain, but had no time to treat them, as he was only concerned with fleeing for his life.

His attention was drawn to Rasa, and he completely ignored the underground reconnaissance. In his haste to escape underground, he discovered that Roshi was hiding there. Even though he reacted quickly enough, he was still affected by Roshi's attack and was almost burned to the bone by the magma.

Although he wasn't buried underground by the lava, he still suffered considerable injuries. The blisters on his arms were nothing compared to the intense heat that had stripped him of a lot of body fluids, leaving him with multiple burns. He really suffered a lot.

"Magnet Release: Gold Dust Shuriken"

Without giving Otoha a moment to catch her breath, Rasa's attacks came one after another, golden Shuriken flying everywhere, flashing with the light of death.

"Dry!!"

Otoha cursed loudly. "What a shameless bastard! Attacking from both sides, they're really leaving him no way out!"

Struggling to wield his longsword, parrying and blocking the rain of Shuriken, he sustained seven or eight more cuts and wounds, barely managing to survive the attack. However, Otoha's face was as black as the bottom of a pot, showing no sign of relief, because Rasa and Roshi were clearly not going to stop there. With a deep wound on his left calf, he was no longer able to escape.

Is this the end?

With a deep sigh, Otoha held his long sword horizontally, determined not to give up the struggle even in the face of death.

The outcome of this battle was predetermined from the start. If it were just Rasa alone, Otoha might have a chance if he struggled. However, there was a Jinchuriki hidden underground. From the moment Otoha saw the terrifying chakra of the Chakra Tailed Beast, he knew that he was probably going to die here this time.

"Magnet Release, Gold Sand Mountain."

Rasa attacked again, clearly intending to take Otoha's life. A small mountain made of Gold Dust appeared above Otoha's head. The terrifying weight pressed down on the air, causing it to emit a piercing shriek. If this blow had landed, even a lump of iron could have been smashed into a flat iron disc.

"Damn Sand Ninja!"

With her chapped and parched lips, Otoha mumbled a final, angry curse at the Sand Ninja, venting her pent-up frustration, before closing her eyes and awaiting death.

Just then, an unexpected event occurred.

"Crack!!"

A loud bang rang in his ears, making Otoha's head buzz, and the flying sand and dust covered his face.

"Damn it! You Sand Ninja bastards, if you want to kill me, just do it already! What kind of people are you, dragging your feet and toying with me like this?" Otoha glared angrily, but what he saw made him gape, his expression one of utter disbelief. "Are you a ghost?"

The Gold Sand Mountain had vanished, leaving only a dazzling bolt of lightning in the sky. With the Sharingan's power, it appeared to be shaped like a chariot. This wasn't surprising; the world was full of bizarre objects created for practicing shapeshifting. A chariot was nothing special.

What truly caught the eye was the figure standing on the chariot, his fiery red hair sticking up like a lion's mane. After not seeing him for more than ten days, the boy suddenly seemed even more robust and sturdy.

"I don't think so!" Katsuki looked at Otoha and grinned.

Fortunately, he rushed as fast as he could; if he had arrived even a moment later, it would have been difficult to collect Otoha's body.

"You're really not dead! Damn..." Otoha excitedly slapped his thigh, forgetting his leg injury, which was throbbing in pain, his face contorting in agony. "It hurts so much!!"

"Otoha, step back a bit, let's talk later." Katsuki turned her head to look ahead, where a large Gold Dust Cloud was floating, while Roshi on the ground was also watching Katsuki Yue warily as she stood on the Thunderclap Chariot.

"We meet again, Sunagakure... Rasa, right?" Katsuki greeted first.

"Haha, what good luck today, running into you guys one after another." Rasa laughed, his laughter filled with murderous intent.