A Place of Their Own

"Rasa, what do you think?"

Chiyo didn't answer; more accurately, she used the question to put Rasa in a difficult position.

"Huh?"

Rasa blinked, his mind racing. Chiyo would never ask a pointless question, which meant there was information behind this that he didn't know.

"I don't know, but from what I know, Kamizuru Otto's decision isn't actually wrong. The current Black Tail Mountain is a tough nut to crack. Even if we can take Black Tail Mountain, if we suffer too many losses in the process, we might lose in the competition with the Stone Ninja. So, even if we have to use force, we have to force the Stone Ninja to participate in the war." After a moment of deliberation, Rasa revealed his thoughts.

"Not a bad idea." Chiyo's face lit up with a smile, but it quickly turned into a helpless wry smile. "You're right, it's wrong to risk your life for others, but..."

"Only······"

Rasa swallowed hard; his intuition told him that this 'only' was definitely not good news.

"However, I received a secret report that the front-line camp has been defeated by Konoha, Hatake Sakumo... well, that is, Konoha's White Fang, is currently leading his troops here. If we cannot quickly capture Black Tail Mountain and destroy Konoha's food and supplies stored here, by the time White Fang arrives, this war will be over, ending in a complete victory for Konoha."

Chiyo spoke slowly, her tone heavy.

"How could this be? There are so many Jonin left at the front-line camp, can't they even delay for a few days?" Rasa murmured, finding it hard to believe.

"They've done their best. Even disregarding the Konoha's White Fang, Konoha's strength is far greater than ours. That's a reality we must recognize. Being able to stall for this long is already quite remarkable."

"But even so, is White Fang really that terrifying?" After hesitating for a long time, Rasa finally asked the question that had been buried in his heart. Once the words were out, he couldn't stop talking. "I've always heard people say that the Konoha's White Fang is powerful. The seniors always say that if you see White Fang, you should run away. They're all scared like ostriches, wishing they could bury their heads in the sand. But White Fang is just one person after all. Could he be even more powerful than the Lord Kazekage?"

"Ah, well, I'm sorry, Chiyo- sama, I went too far..." Rasa lowered his head, and only after coming to his senses did he realize that the term "ostriches" he had just used seemed to encompass too broad a range, and Chiyo was one of them.

"It's alright, you're just stating the facts..." Chiyo waved her hand gently, indicating that she didn't mind. "Indeed, I've been exaggerating how terrifying Konoha's White Fang... If possible, I don't want to do this, but I have no choice. Only after truly fighting that man will you understand what terror really means..."

"······"

Rasa licked his lips; Chiyo's expression was so heavy that it made him feel breathless.

"In short, if possible, avoid White Fang until you reach the pinnacle of the Shinobi World. Jonin is just a new starting point, so don't become complacent." Chiyo said a couple of sentences, then suddenly changed the subject. "Have you seen that brat who flies around in the sky riding on lightning?"

"Huh? I've met you before," Rasa replied instinctively.

"... No... I didn't expect you actually knew that kid. How did you meet him?"

"Yes, it was that mission where we went infiltrated the Land of Fire. After our whereabouts were exposed, we fought a battle, but she wasn't nearly as powerful back then as she is now."

"Well... we've gone off-topic." Chiyo shook her head and said, "I meant I haven't seen that brat in the past few days of fighting. Where do you think he came from?"

Where did it come from?

This question startled Rasa, and in a flash, he realized the answer.

"It seems Konoha's reinforcements are indeed coming. I see. Are they planning to use Stone Ninja to delay Konoha's reinforcements?"

"That's right. Since that brat Otto is unwilling to attack the mountain, let them deal with White Fang. Hopefully, they can hold out against White Fang for a while longer and not die too quickly." Chiyo's smile was icy cold.

Rasa shivered and lowered his head.

"Hmm? What's going on up ahead?" Chiyo frowned.

"What?" Rasa looked up, gazing at the scene in the distance, and his eyes widened in shock. "What... what's going on?"

Because he was too focused on his conversation with Chiyo, he narrowed his senses and failed to notice the Chakra fluctuations ahead, which startled him.

Six Jonin, belonging to the Sand Village's ninja forces, were ordered by Chiyo Jonin reinforce the troops attacking Black Tail Mountain. However, all six remained stationary on this small plain, shouting and yelling in a bizarre manner, attacking an empty area...

Wrong!

Straining their eyes, they could vaguely see a golden light flickering through the rain, like lightning, like a phantom, moving among the Jonin.

Sand Eye.

His left eye quietly closed, and a speck of Gold Dust gathered in the distance, transforming into an eyeball, observing the bizarre battle up close.

The Sand Ninja stood back to back in pairs, dealing with the unpredictable attacks. No one knew who the golden light would appear next to in the next moment, and its movement was impossible to track. Each appearance was completely unexpected, and they could only rely on their agility to resist the sudden attacks.

It was really tough!

Six people were being overwhelmed by one person. Since becoming Jonin, they had never tasted such humiliation. However, the Jonin gritted their teeth in hatred but were powerless to turn the tide. Apart from holding their ground and waiting for reinforcements, they dared not act rashly.

"Is this the Space-Time Ninjutsu?" Rasa murmured.

"What did you say? Rasa." Chiyo's eyes twitched violently. Before Rasa could reply, she muttered to herself, "Even Space-Time Ninjutsu have appeared? Konoha has such great luck."

Minato stood nimbly on a stone pillar stuck in the ground, confronting the Jonin. His expression was as relaxed and carefree as ever, and his ease and composure made the Sand Ninja grit their teeth in hatred.

"Two more people have arrived?"

Rasa's movements as he rode the Gold Dust waves were quite obvious and virtually impossible to hide from anyone who wasn't blind or deaf.

"No matter how many of you there are, we won't let you pass." Minato's declaration was calm, and a confident smile appeared on his handsome face as he fearlessly faced the group of Jonin.

Unbeknownst to them, these young people had already earned their place in the bloody and turbulent Shinobi World.