Rasa and Orochimaru

"Gold Dust Waves!"

Rasa growled as he rode a golden platform through the air, darting up and down to evade the snakes conjured from Orochimaru's hands. At the same time, he manipulated the gold sand on the ground, sending it surging toward Orochimaru.

"The way you refine your gold sand still needs work. Both its range and quantity are far inferior to that kid from your village..." Orochimaru held the Kusanagi Sword. Two flashes of cold light streaked by, and he instantly cleaved apart the golden waves, each more than a meter tall, on either side of him.

Rasa's expression remained grim. He said nothing, only quietly increasing the amount of Chakra coursing through his body.

Rasa stopped his golden platform dozens of meters away, swiftly formed Hand Seals, then slammed his hands onto the ground.

Boom!

The sand in front of him was instantly replaced by a thick layer of Gold Sand. The surging river of Gold Sand rushed toward Orochimaru, gradually closing in around him.

Seeing this, a trace of smugness flickered in Orochimaru's eyes. After briefly licking the blade of the Kusanagi Sword, he vanished from the spot.

"Hm?!" Rasa still had his hands pressed to the ground, but a look of alarm and terror had already appeared on his face.

Because he could no longer sense Orochimaru's presence.

Rasa glanced around, but a chill suddenly rose in his heart, as if a cold blade had touched his neck.

In an instant, his expression changed drastically. Fortunately, he remembered to stomp hard against the ground, leaping into the air.

Just as Rasa left the ground, a flash of cold light shot up from beneath him, thrusting straight toward his throat.

His body reacted on instinct, and he leaned his head back. Orochimaru's Kusanagi Sword only cut into his chest and abdomen, leaving a shallow wound streaked with blood.

Rasa's mind was consumed by shock and fury, and he could barely feel the pain. All he knew was that a cold sensation had just passed across his body.

"Ha!" Orochimaru leapt up after him, his face twisted with madness. A bloodthirsty gleam shone in his eyes.

Ever since his earlier fight with that Gold Sand kid, Orochimaru, whose mastery of Earth Release was profound, had learned how to analyze the structure of Gold Sand. And Rasa's Gold Sand was far less refined than Souya's.

So even with a layer of Gold Sand in the way, Orochimaru could still easily use Earth Release underground and conceal his presence.

As soon as he fought Rasa, Orochimaru realized that this shinobi also used Magnet Release and Gold Sand, but he was a level below Souya in both the quantity of Gold Sand he could summon and the degree of control he had over it.

More importantly, Souya, wielding the Starfall Rod, had been able to trade blows with Orochimaru's Kusanagi Sword.

But this guy was empty-handed, only using Gold Sand techniques from a distance.

A body of flesh and blood alone could never block the gleaming blade in Orochimaru's hand!

Orochimaru, soaring high into the air, brought the Kusanagi Sword down toward Rasa's waist. In his golden eyes, Rasa's figure seemed already to be spraying blood several feet into the air, his body split in two and about to fall to the ground, wailing helplessly.

But something happened that Orochimaru hadn't expected.

His descending Kusanagi Sword cut through empty air with a swish, leaving only a white streak. Rasa had vanished.

Crackle!

Before Orochimaru could react, several pale-purple Lightning Balls, each the size of a human head, raced toward him.

Orochimaru's pupils suddenly narrowed. His body was far more supple than an ordinary person's, and even in midair, he easily twisted himself around.

Spinning with the Kusanagi Sword, he cleaved the Lightning Balls apart one by one, each bursting with a sharp crack.

When Orochimaru landed, he saw that besides Rasa and Souya, a handsome young man with red hair had appeared before him. A tall humanoid puppet floated above and to the left of the red-haired man.

Each of the puppet's hands held a forked short blade connected to its body, giving it a seamless appearance.

But any Kirigakure shinobi familiar with the Seven Ninja Swordsmen who had been there would have noticed, with only a glance, that the dark gray puppet in the black robe looked a lot like Raiga Kurosuki, one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen!

And if they had noticed the short blades in the puppet's hands, they would have had no doubt: this was Raiga Kurosuki of Kirigakure's Seven Ninja Swordsmen, wielding one of the Seven Blades—the Thunder Blades: Fang!

Orochimaru hadn't had much contact with the Seven Ninja Swordsmen. Besides, he'd heard that the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of Kirigakure had been wiped out by an untalented Genin from their own village.

He had even gone to investigate what kind of technique could have such power—how an unknown Genin could suddenly rise to the level of a Super Kage!

So Orochimaru only found the puppet vaguely familiar at first and didn't connect it to the Seven Ninja Swordsmen. After all, Raiga Kurosuki looked completely different after being turned into a puppet, with only his facial features remaining similar.

"Sasori..." Sasori murmured. His usually indifferent eyes now shone with intense longing and excitement.

The look left Orochimaru baffled. He was certain this was his first time meeting the red-haired Sunagakure Ninja; they'd had no prior dispute.

"Sasori! Stay calm!" Souya warned, tending to Rasa. Getting too excited in the face of a powerful enemy was a bad thing.

A deep, narrow wound gaped across Rasa's chest, and blood kept seeping out, soaking his clothes.

Green light glowed from Souya's hands as he pressed them to Rasa's wound.

"Senior, it's not serious. Don't worry," Souya said, reassuring Rasa.

"Cough... I'm sorry. I never thought I, your senior, would end up needing you to save me..." Rasa looked dazed after narrowly escaping death.

He had wanted to show off and steal Souya's thunder, but he had nearly lost his life instead.

"It's fine. We're doing this for the village," Souya said with a smile.

Orochimaru hadn't coated his sword with poison. Rasa's wound was simply deep, so it wasn't a major problem.

Just a moment later, Souya stood up.

"Where's the teacher?"

"Lord Kazekage led the troops to attack Kikyo Mountain!"

Souya looked toward the towering mountain in the distance. Birds were flying there in flocks, as if they were trying to escape the dangerous region hidden beneath its lush greenery.

Souya couldn't see the Kazekage, and a sense of foreboding stirred in his heart.

But right now, the more important thing was to deal with Orochimaru!

"Senior, go help the teacher. Sasori and I can handle Orochimaru!" Souya said, holding the Starfall Rod. Then he left Rasa behind without another word.