Rasa (1)

The allied forces' participation in the war reversed the decline of the Daimyo's Daimyo's Mansion of the Land of Lightning.

The Kumogakure, with its fierce offensive, had to halt its expansion and begin to rely on its strongholds for defense and counterattacks.

The victory was interrupted, and the casualty figures continued to soar.

Many Cloud Ninja who aspired to serve the Fourth Raikage began to reflect on whether they should continue to obey the Ninja Committee's orders.

Faced with the turmoil in people's hearts, the Ninja Committee's methods were very simple.

Pay more.

The looted noble assets were used to fund the military, and the accounts of every Cloud Ninja who participated in the war were constantly fluctuating.

Seeing their balance increase many times over, the Cloud Ninjas finally calmed down a bit and focused on facing the allied forces in front of them.

As if to coordinate with Kumogakure, Danzo's forces suddenly announced a rest after pushing back Kumogakure's lines.

Fearing that the enemy would betray them, Kisame and Kariya urgently halted the troops at the front.

There was no way around it; Danzo's reputation preceded him, and the word "betrayal" was practically a compliment to him.

The shadow of the Third Shinobi World War had just begun to dissipate, and neither side could accept any mishap to their forces.

It's important to know that, besides Konoha, everyone else also has Sunagakure (the Sunagakure) lurking in the shadows.

Perhaps because he had been suppressed for too long, Rasa became increasingly daring after realizing from Kazashiro that the Daimyo was just a paper tiger.

Plundering the Land of Wind was no longer enough to satisfy his greed; the Land of Rivers, with its fertile land and abundant minerals, became his target.

Although the interests of the Land of Rivers belong to Konoha according to the treaty, Rasa has his own methods.

He will send people directly to the daimyo of the Land of Rivers, whether by coercion or enticement, he intends to take advantage of the fact that the main force of Konoha is participating in the Allied Forces to bring the Land of Rivers into his own hands.

But will he really get what he wants?

"That saves me the trouble of finding an excuse."

Rasa's underhanded tactics did not escape the notice of the Internal Affairs Department. This ally was adept at backstabbing, and Kazashiro had anticipated this scene when the cooperation began.

"It is regrettable, but my ally, your mission is complete."

Using Wind Release to destroy the intelligence he held, Kazashiro knew it was time to take action.

The Land of Wind, a desolate sand dune.

Several Sand Ninja stood here, each possessing the strength of Jonin.

In addition to these Sand Ninja, the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, was also present in the group.

Looking at the several figures in the distance with a bit of a headache, Rasa didn't expect that his little tricks would be discovered so quickly.

To his surprise, Kazashiro actually chose to meet with him in person because of this matter.

Recalling the strongly worded secret letter he had received, Rasa's expression turned somewhat displeased.

In that letter, Kazashiro treated him like a junior, giving him a thorough reprimand and even proposing to terminate their cooperation.

Although Rasa wants to betray Konoha, now is not the time.

Having no other choice, he could only offer some conciliatory words and agree to Kazashiro's request for a meeting.

"They've arrived."

Beside Rasa, Baki noticed a figure ahead and quietly reminded the person.

"Um."

Rasa agreed, adjusted his expression, and forced a smile.

"There are only two of them, but their Chakra reserves are extremely large..." a Sand Ninja whispered a reminder to his Kazekage.

"It's alright."

Rasa hid his hands in his sleeves and clenched them tightly.

This is the Land of Wind, where the endless yellow sand is his weapon, and he holds the advantage of the terrain.

In dry, waterless environments, Ice Release ninjas are inherently at a disadvantage.

Moreover, he didn't believe that Kazashiro, who needed allies to complete his plan, would launch an attack at this time.

When the two were close enough that Rasa could clearly see Kazashiro features, screams suddenly rang out, accompanied by the sound of liquid evaporating.

Rasa did not turn around, but relied on his years of combat intuition to build a huge dam behind him with Gold Dust.

A loud crash resounded, as if something heavy had struck the Gold Dust, kicking up a cloud of sand.

"Ice Release: Piercing Duke"

Kazashiro's attack appeared just in time, piercing through several Sand Ninja who were preparing to provide support, and lifting them high into the air with ice spikes.

"Wind Release: Wind Blade"

Baki Body Flicker Technique, closing the distance with Kazashiro, and threw a spiral wind blade condensed from Wind Release Chakra toward Kazashiro's location.

"Fire Style: Great Fire Annihilation"

Uchiha Hikari formed hand seals, and surging flames instantly engulfed Baki and his ridiculous wind blades.

Spare his life.

Kazashiro spoke up to stop him, Uchiha Hikari, upon hearing this, reduced his Fire Style output.

Baki's charred body was exposed to the crowd after the flames subsided, and it quickly turned into yellow sand and vanished.

Sand clone.

These are tricks that most Jonin the Sand Ninja Village know.

Looking up in the direction where Rasa was, as expected, Baki's true form returned to Rasa's side with a wary expression.

The aroma of roasted meat, carried by the wind, filled the nostrils of the group. Upon smelling this somewhat familiar scent, Rasa's heart skipped a beat, and he released the Gold Dust defense behind him.

"This feeling... it really is you, Pakura."

Seeing the desiccated corpse of Sand Ninja, Rasa knew very well that this was a technique of Scorch Release.

"You're still alive? So that's how it is. You were saved by Konoha?"

Looking warily at Kazashiro behind him, Rasa couldn't understand why the other party would choose this moment to attack him.

This is not in Konoha's interest.

It was utterly worthless.

"Heh, didn't expect that, did you, Rasa? You didn't expect I'd still have a chance to take revenge on you, did you?"

Pakura's expression twisted immediately upon seeing Rasa; his once handsome face could only be described as ferocious.

Rasa's betrayal was a huge blow to her. If it weren't for Kazashiro repeatedly comforting her and promising to take her to seek revenge on Rasa, Pakura would have already single-handedly returned to Sunagakure.

"Hokage, are you sure you want to break ties with me for the sake of the Land of Rivers? If I die, the Daimyo's Mansion will install a new Kazekage loyal to them, which is not in Konoha's interest, is it?"

Rasa took a deep breath. If it were a one-on-one fight with Kazashiro, he was confident he wouldn't die at his hands.

But the current situation is 3 vs 2.

The girl accompanying Kazashiro was clearly quite strong; based on her Fire Style just now, Rasa concluded that Baki was no match for her.

"Pakura."

Kazashiro ignored Rasa and instead called out to Pakura.

"What, are you changing your mind?"

Pakura's eyes held a dangerous glint.

"Do you need help?"

In Rasa's hopeful eyes, Kazashiro uttered words that filled him with despair.

Damn brat, won't you even give me a response?

"Hmph, no need."

The moment Pakura finished speaking, a huge fireball flew straight towards Rasa.

"Lord Kazekage!"

Just as Baki was about to lend a helping hand, he sensed a strong sense of crisis from behind.

An ice spear, created at some unknown time, was thrust out by Kazashiro, almost grazing Baki's waist and tearing a large gash in his outer garment.