"Damn it! Bastard! Baka!"
Using the Sand Eye to watch Yueguang Han fly even higher, Rasa, hidden within the Golden Sand Cloud, looked so grim his face could have dripped ink. Glancing at the Golden Sand Cloud on the ground, Rasa could only grit his teeth, curse, and obediently control the Golden Sand Cloud as it descended.
The farther away it was, the weaker his control over the Gold Dust became. He could even lose control of it entirely. Yet as the Konoha Genius Youngster rose higher, he could still accurately attack the Sand Shinobi on the ground. A distance of a thousand meters was definitely not the limit of that Konoha Youngster's attack range.
The higher up in the sky, the stronger the wind became. The wind would scatter the sand, greatly affecting his control over the Gold Dust and weakening his combat power. Controlling a vast sand cloud to fly up would consume far too much Chakra. Thus, whether for the Sand Shinobi below or for his own safety, he did not dare continue pursuing Yueguang Han. He could only hope to kill more Konoha Ninja and achieve some results, so this battle would not end in such an ugly defeat.
(The protagonist did not fly into the sky from the beginning because he had no time to prepare. If he did not avoid Rasa, Rasa would definitely stop him. Rasa was also a ninja capable of flight. Combined with the Sand Shinobi's Wind Style, it would have been difficult to successfully get into the sky.)
"Rasa is flying back! Everyone, retreat!"
On the ground, Yueguang Xingye immediately gave the order to retreat when he saw the small portion of the Golden Sand Cloud that had risen into the sky begin to descend. He had witnessed Rasa's strength. The range of that Golden Sand Cloud alone was enough to give their hundred or so people a headache. Once Rasa landed, the casualties would likely be severe.
"Damn Konoha Ninja, keep coming!"
"Come on! What's wrong? Scared?"
Seeing that the Konoha Ninja were no longer engaging them, the Sand Shinobi cursed loudly. Yet their bodies were far more honest as they hurried beneath the Golden Sand Cloud. Though unwilling to let these Konoha Ninja go so easily, they had not forgotten the grim reaper in the sky, constantly harvesting their lives. They likewise did not dare entangle themselves with the Konoha Ninja, nor did they even dare rescue their injured comrades. Compared to the Konoha Ninja's lack of fear toward Rasa, the Sand Shinobi feared the Konoha Genius Youngster in the sky more.
With neither side daring to continue fighting, the Sand Shinobi and Konoha Ninja quickly separated into distinct sides. The Konoha Ninja continued fleeing toward the border of the Sand Shinobi-occupied territory, while all the Sand Shinobi hid beneath Rasa's Golden Sand Cloud. With Yueguang Han threatening them from above, they did not dare give chase at all.
"Lord Rasa, what do we do next?"
When Rasa returned to the Sand Shinobi beneath the Golden Sand Cloud, Luo Fei immediately asked. In truth, he no longer wanted to keep pursuing them. That Konoha Genius Youngster's ability was simply too dangerous. If they continued the pursuit, he had no idea when he might lose his life.
"Go underground. Retreat for now!" Hearing this, Rasa looked at the numerous Sand Shinobi corpses beyond the Golden Sand Cloud's cover, then at the prayerful, resistant looks of the remaining Sand Shinobi. Gritting his teeth, he finally gave this humiliating order. Though unwilling, he had no other choice. Even their retreat could only be carried out underground; his Golden Sand Cloud could not last much longer.
Moreover, even if he wanted to continue pursuing them, he could not do so while that Konoha Genius Youngster was still flying in the sky. He would have to find another opportunity.
The Sand Shinobi immediately breathed sighs of relief. The Earth Style ninja swiftly used their jutsu to open tunnels beneath the Gold Dust, and all the Sand Shinobi quickly entered them under the Golden Sand Cloud's cover. Rasa controlled a small amount of Gold Dust to gather the corpses from both sides and had the Sand Shinobi take them away.
After all the Sand Shinobi had entered the tunnels, Rasa used the Sand Eye to take one last look at the tiny black dot in the sky. His clenched fist crackled, and he gave up control of the Gold Dust before unwillingly entering the tunnel.
"They finally left!"
In the sky, seeing the Gold Dust lose control, Yueguang Han also breathed a sigh of relief. He controlled the Drone to carry him toward the retreating Konoha Ninja.
"Lord Hoshino, Yueguang Han has returned!"
In the forest thirty kilometers away, the anxious Yueguang Xingye finally received the news he had been waiting for. However, it had not come from the Sensory Ninja, but from a ninja who spotted Yueguang Han only after he arrived directly overhead.
He exhausted all his Chakra to evade the Sensory Ninja's detection! Why did he still possess such powerful combat strength after using up all his Chakra?
Those strange things used Steel Wire to lift him into the sky!
He truly is an enviable genius. At such a young age, his strategic value already rivals that of a powerful Elite Jonin.
As they watched Yueguang Han descend from the sky, Mitarashi Shika and Kurama Watanabe each made their own analyses.
"Uncle Xingye, we need to retreat quickly! After suffering such a loss, the Sand Shinobi will not let this go! Their retreat is only temporary," Yueguang Han hurriedly said after landing beside Yueguang Xingye.
"Mm!" Yueguang Xingye immediately nodded and ordered, "Everyone, continue retreating."
"Immediately send word to the front lines. Have them set up large numbers of traps along the possible retreat routes of the Konoha infiltrators." On the other side, after emerging from the underground tunnel, Rasa immediately issued a series of orders to several Sand Shinobi. "Tell them about the enemy's abilities. They must not engage this group of Konoha infiltrators head-on. They only need to continuously set traps along their route and delay their escape."
"Apart from the Earth Style ninja, Feiyin, and me, who will continue pursuing the enemy, everyone else is to withdraw to the valley stronghold. Dismissed!"
"Yes!" The Sand Shinobi answered loudly and swiftly began moving. Several seconds later, fewer than thirty ninja remained with Rasa.
"Without my orders, no one is to act on their own. Do not leave a fifty-meter radius around me. Feiyin, conduct a scan every kilometer. Cross all open areas underground. Move out!" Rasa ordered the ninja who remained, then took the lead in pursuing the fleeing Konoha Ninja.
You may be able to fly, but the other Konoha Ninja cannot. Even if I cannot kill you, not a single one of the other Konoha Ninja will return alive. Leaping swiftly through the trees, Rasa clenched his fists and silently made up his mind. He had no absolute confidence in killing the flying Konoha Genius Youngster and might even be killed by him instead. But the other Konoha Ninja were different. With the front-line ninja delaying their retreat, he would soon catch up to them.
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