Rasa, Dead

After speaking, Rasa formed hand seals once again.

"Although my chakra consumption isn't particularly high when using Magnet Release in the desert, those guys outside... I must finish off this brat quickly."

Sensing that his Gold Sand Barrier was being rapidly dismantled, the killing intent in Rasa's heart surged even higher.

Going to such great lengths just to kill Uchiha Gen was a situation Rasa had forced upon himself.

According to the original plan arranged by Ebizo, Rasa was supposed to wait until the forces of Sunagakure and Konoha were locked in a stalemate before using his long-stored Gold Sand to deliver a massive blow to the Konoha ninja.

Ebizo knew very well that in terms of raw strength, especially after Chiyo's poisons had been neutralized, the Sunagakure ninja could hardly defeat the Konoha ninja.

Therefore, victory could only be achieved through strategy, and the greatest strategy was to utilize the terrain. After this period of fighting, the front lines of Konoha had already pushed into the territory of the Land of Wind.

As long as the Sunagakure ninja retreated a bit further in this battle, they could fully utilize the desert terrain to continue dealing devastating blows to the Konoha ninja.

And Rasa was the person Ebizo had specifically chosen for this task.

After all, a Magnet Release user possessed terrifying power bonuses in the desert.

Especially a Magnet Release user who had been preparing for a long time.

At first, Rasa had followed the original plan. As the war reached a fever pitch, the Konoha ninja had already penetrated deep into the positions they had designated.

And he, in real-time, had unleashed Magnet Release: Gold Sand Wave to sweep toward the Konoha ninja.

However, he had overestimated the speed of his Gold Sand surge. Because the sand was too heavy, the speed of the wave was simply too slow; aside from a few Konoha ninja who were close to him, almost everyone else had escaped the range of his attack.

Except for this Uchiha youth, who had been his special focus and who had been wantonly slaughtering his Sunagakure chunin.

Initially, Rasa had simply wanted to avenge the village's ninja by killing Uchiha Gen. However, as the battle with Uchiha Gen progressed, Rasa's mindset began to shift.

Uchiha Gen's talent filled him with fear. This fear was directed at the entire Sunagakure village; he could not imagine what would happen to Sunagakure if Uchiha Gen were allowed to continue growing.

Therefore, Rasa's killing intent soared. Since his Gold Sand couldn't catch the Konoha ninja who had fled, why not use it to finish off this Uchiha genius?

As for whether it was making a mountain out of a molehill? That was not a problem a ninja should be considering.

"Brat, if you want to blame someone, blame yourself for being too arrogant!"

"This weather is truly fitting. It's rare for it to rain in the desert, yet it falls at a time like this. Uchiha brat, let this rain send you to the Pure Land! Magnet Release: Glazed Shatter!"

Rasa raised his hands high, and countless amounts of Gold Sand instantly surged into the sky, rushing toward Uchiha Gen and Charizard. At this moment, the dark clouds above finally released raindrops.

High in the sky, Uchiha Gen reached out to catch the falling rain, the corners of his mouth curling upward.

Facing the Gold Sand that surged toward him like a giant wave, Uchiha Gen looked calm as he raised his left hand high, lightning dancing across his palm.

At the same time, the dark clouds above began to churn with brilliant flashes of lightning.

Within the thunderclouds, lightning gathered, and a Kirin thunder beast let out a roar.

"Heh, it is indeed fitting. The technique below is called Kirin. You should feel honored to die under a technique created by the Uchiha. Scum of Sunagakure, vanish along with the thunder."

Uchiha Gen stood on the back of Charizard, violent thunder swirling around him. Above, the thunder beast responded, rolling continuously within the thunderclouds.

As his words fell, so did his hand, and the Kirin thunder beast descended from the dark clouds.

The ultimate technique of destruction, utilizing the natural power of Lightning Release, descended in an instant!

"What kind of joke is this!"

Rasa, who was maintaining the flow of Gold Sand toward Uchiha Gen, was left stunned as he saw Uchiha Gen wielding lightning, the surrounding bolts appearing as if they were bowing down to him.

Controlling natural lightning—he had never heard of such a thing in the ninja world!

In an instant, Rasa made an instinctive choice. All the Gold Sand rapidly retracted to cover his entire body, and the Gold Sand Barrier automatically dissolved.

To withstand this disaster-level lightning, Rasa utilized every bit of Gold Sand he could control.

However, the gathering of Gold Sand was slow, while the time it took for the lightning to fall... was only a thousandth of a second.

Like a thunder god descending with an aura of ultimate destruction, the Kirin thunder beast instantly slammed into the sand fortress Rasa had gathered. Violent lightning surged outward, as if wanting to destroy everything it could touch.

The terrifying lightning instantly filled the entire area of the barrier, pouring down like a tidal wave, submerging this small patch of desert.

"Not dead?"

On the back of Charizard, Uchiha Gen, who was somewhat exhausted after using Lightning Release: Kirin, gasped for air.

He hadn't heard the notification for a new gacha attempt in his ear, so Rasa must still be alive.

"Charizard, plow the ground! Use whatever skills you have, burn that place to the ground for me!"

The moment he confirmed Rasa wasn't dead, Uchiha Gen immediately made his decision.

His chakra and Qi were nearly depleted, but Charizard still had strength to spare.

"Roar!"

Hearing this, Charizard opened its dragon maw, and flames instantly spewed out.

Under the scorching high heat, Rasa, who was semi-conscious and tightly wrapped in his Gold Sand, opened his eyes. Feeling the intense pain radiating through his body, a trace of despair flashed in his eyes.

In his current physical state, he couldn't escape; he couldn't even break out of this Gold Sand.

Death, it seemed, was only a matter of time.

For half a minute, Uchiha Gen stared intently at the sand fortress below, while within his body, strands of qi were continuously condensed and refined.

He needed to prepare for the worst; if Rasa was not dead before Charizard reached its limit, he would have to ready himself for a final battle.

[Defeated A-rank target, obtained 1 A-rank card pool draw.]

As the familiar digital chime sounded in his ears, Uchiha Gen finally let out a sigh of relief and collapsed limply onto Charizard's back.

"Gen!"

Just as he lay down, a familiar voice rang out from the distance. Uchiha Gen turned his head to see a figure with an anxious expression rushing rapidly toward him, followed by several other familiar figures.

Seeing who had arrived and realizing he was safe, Uchiha Gen could no longer suppress the exhaustion racking his body; he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

The refinement of the Yin Seal must keep pace, along with my life force cultivation...