At This Moment, Millions Are Hostages

"Wake up! Yashamaru!!"

Yashamaru, lying in a pool of blood, stirred back to consciousness under the shaking, his first instinct to look toward his own arms.

Not long ago, the child of his beloved sister had still been there.

"Who was it!"

Rasa's face was grim; if it had only been his son who was kidnapped, he wouldn't have worn such a look toward his most trusted aide.

But Gaara was not merely his son; he was Sunagakure's most vital weapon, the vessel for Shukaku!

Chiyo's expression was equally unsightly as she said in a low voice, "The moment the alarm sounded, the Anbu deployed the barrier. There is no response now; the thief is still within Sunagakure!"

"Kazekage, we must retrieve Shukaku at all costs! There is no room for failure!"

A sensory barrier covering the entire village was a luxury only Konoha, with its vast wealth, could afford to keep active around the clock. For Sunagakure to maintain such barriers at a few key locations was already a rarity.

By the time they arrived, the ninjas and the barrier squad responsible for guarding the area had all been slaughtered.

Judging by the wounds, it looked as if they had been ambushed from behind by a ninja with exceptional stealth capabilities.

At this moment, Yashamaru regained his senses, a faint glimmer of light flashing in his eyes that no one noticed: "Iwagakure! It was an Iwagakure ninja who used the Secret Technique: Camouflage Jutsu to get close, knock me unconscious, and snatch Gaara away!"

"If they could knock you unconscious... why aren't you dead!"

Having just experienced a diversionary tactic, Rasa was exceptionally sensitive to anything that defied logic.

Although Yashamaru was severely wounded, the fact that he was still alive was highly irregular.

Yashamaru did not know how to answer, lifting a kunai with a look of helplessness.

"I am sorry, I failed to protect Gaara. I will atone for my sins with my death."

Swish—Bang!

He thrust the kunai toward his heart without hesitation, only for it to be knocked away by a thread of chakra.

"Calm yourself, Kazekage."

Chiyo's brows were tightly locked: "Now is not the time for interrogation. Kazekage, hurry and mobilize the sensory corps to search. Do I need to teach you that!"

"...I understand, Elder Chiyo."

Rasa strode out of the room, and Chiyo walked up to Yashamaru, extending her hand: "Do not resist."

She was not acting out of kindness to save Yashamaru; she simply wanted to keep him alive long enough to check if he had been tampered with by genjutsu.

A moment later, she withdrew her hand, confirming there were no traces of genjutsu influence on Yashamaru.

With Yashamaru not resisting, Chiyo had seen the final scene before he lost consciousness.

A masked Iwagakure ninja had materialized like a chameleon, wounded him, and stolen the jinchuriki of Shukaku.

This was inevitable.

Did they really think they could detect the traces of Sharingan genjutsu without a Byakugan?

Uchiha Sora was only a poor student of genjutsu compared to a monster like Shisui, but compared to anyone else, he was a bona fide master of illusions.

"Take him away for now. We will deal with this after the situation is resolved. You are forbidden from committing suicide, do you understand."

Compared to Rasa, who had not been in office for long, Chiyo clearly possessed a greater capacity for handling emergencies, and her prestige far outweighed that of the Kazekage.

Just as she was pondering the cause of this series of events and considering the roles Orochimaru and Sasori might have played in this incident...

BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!!!!!

A series of massive explosions rocked the entire village of Sunagakure, and for a moment, flames soared into the sky!

Chiyo hurriedly used the Body Flicker Technique to reach the rooftop, looking at the thick smoke rising from multiple locations in the village and hearing the wails of countless villagers.

Are they trying to create chaos to escape...

She waved her hand and shouted: "Ignore the explosion sites! Everyone, move to the perimeter of the village barrier and stand guard!"

First, it was the secret technique of Iwagakure, and now, is it the Explosion Release Corps...

Wind, Fire, and Earth—the three neighboring great nations were old rivals, and Chiyo knew their methods well.

Then again, it wasn't certain; explosive tags could achieve the same effect.

Who on earth is trying to steal Shukaku...

--

A few minutes later, a signal came from one direction indicating an encounter with the enemy.

The Kazekage glanced back at the chaotic village once before decisively flying off, riding a wave of gold dust.

On the ramparts, over a dozen corpses of Sunagakure ninja lay scattered.

Shisui held the peacefully sleeping Gaara in his arms, flicking the blood off his short blade before sheathing it.

The moment they exited the barrier's range, Shukaku, sensing an opportunity, had indeed tried to go berserk, but the moment a sliver of chakra emerged...

Shisui's ocular power penetrated the seal, delivering a ruthless blow to the beast.

Since birth, Gaara had never slept this soundly.

Even as Shisui carried him through the slaughter, he continued to suck his thumb, drifting through dreamland with the same sense of security as if he were in his mother's arms.

The two of them looked rather peculiar at the moment.

Shisui wore an afro wig and a wooden mask over his face.

Uchiha Sora sported a golden ponytail, with thick bandages wrapped around the upper half of his face.

Transformation Jutsu would have been exposed the moment they started fighting, so the simplest disguise proved more effective.

The gaps in the bandages did not hinder his vision; watching Rasa fly toward them, Uchiha Sora formed hand seals, his surging chakra manifesting as if it were solid.

"Follow the original route; I will catch up later."

Without a moment's hesitation, Shisui held the child and vanished with a Body Flicker.

Rasa was fast, and he had already spotted the two of them.

Whoosh!!

A massive spear of gold dust lunged fiercely at Shisui, showing no regard for whether it might harm his own son.

To Rasa, it didn't matter if Gaara died; in a few years, Shukaku would be reborn in the desert, and since he possessed the power to suppress the beast, he could simply find a new jinchuriki then.

But he could not allow anyone to take Shukaku away; that was a loss Sunagakure could not afford!

BOOM!!!

A colossal fireball shattered the gold dust spear, soaring straight into the clouds.

Uchiha Sora lowered his voice and sneered, "Kazekage, if you don't want your son, wouldn't it be better to just let us take him?"

Rasa had no mood for idle chatter; he rode a sand platform to pursue Shisui, condensing spear after spear of gold dust to strike.

BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!!!

Each massive fireball that crushed a gold dust spear also blocked Rasa's path.

Rasa knew he had to deal with this obstruction first.

Whoosh!!

With a wave of Rasa's hand, the gold dust beneath the ramparts surged upward like a reverse waterfall, sweeping toward Uchiha Sora.

Yet, Uchiha Sora acted as if he didn't see the gold dust creeping toward his feet, continuing to blast fireballs into the sky.

As the fireballs rose, they carried thick smoke with them, forming a dense layer of black clouds over Sunagakure.

Swish!

Only when the gold dust climbed to his ankles did Uchiha Sora stop releasing fireballs, shaking off the gold and leaping to the other side.

The gold dust moved with great speed, condensing into a giant hand that lunged for Uchiha Sora.

"Hey, the village is in such chaos—aren't you going to do something about it, Kazekage?"

Rasa controlled the gold dust and sneered, "It will be plenty of time to deal with that after I finish you off."

"Is that so?"

Just as he was about to grab Uchiha Sora, Rasa's movements suddenly stalled. Having sensed something, he looked up at the sky.

Thud—

Following a heavy, muffled sound.

The sky above Sunagakure rippled, as if an invisible pair of hands had torn through the clouds.

And then...

The dim night sky was illuminated by countless scorching fireballs.

Masses of giant fireballs, trailing thick smoke like meteors, descended from the heavens, resembling a volcanic eruption at the end of the world.

The Uchiha clan was born with Fire Style chakra.

Possessing the fragments of Akainu and Rayquaza, Uchiha Sora's understanding of Fire Style approached that of the legendary figure, and by exerting his full strength, he had completed this technique that felt like a natural disaster.

Rasa's pupils constricted violently, his body trembling.

What... is this!!

At this moment, that demonic voice rang out once again.

"Meteor Volcano, a technique taught to me by a friend."

"Make your choice: protect the village or pursue us? This is a choice only you can make."

Rasa took a deep breath, turned his head, and glared viciously at Uchiha Sora: "Despicable wretch... don't think you can threaten me, you bastard!!"

Swish!!

A massive hand of gold dust brushed past his body, and Uchiha Sora said indifferently: "It's not a threat; I genuinely hope you choose to save your people."

"After all, I have no desire to be the murderer who kills tens of thousands of people..."

As he said this, the lower half of his face, which remained visible, wore a devilish smirk.