"You bastard!!!"
Rasa had no time to think.
The fireballs were falling slowly enough for ninjas to dodge them with ease, but what about the ordinary villagers...
Those were the ninjas' families!
No Kage could ever leave their village unprotected.
Being willing to give one's life for the village was a prerequisite for becoming a Kage.
To put it bluntly, if all the ordinary people in the village died, what good would being Kazekage do? Rasa would be swallowed by the ninjas' fury and forced to atone with his life.
Boom—
Rasa raised both hands high, his veins bulging, and roared.
The Gold Dust buried deep beneath Sunagakure surged upward, carrying countless grains of sand with it, gradually forming a series of umbrella-shaped shields.
Even the giant Gold Dust hand that had been pursuing Uchiha Sora joined the defense. That proved Rasa no longer had any strength to spare for dealing with him.
Uchiha Sora glanced at Rasa and gave up on killing him.
Even with Rasa holding up Sunagakure, killing him wouldn't be something he could do quickly.
If he didn't run now, Chiyo and the others would catch up, and then he really wouldn't get away.
Watching Uchiha Sora turn to leave, Rasa roared in fury and frustration, "Who the hell are you?!"
Uchiha Sora paused, his golden ponytail swinging as he turned his head. "Remember me: Explosion Release: Deidara!"
"That's a name that'll shake the Shinobi World one day!"
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!!!!!!!
Countless fireballs slammed into the layers of sand, erupting in thunderous explosions.
Sparks and flames formed a grand fireworks display to send off the departing man.
Rasa clenched his teeth, his eyes filled with boundless hatred.
"Dei—da—ra!!"
"I'll kill you for sure!!!"
--
--
After sprinting at full speed for the entire night, Uchiha Sora and Shisui met up in a hidden cave in the Land of Birds.
"How is he?" Shisui asked with concern as he gently shook the waking Gaara.
Uchiha Sora caught his breath, bracing his hands on his knees. "They probably can't catch up. I used the Shadow Clone Technique to create several false trails."
"To be safe, let's rest a little, then head back."
Shisui nodded, then looked at Gaara with a troubled expression. "Um... Sora, I think he's hungry."
Gaara's stomach had been hooting for a while now.
But he wasn't crying or fussing. He just gazed at Shisui with curious, wide eyes, and had watched Uchiha Sora for a while when he appeared.
He seemed puzzled, too, about why his head stopped hurting when someone else held him.
"Not sure if he's been weaned yet... Oh well, I'll mix some ration pills with water and feed him a little. It's all nutrition; it won't kill him."
Shisui shook his head with a bitter smile. "What was Sunagakure thinking, sealing a Tailed Beast inside a baby?"
Uchiha Sora grinned. "Look who's talking. When we were still Konoha Ninja, the Fourth Hokage did the same thing."
"What... are you saying?" Shisui furrowed his brow. Even though he was no longer a Konoha Ninja, he still thought highly of the Fourth Hokage. How could that man have...
"We'll talk about it later. As for that, if his life really gets tough, then we'll take him."
If Naruto could grow up happily in Konoha, Uchiha Sora didn't want to interfere with his life. He'd even made a point of reminding Jiraiya.
It was repayment for all the kindness Namikaze Minato had shown him in the past.
Of course, if Naruto still had to go through all that... Then, also to repay the Fourth Hokage, Uchiha Sora would find a way to take Naruto away.
Gaara's stomach seemed to be in good shape. He had no adverse reaction to drinking the ration-pill mixture.
After resting, the two headed straight toward the Land of Whirlpools, traveling in secret.
On the way, Shisui was the first to break the silence, unable to hold himself back.
"Sora, I've thought about it for a long time, and finally figured out the full scope of your plan."
The plan?
Shisui continued, "First, you persuaded Lord Jiraiya to go to the Land of Water and create friction between Konoha and Kirigakure."
"Then you deliberately had Dodai send back news, drawing Kumogakure's attention to the changes in Konoha."
"And then!"
His excitement grew as he raised his voice. "After encountering Sasori of the Red Sands, you thought of using him to draw out the Kazekage, then decisively went on the attack!"
"The best part is that we were disguised as Iwagakure Ninja, so they'll point the blame for Shukaku's disappearance at the Land of Earth!"
"With Orochimaru's earlier smokescreen, they definitely won't suspect a thing."
Shisui looked at Uchiha Sora, his eyes shining. "That'll throw the Five Great Nations into chaos, giving us time to build up our strength. You're so clever, Sora!"
"Ah... that's exactly how I planned it."
"You've come a long way, Shisui, to have seen through all that."
Uchiha Sora certainly wasn't going to admit that he'd disguised himself as an Iwagakure Ninja on a whim.
He hadn't thought that far ahead when he'd attacked Sasori, either.
But... if that's what you think, then sure.
After hearing Shisui's explanation, Uchiha Sora belatedly realized that his little trip had somehow managed to stir up trouble for all Five Great Nations.
Well... he'd lie low for a while after they got back and wait for that teenage version of Orochimaru to come find him.
--
--
--
Land of Whirlpools.
The traces of the old ruins had vanished. A smooth road led to the newly built village.
Carriages came and went along the main road at the village entrance, laden with iron ore or daily necessities.
Wooden buildings stood in neat rows on either side of the main road, warm light shining through their carved windows.
The shops were easy to recognize: alongside their signs, each displayed a banner bearing the Uchiha crest.
A few children laughed and chased one another down an alley.
Thump.
"Ouch!"
The girl running at the front was watching her friends and didn't notice the person ahead. She crashed into them and fell flat on her backside.
"Sorry..."
She rubbed her head and looked up. Seeing the familiar face she'd searched for so long without finding, her little face immediately lit up with joy.
"Big Brother Sora! You're back!"
Uchiha Sora bent down and pressed a hand to the girl's forehead, his expression stern. "Finish saying you're sorry. Who told you to run around without watching where you were going? Don't you know that's dangerous?"
The girl was Uchiha Cho, the dumpling shop owner's daughter.
She stuck out her tongue and sprang up to hug Uchiha Sora. "I won't! You promised you'd come see me often, but then you disappeared for so long. You're the one who should say you're sorry!"
Uchiha Sora straightened up and put his arms around Cho. "Is the dumpling shop open?"
"Mom opened it ages ago. She said the clan leader gave her a really big shop!"
"I keep asking her where you went, but she won't tell me!"
Uchiha Sora's stern expression faded. He gently touched the red mark from her fall. "Kids shouldn't meddle in adults' business."
Cho waved her arms in his embrace, unafraid of falling. "I'm not a kid! I asked Mom already. Big Brother Sora is only five years older than me, so I can marry you!"
"Maybe when you've grown into a strong, glamorous kunoichi."
Uchiha Sora looked around at the children, a smile tugging at his lips. "Come on. My treat today. Let's get some dumplings."
"Yay!!"
"I want the extra-large serving!"
"I want Big Brother Sora's special ones. They're the sweetest and tastiest, but my mom won't buy them for me!"
"Me too!"
Watching the children crowd around Sora, Shisui felt unsure for a moment.
Which one was the real him: the villain who had held tens of thousands hostage in Sunagakure, or the sunny young man standing before him?
Perhaps...
Both.
Shisui lowered his eyes with a smile and followed along, planning to mooch a meal, too.
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