Pig Talisman Scramble

Whoosh!

The hot spring inn was already filled with sand, and under Rasa's manipulation, a massive amount of sand soaked in spring water erupted outward. It smashed through the entire inn in one go, causing the structure to collapse instantly as rubble rained down.

By the time the dust settled, the inn had been reduced to ruins. Just as Rasa and Yashamaru began searching for the talisman, a dog-headed construct made of magma flew out from the debris and delivered a heavy punch toward them.

"Aiya! Do you want to fight with Uncle?!"

Chixing melted the remains of the inn and stepped out with a stern expression, while Uncle brushed the dust off his shoulders and delivered his signature line.

"Is that... Lava Release?!"

Rasa furrowed his brows, looking at the "trenches" created by the magma behind him; the sand along the path was still radiating intense heat.

"Brother Rasa, they seem to be the 'Qi Magic' users and the 'unknown summon' mentioned in the intelligence reports."

The appearance of two unfamiliar faces in Konoha, especially one with such a unique look as Chixing, was something every village's spies were required to report back.

Thus, they were already aware of Chixing's reputation as a "Lava Release master."

However, there was no time to worry about that now. The talisman was theirs to take! Even if it meant turning Yugakure upside down and causing a diplomatic incident, it didn't matter!

Although Rasa was an extremist by nature, he usually wasn't this reckless. There was only one reason for his current state: the Third Kazekage.

He wasn't a fool; he could see that the Third Kazekage was intentionally grooming him, perhaps as the future Fourth Kazekage.

However... even though he was already one of the village's top elite jonin and had mastered the "Magnet Release" taught to him by the Third Kazekage, he lacked significant achievements and contributions to the village.

If things continued this way, even if he did become Kazekage, he would struggle to command respect. That was why Rasa was taking this mission so seriously, determined to achieve perfection.

"Magnet Release..."

Just as he prepared to unleash his ultimate technique, countless shuriken flew at him from the shadows. Rasa hurriedly manipulated his gold dust to form a shield in front of him to block the attack.

Logically, the Shadow Ninja of the Shadowkhan were not strong enough to participate in a battle of this caliber. Qian Yu didn't expect to earn many Dimensional Points from them, but having them pop out to maintain a presence was still feasible.

"Yashamaru, you deal with those black-clad ninjas. Leave the old man and the starfish monster to me!"

"Understood!" Yashamaru nodded and immediately formed hand seals: "Ninja Art: Manipulated Shuriken Technique!"

Yashamaru used wires to manipulate a large number of kunai, clashing them against the shuriken thrown by the Shadowkhan. Amidst the ping-ping-pang-pang of clashing metal, he formed more seals and unleashed a barrage of "Wind Blade" attacks.

Yashamaru was on a rampage, but it was a different story for Rasa. Chixing's magma-infused fists came one after another, forcing Rasa to retreat step by step.

"Damn it!"

Rasa grew tired of constantly dodging. The moment Chixing swung his magma fist again, he transformed his body into gold dust.

The moment the magma touched the gold dust, the extreme temperature caused a massive amount of steam to rise. Simultaneously, the gold dust fused with the magma, forming an incredibly viscous, glass-like rock that firmly trapped Chixing's arm.

"Now it's my turn!"

He thought to himself, Has this pink brute never even attended the Ninja Academy? How foolish! Just as he prepared to form seals to unleash a Magnet Release jutsu, a green light struck from behind.

Shoo!

It was Uncle's Fire Magic! But the moment it was about to hit, Rasa's body transformed into gold dust once again.

"Still don't get it? That kind of attack is useless against me!"

"Uncle didn't intend for that attack to work; it was just to draw your attention."

"What?!"

Rasa whipped his head around to see Chixing raising a fist the size of half a building, encased in glass, bringing it down heavily toward his face.

Bang! Every bone in his body shattered in an instant. As he was sent flying, Rasa felt his consciousness desynchronize from his body, only regaining clarity when the sharp pain of slamming into a wall brought him back.

"Uncle said, don't kill people casually."

Chixing remained expressionless. His glass-encased hand gradually turned back into magma, and he pulled it out, easily breaking free from the restraint.

"That guy... he hasn't been serious this whole time?!"

Rasa clutched his agonizing abdomen, blood seeping from the corner of his mouth. If that hadn't been a glass-encased fist, but a pure magma punch...

The consequences would have been unthinkable.

"Brother Rasa!"

Seeing Rasa in such a half-dead, severely injured state, Yashamaru stopped caring about the talisman or the Shadowkhan. He flashed over to Rasa's side and helped him up.

"Brother Rasa, let's retreat!"

Yashamaru cared deeply for his future brother-in-law. If Rasa were to lose an arm or a leg... even if his sister were gentle, she wouldn't let him off the hook, would she...?

"Don't worry about me! Get the talisman first!"

"Aiya! The Shadowkhan have already taken the talisman!!"

Uncle's shout drew everyone's attention. They saw that in the few seconds Yashamaru had stopped engaging the Shadowkhan, they had emerged from every corner, and the Pig Talisman was now in their grasp.

"Chixing!"

"Yashamaru!"

Uncle and Rasa shouted simultaneously, and both Chixing and Yashamaru immediately charged toward the Shadowkhan.

The Shadow Ninja holding the talisman had no intention of fleeing. He gripped the talisman tightly, his scarlet pupils suddenly turning golden yellow.

"It's the divine power of the Pig Talisman! Dodge!"

The laser beam shot out straight like a swimming dragon, tearing a massive gash into the ground, its searing heat engulfing the entire Yugakure.

Countless houses were swallowed whole by the laser, and by the time the Shadowkhan had fled, nothing remained but a devastated landscape and a gargantuan trench.

While Uncle and Chixing, along with the duo from Sunagakure, were locked in a struggle against the Shadowkhan for the talisman, special operations teams from other villages were drawn together by some unknown force, staring at one another in bewilderment.

The Land of Waves is a small island nation connected to the outside world by only a single bridge.

However, the Land of Waves has now been seized by a wealthy tycoon named Gato.

On the surface, he is the president of a shipping firm, Gato Company, and one of the world's wealthiest men. In private, however, he uses the mafia and ninjas to smuggle drugs and contraband, while controlling the maritime lifelines of the Land of Waves and surrounding islands through wealth and violence—a villain through and through.

Yet, the "Gato Empire" he had only just consolidated was about to receive a few "guests" today who would change his fate forever...