Black-on-Black

Full of hopes for the future, Ringo Ameyuri chose to retreat.

During the Second Shinobi World War, Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Tsunade fought the demigod Hanzo of the Salamander together, but ultimately suffered a bitter defeat.

Hanzo had spared their lives because he valued their talents, letting them leave and bestowing upon them the title of the Sannin. For a time, their names resounded throughout the Shinobi World.

"Few in this world can fight me to a draw.jpg"

From then on, whenever anyone mentioned the Sannin, they were sure to mention Hanzo too. And whenever Hanzo came up, the Sannin were sure to be brought up as well.

That was exactly the effect Rasa wanted. Once a Kage Level "Sword God" suddenly appeared in the Shinobi World, whatever the major villages did in response would inevitably influence the course of events.

Killing wasn't the goal; points were. If he wanted to earn more points, he had to make good use of the butterfly effect and the law of leverage.

If he hadn't wanted to use himself as a lever and his position as Kazekage to shift the entire Shinobi World, Rasa would have run for it long ago. Who the hell would want to go toe-to-toe with the powerhouse that was the Third Raikage?

Ringo Ameyuri's back disappeared from sight, and Baki couldn't help feeling regretful. His squad had spent the past few days being chased like dogs, until he was the only one left alive.

He'd run into a ruthless opponent when he was on the verge of being done for. Too bad the man had too much character to wipe out the whole Kirigakure group, but he couldn't ask for more.

Struggling to his feet, Baki pressed a hand over his wound to stop the bleeding. Overcome with gratitude, he said respectfully, "Thank you for saving my life.

"I'm only a Chunin, and I still have a mission to complete. Please forgive me for not being able to repay you. I need to take word of the ambush back to my village."

He'd chosen his words well. He hadn't said which village he belonged to; even now, he hadn't forgotten to keep his identity secret. It showed just how loyal Baki was to Sunagakure.

"I'm Rasa."

"Hm?"

Baki was briefly taken aback, then understood. He looked Rasa over: red hair, handsome features, a kimono, wooden sandals, and a sword at his waist. He was nothing like his own leader.

Other than their similar hair color and the fact that they were both handsome, there was nothing that could make him think of the two as the same person.

Most importantly, his leader's ability was Magnet Release: Gold Dust, while the swordsmanship of the swordsman before him was beyond anything his leader could possess.

As Rasa's trusted subordinate, Baki knew his leader better than anyone. There was no chance he'd been secretly training in swordsmanship and could suddenly reveal such skill.

Rasa took out his Mission Manual and tossed it to Baki, then briefly dispelled the Transformation Technique. With a casual movement, he used chakra to create a pool of Gold Dust.

Baki finally believed him. His mind raced, and in the end, he ventured to ask, "My lord, has your Kekkei Genkai...?"

"My Kekkei Genkai advanced. Now I can control most metals," Rasa explained casually.

His Sword God alias was important, but it depended on the circumstances. Right now, he had a mission to carry out, and having Baki with him would undoubtedly make things much easier.

Besides, once they got back to the village, as long as Baki wasn't stupid, he'd be able to work it out from Chiyo and Baki.

More importantly, it was just an alias. He didn't mind if it was exposed. If he wanted, Rasa could come up with plenty more.

"Sokka!"

Baki slapped his thigh. Now he got it!

There had never been any swordsmanship involved. It was all done by directly controlling the blade. Since he didn't need to use the joints throughout his body to generate force, he could naturally perform such exquisite sword techniques without affecting those joints.

As expected of the man he'd decided to follow for the rest of his life. He'd come up with such a creative idea!

The Electromagnetic Force spread outward, sensing everything around him. Aside from trees, mosquitoes, small animals, and the like, there was nothing out of place.

No enemies in sight.

Rasa asked, "Tell me, what happened?"

Baki took some medicine for external wounds and bandages from his pocket. As he dressed his wound, he reported, "A few days ago, I was part of a ten-man squad. We entered the Land of Artisans in disguise, in separate groups, to buy ninja tools.

"Unfortunately, Kirigakure had also sent two of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, along with a Kekkei Genkai user with Shikotsumyaku, to lead their group in buying ninja tools.

"Money makes people lose their heads. After we got the ninja tools, Kirigakure's group set their sights on us. We lost badly in the ensuing fight, and they took all the ninja tools.

"Maybe they saw through our disguise, or maybe they wanted to kill us to keep us quiet. After that, we were trapped in a long game of cat and mouse. We ran, and they chased..."

His wound was bandaged, and he'd finished his report. The pain and the effort had drained him, and Baki leaned against a tree, sweating, but still refusing to collapse.

Rasa lowered his head in thought. Baki and the other squads had all been led by Chunin. Their opponents, on the other hand, had Shikotsumyaku and the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, and the rest were all Chunin too.

It was like the Chinese national football team playing France. There was no way they'd win.

The situation in the Shinobi World was tense. Anyone with a clear head could see that war was about to break out; the only question was where it would start. The Five Great Villages were all stockpiling some amount of war supplies and engaged in an arms race.

Yagura, the baby-faced head honcho of Kirigakure, would surely do the same, unless he was an idiot.

They'd sent two of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen and a whole bunch of Chunin just to buy ninja tools. It was like taking an aircraft carrier out to fish. That showed exactly what Yagura was thinking.

The Land of Artisans bordered the Land of Water, so this was practically Kirigakure's home turf. Those bastards were planning to pull off a black-on-black heist!

"What about those two members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen? Did they go back to Kirigakure?" Rasa asked. That was important too.

Baki shook his head. "No. They split into three groups and have been hunting us down for days, wiping us out to leave no witnesses."

They were definitely trying to kill them to keep them quiet. As long as no one survived, it would be an unsolved case, and Kirigakure wouldn't have to bear the shame of being branded as thieves who robbed their own kind.

"Didn't they send even one person back to Kirigakure?"

"Not that I can remember. Not a single one."

Rasa nodded. The situation was clear now. Baki and the others hadn't been identified.

The news that Sunagakure had suddenly bought a large quantity of ninja tools was more important than killing them to keep them quiet. If the Kirigakure group had realized who Baki and the others were, they'd have sent at least a few people back to report the information to their village.

"You did well. This information is very important to me." Rasa patted Baki on the shoulder in encouragement.

"It was just a trivial matter. I'm the one who made you come rescue us." Baki was filled with guilt.

He'd wasted his leader's precious time and energy for nothing.

"Now, let's find somewhere safe. You focus on recovering. Leave the rest to me."

Baki nodded. Lord Rasa's strength had improved by leaps and bounds. He could cut down Chunin as easily as slaughtering pigs. He must have become a Kage Level powerhouse. He didn't need Baki's meager fighting ability.

Besides, if Baki followed him rashly, he might only get in the way of Lord Rasa.

After searching for a while, they finally found a secluded cave after sunset. Baki went inside and lit a fire.

"My lord, I wish you the best of luck," Baki said, looking up. Guilt weighed on him. In the end, his own leader had taken on everything and cleaned up after him.

"I'll be back victorious."

Having settled his trusted subordinate, Rasa walked into the night with his sword. It was dark and windy—perfect weather for killing.

Damn it, they'd tried to pull a black-on-black heist on me! I wasn't having that. I had to deal with those shameless bastards from Kirigakure.

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