Luring Him In

He had originally thought raising a hand was a preliminary movement, which meant that by anticipating it, he could at least dodge a little.

But without that preliminary movement, it meant the man before him had an even more inescapable Lightning Release. The instant he willed it, lightning would appear.

If you couldn't withstand the high-voltage current, you could only end up flat on your face. At least for ninjas below Kage Level, there was no way to counter it.

If that was the case, why had he let Ryotaro escape? He'd had plenty of time to stop him.

A terrifying guess came to Higashi Shito, and his face went deathly pale.

"You figured it out? Too bad it's already too late."

Rasa nudged his gold-rimmed glasses again and said leisurely, without a hint of urgency, "The Shinobi World is small—not big enough to keep me occupied.

"The Shinobi World is also vast. At the very least, finding a few people in the desert would waste a lot of my time.

"But I believe that with someone to lead the way, I could get twice the result with half the effort."

Gritting his teeth, Higashi Shito voiced his guess. "So you deliberately let Ryotaro go so you could track him and find the others.

"But so what if you find them? Captain Mahiru is a master swordsman, and Captain Gari has the Kekkei Genkai Explosion Release. If they join forces, you might not be able to beat them."

He said that, but deep down Higashi Shito had little confidence.

Rasa's abilities were too bizarre: hand-seal-free ninjutsu with great destructive power and a decent range. Anyone caught off guard by it would certainly be killed on the first encounter.

Rasa chuckled and shook a finger, dismissing Higashi Shito's guess. "You're only half right.

"I didn't have to let him go. Ryotaro or Haitaro—it doesn't matter. All I need is someone to lead the way.

"That could be him, or it could be any of you."

Higashi Shito whipped around. The ever-dutiful Ryotaro had already run a hundred meters away, dwindling to a black speck before vanishing into the distance.

The Iwagakure Ninja on this mission had a secret means of communication. Before splitting up, the captains had agreed on a place to meet.

If Captain Mahiru and Captain Gari could join forces and defeat the man before him, that would be wonderful. But Higashi Shito didn't want to gamble, because he knew their odds weren't good.

"Damn four-eyes!"

Higashi Shito cursed, bent his knees, and launched himself toward Ryotaro.

He could only hope Rasa's attacks didn't reach very far, and that he wasn't too fast, so he could catch up with Ryotaro.

"Seems this gentleman has quite a prejudice against those of us who wear glasses."

Rasa wasn't angered by being called four-eyes. He pointed one hand at Higashi Shito's back and murmured, "Electrotherapy: Electric Net."

High-voltage current gathered in the air, forming a crisscrossing grid that shot down at Higashi Shito.

Electricity and light were both forms of electromagnetic waves, and traveled at the same speed in a vacuum.

So there was no need to do what Kakashi and Uchiha Sasuke did with Lightning Style: Chidori—run from a distance to increase the power of the thrust.

The greatest martial arts were invincible, and speed was the only thing they couldn't overcome. No matter how fast you ran, could you outrun the speed of light? Did you really think everyone was the Flash?

The only way to dodge Rasa's lightning was to anticipate the direction of the attack while he was gathering the high-voltage current, before it formed. Otherwise, it was absolutely impossible to evade.

Turning his back on Rasa was a sure way for Higashi Shito to get himself killed.

The electric net dropped over Higashi Shito's head. The high-voltage current instantly destroyed every function in his body, leaving him charred and dead on the spot.

The high-voltage current continued into the desert. The instant it touched the sand, flames flared and green smoke rose—a true flash of lightning.

The mixed grains of sand couldn't withstand the heat. They caught fire and melted into crystals of extremely poor quality.

Rasa walked over slowly without sparing the fallen Higashi Shito a glance. He nudged the crystals formed from the melted sand with his foot.

Clicking his tongue, he remarked, "Looks like even if I transmigrated to the Tang Dynasty, I could make a fortune in no time. I could remove the impurities and wave my hand to make dozens of pieces of glass."

He kicked the crystals aside, launched himself into the air, and chased after Ryotaro, spreading out a Microwave Magnetic Field to serve as a radar.

Half a minute later, he sensed the frequency of the returning echo. The corner of Rasa's mouth curled up. Found you, little mouse.

All he had to do now was follow Ryotaro from a distance until he found the other Iwagakure Ninja. Then he could slaughter them all.

Moving quickly through the desert was dangerous for ordinary people. The desert had a unique natural phenomenon: quicksand.

On the surface, quicksand looked no different from the surrounding terrain. But the sand beneath it had no cohesion.

The moment someone stepped onto quicksand, the surface layer would sink rapidly. With nothing to push against, an ordinary person caught in it could only sink deeper and deeper.

Even a ninja could be swallowed up if they weren't careful.

Ninjas who lived in Sunagakure were adept at dealing with quicksand terrain. It was also a very important way for the Sunagakure Ninja to repel foreign invaders.

A home-field advantage.

As Ryotaro ran frantically,

Captain Higashi Shito and their two comrades had joined forces to hold off the white-clad man named Luo Yongxin. By now, they were probably doomed.

Those comrades had bought him time with their lives. Ryotaro had no time to grieve. He steeled himself and resolved to deliver the news to the other two teams as quickly as possible!

Like the young Forrest Gump in the movie, Ryotaro had only one thought in his mind: run!

After narrowly escaping quicksand he'd accidentally stepped into several times, Ryotaro was in a sorry state. He braved the blowing sand and followed the route they'd agreed on before splitting up, working it out from memory until he finally found the other team.

It was an oasis. More than a dozen Iwagakure Ninja huddled together around a bonfire. The desert nights were bitterly cold, and scorpion swarms roamed about. They absolutely had to keep a fire going.

Everyone chatted and laughed as they ate their rations and warmed themselves by the fire, their faces beaming with pride.

Being chosen by Lord Tsuchikage for this special mission was already something to be proud of.

Ryotaro's sudden arrival shattered the peace.

"Who's there?"

The Iwagakure Ninja gathered around the bonfire sprang to their feet and formed a defensive formation, on guard against the front. They were an elite squad, indeed.

"It's me, Ryotaro..."

After running for several hours, Ryotaro had exhausted himself. He collapsed to the ground with a thud, on the verge of death, and raised both hands to show he meant no harm.

During wartime, many ninjas disguised themselves as enemies and infiltrated their camps to wreak havoc. To deal with this, every major ninja village had prepared more than one set of passwords.

From among the group, a ninja with a long sword slung diagonally across his back stepped forward. He warily eyed Ryotaro and moved his lips. "Password."

Ryotaro knew this was a necessary procedure. After lying on the ground to catch his breath, he recited the password they'd agreed on in advance.