With the big picture in mind, what to do next became obvious.
Chiyo and Ebizo had served as elders for many years. They were well-traveled and battle-hardened, so to continue evaluating the two candidates, they asked for their opinions.
Pakura was a straight-up fighter. She kept insisting on being sent into battle. "I, Pakura, will gladly lead the charge and smoke, drink, and get hot-oil hair treatments for generations to come in Sunagakure!"
Rasa, on the other hand, offered plenty of constructive suggestions. For instance, Ebizo, who rarely showed his face in public, could impersonate the Third Kazekage to steady the villagers' morale...
They should procure as many strategic supplies as possible and secretly dispatch elite shinobi from the village to the border, in case anything unexpected happened. In short, they needed to prepare for war.
The suggestions were straightforward and sensible—things they absolutely had to do. At the very least, they proved that Rasa had a sound strategic eye. With the two elders filling in the gaps, he was capable of bearing the responsibilities of the Kazekage.
Chiyo nearly appointed Rasa as the Fourth Kazekage on the spot. Her younger brother Ebizo stopped her, preventing her from acting on impulse.
Even so, she was full of hope for Rasa. Speaking earnestly, she said, "Rasa, your strength is impressive, even among the jonin. You could be considered an elite.
"But you're still not strong enough. You have a long way to go before you can match your teacher, Lord Kazekage. Work hard to improve your strength. There's a heavy burden waiting for you in the future."
Hearing Chiyo say this, Rasa knew he'd succeeded. As long as he didn't do anything stupid, he was as good as appointed Fourth Kazekage.
Thanks to Sunagakure's dwindling ranks of talented shinobi, his only rival, Pakura, was big-breasted but brainless. She could be a Double Flower Red Pole, but she'd never be the boss. Did she really think running a gang didn't require brains?
Who else could be Kazekage but me?
Watching Rasa disappear into the heat and blowing sand, Chiyo sighed. "He's a good young man. Even after his teacher, who was as close to him as a father, died unexpectedly, he remained as steady as a mountain.
"Despite this huge upheaval, he didn't let his emotions get the better of him. He buried all his grief and pain and still came up with so many constructive suggestions.
"He's far superior to Pakura. He can shoulder the burden of the Kazekage."
Ebizo nodded, his long eyebrows twitching slightly. An inexplicable ache welled up inside him, and he felt sorry for Rasa.
Choking up, he said, "He must be in so much pain right now. His teacher is dead, and yet he has to bear such enormous pressure..."
Rasa wiped away the tears he'd forced out of his eyes, then patted his brother-in-law Yashamaru on the shoulder. In a low voice, he said, "Don't worry, I'm fine.
"Go take care of your duties, Yashamaru. If you see your sister, give her my regards."
Then he walked into his house and shut the door with a sharp bang.
Before long, a sobbing sound like a pig squealing came from inside. Yashamaru couldn't help feeling heartbroken for his brother-in-law.
His brother-in-law must have learned some very serious news in the Kazekage Office, something that had left him this distraught. By now, he was probably putting on a brave face and secretly wiping away his tears all alone.
With a quiet sigh, Yashamaru went to find his sister Karura. He had to tell her to treat her husband a little better. He was a man who was easily hurt.
Inside the room, Rasa contemplated the Starry Sky Vortex in his mind. The information he saw had changed.
[Electromagnetic Force Intensity: Lv0] [Electromagnetic Force Precision: Lv0] [Points: 143] [This cheat has an extremely high degree of freedom. The host must explore everything on their own. The greater the impact on the world, the more points will be obtained]
Rasa fell into thought. Where had those 143 points come from? They must have been earned by influencing Sunagakure.
In the original story, Sunagakure had launched a massive search for the Third Kazekage. The Land of Lightning discovered that the Kazekage had disappeared, then invaded the Land of Wind.
His appearance had changed that outcome. Sunagakure hadn't fallen into disarray; instead, it had prepared for the war that was bound to come.
No disguise was perfect. War was inevitable; he had only delayed it a little, ensuring Sunagakure wouldn't be as caught off guard as it had been in the original story.
Make an impact, earn points. Rasa now understood the basic mechanism.
Next, he needed to check the cheat's exact functions. That wouldn't be difficult. Wasn't this just a matter of spending points to level things up?
Increase [Electromagnetic Force Intensity].
Upgrade failed. Raising [Electromagnetic Force Intensity] to Lv1 required 500 points...
That wouldn't work? Rasa furrowed his brow and switched targets.
Increase [Electromagnetic Force Precision].
Upgrade successful. 100 points consumed. 500 points required for the next level...
The Starry Sky Vortex in his mind grew a little darker in color. As he focused on it, he could sense a faint, distorted ripple at its outermost edge.
In an instant, the benefits of increased [Electromagnetic Force Precision] were reflected in Rasa's body. He felt refreshed, a shiver running through him, as if the world had never been so clear.
The chakra he'd found difficult to use after taking over this body, along with the Magnet Release: Gold Dust Technique, now responded as readily as his own limbs.
And that wasn't all. Something even bigger seemed to have changed.
He stared at the iron kitchen knife on the counter—the one belonging to Mikasa—and focused his mind.
The knife abruptly lifted off the cutting board and shot through the air, stopping just one millimeter from Rasa's brow. Its edge even brushed the fine down on his face.
Hundred-Step Flying Sword, Ge Nie?
Wielding a blade with inner energy, From Beijing with Love?
Neither...
It was Magneto!
After using a tiny bit of chakra, Rasa reached out and gripped the knife's handle. The corners of his mouth curled up, his shoulders shaking as he struggled not to burst into pig-like laughter.
No, he couldn't laugh. The Third Kazekage had just died. If he started laughing like a mad dog, it would look terrible.
Rasa finally understood what this Electromagnetic Force was. It was one of the universe's four—or perhaps three—fundamental forces.
The Four fundamental forces existed throughout all things and phenomena. To perfectly control a fundamental force was to control the universe itself. With a single thought, one could create or destroy; everything would be in one's hands.
Magneto was badass, right? He showed up with the Golden Gate Bridge, but even in the movies, all he controlled was magnetism. Even in the comics, his applications of it were fairly simple.
How terrifying would it be to perfectly control the Electromagnetic Force?
Using the Electromagnetic Force, one could manipulate atomic nuclei and free electrons from their bonds. The nuclei would attract and collide, causing a fusion reaction. During this process, uncharged neutrons would escape from the nuclei.
This process was called nuclear fusion. Simply put, it was making a nuclear bomb by hand.
By manipulating the Electromagnetic Force, one could weaken the interaction between electrons and nuclei, destabilizing atoms and directly destroying any object.
This was called atomic disintegration, similar to the lightspeed punches said to be capable of destroying atoms in the legends of the Gold Saints.
Using quantum field theory to generate particle-antiparticle pairs from the vacuum, one could reverse the electromagnetic interaction to obtain antimatter, which could then be used in annihilation reactions.
This was called antimatter, similar to the destruction wrought by God of Destruction Beerus—a way to erase a being from existence in the most fundamental sense.
All in all, it was insanely powerful. Of course, these feats would only be possible once the ability reached a high level, or even its limit.
For now, he could only imitate Magneto and try out some basic tricks, or use a high voltage to create lightning and play around with Lightning Release.
It was like Accelerator. Without his overpowered computing ability, vector manipulation would be a trash power.
A journey of a thousand miles began with a single step. Rasa was already very satisfied.
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