Yunyin is inexplicably blamed

His footsteps were light, so light that the sand layer he trod upon barely sank beneath him.

His footsteps were also heavy, so heavy that with every step he took, the hearts of Mahiru and his men trembled in rhythm.

Rasa was also sizing up the Iwagakure shinobi. Aside from Ryotaro, there were only two familiar faces; the first was Hunter, an Explosion Release user who had appeared in the Fourth Shinobi World War.

The other was Mahiru. After a brief moment of recollection, Rasa remembered him—he was no mere extra or nobody.

In the original plot, he had ambushed the team led by Minato Namikaze at Kannabi Bridge, wounded Kakashi, and clashed with Minato Namikaze himself.

Rasa smiled, pressed two fingers together against his temple, and said softly, "You know, a few hours ago, I was actually quite troubled by you all."

"I was troubled by how to slaughter you all to the last man in a single night. The Celestial doesn't have a small sphere of influence, but finding a group of rats in the vast desert takes a lot of time."

"My luck wasn't bad, though. I found a few, let one go to follow the trail, and successfully located the rat's nest."

Mahiru's expression soured, the veins on the back of his hands bulging. As an elite jonin, he was considered a powerhouse throughout the Shinobi World, and even when encountering ordinary Kage-level experts, he had a chance to escape.

Yet, to be insulted like this—to be called a rat—was more than he could bear.

However, for the sake of his subordinates and the mission, he endured it!

Mahiru took a deep breath, suppressing the rage in his heart. After a few seconds of deliberation, he attempted to negotiate with Rasa: "I apologize. We were unaware that this was your organization's territory beforehand."

"How about we both take a step back? We will withdraw from this area immediately, and we will not hold you responsible for the slaughter of our Iwagakure shinobi."

Upon hearing this, the members of the special operations team felt incredibly aggrieved. Isn't this us taking two steps back? How did it become both sides taking a step back?

Hunter, the Explosion Release user, was about to lash out, but Mahiru stopped him with a look, secretly signaling with his hands:

Endure for a moment and the winds will calm. Right now, we know nothing about this organization or this person. Gathering intelligence on Sunagakure is the priority.

Once this is finished, we will report back to the Tsuchikage, and naturally, there will be powerhouses from the village to deal with this Celestial.

Hunter's eyes were practically spitting fire, but he knew the big picture mattered most. As long as the green hills remain, there is no need to worry about firewood. The mission entrusted by the Tsuchikage was paramount.

"Withdraw? How could I possibly let you just walk away?"

Rasa wagged his finger, gesturing at them dismissively, and said with a look of disdain, "Withdrawing is no problem at all."

"However, you have wasted a lot of my time, which is essentially robbing me of my life. Therefore, you must pay a price."

"Out of the twenty-some people here, only one can leave. The rest of you will all stay here. The scorpions in the desert are already looking forward to a feast."

"Trying to sow discord?"

"I think it would be more appropriate for you to stay here instead!"

Hunter, the Explosion Release user, finally lost his patience. With a roar, he channeled his chakra, leaped forward, and swung a fist at Rasa.

"Explosion Release: Landmine Fist!"

Unlike Deidara's Explosion Release, Hunter's version was more akin to a form of Nintaijutsu. He gathered chakra in his fist, which would detonate the instant it made contact with an enemy.

Its advantage was that it required no hand seals and possessed immense power, but its weakness was equally obvious: short range and a tendency to miss.

"An Explosion Release user, eh? Interesting. I wonder how many of my moves you can take."

"Electrotherapy: Lightning Fist!"

Rasa murmured, channeling chakra into his left arm to form a high-voltage current. With energy surging, he threw a punch.

Before Hunter could even get close, he was struck by the powerful current. Fortunately, he managed to coat his entire body in chakra just in time, which slightly reduced the damage.

Even so, he lost all ability to act, collapsing in front of Rasa, his body charred black.

Rasa narrowed his eyes. That shouldn't be right. The current I discharged was at least 35kV, or 35,000 volts, and anything over 36 volts is harmful to the human body.

This voltage is over nine hundred times that, yet Hunter isn't dead? Chakra is truly a strange thing.

Are these the special rules of a special world? No matter. 35,000 volts is far from my current limit.

"A Lightning Release body-strengthening technique? So you are from Kumogakure!"

Mahiru exclaimed in realization. Damn it, I should have guessed!

Proficient in Lightning Release and so specifically targeting Iwagakure's operations—besides being from Kumogakure, what other possibility could there be? None.

Mahiru's brain raced. A single punch had left Hunter on the verge of death; this level of strength was at least that of a quasi-Kage.

I've heard the Third Raikage's son is powerful and has inherited his true mantle. I've also heard the Third Raikage's son has a sworn brother who is equally strong and is the jinchuriki of the Eight-Tails.

This Luo Yongxin before me is likely one of the two using a transformation technique, with the goal of sabotaging Iwagakure's mission.

The two nations shared a border, and both sides' leaders were aggressive, leading to frequent friction and long-standing grudges.

But other possibilities couldn't be ruled out. Perhaps he was just a rogue ninja from Kumogakure who happened to be proficient in a Lightning Release body-strengthening technique.

Of course, there was one final guess: the Luo Yongxin before him might even be the Third Raikage himself, the strongest in history...

In an instant, Mahiru's mind filled with countless theories. Following Mifune, Kumogakure had once again taken the fall for Rasa.

Rasa was slightly stunned, then realized this was a perfect opportunity to shift the blame and sow discord between the Lightning and Earth nations.

Fight! Let them fight!

He stepped forward, planting his foot on Hunter's head and driving him into the ground. High-voltage current spread, completely frying Hunter's brain.

Rasa suddenly smiled, his expression one of wicked, unbridled arrogance.

"Since you've seen through my identity, I cannot let you live. Every one of you must die. Take my secrets with you to the Yellow Springs and the Pure Land!"

To make the performance convincing, Rasa frantically squeezed his body's cells to extract chakra, his hands twitching as he formed seals he didn't even understand.

"Stop him! Don't let him finish those seals!"

Mahiru roared, raising his sword to charge at Rasa first, while the other ninjas swarmed forward.

Judging by that powerful chakra, it was clearly a high-level Lightning Release ninjutsu with immense power and a wide range; if he managed to unleash it, they would all be in serious trouble.

"It's already too late."

Feeling his fingers cramping, Rasa decided enough was enough. He slammed his hands together and let out a low, fierce shout: "Super Electric Shock Therapy: Nine Heavens Responsive Origin Thunder Sound Universal Transformation Heavenly Venerable!"

In short, the longer the name, the more badass it was.

Dark clouds swallowed the moon, turning the clear night sky into a pitch-black canopy. The desert suddenly darkened, and the wind began to howl.

Chakra was converted into ions, and along with all the free ions nearby, Rasa gathered them into the dark clouds above his head.

Beneath the clouds and above the earth, the charges gathered to form a powerful electric field. The charges within the field moved violently, rubbing against air molecules and releasing powerful pulses.

"BOOM! BOOM!"