His footsteps were light, so light that the sand beneath them barely sank.
His footsteps were also heavy, so heavy that with every step, Mahiru and the others felt their hearts tremble.
Rasa was sizing up the Iwagakure Ninja, too. Aside from Ryotaro, only two of them looked familiar. The first was Gari, the Explosion Release user who had appeared in the Fourth Shinobi World War.
The other was Mahiru. After thinking back for a moment, Rasa remembered him. He wasn't some nameless extra.
In the original story, he had ambushed Minato Namikaze's team at Kannabi Bridge, wounded Kakashi, and fought Minato.
Rasa smiled, pressed two fingers together, and lightly tapped his temple. In a quiet voice, he said, "You know, a few hours ago, I was still worrying about you.
"I was worrying about how to wipe you all out in a single night. The territory controlled by our Celestial organization isn't small, and searching this vast desert for a pack of rats would have taken a lot of time.
"I got pretty lucky. I found a few of you, let one go, and followed the trail straight back to your nest."
Mahiru's expression darkened, veins rising on the back of his hand. As an elite jonin, he was considered a formidable shinobi throughout the Shinobi World. Even against an ordinary Kage Level fighter, he would have a chance to escape.
Yet now he was being insulted, called a rat. How could he possibly bear it?
But for my subordinates and the mission, I'll endure it!
Mahiru took a deep breath, tamped down his anger, and thought for a few seconds before trying to negotiate with Rasa. "I'm sorry, but we didn't know beforehand that this was your organization's territory.
"How about we both take a step back? We'll withdraw from this area immediately, and in return, we won't hold you responsible for slaughtering our Iwagakure Ninja."
The members of the Special Operations Team felt deeply aggrieved. We're the ones taking two steps back. How did that become both sides taking one?
Gari, the Explosion Release user, was about to erupt, but Mahiru stopped him with a look and discreetly signaled with his hand:
Endure for now, and all will be calm. We know nothing about this organization or this man. Gathering intelligence on Sunagakure is what matters.
Once we're done here, we'll report to Lord Tsuchikage. Then the village's strong fighters can deal with this Celestial organization.
Gari's eyes nearly spat fire, but he knew the bigger picture mattered. As long as the green hills remain, there'll be no shortage of firewood. Lord Tsuchikage's mission comes first.
You think I'll just let you leave?
Rasa gave a slight shake of his finger, pointing at them one by one with disdain. "Leaving is no problem.
"But you've wasted a lot of my time. That's practically the same as robbing me and taking my life, so you'll have to pay a price.
"Of the more than twenty of you, only one gets to leave. The rest are staying here. The scorpions in the desert are already looking forward to a grand feast."
"Trying to drive a wedge between us?
"I think you're the one who should stay here!"
Gari, the Explosion Release user, finally lost his temper. With a furious shout, he gathered chakra and lunged at Rasa, throwing a punch.
"Explosion Release: Landmine Fist!"
Unlike Deidara's Explosion Release, Gari's was more like a Nintaijutsu. He concentrated chakra in his fist, making it explode the instant it touched an opponent.
Its advantages were that it required no Hand Seals and had tremendous power. Its drawbacks were just as obvious: short reach, and an easy way to miss by a mile.
"An Explosion Release user, huh? Interesting. Let's see how many of my attacks you can take.
"Electrotherapy: Lightning Fist!"
Rasa murmured, gathering chakra in his left arm to form a high-voltage current. Once the energy was fully charged, he threw a punch.
Before Gari could get close, a powerful electric current struck him. Fortunately, he had protected his whole body with chakra in time, which reduced the damage a little.
Even so, he lost the ability to move and lay sprawled in front of Rasa, his body charred black.
Rasa narrowed his eyes. That didn't make sense. The current he had unleashed was at least 35 kV, or 35,000 volts. Anything over 36 volts could harm the human body.
That was more than nine hundred times the threshold, yet Gari was still alive. Chakra was truly a strange thing.
Is this just one of the strange rules of this world? Either way, it made no difference. 35,000 volts was nowhere near his current limit.
"Lightning Release body-training secret technique? So you're from Kumogakure!"
Mahiru cried out, suddenly understanding. Damn it, I should've realized sooner!
He's skilled in Lightning Release and is targeting Iwagakure's operation so deliberately. Who else could he be but someone from Kumogakure? No one.
Mahiru's mind raced. A single punch had left Gari gravely wounded and on the brink of death. That kind of strength had to be at least near Kage Level.
I've heard the Third Raikage's son is powerful and learned everything from him. I've also heard the Third Raikage's son has a sworn brother who's just as strong—and is the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki.
This Luo Yongxin in front of us could be either of them, disguised with the Transformation Technique. His goal must be to sabotage Iwagakure's operation.
The two countries bordered each other, and both sides' leaders were hard-nosed. They clashed often and had a long-standing grudge.
But we can't rule out other possibilities. Maybe he's just a rogue shinobi from Kumogakure who happens to be skilled in a Lightning Release body-training secret technique.
Of course, there's one last possibility. The Luo Yongxin in front of us might actually be the strongest Raikage in history, the Third Raikage himself...
In an instant, Mahiru imagined all sorts of possibilities. After Mifune, Kumogakure had taken the blame for Rasa's actions once again.
Rasa paused for a moment, then realized what was happening. This was a great chance to shift the blame and drive a wedge between the Land of Lightning and the Land of Earth.
Fight! Fight!
He stepped forward and stomped on Gari's head, driving it into the ground. High-voltage current spread through him, completely burning out Gari's brain.
Rasa suddenly laughed, looking sinister and unrestrained.
"Now that you've figured out who I am, I can't let you live. Every last one of you is going to die.
"Take my secret with you to the underworld and the Impure World!"
If I'm going to act, I might as well make it convincing. Rasa ruthlessly drained his body's cells to extract chakra, his hands forming seals he didn't even understand, twitching like crazy.
"Stop him! Don't let him finish the Hand Seals!"
Mahiru roared and charged at Rasa with his sword, leading the attack. The other shinobi rushed forward as well.
They could tell from the immense chakra that this was an advanced Lightning Release Ninjutsu, with tremendous power and an enormous range. If they let him use it, they would all be in for trouble.
"Too late."
Feeling his fingers begin to cramp, Rasa decided he had gone far enough. He clapped his hands together and shouted, "Super Electrotherapy: Nine Heavens Thunder God!"
Anyway, the longer the name, the more powerful it sounded.
Clouds swallowed the moon. The clear night sky turned into a dark canopy, and the desert suddenly went dark. The wind began to blow.
Chakra transformed into ions, and Rasa gathered them in the clouds overhead, along with all the ions drifting nearby.
Beneath the clouds and above the earth, electric charges accumulated, forming a powerful electric field. The charges in the field moved violently, rubbing against the air molecules and releasing powerful pulses.
"Rumble! Rumble!"
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