The Mole

Releasing Pakura's hand, Rasa stepped forward, gazing at Roshi atop the sand dune, and demanded, "If I recall correctly, this is the territory of the Land of Wind. Four-Tails Jinchuriki, you have crossed the line!"

The secrecy of a Jinchuriki's identity is, in truth, a matter of perspective; those with intent can easily uncover it. Even Naruto had been accompanied by rumors of the Nine-Tails Fox since his childhood.

This is why the Akatsuki could capture Jinchuriki with such precision. As for Itachi Uchiha going to Konohagakure to probe for a Jinchuriki's identity back then... he was likely just slacking off.

Roshi's pupils constricted slightly. Rasa's tone was aggressive, and he had pierced through his identity in a single sentence; the newcomer was clearly hostile.

Little did he know, as far as the Land of Wind was concerned, he was the one who was the newcomer.

Entering another nation's territory wasn't actually a major issue, but the problem was that a Sunagakure outpost had been raided by Iwagakure ninjas a few days prior, and they hadn't managed to silence everyone.

Roshi steadied his mind and said calmly, "I have no intention of fighting you. I have come here only to find the culprit who killed a squad of ninjas from our Iwagakure; he is a ninja proficient in Lightning Release. How about we both withdraw and leave each other in peace?"

"This is the territory of our Land of Wind, and you want me to withdraw?" Rasa took another step forward, his presence intensifying as he mocked, "Furthermore, why would ninjas from your Iwagakure die in our Land of Wind? Let's speak plainly. You people from Iwagakure entered our Land of Wind, claiming to be searching for someone, but you know full well what you were actually doing. Now you claim you're here to find them? Who are you trying to fool?"

Roshi's expression darkened. Iwagakure was indeed in the wrong here. Scouting for intelligence was one thing, but why wipe out a Sunagakure outpost? This had exposed their true intentions entirely.

"I repeat: you and I withdraw, and we leave each other in peace. Although you now possess Kage-level chakra reserves, you still lack the corresponding combat experience. If we truly fight, you will not be my match. I do not wish to see a promising newcomer cut down here."

Roshi's tone grew heavier. It wasn't that he didn't want to kill Rasa, but Rasa's status was special—the direct disciple of the Third Kazekage, with at least quasi-Kage-level strength. This meant Rasa was likely the next Kazekage, a position akin to a crown prince. Killing him would be tantamount to declaring war on Sunagakure. When and how to fight such an organization was not his decision to make; that was for Ōnoki to decide. While they had their disagreements, Roshi wasn't foolish enough to ignore the consequences of killing Rasa.

Rasa chuckled, manipulating the metal particles beneath the desert to converge, and laughed, "You don't want to leave me behind? You're joking. This is the territory of our Land of Wind; don't you think you're being a bit too overbearing?"

Undoubtedly, Roshi was the intruder. No matter how polite his tone, it couldn't mask the arrogance of his words—running into someone else's home and telling them to get out.

"It seems this cannot be settled peacefully."

Roshi let out a low sigh as his chakra surged, enveloping his entire body and transforming into high-temperature magma, forming a layer of Lava Armor. It possessed properties similar to the elementalization of Akainu. In the original story, this armor could not even be breached by Naruto's Rasengan, which spoke volumes of its defensive power.

Rasa intended to test the armor's defense, manipulating several high-hardness metal spheres and using Electromagnetic Force to accelerate them toward Roshi.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

A series of sonic booms erupted. No sooner had Roshi heard the sound than he felt a sharp pain in his chest and forehead; several metal particles were embedded in his armor. After being heated by the high temperature, they gradually turned into liquid, slid onto the sand, and rapidly cooled.

Rasa frowned slightly. The physical defense was indeed formidable. Metal spheres, shuriken, and senbon traveling at one or two times the speed of sound struggled to even break the defense, barely causing light injuries, let alone heavy ones. This was troublesome; he was truly a veteran Kage-level powerhouse.

Pakura was also shocked. If she had faced Rasa's effortless "three-hit combo," she certainly wouldn't have been able to block it. The defensive power of Roshi's Lava Armor was unexpectedly high.

Roshi touched the wound on his chest, feeling a sense of alarm. The Lava Armor was sufficient to withstand ordinary B-rank ninjutsu, which meant Rasa could casually dish out single-target damage comparable to a B-rank jutsu. This boy must not be allowed to live.

War between the two villages was inevitable sooner or later. Eliminating Rasa early, even if it accelerated the war, was worth it!

"Brat, you have angered me!"

Roshi growled, his hands moving in a rapid sequence of seals. BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! More metal particles flew toward him, striking his body. Enduring the pain, Roshi finished his seals, tilted his head back, took a deep breath, and spat out several magma fireballs toward Rasa.

The fireballs expanded in the wind, growing larger and larger until, by the time they reached Rasa, their diameter had exceeded two meters!

Pakura's pupils shrank. Faced with the same fireballs, she was completely outclassed; clearly, an elite Jonin was no match for this.

Feeling the heat wave rushing toward him, Rasa chuckled and released his Electromagnetic Force, pulling high-density, high-hardness metal particles from beneath the desert. Using Electromagnetic Force to bind them in front of him, he formed a shield with even greater defensive power, just as he had done against Pakura.

The magma fireballs collided with the metal shield, splashing droplets of lava that were all blocked by the metal particles Rasa diverted, leaving not a single drop on him or Pakura.

Pakura glanced sideways, slightly stunned. This again.

Magma temperatures are typically between 900 and 1400 degrees Celsius, while the melting point of iron is over 1500 degrees. Furthermore, the metal particles Rasa pulled up were not just iron; they included metals with even higher melting points.

Even so, the metal shield melted rapidly into liquid metal; it was clear that one could not apply science to the Shinobi World.

It must be the same as that time with Pakura, where chakra acted as a combustion accelerant, raising the temperature of the ninjutsu, Rasa judged inwardly.

At the same time, he grabbed Pakura and retreated at high speed, for after Roshi spat out the lava fireball, he had launched himself forward as well.

Like a fire meteor descending from the sky, he smashed through the already liquefied metal shield and landed where Rasa had been standing, incinerating countless grains of sand into crystals.

"Thanks."

Rasa spat out the two words to draw aggro, manipulating the liquid metal to form several metal pillars and large metal spheres according to his will, occasionally pulling more metal from the ground to replenish them.

This wave is stable; it seems I can take down Roshi without exposing my identity.

Unwilling to remain a spectator, Pakura suddenly formed hand seals and spat out several Scorch Release fireballs, which struck Roshi.

Roshi looked up and let out a long, furious roar as a Tailed Beast tail, manifested from chakra, extended from his back and slammed into the sand layer.

The temperature of the Lava Armor intensified, with rolling heat waves and blazing lava, as if it had the momentum to set the entire desert aflame.

Rasa was speechless and glanced at Pakura; she was a good girl, but unfortunately, she was an inside agent.

"I was trying to help you."

Pakura felt a bit awkward as well; who knew that after my few Scorch Release fireballs, not only was the opponent unharmed, but he had actually grown stronger?