"Cover your ears," Rasa said softly as dozens of kunai flew out from beneath his cloak.
This outfit wasn't just for show. At least he could carry some ninja tools in it.
Yahiko and Konan paused for a moment, then realized what he meant. They obediently covered their ears, eager to see what Rasa would do next.
The Microwave Radar spread out, pinpointing dozens of enemies by their echoes. Dozens of kunai pierced the Gold Dust barrier.
Then they suddenly accelerated, breaking the sound barrier as they shot toward every enemy. A thunderous roar rang out in an instant. Even Yahiko and Konan, who had covered their ears in advance, felt pain in their eardrums.
The improvement in precision meant Rasa could do more than use the Railgun. He could also manipulate metal with far greater accuracy.
The enemies who had revealed themselves faced kunai traveling just over the speed of sound. Every strike hit its intended target—a throat, a heart, or a brain. Not one missed.
For those who hadn't revealed themselves, hiding behind towering trees, rocks, and other cover, Rasa used his new ability: Railguns with an initial velocity of Mach 4.
One kunai after another scraped violently against the air, throwing off sparks as its temperature soared. Their kinetic force smashed through trees and rocks.
The enemies hiding behind cover were all killed. The immense force either blasted open their chests, blew their throats apart, or made their entire heads disappear.
The bewitching, dazzling flowers of death bloomed throughout the dense forest, fleeting in an instant, their flowering season even shorter than that of the epiphyllum, known as the beauty beneath the moon. Most people were destined never to see them in their entire lives.
Sakura blooms for just one season, and true love comes only once. If you're just lonely, please don't say you love me.jpg
The Gold Dust barrier slowly receded. Yahiko and Konan stared in shock, trembling slightly.
Corpses littered the ground, their expressions surprisingly peaceful. From the faces of those whose heads remained intact, it was clear they had suffered almost no pain before they died.
The pain had lasted only an instant.
Rasa curled a finger, recalling the ninja tools, which were barely damaged.
Frugality was a virtue. As long as he kept saving and saving, then spent a little chakra to make a few tons of Gold Dust, he was sure to get rich.
"Even stronger than the legends say! Dozens of coordinated ninja didn't last three seconds!"
Yahiko praised him sincerely. Killing ninja wasn't as simple as killing pigs. Even if you had a powerful technique, the enemy had to stay put, and you had to hit them.
Rasa had already surpassed the limits of a ninja's speed. With one move, he killed every enemy, no matter where they were.
No wonder he had caused such a stir in the Shinobi World. No wonder he had forced Ōnoki to yield.
With such an astonishing attack speed and techniques that packed a punch, ordinary ninja without special skills or some other trick would be nothing but delivery men, no matter how many came.
A weapon of war, a match for ten thousand—he truly lived up to the name!
"Lord Rasa, what do you call that technique?" Konan asked softly.
A technique that powerful had to have an equally impressive name. Whenever Nagato developed a new technique, he always gave it a name.
This was just a simple application of the Electromagnetic Force. He'd thrown dozens of ninja tools at once. Did that even count as a technique?
Rasa pushed up his hat and thought for a moment. Since Minato Namikaze could come up with so many flashy, cool-sounding names, he couldn't fall behind as a fellow Fourth Hokage.
"If I had to give it a name, I'd call it 'A green bamboo hat, a green straw raincoat; in slanting wind and drizzle, there's no need to return.'"
"That's a little long." Konan tilted her head and lightly tapped her cheek with a finger.
"In slanting wind and drizzle, there's no need to return" was fitting enough, though the colors of his hat and cloak didn't match.
"One day, you'll understand. It's not just the technique's name that's long."
Not just the technique's name... Could he mean... his alias?
Konan couldn't help recalling something Rasa had said: Himura Kenshin's real name was very long...
Rasa stepped forward and went to the bodies, checking them for any distinctive symbols or marks.
He pried open one corpse's mouth and saw the familiar black mark on its tongue. Rasa's pupils contracted.
The Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal.
A Sealing Jutsu used exclusively by Root. Danzo had placed Cursed Seals on Root members' tongues, preventing them from saying anything about him.
So it really was Root. Danzo had even come up with the genius idea of wooden ninja tools, though it had been no use.
Even with just a single long sword, he could still carve his way through an army without suffering a scratch.
Yahiko and Konan hurried over to help search the bodies for clues. After looking for a while, they sighed. "What a shame.
"If you'd left one alive, Lord Rasa, we might have found out who wanted you dead."
How could they not regret it?
Reading the memories of the dead from their brains was a rare ability in the Shinobi World. Not many people knew that kind of ninjutsu.
As it happened, neither Yahiko nor Konan did.
"It doesn't matter. An assassination like this can't do anything to me. If they're not strong enough, it doesn't matter how many they send."
Rasa spoke calmly, then added, "Besides, even without a survivor, I can still find out who ordered the assassination."
Yahiko and Konan nodded. That was true. If Rasa's abilities weren't such a hard counter to ordinary ninja, he wouldn't have caused such a sensation in the Shinobi World or forced Ōnoki to issue that decree.
Hearing Rasa's last remark, Konan lifted her head and asked in confusion, "Lord Rasa, who tried to assassinate you? Is it someone we know?"
At least they could be sure it wasn't someone from the Akatsuki. But if it turned out to be someone they knew, that could bring trouble. What if they got caught up in it?
Rasa smiled gently. "It's someone very stupid. You know them, and you don't."
Konan was confused. She couldn't make sense of it. Important people were always like this, only telling you half of what they meant and leaving you halfway to understanding.
Why did some leaders never like to be direct when giving instructions?
If they explained everything clearly, you followed those instructions, and the result didn't meet expectations, who would take the blame?
Rasa had already mastered a basic quality of those in power: never take the blame.
"What do we do now? Should we keep going?" Konan asked worriedly.
She wanted Rasa to continue on to the peace conference. It was Yahiko's dream. But at the same time, she didn't want to see Rasa assassinated.
"Of course we'll keep going. They're just a bunch of rats. We'll treat it as a little exercise after dinner," Rasa said casually.
A few dozen people weren't enough to even stretch his muscles.
By dusk, the three of them finally reached the outskirts of Amegakure. A fine drizzle fell like needles, and the scenery was pleasant. If the sun weren't hidden all day long, this place would have been a paradise.
Inside Amegakure, two middle-aged and elderly ninja stood on a high rise, gazing at Rasa in the distance through binoculars.
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