The Beginning

The outpost on the Gobi cliff was the forward eye watching Hidden Cloud's movements. At this moment, it was undergoing an unprecedented trial.

"Enemy attack! Hidden Cloud! There are a lot of them!" The Hidden Sand ninja on the lookout tower had only just sounded the alarm when a dazzling flash of lightning tore through the dusk sky!

"Lightning Style: False Darkness!"

A huge javelin formed from highly condensed lightning, carrying an ear-splitting roar, instantly pierced through the lookout tower! The tower collapsed, and shattered stone and charred wood chips flew in every direction.

"Kill! For the glory of Hidden Cloud!" A burly jonin wearing a Hidden Cloud forehead protector activated Lightning Style: Lightning Body Flicker, turning into a streak of blue lightning as he was the first to smash through the crude fence. The ninja blade in his hand was wrapped in crackling lightning, and every swing brought up a spray of blood and the smell of burning flesh.

"Hold them off! Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!" The Hidden Sand chunin stationed there formed seals and roared, trying to block them with a powerful gale.

"Hmph, petty tricks! Lightning Style: Earth Walk!" Another Hidden Cloud ninja pressed both hands to the ground. Electric current rapidly spread along the earth, instantly numbing the feet of several Hidden Sand ninja, interrupting the Wind Style before it could fully take shape.

"Gah!"

Screams rose one after another. The Hidden Cloud ninja attacked like a sudden storm, their coordination seamless. They moved in groups of three: one launched a frontal assault to draw fire, one used Lightning Style from the flank to interfere, and the last looked for an opening to deliver a fatal blow with taijutsu or short-blade techniques. The Hidden Sand defenders were already at a numerical disadvantage, and their command had become somewhat sluggish because of the chaos among the higher-ups. Before long, they were split apart and surrounded.

"Captain! The eastern defense line has been breached!"

"They've cut off our retreat too! We're surrounded!"

The Hidden Sand captain looked at the comrades constantly falling around him, his eyes nearly splitting with rage. He knew that the position falling was only a matter of time. "Send the signal! Request reinforcements! Then... fight to the death!" He roared and charged toward the Hidden Cloud jonin, trying to buy time for his subordinates by taking the enemy down with him, but an even thicker lightning spear arrived first and blasted him to pieces along with the rock wall behind him.

Wind-Weeping Tower fell. Similar scenes played out across multiple strongholds on the northeastern border, and Hidden Cloud's lightning assault achieved striking results.

When the news was sent back to Hidden Sand Village, acting commander Rasa's face turned as hard and grave as iron. He knew perfectly well that he had to halt Hidden Cloud's offensive at once, or fighting on two fronts would doom Hidden Sand beyond recovery. He personally led a rapid-response force made up of elite chunin and special jonin, rushing at top speed to reinforce the northeastern front.

Their destination was Thunderclap Gorge. It was the vital throat leading into the heartland of Hidden Sand Village, with perilous terrain that was easy to defend and hard to attack. But when Rasa arrived, Hidden Cloud's vanguard had already broken through the outer sentries and was locked in fierce battle with the remaining Hidden Sand defenders at the entrance to the gorge.

"Lord Rasa! You're finally here!" a Hidden Sand jonin covered in blood shouted excitedly when he saw the reinforcements.

Rasa's gaze swept over the battlefield. Hidden Cloud's offensive was fierce, and the defenders were retreating step by step. He immediately ordered, "Everyone, gather around me! Re-form the defensive line!"

His appearance drew the attention of the Hidden Cloud commander. It was an extraordinarily tall, powerfully muscled man with a hideous scar across his face. His codename was Lightning Fang, and he was a famous berserker warrior of Hidden Cloud.

"Oh? Someone decent finally showed up? Looks like a leader!" Lightning Fang licked his lips, revealing a battle-hungry smile. "Kid, state your name! I, Lightning Fang, don't cut down nobodies!"

Rasa ignored his shouting. Instead, his hands rapidly formed seals, and vast chakra poured into the earth beneath his feet like a volcano. His low voice reached the ears of every Hidden Sand ninja with perfect clarity. "Hold your ground. Leave defense to me."

"Magnet Release: Gold Dust World Method!"

Rumble—!

The mountains on both sides of the gorge shook violently, as if some enormous creature were about to burst out of the ground! Under the astonished gazes of the Hidden Cloud ninja, countless streams of glittering gold dust surged from the mountain walls like living golden torrents! They swiftly gathered and took shape, constructing a massive golden barrier in front of the Hidden Sand forces, more than ten meters high, immensely thick, its surface slowly flowing like liquid! Sunlight shone on the gold dust barrier, reflecting dazzling brilliance, as if it were a divine shield descending from the heavens.

"What the hell is that?!" A sharp lightning blade Lightning Fang slashed out struck the gold dust barrier, yet it only stirred up ripples across the surface. The lightning was quickly dispersed and absorbed, failing to shake it in the slightest. Most of the other Hidden Cloud ninja's Lightning Style attacks met the same result.

"Damn it! Go around!" Lightning Fang roared, trying to lead his subordinates around from the flank.

But with a thought from Rasa, the gold dust barrier swiftly extended to both sides like a living thing and closed in, forming a semicircular encirclement that instead trapped Lightning Fang and the dozens of elite Hidden Cloud ninja he led in the narrow area at the entrance of the gorge.

"Bastard! How dare you look down on me!" Lightning Fang flew into a rage, lightning flaring brightly all over his body. "Lightning Style: Lightning Armor!"

Powerful lightning chakra covered his entire body, and his speed and strength instantly surged. He swung his blade again, hacking savagely at the barrier. The edge of the blade scraped against the gold dust with an ear-piercing sound and dazzling sparks, but it still could not break through.

"Magnet Release: Gold Dust Spears!"

Rasa stood behind the barrier and clenched one hand in the air. In an instant, the surface of the gold dust barrier bulged outward, condensing into hundreds upon thousands of incomparably sharp gold dust spears that shone with a cold metallic light! The next moment, those spears shot out as if fired from powerful crossbows, carrying shrill screams that tore through the air, raining down on the trapped Hidden Cloud ninja like a golden storm!

"Dodge!" Lightning Fang shouted, swinging his lightning blade to block. Crisp clangs rang out without end. The gold dust spears were extremely heavy and carried tremendous impact; even if an ordinary Hidden Cloud ninja deflected one or two, their arms would be jarred numb, and the spears that followed easily pierced through their defenses.

"Ah!"

"No!"

Screams sounded one after another as Hidden Cloud ninja were constantly pierced through by spears and nailed to the ground or rock walls. Relying on the incredible defense and speed of his Lightning Armor, Lightning Fang barely managed to hold out, but he still looked quite wretched, with several bloody cuts appearing on his body.

"Damn Hidden Sand! If you've got the guts, come out and duel me head-on!" Lightning Fang roared, panting heavily, his chakra being consumed at high speed.

Rasa remained expressionless, sensing everything within the field through the gold dust. "There's no need to speak of honor when dealing with invaders. Annihilate them."

More gold dust surged out from the barrier, like golden waves, slowly flooding toward the trapped Hidden Cloud ninja, trying to devour and bury them completely.

Looking at his steadily dwindling subordinates and that omnipresent, indestructible gold dust, Lightning Fang finally realized he had kicked an iron plate. "Retreat! Retreat now!" he roared unwillingly, erupting with Lightning Style at full power and breaking out like true lightning, forcibly carving a bloody path before the encirclement closed. But the elite force that had followed him had already suffered devastating losses.

In the Battle of Thunderclap Gorge, Rasa, relying on his own strength, the uniquely advantageous terrain, and his powerful Magnet Release gold dust, successfully blunted the edge of Hidden Cloud's vanguard and stabilized the tottering situation on the northeastern front. The name "Rasa of the Gold Dust," along with this glorious defensive battle, swiftly spread among all sides of the war like windblown sand, truly beginning to resound throughout the shinobi world.

At the same time, Pakura, who had been sent to the western border to carry out search and patrol missions, was also under tremendous pressure. What she mainly faced were the reconnaissance units and small infiltration teams continuously sent out by Hidden Stone, as well as some wandering rogue ninja who took advantage of the chaos to move around and plunder villages. Pakura's Scorch Release kekkei genkai was exceedingly powerful—the blazing white spheres of light could instantly dry enemies to husks, and they were extremely efficient when clearing out these scattered foes, often wiping out an entire squad with a single move.

Hidden Cloud's invasion, combined with the constant, immense pressure Hidden Stone was applying on the western border, plunged Hidden Sand Village into a true two-front war. The war did not swiftly crush Hidden Sand as Hidden Cloud had expected. Instead, because of Rasa's outstanding performance and the tenacious resistance of the Hidden Sand ninja, it developed in an even more complex, brutal, and prolonged direction of attrition. The flames of the Third Shinobi World War, because of the sudden upheaval in Hidden Sand Village, were completely ignited in this form, with multiple sides drawn in and the battle lines spreading.