For a supreme blade master like Hatake Sakumo, who relied on no elemental ninjutsu and instead fought with solid taijutsu and near-divine swordsmanship, there were almost no natural enemies capable of completely countering him.
If there was one, Magnet Release was definitely among the few—and it countered him completely. After all, even the finest blade was made of iron.
"This truly is a fine sword! No wonder it is the legendary White Fang of Konoha." Keiko turned the renowned divine weapon over in his hands and could not help sighing in admiration. At that moment, its owner was slumped against a wall, coughing up blood.
Inside the collapsed fortress, only a few Konoha ninja were still breathing. Hundreds of Konoha elite ninja lay sprawled in pools of blood, their blood nearly coating the surrounding floors and walls. The pungent stench of blood filled the entire space.
The entire Lishi Central Fortress covered roughly six hundred square meters. The limit of Keiko's Iron Sand control range was eight hundred meters. With so many people crammed into this moderately sized, semi-enclosed space—
—it was practically a battlefield designed specifically for Keiko. In such an environment, there was nowhere to hide and nowhere to run. Keiko simply released all twelve tons of Iron Sand he had brought with him, sealed inside scrolls. Just as Hatake Sakumo raised his blade to launch his final strike, Keiko had spread the Iron Sand throughout the entire fortress.
Konoha ninja on the other side, you have been surrounded by me alone.
What followed was terrifying. Countless streams of black Iron Sand suddenly surged in from every direction like a raging flood. In an instant, the massive fortress became an asura battlefield, like clothes endlessly churned inside a washing machine drum.
The black "flood," mixed with scattered, broken kunai and shuriken, rolled and roared wildly through the crowd. It was also mixed with the agonized wails and shrill screams of countless Konoha ninja.
Some Konoha ninja reacted quickly and hurriedly retreated, only to find that their escape route had already been cut off. Before they could maneuver through the air more than a few times, the rolling Iron Sand pierced through their bodies.
Others unleashed Water Release and Earth Release ninjutsu in an attempt to block the black "torrent." But the "torrent" came from every direction. Defending against it from only one side was pitifully fragile. The Water Dragon Bullets created by Water Release barely hindered the iron flow at all, while the earth walls created by Earth Release were swiftly crushed and destroyed by the iron flow as easily as paper.
Those acts of resistance were like a few bubbles rising in a flood, vanishing without a trace in the blink of an eye.
This battle became the one that made Keiko, the Third Kazekage, famous. Later, many Konoha ninja passed around a saying: if you smelled iron while fighting Sunagakure ninja, retreat immediately—you might still have a chance to survive. But once you saw black Iron Sand appearing on the ground, your name was already on the Shinigami's list.
Keiko could hardly be blamed for being ruthless. In wartime, it was only natural for the battlefield to be a matter of life and death. Besides, having just taken office, he needed a little blood sacrifice to establish his authority. Otherwise, he would not be able to keep either his own people or outsiders in line.
"Save him. He should still be useful," Keiko said as he flipped up Hatake Sakumo's eyelid.
"Yes, Kazekage-sama." Akasuna Guimu answered from one knee. By now, he had been completely won over by the mighty Third Kazekage.
"I'll clean up the scattered stragglers around the perimeter. You all rest first." Keiko turned to leave.
"Kazekage-sama, please be careful. We set some traps around the outer positions," Akasuna Hideki reminded him.
"Oh, really?" Keiko formed hand seals with both hands and created several Shadow Clones.
Land of Wind, Night-Cry Sand Sea Frontline
Inside a tent, Elder Chiyo was fitting the prosthetic limb she had just made. She flexed her fingers and revealed a dissatisfied expression. Picking up a screwdriver with her left hand, she immediately began modifying it.
As the wife of Reto, the First Kazekage, she had personally witnessed her husband overpowering all rivals with blade and spear, establishing a village in the desert through sheer strength. Nearly every brick and tile in the village had been laid under Chiyo's watchful eyes. She regarded the village as her own child and loved it more deeply than anyone.
At this time, Chiyo was not yet the frail old woman from Shippuden who liked to play dead. Though she had inherited her late husband's will and was already over fifty, Chiyo possessed the same bold and imposing nature as Reto, along with a shrewd mind. Among Sunagakure's upper ranks, she was the leader of the Militant Faction and an absolute supporter of Shamon, the Second Kazekage's plan to invade the Land of Rain.
Eighty percent of the Land of Wind was desert. Resources were scarce, internal unrest was frequent, and the various clans constantly fought among themselves. Although Reto had completed the unification, poverty remained poverty, and shortages remained shortages. Even during the first Five Kage Summit, the First Kazekage would rather select only one Tailed Beast than spend money to buy another.
Why? Because they were poor! The Land of Rain had abundant rainfall and plentiful resources. It was also a strategic location that could contain the Hidden Stone Village to the north and draw in Konoha to the south. If they seized it, they could not only ease the village's dire economy but also seize the strategic initiative in advance. But now...
"Sigh... I only hope little Keiko can turn things around." Chiyo muttered to herself as she watched the flickering candlelight.
"Lady Chiyo, supplies from the rear have arrived!"
"A little more on the left. Ah, yes, a little more." Keiko directed Pakura to control her Scorch Release fireballs, instantly melting the Iron Sand into molten iron and continuously filling the gaps in the fortress. Keiko called out, "Pour it!"
Sizzle! Rasa splashed a bucket of cold water over it, and the glowing molten iron instantly solidified.
"Good. That counts as finished." Keiko looked at his work with satisfaction.
Rasa was highly efficient. In a day and a half, he had led more than three hundred fully reorganized ninja to Lishi Fortress. Although the battle had already ended, intelligence obtained by interrogating prisoners indicated that Konoha might organize a second wave of attacks at any time.
Rather than fight to the death in Sunagakure and harm civilians, it was better to keep the enemy beyond the nation's borders. Keiko used several tons of Iron Sand, along with Pakura's Scorch Release, to weld a half-shell of iron directly over the half-collapsed central fortress. As a result, the fortress's defenses had actually improved considerably.
"This will only hold for now. The winds and sand here are fierce, and the iron plating will corrode quickly. Later, we'll still need to build a layer of brick and tile around the outside," Keiko said.
"Yes, Kazekage-sama." Rasa and Guimu nodded in acknowledgment.
"All right, things here are more or less settled. Rasa, you will oversee the fortress's defenses. Guimu, your injuries have not healed yet, but you are the local, so you will assist him." Keiko put on windproof goggles and wrapped a veil around his face.
"You're leaving already?" Guimu asked, somewhat surprised.
"Konoha suffered a major loss here. Whether to continue attacking Lishi Fortress is something Konoha's higher-ups will have to weigh carefully. They should already know that our reinforcements have arrived. With a surprise attack no longer possible, this so-called Westward Advance Plan has little meaning left. The place that will truly decide victory or defeat is now the Night-Cry Sand Sea." Keiko pointed south.
"By the way, Guimu, don't you have a son?" Keiko gathered chakra, preparing to set off.
"Yes, Kazekage-sama. My son, Sasori of the Red Sands, just turned five this year," Guimu answered honestly.
"Heh, Sasori of the Red Sands? How about this—after the war ends, I'll take him as my godson." Keiko smiled confidently.
Before you continue