Rasa's Death

When Rasa and his party arrived at Agreed Canyon,

they found Orochimaru already waiting there. Behind him stood the silent Naraka and Mahito, along with the deferential Kabuto Yakushi.

"Lord Kazekage, it's been a while," Orochimaru rasped, a false smile on his face.

Rasa remained on guard. "Orochimaru, spare me the pleasantries. What else do you want from me?"

They exchanged a few perfunctory words. The atmosphere seemed calm, but danger stirred beneath the surface.

Then, for an instant, Orochimaru's words drew Rasa's attention away.

A cold glint flashed through Orochimaru's golden snake eyes!

"Now!"

Naraka and Mahito sprang into action behind him!

Naraka dissolved into a drifting cloud of miasma and silently closed in on one guard. The miasma slithered into his nose and mouth like a living thing. Before he could even scream, his body blackened and he fell!

Mahito wore a cruel smile. His arm stretched unnaturally and punched through another guard's chest, its soul-warping power tearing the man's soul apart in an instant!

"You—?!" Shock and fury seized Rasa, but he reacted at once. Almost the moment his guards died, he sprang back and raced through Hand Seals!

"Magnet Release: Gold Dust Imperial Funeral!"

Rumble! In the Land of Wind, the boundless sea of sand answered his call!

Unlike ordinary sand, the Gold Dust was infused with Chakra and metal. It surged up like a towering wave, forming an unyielding barrier and countless sharp spikes that crushed toward Orochimaru and the others from every direction!

Its vast reach and formidable defense kept the three from closing in for the moment.

"Heh. As expected of Lord Kazekage. What a splendid Gold Dust technique!" Orochimaru chuckled, as if admiring the spectacle.

While Rasa poured everything into controlling the Gold Dust, trying to overwhelm his enemies in one stroke,