How Was I Supposed to Keep My Cool?

First, his laboratory had been stripped bare, wiping out a year of work. Now Tsukimi had humiliated him in public. Together, the despair and shame unleashed the violence Rasa had kept buried inside.

His already unstable Magnet Release Chakra surged out of control. The Gold Dust floating around him took on a bloodthirsty red sheen. He had completely lost his reason.

All he could see was the boy wearing that mocking smile. Orochimaru's threat and the safety of his own ninja had vanished from his mind.

"Die! Just die already!!"

His frenzied roar rang through the woods. Gold Dust filled the sky and formed thousands of razor-sharp blades. The torrent shrieked as it tore through the air, bearing down on Tsukimi with enough force to crush everything in its path. It covered every route he might use to dodge.

"Come to your senses, Lord Rasa!"

A Sand Ninja Jonin nearby cried out in alarm, but Rasa gave no response. He had gone mad, heedless of Orochimaru waiting for an opening ahead of him. If Orochimaru struck now, the consequences would be disastrous.

And would Orochimaru strike? What did they think?

"Ninja Art: Winding Evil Snake!"

The Sand Ninja Jonin did not dare hesitate. At the last possible moment, several of them joined forces to form Hand Seals and unleash Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall. Five earthen barriers rose in layers before Rasa, barely absorbing the force of Orochimaru's charged attack.

Every eye on the battlefield turned back to Tsukimi, trapped in the path of the Gold Dust.

Tsukimi showed no panic in the face of Rasa's sweeping, lethal attack. He had anticipated the reaction before he ever opened his mouth to taunt him, and he had stayed on high alert ever since. Shadow Energy had been gathering beneath his feet for