And so, in Nagi's eyes, this enormous Chakra mass collided violently with the defensive Ninjutsu in front of him.
The next moment, a tremendous tremor shook the earth, and a deafening explosion resounded throughout the battlefield, drowning out all other sounds. The dust that rose was incredibly thick.
This situation drew all eyes on the battlefield.
Under everyone's watchful eyes, after the sandstorm dissipated, a huge circular crater was clearly visible on the battlefield.
The pit was filled with various rubble and wood fragments, but there was no living person in sight.
But not long after, a considerable commotion came from the reddish ground not far from the center of the pit.
Slowly, a crack appeared in the crimson rock ground, and then three rectangular objects covered in golden sand slowly emerged from the crack.
Once the rectangular object was fully revealed, the gold sand enveloping it slowly flowed down, revealing the object's original form.
It was actually a puppet trio! They actually survived such powerful Ninjutsu.
This outcome surprised Kōki was standing not far away. However, looking at the golden sand beneath the three's feet, he had a guess in his mind.
Although the puppet trio survived, their condition was far from good. Their faces were pale, and their eyes were filled with deep fear.
He was clearly in great shock; his body was covered in wounds, and his arm was bent at an extreme angle, indicating that the bone was broken.
"Huff! Huff! Huff! We almost really died!" The burly puppeteer Raizo gasped for breath, still shaken by the near-death experience. He coughed up a few mouthfuls of blood after speaking.
"Don't be too optimistic. Our situation is already terrible; it's practically the same as being dead. Our puppet Chikamatsu Ten Puppets have all been wiped out by Ninjutsu attacks. And we're also severely injured. Any Konoha Ninja could easily take us down now."
Although he was grateful to have survived such a terrifying attack, Nagi felt no optimism. Looking at the puppet fragments scattered all around him and his own injured and twisted arm, his face turned extremely somber.
Just as Nagi was worrying about the three of them's future situation, a familiar voice rang out in front of him.
"Don't worry, Nagi, I'll take you back."
Upon hearing the sound, he looked up and ahead.
In the open space in front of him, Gold Dust continued to gather, slowly forming the shape of Rasa.
Upon seeing Rasa appear, the three of them, enduring the pain, staggered to their feet and said to Rasa with faces full of shame, "We're sorry, Lord Kazekage, we've disgraced Sunagakure. And we've troubled Lord Kazekage with your help; we are deeply ashamed."
That's right. The reason the three of them survived that powerful Ninjutsu wasn't because their defensive techniques were particularly good, but because Rasa used Magnet Release to envelop them and hide them underground at the last moment. It was this method that saved them from death and allowed them to survive by chance.
"It's alright, you haven't failed, on the contrary, you've done a great service."
Upon hearing this, the puppet trio couldn't help but look at Rasa with surprise.
However, Rasa didn't care about the expressions of the three puppets, nor did he offer any explanation.
He has now focused his attention on Kōki is not far away.
Short in stature and with a youthful face, yet possessing immense strength, such outstanding young geniuses are rare indeed, much like the goal Chiyo had always talked about.
However, just to be on the safe side, let's test the waters first.
Having made up his mind, Rasa first used Gold Dust to send the heavily injured puppet trio to the rear of the Sunagakure battlefield, and then came to Kōki's side.
Without saying a word, he immediately began to control countless Gold Dust Shuriken and hurled them at Kōki.
For Rasa, the best way to probe is to attack.
If it truly is the target Chiyo described, then their strength will naturally be revealed in the upcoming battles.
It doesn't matter if he isn't; he's still a genius ninja of Konoha, so killing the wrong one won't be a big loss.
On the other side, Kōki's expression also turned serious after seeing Rasa make his move. Instead of waiting to Rasa killed, he quickly Hand Seals.
" Earth Release: Earth and Stone Dragon "
A colossal rock dragon roared out of the ground beneath Kōki's feet and soared into the sky.
After circling in the air, it charged towards the Gold Dust Shuriken. Not long after, it collided directly with the Shuriken.
A tremendous crash resounded through the sky, and fragments of rock and Gold Dust continued to fall from the heavens.
Although the rock dragon was enormous and had a hard body, it was still no match for the vast number of Gold Dust Shuriken. After a stalemate, it was eventually smashed into the sky.
The gold Gold Dust Shuriken, having shattered the rock dragon, continued its relentless charge towards Kōki.
Fortunately, the rock dragon had already blocked many of the Gold Dust Shuriken before it shattered, and Kōki easily dodged the remaining Shuriken.
Seeing that Kōki had easily countered his attack, Rasa's eyes revealed a hint of admiration. His excellent judgment and remarkable Chakra control truly made him a genius ninja.
But this only makes it more necessary to nip it in the bud. The admiration in Rasa's eyes quickly turned into ruthlessness. Such a genius ninja must not be allowed to live.
Thinking of this, Rasa waved his right hand, and countless Gold Dust spread towards Kōki. Under Rasa's control, they became claws, sand whips, and sand waves, attacking Kōki continuously.
Faced with this endless barrage of attacks, Kōki initially dodged frantically, but later realized that his constant dodging was just a waste of energy. Unless he eliminated the source of the technique, he would eventually be overwhelmed by these attacks.
After figuring it out, Kōki's Chakra surged, and he leaped backward, widening the distance between himself and Gold Dust.
Then he quickly Hand Seals, puffed out his chest, and spat forward, causing a torrent of water to gush out of his mouth.
" Water Release: Great Exploding Water Shockwave "
The surging water collided with the incoming Gold Dust, and the shockwaves from the collision created a massive sandstorm on the battlefield.
After a brief stalemate, the water flow ultimately prevailed over the Gold Dust, covering Gold Dust and blocking Gold Dust continuous attacks.
Feeling that he was out of danger, Kōki breathed a slight sigh of relief. Rasa's attack was too fierce, but fortunately his Water Release was also quite strong and could limit the Gold Dust.
He remembered that Gold Dust also absorbs water, making it even more difficult to control once it gets wet. That's why he used Water Release to fight; otherwise, he would have had to find another way.
Kōki hadn't expected that Rasa's previous attacks were merely to verify his identity; he wanted to see if Kōki was indeed Sunagakure target this time.
Now that this powerful Water Release technique has been used, Rasa has completely confirmed Kōki's identity. This is because Chiyo had told him many times that the successor of Wood Release was also highly skilled in Water Release in addition to Wood Release.
Having confirmed Kōki's identity, Rasa no longer restrained himself and continued to control the Gold Dust to launch an attack.
However, this attack was much larger in scale, and the power of the techniques was even more astonishing.