Rasa furrowed his brow, clearly not understanding what Kaede meant as he asked,
"…What preparation time?"
Kaede slowly withdrew the crackling lightning that had gathered along his Kusanagi sword and calmly sheathed it. He then looked at Rasa and the others with a steady gaze.
"Of course, I'm giving you time to prepare to stop me. I'll attack again soon."
This statement caused Rasa and the others to narrow their eyes sharply, a strange mix of disbelief and disbelief flooding their minds.
What is this?
What does he mean by that?
Preparation time to stop him... Has he lost his mind? This is Sunagakure, one of the five great shinobi villages, not some weak little place like Amegakure!
Rasa's expression darkened as thoughts raced through his mind. He said gravely,
"You're trying to draw our attention. So you're not alone, someone else is attacking from another direction. Which side could it be?"
The only clear purpose Rasa could sense in Kaede's move was to apply pressure, to hold them here, meaning there had to be more going on.
Could it be an attempt to strike at their jinchūriki?!
In the rush of thoughts, Rasa gritted his teeth but found no immediate counter. The immense pressure Kaede was putting on them was undeniable.
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"
A large number of shinobi surged forward, mostly Jōnin and elite Jōnin, gripping weapons tightly or already forming hand seals in preparation.
Kaede glanced at the steadily growing crowd of Sunagakure shinobi gathering before him, then looked at Rasa.
"You seem to think I'm more cunning than I actually am. But it doesn't matter. I do want you all to gather here… So, are you ready?"
No one answered.
The atmosphere froze instantly, tense to the point of suffocation.
At that moment, a cold gleam flashed in Rasa's eyes. He made a decision, no matter if others tried to sneak attack from elsewhere, he wouldn't care. Only by gathering the full force here and crushing Kaede could they deal with any other threat.
"Attack!"
Rasa's shouted shattered the silence.
At the sound, countless prepared hand seals simultaneously unleashed a barrage of jutsu, earth style, Wind Release, Fire Release, engulfing Kaede's position. The explosion was deafening, like countless cannons firing on the same spot, shaking the very earth.
"Did it hit?"
Amid the chaos, a shinobi nervously asked.
Nearby, a sensor ninja strained to pinpoint Kaede's exact location without a moment's rest. His eyes widened in shock.
"He's still standing there!"
"He can't move."
Rasa opened his hands toward Kaede coldly and said,
"Don't underestimate your opponent just because of lightning speed. You're facing the Kazekage of Sunagakure!"
Rasa was faster than anyone else, and as soon as he gave the order to attack, he had already enveloped Kaede's feet in hardened sand, sand tougher than steel, locking him in place.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The continuous explosions finally subsided.
"Bound by the Kazekage and having endured such an attack... he should be nothing but ashes by now."
A shinobi muttered gravely.
Those nearby relaxed slightly but still remained cautious. After all, this was the legendary Silver Flash, they didn't expect him to be defeated so easily.
Everyone stared at the dust-covered center of the blast.
Then, suddenly, including Rasa himself, everyone's expressions froze.
A flicker of lightning appeared in the center of the dust cloud, crackling softly.
As the dust settled, Kaede stood there bathed in silver light, arms calmly folded before him, unmoving.
But there wasn't a single scratch on him, no torn fabric, no damage at all.
Sunagakure's shinobi, Rasa included, were all stunned beyond belief.
How could such an overwhelming attack be completely ineffective?!
"Impossible…"
"He hasn't moved an inch. The sensor ninja says he never left the same spot!"
One of the sensor ninjas spoke in disbelief and terror.
In everyone's shocked gaze, the sand binding Kaede's feet suddenly dissolved, as if overwhelmed by some strange power.
"What? My sand…"
Rasa's pupils shrank violently. His sand was tougher than steel, almost impossible to break even with a ninja blade.
But Kaede hadn't moved. His sand simply disintegrated, unable to hold together.
"Is this all you've got?"
Kaede slowly opened his eyes and said calmly, "Looks like I overestimated you all…"
He unfolded his arms and stepped toward Rasa, not with any remarkable speed, but with the calm stride of an ordinary man.
A cold sweat dripped down Rasa's forehead. Watching Kaede approach, he clenched his teeth and waved his hands in the air. A huge mass of sand surged to surround Kaede, aiming to trap him completely.
But the instant the sand touched Kaede's body, it crumbled away in chunks, as if his very presence repelled the sand's power.
"Wind Release! Hurricane Slash!"
The captain of Sunagakure's Anbu, standing beside Rasa, shouted and quickly formed hand seals. He slammed his hands on the ground, sending a net of wind blades crashing down toward Kaede.
To everyone's shock and disbelief, the wind blades shattered the moment they touched Kaede's body, just like the sand.
"How can this be…"
"What is up with his body?!"
The Sunagakure shinobi stared wide-eyed.
Earlier attacks had been too chaotic to see exactly how they failed, but now it was clear, the wind blades hit an unyielding barrier on Kaede's body and simply dissipated.
In stunned silence, Kaede calmly met Rasa's gaze and kept walking forward without pause.
He was testing the limits of Sunagakure's defenses.
Testing the power of the Time Domain.
==========
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