As expected, just as he predicted, after unleashing the Time Domain, anything his body touched would be subjected to a reversal of time. This was exactly what had just played out before him.
This ability was somewhat similar to,
Kamui of the Space-Time style!
"This technique... I'll call it Divine Corrosion," Kaede murmured to himself.
A power that erodes everything, breaking down all matter through time's reverse flow, Divine Corrosion!
Unlike Kamui, which merely lets attacks pass through the body, Divine Corrosion causes anything the body touches to dissolve and collapse.
The only limitation was that the target couldn't exist too far back in time. Otherwise, the temporal energy wouldn't be enough to rewind it to before its creation, preventing it from fully disintegrating.
Because of this, its offensive power was somewhat limited.
Even if he expended all his time energy at once, he could only rewind someone's body to how it was twenty years ago. While this meant instant death for ninja under twenty, it was hardly practical.
Instead, its true strength lay in defense. Almost no ninjutsu could affect him, because there was no way to suddenly spit out a raging fireball that had been stored in the mouth for over a decade during battle.
That even applied to Rasa's Magnet Release Gold Dust.
Though that dust was created far in the past, it was gathered and formed by Rasa in mere seconds. Rewinding just a few seconds was enough to dissolve it.
"Double speed, rewind, Time Domain, Rewind Bullets, Divine Corrosion," Kaede muttered in his ability list quietly.
"That's basically the full extent of my time powers for now."
Just as Kaede was summarizing his abilities, Rasa, watching him steadily approach, could no longer contain himself. With a low shout, he slammed his hands together fiercely.
"Magnet Release! Gold Dust Giant Blade!"
Buzz!
A massive surge of gold dust swirled violently, gathering under his control. Above Kaede, it condensed into a giant golden blade, which Rasa swung down with brutal force.
But Kaede, facing this massive strike, casually lifted his head, raised his right hand, and extended just one finger to touch the blade's edge.
"One finger?!"
The nearby sand ninja were stunned, disbelief written all over their faces.
In the gaze of countless onlookers, Kaede's simple finger made contact with the blade's edge.
Buzz!
The gigantic gold dust blade, over five or six meters long, suddenly froze in midair.
Under the disbelieving stares of the sand ninja's Anbu captain and others, the frozen blade trembled as if struck by some terrifying force, and then shattered explosively into dust!
A stunned silence fell over the scene.
Even Rasa, the Fourth Kazekage himself, stood dumbfounded. He had exerted his full strength to maintain the gold dust blade, but it collapsed in an instant.
A single finger had destroyed his Magnet Release Gold Dust Giant Blade. Was Kaede's seemingly fragile body actually a diamond-hard physique surpassing even the Raikage's?
"If that's all you've got, then this ends here," Kaede said, stopping and retracting his finger. He drew his Kusanagi sword once again and cast a cold glance at the increasingly fearful sand ninja.
Though standing below, he gave them the chilling impression of an indifferent force watching from the heavens.
Calmly, he spoke, "Peace forged through war must be built on pain. Only through pain can people truly value peace. So... feel the pain."
"Consider the pain."
"Accept the pain."
"Understand the pain."
Shing!
A silver flash tore through the air, illuminating the battlefield.
The sand ninja, shocked beyond belief, unleashed every jutsu they had to try to stop him. Rasa even quickly joined forces with pre-positioned ninja to form a Magnet Release barrier.
But,
All of it shattered effortlessly before Kaede.
Neither barriers nor seals nor any other jutsu could halt his movement. The silver light swept through the battlefield like an unstoppable force, and wherever it passed, sand ninja bodies shattered, blood spraying as they fell.
"Damn it…"
"Retreat now!"
Even Rasa's eyes filled with shock. He shouted at the retreating ninja to try to bind Kaede with gold dust.
But the gold dust couldn't keep up with Kaede's speed.
If Kaede didn't want to be restrained, the gold dust couldn't touch him.
In moments,
The ninja surrounding Rasa lay slaughtered, top-tier and elite alike could not withstand even a single strike. They didn't even have time to cast substitution jutsu.
Watching this, the distant sand ninja finally broke down. Many began fleeing in all directions, and the Chūnin and Genin dared not approach to assist.
Whoosh!
Nearly all of the ninja around Rasa were wiped out.
Seeing the others flee, only Rasa remained. Kaede's gaze returned to him, and with a flash, Kaede charged forward.
Rasa wanted to escape, but could not. Fearing Kaede's power, he was forced to encase himself in a suit of gold dust armor.
Shing!
Without releasing the Time Domain again or rewinding time, Kaede simply gripped the Kusanagi sword and thrust directly at Rasa.
With the speed of the Fifth Gate of the Eight Gates and the piercing strength of the Raikiri, the sword forcefully tore through Rasa's gold dust armor.
The blade pierced Rasa's shoulder, hurling him backward and pinning him against a large rock not far away. The gold dust shattered along with it.
"Cough… cough…"
Rasa looked at Kaede, terror evident in his eyes.
Kaede stared for a few seconds, then said, "Now, we can talk, Kazekage."
"You… what do you want to talk about…?" Rasa's voice trembled, unsure whether the pain in his shoulder or the fear of facing Kaede and death was worse.
Kaede tilted his head slightly and said, "There's a small town called Rōran on the border of the Wind and Fire Nations. It's basically a country. You should know it… That's my base."
Rasa broke out in a cold sweat.
Kaede gently withdrew his sword and wiped the blood from its blade. "Your people invaded it before, so I came here. I don't want anyone invading it again, whether sand ninja or others. Otherwise, I'll come back for another talk. Understood?"
Rasa, a Kazekage obsessed with power who didn't even trust his own son as a Jinchuriki and repeatedly sent assassins against him, valued life far more than most.
For such a leader, Kaede no longer cared to kill him outright. There was no need, absolute strength could easily control him and the entire Sand Village.
Perfect.
Let Sunagakure be responsible for guarding Rōran.
If it were a stubborn Raikage, then killing would be the only option, since he lacked Uchiha Madara's Sharingan to control the opponent.
If Kaede wiped out Sunagakure and killed the Fourth Kazekage Rasa, many ninja would scatter. He'd either have to stay in Rōran or move Konoha troops to protect it, creating further complications.
This was just right.
Of course,
A scheming ninja like Rasa wouldn't obey quietly. But unless he found a way to deal with Kaede's power or died, he would treasure his life above all.
Judging by Rasa's situation, even if he survived until the Fourth Great Ninja War, he likely wouldn't find a counter to the power Kaede had revealed.
"I… understand…" Rasa trembled, clutching his shoulder wound. A trace of relief stirred within him.
He hadn't expected Kaede to invade Sunagakure on a personal mission rather than on Konoha's orders. Had it been the latter, he'd be dead already!
He truly didn't want to die, not now, after finally becoming Kazekage, after clearing out Chiyo's faction, and finally securing absolute power. Dying now was unacceptable.
"Then I leave it in your hands," Kaede said with a glance before turning and walking away, disappearing into the swirling sands outside the village.
Only when Kaede was gone did Rasa's fear slowly subside. He inhaled deeply, straightened his posture, and looked over the ruined Sand Village.
At the thought of Kaede's overwhelming power,
His body trembled slightly.
"Rōran, huh?"
Rasa took a deep breath, made his decision, immediately consolidated his forces, counted losses, and dispatched an elite unit to protect Rōran.
Any thought of using Rōran to threaten or retaliate against Kaede was dismissed outright.
Such a move would be suicidal.
For now, it was simply not worth considering.
Kaede's power was terrifying, his body nearly impervious to attacks, his speed almost lightning fast, a force no ordinary human ninja could handle!
…
In the 47th year of Konoha.
The silver flash of Konoha, missing for over two years and presumed dead by all major ninja villages, reappeared in the ninja world.
Alone, he invaded Sunagakure, crushing it utterly, slaying countless sand ninja, and severely wounding the Fourth Kazekage Rasa.
The news spread like wildfire.
The entire ninja world erupted in uproar!
==========
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