Rasa had something to say, but he wasn't sure if he should.
Why were these Rock ninja chasing only him?
Was the title of "Third Kazekage's disciple" really that much of a hate magnet?
Weren't the other ninja villages spreading rumors that Rasa, the Third Kazekage's disciple, was mentally broken and unstable?
Was it really okay for these guys to chase a supposed lunatic like this?
After realizing that most of the Rock Village's Jonin and Chunin were coming after him, Rasa noticed… the Sand ninja back there were actually the safest!
[What the hell?!]
Rasa sighed lightly, glancing at the Rock ninja relentlessly pursuing him, feeling his chakra steadily draining.
[These guys… they're trying to kill me!]
No way he'd let that happen!
He eyed the impure gold dust under his control. [I wonder if this can be cashed in?]
The moment the thought crossed his mind—
[Yes, but the exchange rate is only 60%!]
The voice that had appeared when his "golden finger" system activated spoke again.
Sixty percent? That transaction fee was outrageous!
Even if it was impure gold dust, he'd worked hard to pan it~
But at a time like this…
[Exchange it!]
As soon as the thought formed, the system interface showed he'd gained 99 ryō.
"…"
A few tons of gold dust for that little money?
Did the system mess up the math?
All the gold dust under his feet and used for defense… exchanged for just 99 ryō?
Was he getting scammed?
But after a moment's thought, he realized this was a desert. If the gold content were high, it wouldn't be a barren wasteland.
Rasa sighed, shook his head, and muttered, "When you think about it, I've got it pretty tough."
Panning such a small amount of gold dust in this vast desert to support the entire village…
What a massive undertaking~
Looking at the measly ryō balance, still not enough for a lottery draw, he hurriedly gathered another pile of gold dust under his feet. Then, in front of the wary and confused Rock ninja… he kept running!
"What… is he doing?" a Rock ninja asked, blinking in confusion as Rasa dispersed his chakra and then gathered it again.
[Is there some kind of plot here?]
Sure, this supposedly unhinged Sand ninja was tough, drawing them away to let his village's ninja survive. The Rock ninja respected him as a man for that, but…
He still had to die!
As the Third Kazekage's disciple, he was the likely candidate for the next Kazekage.
Killing him would be a devastating blow to the Hidden Sand Village!
So…
"Keep chasing!" the Rock ninja commander ordered.
Instantly, the desert became the stage for a bizarre scene.
One man rode a wave of gold dust in the lead, pursued by a horde of Rock ninja. But whenever Rasa dispersed his gold dust and paused, the Rock ninja didn't dare act rashly.
[These guys… they're the ones with mental problems!]
Rasa, having exchanged another batch of gold dust, looked speechlessly at the Rock ninja cautiously watching him from a distance.
He'd stopped, yet they didn't dare approach.
So why were they chasing him so relentlessly?
Did they think catching him would get them a prize or something?
Catching his breath, he pulled out a small blue bottle—one of the items he'd drawn with Yekura's 100,000 ryō. It restored 100 chakra per second, enough to sustain a shadow clone or so, for about a minute.
It was part of a set of twelve bottles.
Sighing, he glanced at the Rock ninja, who still weren't charging. Ignoring them, he activated his Magnet Release again. When the gold dust was ready, he exchanged it, but to the Rock ninja, it looked like he was simply dispersing his chakra.
Gather, disperse, gather, disperse, gather, disperse, chug a potion…
He repeated the cycle.
"There's a plot! There's definitely a plot here!" a short Rock ninja with a mustache pointed at Rasa, his face screaming [I've seen through it]. "Dispersing chakra and gathering it again? This Third Kazekage's disciple is trying to lure us in!"
"Makes sense! That's what I think too. Otherwise, what ninja would waste time like this?" another agreed.
"Can't you see that?" the Rock ninja commander snapped impatiently. "This weird scene screams conspiracy no matter how you look at it!"
Did they think he'd become commander through nepotism?
But…
"What's the conspiracy? Are we just going to stand here and watch?" he asked.
"Uh…" The other Rock ninja exchanged glances.
After a moment—
"Why don't we wait until he burns through his chakra? Wasting it like this, he can't keep it up forever," one suggested.
"Good idea!" The commander nodded, then pointed at the ninja who spoke, glaring coldly. "You! Yes, you! Go test what kind of plot he's cooking up!"
"…"
The chosen Rock ninja froze, looking at his comrades and then at the commander. "Sir, I…"
"Go, now!" the commander barked.
With a cold huff from the commander, the ninja reluctantly ran forward.
"You think I'm an idiot?" the commander muttered, watching the ninja's back, then snorted again. "Keep an eye on him. Be ready to support if anything goes wrong!"
Where were they?
This was the Land of Wind's territory! Sure, it was all sand and desolation, but it was still the Hidden Sand Village's domain. Staying too long could lead to unexpected trouble.
Wait any longer?!
They'd come here for two reasons: to confirm the Third Kazekage's disappearance and to probe the Land of Wind's strength to see if the Rock Village could seize an advantage. But they hadn't expected…
To get so lucky and run into the Third Kazekage's disciple.
As the commander looked up, watching the ninja he'd sent approach Rasa—
The disciple gathered his chakra again… and ran off!
"Chase him! I want to see what kind of plot he's got!" the commander shouted after a stunned pause, his face twisted with determination.
"He's planning something big. One Rock ninja getting close won't make him reveal his secret weapon."
But what was that secret weapon?
A siege treasure? An environmental destroyer… the One-Tail, maybe?
Or some secret weapon the Rock Village hadn't heard about?
[This needs to be noted. The other Rock ninja must be warned.]
And so, the desert became the stage for another… merry chase scene.
"These guys… they've got to be brain-damaged~" Rasa sighed, shaking his head as he continued exchanging gold dust, glancing curiously at the Rock ninja chasing but not daring to get close.
"What do they even want?"
Of course…
He only wondered for a moment. After exchanging another batch of gold dust from under his feet, Rasa's eyes welled with tears. "Finally enough for one draw?!"
It wasn't easy!!!
(End of Chapter)