Time ticked away, second by second.
Lefiya and Ais had no idea how much time had passed.
All they knew was that from the moment Ryota gave the order, they hadn't stopped moving—not for a single second.
They'd been constantly running, constantly dodging.
Forget landing a hit on that guy—they couldn't even get close!
At this point, the two of them genuinely suspected they'd run across every inch of the Dungeon's first floor.
No matter how many tricks Lefiya and Ais pulled out, the waves of iron sand kept coming at them like they had eyes of their own—wave after wave, relentless and unending.
"Why does this sand feel infinite?!"
Lefiya finally couldn't hold back and let out a protest. Her breathing was ragged from the relentless sprinting.
"Doesn't this guy ever get tired?!"
Ais didn't answer, but her face was already sheened with sweat.
The pressure from the Third Kazekage wasn't just about the sheer amount of iron sand—it was about the suffocating rhythm he imposed.
Whenever she tried to leap, sand would rain down from above.
When she aimed to thrust forward, the sand would cut in from the side.
Everything was too precise. So precise, it didn't even feel like a technique.
It felt more like… a war machine executing a programmed annihilation sequence—calculating a thousand moves ahead and executing with zero emotion.
"Ryota, you bastard…"
Lefiya gritted her teeth, sweat dripping down her forehead.
"…What the hell did you create?!"
From a distance, Ryota watched the two girls panting and still sprinting around the field. His lips curled into a meaningful smile.
But behind that smile, a rare sense of awe stirred in his heart.
The Third Kazekage… really lived up to the legend.
"Sasori of the Red Sand's greatest masterpiece…"
Ryota gave a mental command, his gaze sweeping over the puppet controlling the iron sand, quietly marveling.
"Compared to those puppets that need constant real-time feedback like Karasu, this is on a whole other level."
"It's more like… I just issue a tactical command, and it executes along the optimal path automatically."
Precise. Cold. Mechanized to the extreme.
Third Kazekage was pure war incarnate.
But what surprised Ryota even more wasn't just how smoothly he could control it.
It was that terrifying Kekkei Genkai—Magnet Style.
"Iron sand that ignores terrain, automatically locks down targets, can detonate in controlled areas, comes with its own corrosive damage… Offense, defense, suppression, area denial—it does it all."
"This isn't a hybrid. It's a tactical all-rounder."
The Third Kazekage didn't need emotion or judgment.
Once a target was locked, he would deliver the most efficient strike in the shortest time.
Back in the Naruto world, the real Third Kazekage had a rare constitution—he could refine his Chakra into magnetic force.
That's what allowed him to control iron sand like a living weapon, shifting it into limitless forms for both attack and defense, creating overwhelming tactical control on the battlefield.
The Drizzle, Spear…
Those were just the basics.
What made him truly fearsome was that once the sand infiltrated a living body or puppet structure, it would cause interference—ultimately paralyzing the target completely.
But under Ryota's precise control, the Third Kazekage mostly focused on sealing off escape routes.
If Ryota let him fully unleash his usual combat style, tens of thousands of iron sand needles wouldn't just be chasing them—they'd already be lying flat on the ground.
"I can't actually let you two get hurt, you know."
Ryota chuckled softly, then twitched his fingers.
The Third Kazekage received his command, forming rapid hand seals. The iron sand around him churned again.
"Magnet Style: Iron Sand Spear."
Boom—!
The iron sand, like a tide beneath their feet, suddenly surged upward.
The airborne sand spun and condensed at high speed, forming a massive triangular pyramid in just seconds.
Zzzzz—!
The sharp edges of the pyramid tore through the air with an ear-piercing screech.
Lefiya looked up sharply, her pupils contracting as she saw the enormous black pyramid looming overhead.
"What the hell is that?!"
"There's more attacks?!"
"Wasn't it just needles?!"
In front of her, Ais finally looked up too. Her clear golden eyes lit up with battle intent.
She gripped her sword and murmured softly:
"Awaken."
Her Quick Chant—Ariel—activated instantly.
Countless buffs wrapped around Ais.
Her aura skyrocketed, and then she leapt into the air, becoming a streak of silver light!
Thud—
A heavy impact sounded.
Ais's Feather's Echo struck the very center of the pyramid with pinpoint accuracy.
But… nothing happened.
No shattering. No recoil. Not even a ripple.
The massive iron sand construct floated above her like an immovable sky, cold and indifferent.
Ais landed silently, sword tip grazing the ground.
She stood there in a daze for a few seconds.
In that moment, the Loki Familia's ace—the Sword Princess of Orario, the prodigy girl—felt something she'd never known before.
A flicker of despair.
I can't beat this. I really can't.
Nearby, Lefiya was frozen in place.
She had just watched Ais leap up, land a full-power strike on that looming iron pyramid—and not even make it tremble.
"..."
"AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!"
The elf girl collapsed onto the ground, hugging her staff and screaming.
"What the hell is this?!"
"This is just bullying us!!!"
Her eyes went red with frustration. This unwinnable "fight" had pushed Lefiya to her emotional limit.
"Ryota, you liar! You said we were exploring the Dungeon, but really—you just wanted to watch us get stomped!!!"
She waved her staff like the pyramid was something Ryota had personally thrown at her.
Meanwhile, Ryota just chuckled, completely unfazed by the dumb elf's outburst.
"Oops. Guess I've been found out."
His goal had already been achieved.
Throughout this entire suppressive trial, he'd fully mastered the control rhythm and output cadence of the Third Kazekage.
Now he had a much clearer grasp of this puppet's battlefield potential.
With his task complete, it was time to give the two girls a little reward.
"Since you both stuck it out this long—"
"Let me give you some help!"
The moment his words fell—
Click—
A subtle sound came from the shadow behind him.
Then, the shadow rippled as if something was pushing it open.
In the next second, a tall figure stepped silently from the darkness.
Ajisai, the female Path of the Beast, approached Ryota, knelt on one knee, and bowed her head.
"Master."
In that instant, Ais and Lefiya's eyes widened in shock.
"Th-this is…"
Lefiya shot to her feet. She could sense it—this wasn't a monster, nor an adventurer, nor an ordinary puppet.
It was a different kind of existence entirely—deeper, more complex.
Ais tilted her head slightly. Whatever Lefiya sensed, she could feel too.
"So… strange."
Unlike the Third Kazekage's cold, mechanical calm, this woman's aura made her heart race.
It wasn't killing intent. It wasn't suppression.
It was the sensation of her very soul being stared at.
And the most shocking part—
That woman's eyes glowed red, exactly like Ryota's.
Ryota spoke softly.
"This is my other partner—Ajisai."
After the introduction, he glanced at the kneeling Animal Path.
She instantly received her master's tactical intent.
She lifted her head, formed rapid hand seals, and whispered:
"Summoning Jutsu: Giant Drill-Beaked Bird."
With a sudden palm strike to the ground, a plume of white smoke exploded in front of her.
Whoosh—
The fog was torn apart by an updraft.
A massive, gray-feathered bird with a menacing aura burst from the mist, circling once in the air before landing precisely in front of Ais.
"!!!"
Ais instinctively reached for her sword—but the bird didn't attack.
Instead, it bowed slightly, signaling for her to mount.
But Ajisai wasn't done. Her hands formed seals again.
"Summoning Jutsu: Giant Panda."
A sudden rushing sound came from overhead. A massive gray-white stone panda dropped from the sky like a conjuring trick.
Boom—
It landed heavily in front of Lefiya, kicking up rubble and dust, then spread its arms wide, shielding her completely.
The elf girl froze, lips slightly parted, staring blankly at the hulking creature in front of her.
Meanwhile, Ais gazed at the bird bowing its head, her expression complicated—shock, caution, and a flicker of… excitement.
"This is…"
Ryota's voice drifted into their ears.
"Ais, ride it."
"Lefiya, focus on chanting."
Both girls blinked.
But as seasoned expedition veterans, they only hesitated for a second before snapping into action.
Ais tapped her toes and landed smoothly on the Giant Drill-Beaked Bird's back.
With a flap of its gray wings, the bird let out a resonant cry and shot into the sky.
Wind whipped at her face, golden hair streaming behind her—it was her first time fighting from the air.
On the ground, protected by the Giant Panda, Lefiya finally stopped running.
She raised her Forest's Teardrop staff, magic gathering at its tip.
"Unleashed streak of light, bow limbs of the holy tree. You are an expert of the bow"
"Shoot, sniper of the fairies."
"Penetrate, arrow of absolute accuracy!"
The moment the chant ended—
Shoo—!!!
A searing white light arrow shot toward the Third Kazekage.
At the same time, high above, Ais and the bird dove from the sky.
"Strike like the wind!"
She kicked off the bird's back, Feather's Echo gleaming as she plunged downward.
Ais chose to attack in perfect sync with Lefiya's arrow.
The Third Kazekage, of course, detected the coordinated assault.
Chakra surged within him, iron sand rising like a wave to form a shield.
But the moment he raised his hands—the arrow struck first.
BOOM!!!
An explosion rocked the field. The half-formed iron sand shield shattered under Lefiya's Arcs Ray, leaving a crack wide open.
Ais seized the moment, diving through the gap.
Slash—!!!
Feather's Echo slashed hard, striking the edge of the Kazekage's shoulder.
Skrrt skrrt skrrt—
The cold, mechanical puppet staggered back several steps.
Though she hadn't broken through the iron sand armor completely, it was the first time they'd forced that "moving battlefield" to reveal an opening.
That strike marked the completion of Ryota's "mission."
Ais landed silently, eyes lifting to watch the bird still circling above.
The wind had died down, the magical currents faded.
But her thoughts refused to settle.
Sure, they'd "completed the task."
But Ais knew—the credit didn't belong to her.
It was the bird, the panda.
It was Ryota's summoned tactical weapons, things she'd never heard of before.
She had merely stood atop the monster Ryota constructed—that's what let her land the blow.
A swirl of emotions welled up in her chest, too complicated to untangle.
Footsteps approached. Lefiya ran over, standing beside her.
Neither of them spoke. Neither of them looked at the other.
They just stared at the Third Kazekage, who had steadied himself after being forced back, and at the bird flying far and then circling back.
That feeling was hard to describe.
Moments ago, no matter how hard they tried, they couldn't even touch him.
Now, with just two of Ryota's summons, they'd done it easily.
It wasn't bitterness. It wasn't envy.
It was a kind of tightness in the chest, a thousand words stuck in the throat.
Maybe it was about recognizing the gap.
Maybe it was awe at Ryota's mysterious "power system."
Or maybe… they were wondering:
What would it be like to fight alongside Ryota for real?
Silence stretched between them.
But it wasn't hollow silence—it was a quiet filled with the weight of emotion neither could put into words.
After a long while, Lefiya finally whispered:
"Geez…"
"How many trump cards do you still have up your sleeve, Ryota?"