Chapter 41: Rasa vs. Yage and Ansui
Soon, the group arrived at the location of the wooden box.
After dispelling the sealing jutsu and a quick comparison, they were overjoyed to find that the two children inside were indeed their mission targets.
Although all four of them felt that there was something strange about this, no matter what conspiracy the enemy had, they couldn't possibly abandon the children.
Just then, they suddenly felt a slight tremor in the ground. And as time passed, the shaking became more and more obvious.
After a moment of silence, Ansui suddenly said to Kyosuke, "Snake, you and Rei protect the children and return to the village. Yage and I will stay behind to cover our retreat."
Hearing this, Rei opened her mouth to object, but when she saw the scene behind them, the words died in her throat.
A "sand wave" tens of meters high, composed entirely of gold dust, was rushing toward them with overwhelming force. The wave swept over countless trees and boulders, which all vanished without a trace. The ground's earlier vibrations had been caused by this.
Seeing this, Kyosuke knew that an opponent of this level was completely beyond his current ability to handle. So, like the silent Rei, he could only nod to Ansui and Yage before turning and quickly leaving.
Ansui withdrew his gaze from their retreating backs and turned to Yage with a smile. "They'll make it back to Konoha safely, right?"
Yage looked at the approaching "tidal wave," his right hand resting on the hilt of his sword. He replied with a laugh, "That's not a given."
"So..."
"We have to finish off the enemy quickly and then go protect them!"
Damn it, Black Zetsu, what other schemes do you have? Kyosuke thought, suppressing the unease in his heart as he and Rei ran toward the Land of Rain.
He had a feeling that Black Zetsu wouldn't let them go so easily. He must have other plans.
And this place was too far from Konoha. There were too many opportunities for accidents to happen along the way. So, after a brief discussion with Rei, they decided to head toward the Land of Rain.
There, a Konoha ninja unit led by Orochimaru was stationed. Only by reaching that place would they be truly safe.
But even this, Kyosuke felt, was not enough of a guarantee. If Black Zetsu was truly determined to plot against them, no matter how they hid, they couldn't possibly escape his pursuit.
So, he used the Summoning Technique again, briefly described his current situation, and then dismissed the small snake, sending it back to Ryuchi Cave.
This way, Orochimaru would be informed of his situation immediately and could rush to their aid. This was a method the two of them usually used to communicate about their experiments. He never thought it would become his lifeline.
But even if Orochimaru rushed here at full speed, it would take at least half a day for them to meet up. And in that half a day, the two of them would be in the most danger.
An attack could happen at any moment.
"Water Release: Water-Spiraling Bullets!"
With Ansui's roar, the countless water droplets floating in the air suddenly shot toward Rasa like bullets.
This Water Release technique was one of the Second Hokage's specialties. It had been a reward from Danzō after he completed a certain S-rank mission.
Faced with Ansui's overwhelming attack, Rasa simply smiled faintly and then enveloped his entire team in layers of gold dust.
Although the defensive gold dust cracked in many places, it ultimately managed to block the ninjutsu.
It had to be said that in terms of defense, the gold dust was much, much stronger than Gaara's sand. If it had been Gaara here, he would never have been able to completely block this attack with just a single layer of sand.
However, although the defensive power of the gold dust was far superior to that of sand, its controllability and agility were much worse. Especially against ninja who specialized in speed, its weakness was fully exposed.
For example... Yage, who had now rushed in front of Rasa.
"Konoha-Style Sword Technique... Willow!!!"
As Yage's ninja sword swayed, countless sword afterimages appeared in the air, looking like floating willow branches.
At the same time, his figure flickered and then completely vanished.
Rasa and his men looked at the swaying willow branches above their heads. Their minds wavered for a moment, and then they suddenly snapped back to their senses.
But that single moment of distraction was enough for them to become souls under Yage's blade.
Except for... Rasa, who had luckily escaped thanks to his Armor of Sand.
"You... are very good," Rasa said coldly, controlling the gold dust to swarm toward Yage.
Normally, with Yage's speed, he would have paid no mind to such an attack. Even if he couldn't get close to Rasa, it wouldn't be difficult to escape.
But today, he had already used this stamina-draining technique twice. Now, due to a lack of stamina, his evasion was a step too slow, and he was unexpectedly hit by Rasa's attack.
Seeing this, Rasa mercilessly unleashed his ninjutsu.
"Magnet Release... Shattered Glass."
The gold dust enveloping Yage suddenly compressed inward with incredible force, crushing his body.
"Aaaah!!!" Yage's screams echoed through the deep forest, making Ansui, who was preparing his own ninjutsu, grit his teeth.
Unfortunately, Ansui's ninjutsu still required some preparation time, so he could only harden his heart and ignore his comrade's screams. This particular jutsu was still quite taxing for the current Ansui to use.
Finally, after a little while longer, his ninjutsu was ready.
As Ansui released his jutsu, a rising current of water suddenly shot up from beneath Rasa's feet, sending him flying high into the air.
At the same time, below Rasa, a massive water vortex was slowly forming...
"Wait," Rei, who was running, suddenly stopped.
She also waved for Kyosuke to stop and handed him the wooden box she was carrying, much to his confusion.
Seeing her action, Kyosuke's heart sank.
Just as he was about to ask, the figure that appeared in front of them made him swallow his words.
Scorch Release... Pakura! Kyosuke thought to himself. At the same time, he pushed the box behind him and prepared to face the strong enemy alongside Rei.
"You go first. If you stay here, she'll kill you," Rei said without turning her head, her eyes fixed on the enemy.
"Heh, if I just leave, you'll be the one to die," Kyosuke said with a laugh. He then looked at the silent enemy in front of them. "Besides, she's not Rasa. She's not strong enough to make me run."
"...Tsk, tsk, if your skills were half as good as your mouth, we wouldn't have to be running today," she said after a moment of silence, taking another jab at him.
"..." Kyosuke looked at Pakura seriously, pretending not to hear Rei's words.
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