The Third Kazekage's face darkened as he stared at Enma, his expression growing increasingly fierce. Unexpectedly, Hiruzen Sarutobi suddenly inhaled sharply and shouted, "Enma, trap him!"
"Understood!" Enma immediately transformed into wooden bars, forming a cage that tightly imprisoned the Third Kazekage. The Third Kazekage was stunned—this was the first time he had seen such a technique.
After observing for a moment, he suddenly felt a wave of scorching heat rushing toward him.
Hiruzen Sarutobi snorted coldly. "Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!" He quickly formed hand seals, leaned back, and unleashed a roaring dragon-shaped flame toward the Third Kazekage.
Rasa's expression changed. "Not good!"
Just as he was about to rush to help, Jiraiya blocked his path, flicking his hair to unleash the Lion's Mane Binding Technique.
His white hair instantly hardened and lengthened, stabbing toward Rasa. Rasa's face darkened as he raised his right hand, summoning a golden shield to block Jiraiya's attack.
Jiraiya wasn't surprised. He grinned and said, "Well, let the older generation settle things among themselves. Us youngsters shouldn't interfere, don't you think?"
"You think? I think you should move!" Rasa gritted his teeth. He was desperate to save his teacher, so why was Jiraiya blocking him?
Jiraiya clicked his tongue and stopped wasting words. He activated Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld, turning the ground beneath Rasa's feet into a muddy swamp.
Rasa's expression twisted in frustration, but he still engaged Jiraiya in battle. For now, Jiraiya handled Rasa with relative ease, as both were disciples of Kage and their strength was roughly equal.
Meanwhile, the Third Kazekage felt the scorching heat closing in. Without forming hand seals, he condensed two iron blades in his hands and slashed backward, cutting a hole in the wooden cage.
He quickly retreated, then raised his right hand, summoning three iron sand shields to block Hiruzen's Fire Dragon Flame Bullet. At the same time, he launched Iron Sand Drizzle and Iron Sand World Method from a distance.
Seeing that his cage-and-fire combo had failed, Hiruzen signaled Enma, who transformed into a staff in his hands.
Hiruzen began spinning the staff rapidly, deflecting all of the Third Kazekage's long-range attacks with a series of clangs.
The two were locked in a stalemate, neither able to gain the upper hand.
"Hiruzen Sarutobi, you damn monkey, your staff skills aren't bad. But just 'not bad' isn't enough."
With that, the Third Kazekage pressed his hands to the ground, channeling chakra through his arms into the earth.
Instantly, iron sand spikes erupted from the ground, thrusting upward. Hiruzen leaped high into the air, then unleashed Fire Dragon Flame Bullet and Water Dragon Bullet simultaneously.
Using the recoil, Hiruzen soared even higher while the two jutsu surged toward the Third Kazekage like twin dragons. The Third Kazekage looked up, then formed his iron sand into an egg-shaped shell, encasing himself completely.
This was his ultimate defense technique. Though called "absolute," it simply had extremely high durability, capable of withstanding most ninjutsu attacks.
The only way to break it was to concentrate an attack on a single point to pierce through.
The two jutsu struck the iron shell but dissipated almost instantly.
Hiruzen snorted. "The Third Kazekage's turtle-shell defense is impressive too. Two jutsu attacks were neutralized so easily."
Hearing this, the Third Kazekage's face darkened. An opening appeared at the top of the iron shell, revealing his furious expression.
He hated being called a turtle. With a roar, he gathered vast amounts of iron sand, forming a massive spike that shot toward Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Hiruzen's pupils contracted. "Fall back!" he shouted. At his command, all Konoha shinobi disengaged from their Suna opponents and retreated swiftly.
Hiruzen glanced at Jiraiya and Rasa's battle, then suddenly swung his staff at Rasa, catching him off guard and forcing him to stumble back. He exchanged a look with Jiraiya, who scratched his head and joined Hiruzen.
The master and disciple formed hand seals simultaneously.
"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!"
"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!"
Instantly, two thick earthen walls rose in succession, blocking the Third Kazekage's furious attack. After casting the jutsu, the two immediately used the Body Flicker Technique to escape.
The massive iron spike struck the first wall, piercing through with concentrated force, but its speed slowed significantly. By the time it hit the second wall, its rotation had weakened, and though it still broke through, it became lodged in the barrier, unable to advance further.
The Third Kazekage panted heavily, his face flushed with rage as he looked toward their position. Seeing his attack embedded uselessly in the wall, he nearly coughed up blood but forced it down.
He had expended so much chakra in that rage-fueled strike, only for it to be neutralized like this. What he didn't know was that Jiraiya's Earth-Style Wall contained traces of natural chakra—otherwise, it might not have held.
The Third Kazekage clutched his chest, glaring at the retreating Konoha forces. His anger burned, and he staggered back two steps. Rasa hurried forward to support him.
"Teacher! Are you alright?" Rasa asked with genuine concern.
The Third Kazekage shook his head and waved him off. "I'm fine. Chase them! Don't let them escape!"
He pointed in the direction Hiruzen's group had fled.
Rasa hesitated. "But—"
"Go! I'll catch up soon!" the Third Kazekage snapped. He then sat down, took a pill from his pouch, swallowed it, and began meditating to recover his chakra.
Rasa glanced at him, a dark glint flashing in his eyes. How dare he yell at me? But he suppressed the thought and bowed.
"Understood!"
He turned to the 5,800 Suna shinobi, his chest swelling with pride.
"Everyone, follow me! This time, we'll make Konoha pay!" Rasa channeled chakra, forming a golden platform beneath his feet. Standing atop it with his arms crossed, he gazed into the distance.
"As you command, Lord Rasa!" The Suna shinobi followed him, charging after the retreating Konoha forces.
Hiruzen and Jiraiya led their troops in a fighting retreat, maintaining just enough distance to keep the enemy engaged without committing to a full battle.
This strange standoff inflated Rasa's confidence. Look at this—Chiyo and Ebizō failed, the Third Kazekage was outplayed, but I'm the one leading our forces against Konoha with almost no losses!
But before he could celebrate, the Third Kazekage caught up and immediately reclaimed command. A realization struck him.
Why is Konoha fighting like this?
"They're trying to stall us!" the Third Kazekage thought.
"Earlier, Konoha had around 6,000 troops, but now only 3,000 remain—all unfamiliar faces, including Hiruzen himself. That means their other 6,000 shinobi aren't here!"
"Not good, this is a trap! Sunagakure is in danger!" The Third Kazekage ordered a full retreat.
At that moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi and his forces suddenly pressed forward aggressively, no longer holding back. They unleashed a barrage of ninjutsu, ruthlessly attacking the retreating Suna troops.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
📖 Like the story? Read 120 chapters ahead!
🔗 patreon.com/atomelectron
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━