Naming a child after a famous figure from the past was a long-standing tradition in Konoha.
Most of the time it was done out of respect.
But not always.
If the Uchiha clan's situation hadn't deteriorated so badly, Hiruzen might have believed Uchiha Fugaku named his second son after Hiruzen's own father purely out of respect.
Now, however, Hiruzen wasn't so sure.
The thought of Fugaku shouting "Sasuke! Sasuke!" at his son every single day made Hiruzen feel strangely uncomfortable.
"I hope Fugaku isn't doing this just to piss me off."
"Otherwise… hmph!"
Hiruzen could feel his temper getting shorter by the day.
He told himself it wasn't his fault. Anyone would be irritable after being hit with this many rumors and accusations.
---
On the other side of the ninja world, Jiraiya stared at the card in his hand, his emotions a tangled mess.
He still wasn't convinced he had truly lost to Rasa.
For one thing, he had never used his trump card—Sage Mode. Jiraiya was certain that if he had gone all out with natural energy, the outcome would have been completely different.
For another, even though he wanted to keep believing in Hiruzen, the flood of rumors and the mounting evidence made him wonder if he really had been sold out.
Jiraiya replayed the fight in his mind.
Rasa had known far too much about his abilities.
And then there was Hizashi's suicide note.
The way Rasa had spoken about it…
"Rasa… did you really make this card out of respect for me?"
"Or are you mocking me? Or trying to drive a wedge between me and my teacher?"
Jiraiya's eyes flickered with doubt.
Suddenly, the toad beside him let out a sharp croak.
A small snake appeared, gave the toad a lazy glance, then slithered up to Jiraiya. It opened its mouth and dropped a small scroll at his feet.
---
"Time to go again."
Rasa watched his system points climb back above three thousand and didn't hesitate.
"Third thirty-draw. Start!"
[Congratulations, Host. You have obtained an F-rank item: one tael of gold.]
...
[Congratulations, Host. You have obtained a C-rank item: Ninjutsu Scroll (Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique).]
...
[Congratulations, Host. You have obtained an A-rank item: Desert Summoning Beast Card.]
Rasa had zero interest in another Fire Style scroll. His eyes locked onto the A-rank reward.
"Desert Summoning Beast Card?"
"The previous summoning cards were either heavy hitters, support types, or tanks… This desert one is new. Wonder what makes it different."
"Only one way to find out."
Rasa took the card outside the village.
"Antlion!"
A massive whirlpool of quicksand opened up.
"Use!"
In the next instant, a streak of light shot out of the card.
A powerful figure burst forth and slammed straight into the Antlion.
"ROAR!"
A rough, aggressive roar echoed across the desert.
The beast landed inside the quicksand.
To Rasa's surprise, the creature moved through the flowing sand with incredible ease, swimming through it like water.
Its body was a sandy yellow color, with grayish-brown armor plates on its back, head, and under its limbs. It was round and bulky, with fierce red eyes and an enormous mouth.
"A hippo?"
Rasa raised an eyebrow.
Seeing that the Antlion wasn't slowing the beast down at all, Rasa decided to test it properly.
"Sand Gold Thunder Cloud!"
A cloud of gold dust formed directly above the hippo. The next second, a storm of lightning rained down.
The bolts struck the creature and actually hurt it. The pain only made the hippo more aggressive. It locked its red eyes on Rasa and charged.
It burst out of the Antlion's range and began swimming through the desert sand like a fish through water—fast, agile, and completely at home.
In the blink of an eye it was right in front of Rasa.
"Magnet Release: Gold Dust!"
A platform of gold dust formed beneath Rasa's feet and lifted him into the air. He looked down at the beast below.
By now Rasa had a pretty good idea what this creature was.
The appearance, the way it moved through sand, and the fact that the lightning hadn't done nearly as much damage as he'd expected…
"Sandstorm Hippo."
"Also known as Hippowdon."
"A Ground-type Pokémon that lives in desert regions. Two meters tall, three hundred kilograms. It can swim through sand at high speed and even dive deep underground!"
"Let's see what you can really do."
Rasa formed a hand seal.
"Sand Soldier Emergence!"
Dozens of sand soldiers appeared, shields and spears at the ready, and charged the hippo from all sides.
The beast didn't flinch.
"Earthquake!"
It stomped the ground. The desert shook violently, sending a massive wave of sand flying into the air and covering the entire area.
What the hippo didn't know was that Rasa's sand soldiers didn't rely on sight—they followed his direct commands. And with the Byakugan active, Rasa could see through the sandstorm like it wasn't even there.
The soldiers struck with perfect accuracy.
The hippo roared in pain and dove underground, only to burst out somewhere else.
"Stone Edge!"
A barrage of sharp rocks launched toward Rasa.
The beast had clearly figured out who its real opponent was, but its aim was off and Rasa was too high up anyway.
Rasa looked down, evaluating.
"Solid defense. Massive terrain advantage in the desert. Offense is average, but its stamina is excellent. It's perfect for hit-and-run and harassment tactics. That sand control ability would pair really well with Sunagakure shinobi."
"Overall… it's at least as strong as the giant bull. Maybe even better."
"Test's over. Time to end this."
Just as the hippo prepared another attack, Rasa's gold dust formed into thick chains that wrapped around all four of its legs.
Then came the Sand Gold Thunder Cloud—far stronger than before.
Lightning poured down in a relentless torrent.
Even though Ground types resisted Electric attacks, this wasn't absolute immunity. Rasa's power far exceeded the beast's, and the gold chains conducted the lightning perfectly, funneling every volt straight into its body.
Black smoke rose from the hippo.
"BOOM!"
It collapsed onto the sand.
The summoning card split into two beams of light.
One sank into Rasa's chest.
The other shot into the hippo's body.
In that instant, Rasa received every piece of information about his new summon.