Regarding the assassination of the Fourth Kazekage, Amane had been thinking about it for a long time. If Orochimaru needed her, would she do it?
The final answer she reached was yes.
In the original work, it was precisely the mission to assassinate the Fourth Kazekage that greatly accelerated the deterioration of Kimimaro's illness.
Although Amane's relationship with Kimimaro wasn't particularly close, they weren't complete strangers either; otherwise, she wouldn't have considered treating his illness.
Most importantly, if Rasa didn't die, the plan would indeed be difficult to carry out.
Amane hid in the shadows, her fingertips occasionally brushing over the scabbard of her newly acquired kusanagi sword. Meanwhile, her Kagura Minds Eye strictly monitored every movement around the approaching Orochimaru and Rasa.
Only three people were carrying out this assassination mission: herself, Orochimaru, and his secretary, Kabuto.
Considering Kimimaro's personality, Orochimaru had sent him away on another mission long before this one began.
If Kimimaro knew he had been excluded, he would likely become depressed.
On the surface, Rasa only brought two Jonin with him. However, through her Kagura Minds Eye, Amane had already detected no fewer than twenty Anbu hidden in the shadows.
While Orochimaru and Rasa began their conversation, Amane silently memorized everyone's positions and began her preparations.
Once the battle started, Kabuto's primary targets would be the two Jonin beside the Kazekage. Amane's main task was to ensure that not a single person escaped.
So, how should she do it? The answer, naturally, was Barrier Ninjutsu.
Back when Amane first arrived, she had already created four Shadow Clones to hide nearby; now was the time to choose their positions.
As expected, she encountered some minor trouble: there were certain spots where the Anbu were lying in ambush that she couldn't bypass.
If she forcibly expanded the Barrier's range, Amane's Chakra reserves could certainly sustain it. However, considering the possibility of fighting a Kage-level expert later, she chose assassination instead.
Speaking of assassination, Amane didn't want to rely on ghostly footwork to get close and slit throats anymore.
Compared to the Ninja of the Hidden Grass Village, any single Anbu here was skilled enough to be an elite of that Village.
For this, she needed some higher-level tricks.
Summoning Jutsu!
Amane gestured toward the positions of those troublesome Anbu, then maintained her Kagura Minds Eye perception and began to watch the show.
Under the observation of the Kagura Minds Eye, several snake-shaped Chakra entities were currently crawling at extreme speed onto the necks of the Anbu Amane had pointed out, before biting down.
To the naked eye, however, no snake shadows were visible on those Anbu, and the wounds were just two small red dots, yet their breathing had already stopped.
Ryūchi Cave — Wind Snake.
When she was gathering snakes willing to help her in Ryūchi Cave, Amane hadn't just steamrolled through everything. Although in terms of raw strength, she could defeat anyone except the Three Snake Princesses.
But that was only limited to conventional existences.
If she hadn't possessed the Kagura Minds Eye and been skilled in Wind Release herself back then, she might have been ambushed and killed by these things.
These snakes are invisible to the naked eye, and their movements leave no trace even in sandy terrain. They are born with powerful Wind-natured Chakra; it wouldn't even be an exaggeration to call them lifeforms made of Wind-natured Chakra, allowing them to fly for certain distances.
When they hunt, they use a method similar to injecting venom to "inject" themselves into the prey's body, devouring them along the blood vessels and muscles.
Just now, because of Amane's command, those Anbu were likely killed instantly. Otherwise, given the Wind Snake's nature of playing with its prey, they would have been made to suffer immensely before the snake finally burst through the body to deliver the fatal blow.
This world really has no shortage of strange things.
Amane took her position and quietly began waiting for the battle to officially start.
During this gap, she continued to direct the Wind Snakes to eliminate the Anbu in remote locations who would be difficult to pursue.
Thus, by the time Orochimaru made his move, Amane had already taken out at least half of the Anbu.
Four Violet Flames Formation, activate!
The moment the purple Barrier abruptly rose, Amane's main body didn't hesitate, splitting off eight Adamantine Sealing Chains to pierce into the interior of the Barrier while her hands formed Hand Seals.
Instantly, eight giant chains coated in purple flames extended from within the Barrier, accurately striking the remaining Anbu like venomous snakes.
The scene suddenly became very lively.
The Adamantine Sealing Chains, enchanted by the Four Violet Flames Formation, could inflict terrifying damage upon a single touch, equivalent to violent contact with the Barrier itself.
What was the consequence? Being instantly incinerated into charcoal by the high temperature.
Even if an Anbu tried to resist with Ninjutsu, the Sealing power of the chains themselves was enough to easily dismantle those conventional techniques.
The agile Anbu immediately realized they had to attack the caster.
Fortunately, the structure of this Barrier Ninjutsu pointed clearly to the caster's location. The survivors rushed toward the four corners that formed the Barrier.
Then, they despairingly saw Amane standing outside the Barrier. Despair spread rapidly; the Anbu could only do their best to dodge the strangulation of the chains in the air, hoping the Kazekage's side could resolve their battle quickly.
Some people also gave calm commands, intending to concentrate their forces to support the Kazekage's battlefield. They planned to see if they could use their numerical advantage to temporarily swap the Kazekage out, so he could see if there was a way to break this Barrier.
The Anbu immediately began to divide the labor: one group dealt with the chains in the sky, while the other group worked together to help the Kazekage win.
However, when they couldn't even get close to the Kazekage's battlefield before being easily blown away by the aftershocks of that battle, which was like a majestic golden ocean, they realized how ridiculous their idea was.
Perhaps it had been too long since the last great war; many Ninja had forgotten that a Kage-level and a Jonin are completely different existences.
"Orochimaru! You bastard! I'll @#$%!"
Even from outside the Barrier, Amane could clearly hear Rasa's hoarse, foul-mouthed roar.
His swearing was very crude.
Because Orochimaru had used Edo Tensei to summon the Third Kazekage!
This man, hailed as the strongest Kazekage in history, was also Rasa's mentor. How could he not be enraged by this sight?
The disappearance of the Third Kazekage was Sunagakure's eternal pain and greatest mystery. It was precisely because of this event that Sunagakure was suddenly ambushed by Kumogakure, who simultaneously declared war on the Land of Fire and the Land of Earth, leading to the outbreak of the Third Great Ninja War.
After Rasa took over, Sunagakure's military budget was drastically cut by the Daimyo of the Land of Wind, causing its strength to plummet, and a large number of commissions flowed to Konoha in the Land of Fire.
Could it be... It was as if Rasa had grasped some terrible "truth" in his mind, but the prerequisite for everything was... he had to survive here today!
However, at this moment, his famous Gold Dust manipulation technique was being completely suppressed by the Third Kazekage. After all, Magnet Release was something the Third had invented and then taught to him.
Worse still, Edo Tensei did not require the caster to continuously maintain it. This meant Orochimaru himself was a free Kage-level combatant.
His two close Jonin attendants had initially been able to fight on equal terms with Yakushi Kabuto, but by now they had all died at Orochimaru's hands.
Added to that was this lethal outer Barrier that wouldn't even let a signal through.
It only took an instant for Rasa to realize that he had to find a way to break Amane's Barrier, or the consequences would be unthinkable!
But he was pinned down by the Third Kazekage's Edo Tensei body and had no time to deal with that purple flame Barrier, even though he wasn't without options.
[I must seize an opening and manipulate the Gold Dust beneath her feet! Pull her into the Barrier's range or make her touch her own Barrier to bring about her own destruction!]
Thinking of this, Rasa decided that even if he had to take a heavy blow, he would first deal with Amane and then escape without hesitation!
Just as he was preparing to make a desperate gamble.
Before his eyes, behind the Third Kazekage's Edo Tensei body, a figure appeared. A red-haired girl, seemingly about the same age as Gaara.
She held a short blade, with purple eyeshadow adorning the area around her eyes, and was quietly watching him with a smile from across the fighting Third Kazekage.
Then, with a speed that seemed incredibly slow yet was terrifyingly fast, she gave him a gentle swing.
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