"With just that little chakra, the sand soldier I created is already comparable to a chunin."
"And with my current chakra reserves, how many sand soldiers like this could I make at the same time?"
"At least three hundred."
The number sounded enormous.
But Rasa couldn't help thinking of the Third Raikage fighting ten thousand Iwagakure shinobi alone and killing over a thousand of them…
And of Naruto Uzumaki's overwhelming number of Multi Shadow Clones, even without using the Nine-Tails' chakra and relying only on his Uzumaki vitality.
"Still, I can't compare them directly."
"Three hundred chunin-level sand soldiers is already terrifying. After all, these are not flesh-and-blood bodies, and they aren't shadow clones either. They're sand soldiers."
"Let's test what happens if I use more chakra."
"Sand Soldiers Arise!"
A new sand soldier appeared.
Compared to the one beside it, this one was clearly taller, and its armor and clothing were much more finely detailed.
"This one is comparable to an ordinary jonin."
"But it also consumes much more chakra, so I can't make nearly as many."
"Compared with the chunin-level sand soldiers, each has its own battlefield use."
Rasa waved a hand, and both sand soldiers dispersed.
But his testing was not yet over.
"Sand Soldiers Arise!"
The next instant, a sand soldier far larger and more refined than the previous two appeared.
This one had reached the upper limit of Sand Soldiers Arise.
Half of Rasa's own strength.
"One-sixth."
"With only one-sixth of my chakra, I can create a sand soldier with half my own strength."
Using a simple numerical comparison—
If his own combat power counted as one full unit of Kage-level strength, with a battle duration of one hour,
Then under the maximum use of Sand Soldiers Arise, the result would become this—
One full Kage-level unit, plus five half-Kage units, sustained for fifteen minutes.
"And that isn't even a simple addition."
"When ninja can coordinate properly, one plus one can become greater than two."
"These five half-Kage units are all my sand soldiers. I control them like my own limbs."
"There will be no coordination problems at all."
"They naturally possess perfect teamwork."
The sand soldier vanished.
Rasa turned and looked back toward Sunagakure, his chest unconsciously straightening a little more than before.
"Among the Kage, my strength could only be considered average."
"If Kage-level strength were divided into upper, middle, and lower tiers, then before this, I'd have been lower-tier."
"But now, things are different."
"With this S-rank ninjutsu, my strength has risen considerably."
A powerful ninjutsu could bring a qualitative leap to a ninja's strength.
Minato Namikaze, for example, relied on Flying Thunder God Technique to flash across battlefields, even facing the Fourth Raikage and Killer B without falling into disadvantage.
"Sand Soldiers Arise is the same."
"Even among S-rank ninjutsu, it's in no way inferior."
Then Rasa took out another ninjutsu scroll.
[Wind Release: Vacuum Bullet Technique.]
His expression became slightly strange.
"Another one of Danzo's techniques."
"That makes three now."
"With Sand Soldiers Arise in hand, this Wind Release technique won't help my strength much. But since I got it, I might as well learn it."
"At the very least, it'll make shifting blame onto Danzo even smoother."
"With my talent in Wind Release, it won't take long."
Rasa opened the scroll and read it carefully.
Not long after, he rolled it back up.
Vacuum Wave, Vacuum Blade, and Vacuum Bullet all came from the same Wind Release branch.
That meant that with Vacuum Wave and Vacuum Blade already learned, mastering Vacuum Bullet would come much more naturally.
Rasa closed his eyes and carefully ran through it in his mind.
Soon, he opened them again.
He formed hand seals.
"Wind Release: Vacuum Bullet Technique!"
In the next moment, a tiny invisible sphere shot out like a bullet at astonishing speed.
It hit the sand ahead and blasted a hole right through it.
"Fast, powerful, and hard to see."
"It's a bit similar to the Second Mizukage's Water Gun Technique, though the power should differ."
"Very good for sneak attacks."
Rasa took a deep breath.
"Wind Release: Vacuum Bullet Technique!"
This time, not one bullet shot out, but a rapid stream of them.
If the first one had resembled a pistol—
Then this was a machine gun.
A torrent of invisible bullets poured out, turning the patch of sand in front of him into something like a sieve.
When Rasa returned to the Kazekage Building, he stood by the window and looked toward the direction of the Akayama Clan compound.
"Before, my strength was limited, and the village's condition was too poor. Even after learning of the Akayama Clan's crimes, for the sake of the village, I could only move slowly."
"But now, things are different."
"I already possess the power to eliminate the Akayama Clan."
"If that's the case, then there's no need to delay."
Rasa gave an order.
An ANBU shinobi swiftly left.
Before long, Ebizo and Akayama Lie arrived at the Kazekage's office.
"Kazekage-sama."
"Kazekage-sama."
Rasa looked at the two of them.
"I've already decided how to handle the Akayama Clan."
"We move tonight."
Ebizo sighed.
"There really is no other choice. After all, the village's condition truly is terrible…"
Then suddenly, Ebizo realized what Rasa had said, and his eyes widened.
"Kazekage-sama, what did you say?"
"Tonight?"
Alarm immediately appeared on his face.
"Kazekage-sama, I know the Akayama Clan's actions are unforgivable. Selling out the village is a crime beyond pardon."
"But with the village already in such a bad state, forcing a confrontation with the Akayama Clan could cause serious problems!"
Rasa shook his head.
"I've already thought it through. And I'm confident."
"Ebizo. Akayama Lie. I need your cooperation."
Ebizo hesitated, but still asked, "Kazekage-sama, what exactly do you intend to do?"
Rasa said, "We've been investigating the Akayama Clan. The Akayama Clan must already have sensed something."
"The village no longer matters to them. Once they realize we are about to move against them, they will have two choices."
"One choice is for the entire clan to flee."
"The other is to kill me and seize the position of Kazekage."
"I need you to help push them toward the second choice."
"I'll deliberately create an opening. An opportunity for me to appear isolated. That should lure the Akayama Clan's elite ninja into attacking me."
"As for those remaining inside the Akayama Clan compound, Ebizo, that part will be yours."
Ebizo hesitated again.
"Kazekage-sama, the Akayama Clan may not take the bait. And if you arrange for ANBU to hide nearby, their sensor ninja will detect them."
Rasa shook his head again.
"There will be no ANBU."
"It'll be me alone."
"Alone?"
Ebizo's pupils contracted sharply.
"How could that possibly work?"