The moment the lightning touched the floating gold dust around the three Konoha shinobi, it exploded violently.
"Compound Ninjutsu: Flash Bomb!"
In an instant, blazing lightning erupted everywhere.
"What—?!"
The three Konoha shinobi felt their vision ripped away entirely.
The burst of light stabbed into their eyes with searing pain.
Then, in the next moment, they felt something coil around their bodies.
Crack!
A powerful electric current surged into them.
Their bodies stiffened completely.
The nearby sand soldiers closed in at once, raising their spears and thrusting forward.
Puchi!
Puchi!
Puchi!
The three Konoha shinobi collapsed together.
Rasa withdrew his gaze.
"The Byakugan really is too useful."
"No wonder Konoha values it so much. They won't even allow half an eye to leak out."
"But I have the Byakugan too."
"And it's my own Byakugan—stronger than the Hyuga branch family's, and with even greater potential than the main family's, so long as I can obtain more Otsutsuki blood."
With a thought from Rasa, the Byakugan high above vanished and returned to his eye socket.
No one saw the scene because of the glasses.
And while it had been in the air, Rasa had also wrapped it in gold dust.
No one noticed the abnormality of that tiny cluster of sand.
"The more abilities one has, the more strength it really does provide."
"Combined together, the effect becomes completely different."
"Magnet Release. The Thunder Blade. Two S-rank jutsu. The Byakugan."
"And besides that, I still have a fairly decent Wind Release. Danzo's Wind Release techniques really aren't bad."
Suddenly, an ANBU shinobi hurried toward him.
"Kazekage-sama, there's movement on Shirasuna Koichi's side."
Rasa raised a brow.
Then he issued orders to the ANBU behind him.
"Take the surviving Konoha shinobi to the prison and guard them heavily. Interrogate them. Get as much information as you can, by whatever means necessary."
"As for the dead, deal with them however you see fit."
The ANBU nodded.
"Yes, Kazekage-sama."
Rasa's figure flashed and vanished.
When he reappeared, he was already high in the sky.
"Byakugan Surveillance Technique!"
A Byakugan wrapped in gold dust drifted ahead of him.
Rasa kept his own body trailing far behind.
The Byakugan's pursuit range was already considerable, and with the surveillance technique layered over it, it became even greater.
Shirasuna Koichi noticed nothing of Rasa's pursuit.
At that moment, Koichi was racing with all his strength toward a certain point on the border of the Land of Wind.
How was a person supposed to survive after betraying his own village?
Either by fleeing to a place where no one could find him and hiding forever.
Or by defecting to another shinobi village.
Koichi would definitely choose the latter.
Because he still refused to give up.
His hatred for Pakura had already become an obsession. For the sake of that hatred, he had even made enemies of Rasa and Sunagakure and joined forces with Danzo.
His plan was simple. Since things had already come this far, he would join Konoha and borrow its power to take revenge on Sunagakure. Konoha would surely welcome him.
At that moment, a Root shinobi appeared.
"Elder Shirasuna."
"Where is Danzo?"
The instant Koichi saw the Root ninja, he asked urgently.
"Elder Shirasuna, Danzo-sama is already on his way. He'll arrive shortly."
"How long?"
Koichi looked as if he could not wait even a moment.
Then, from not far away, a voice sounded.
"Shirasuna Koichi."
Hearing that familiar voice, Koichi hurriedly turned.
"Danzo, the shinobi you sent were too incompetent!"
he said bitterly.
"I already gave them the perfect opportunity. I brought them into Sunagakure itself. I took a life-risking step in arranging all of this."
"Twelve people."
"Do you know how difficult that was? And in the end, they achieved nothing."
"Forget killing Rasa—they didn't even manage to threaten his wife and children."
"They didn't even injure them."
"I could've done better myself."
Of course, Koichi would never have personally taken the field. If he had, he would never have had the chance to flee Sunagakure.
He said it only to emphasize how useless Danzo's subordinates had been.
"Failed?"
Danzo's expression darkened.
"They didn't kill a single one? Didn't even injure one person?"
"That's impossible!"
"The twelve I sent were handpicked carefully. Working together, they're extremely dangerous. In a surprise attack, even I would take losses against them."
"Let alone just Rasa's wife and children."
"There has to be a problem here."
Danzo looked at Koichi and frowned.
"Shirasuna Koichi… don't tell me your arrangements failed, and you exposed them?"
"Impossible. My arrangements were flawless."
"Or perhaps you exposed them on purpose?"
Koichi's eyes widened.
"Danzo, what do you mean by that? On purpose? What would I gain from exposing them? You know my situation better than anyone. I want nothing more than for Pakura and Rasa to die."
"My daughter and grandson both died because of Pakura."
Danzo shook his head.
"That's hard to say. You are, after all, from Sunagakure."
"If that were true, then why would I still come here to meet you?"
Koichi fell silent for a moment, then lowered his voice.
"Forget it. What's done is done. Those twelve useless shinobi are in the past."
"What matters now is this—I want to make a deal with you. Interested?"
"What deal?"
Danzo's brow twitched.
Koichi's voice turned low and heavy.
"I'll trade every piece of intelligence I possess on Sunagakure to Konoha—in exchange for Konoha organizing an elite infiltration squad to assassinate Pakura near the Sunagakure army."
"You know the value of the intelligence I possess as one of Sunagakure's elders."
"So long as Pakura dies, I will hand over all of it."
Danzo's gaze flickered.
He had to admit it was an enticing proposal.
The intelligence known by an elder was simply too valuable.
It was not something that even dozens—or hundreds—of intelligence shinobi could necessarily gather.
And opportunities like this were incredibly rare.
But killing Pakura would not be easy.
"Difficult, yes. But not impossible."
Danzo looked up.
"Shirasuna Koichi. I, Danzo, accept this deal."
Koichi smiled.
"Good."
The two men extended their hands.
Then—
The previously still ground suddenly rippled like waves on the sea.