Rasa understood the Stone of Gelel, but not very deeply.
In the original plot, it had merely been a merchant who gathered some people to analyze and utilize the Stone of Gelel, only to be easily defeated by the younger generation of shinobi.
In other words, Sunagakure's current research into the Stone of Gelel had already surpassed that merchant's.
"Far stronger than an ordinary Stone of Gelel?"
"How strong can it be?"
After completing the operation, Tatsuya came before Rasa and Ebizo.
"Tatsuya, how do you feel?"
"Reporting to Kazekage-sama, I can feel a power inside my body. It is very strong."
"Then display it."
"Yes, Kazekage-sama!"
Tatsuya took a deep breath.
The next moment—
An astonishing aura erupted from his body.
Then Tatsuya's form began to change, swelling at a speed visible to the naked eye.
The human traits on his body grew fewer and fewer.
Until he became a massive creature with three sharp horns growing from his head. His skin hardened into an armor-like state, giving off an extremely oppressive feeling.
"Kazekage-sama, I feel like I'm filled with power right now!"
Tatsuya said excitedly.
Rasa nodded.
"Then let us test it. Attack me."
Tatsuya froze.
"Kazekage-sama, but…"
"There is no need for 'but.' Don't tell me you think you can threaten me? There is no one else in the village who can quickly test your current strength."
"Alright, Kazekage-sama. Then I'm coming!"
"Come."
"Kazekage-sama, please be careful."
The next moment, Tatsuya charged fiercely toward Rasa.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
The ground of the base trembled.
Facing Tatsuya's charge, Rasa had no intention of dodging. He simply raised a hand.
A mass of Gold Dust formed into a shield in front of him.
Bang!
Tatsuya crashed into the shield.
His attack was blocked, but Rasa's shield also scattered at that moment.
"This impact force… not bad!"
Rasa's eyes lit up slightly.
"Magnet Release: Gold Dust Senbon!"
Senbon formed from Gold Dust took shape beside Rasa. With a movement of his thoughts, they shot toward Tatsuya.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
A series of piercing sounds cut through the air.
These senbon were not much different from metal ninja-tool senbon. In fact, they were even faster and sharper.
They could easily pierce flesh and blood.
But now, against Tatsuya's absurdly hard skin, they did not cause much damage.
They only left some marks on the surface.
Only spots that were struck multiple times in the same place were pierced, and blood flowed from the wounds.
"This defensive ability is also quite good."
Rasa shouted.
"Again!"
The exchange between the two began once more. Rasa constantly changed his attack and defense methods to test Tatsuya's abilities.
Only after dozens of rounds did Tatsuya begin panting heavily, unable to maintain his transformed state any longer.
His body shrank at a speed visible to the naked eye, returning to his human form.
Rasa looked toward Ebizo beside him.
"Ebizo, did you record everything?"
Ebizo nodded.
"I recorded it, Kazekage-sama. In Tatsuya's transformed state, his strength has been greatly enhanced, and his defensive ability has improved even more. However, his agility is somewhat lacking."
"He cannot use ninjutsu while transformed."
"…"
"But overall, this Devil Fruit has improved Tatsuya's strength tremendously. Previously, Tatsuya could only be considered ordinary among jonin, but now he absolutely possesses elite jonin-level strength."
"He is equivalent to a fairly powerful large summoned beast."
Rasa recalled the battle just now. It was indeed very similar to a large summoned beast.
However, beneath the body of this large summoned beast was the intellect of a shinobi.
And he could switch forms at any time.
With such flexible alternation, there would be far more possibilities.
The more possibilities there were, the stronger one's overall combat ability became.
"However…"
Ebizo looked toward Rasa.
"Kazekage-sama, your current strength has become stronger and stronger."
In the past, when choosing the Fourth Kazekage, many of Sunagakure's higher-ups had actually hesitated. There were those who supported Rasa, but there were also many who supported Pakura.
At the time, most people generally believed that Pakura's strength was not inferior to Rasa's.
Rasa's strength was inferior to the Third Kazekage's.
But later, the strength Rasa displayed grew more and more formidable.
He alone suppressed an entire clan.
He single-handedly killed four members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen.
He gained the upper hand in a duel against Minato Namikaze.
Then he severely injured Jiraiya.
Rasa had revealed many ninjutsu that the Third Kazekage had never mastered.
One could still say that his strength had increased because he had obtained those techniques.
But now, facing Tatsuya, who possessed elite jonin-level strength, Rasa had only used the basic applications of Magnet Release: Gold Dust. Without using a single chakra-heavy ninjutsu, he had still completely suppressed him.
And he had done so with extraordinary ease.
That was not something an ordinary Kage-level shinobi could accomplish.
Tatsuya came before Rasa.
"Kazekage-sama."
Tatsuya's mood was somewhat low.
After obtaining a superior Devil Fruit and greatly increasing his strength, Tatsuya had not thought he would therefore become Rasa's opponent. But he had never expected to lose so thoroughly.
"Tatsuya, don't be discouraged."
Ebizo noticed Tatsuya's emotions.
"After receiving this Devil Fruit, your strength has already improved tremendously. You are firmly at elite jonin level now."
"It is only that Kazekage-sama is simply too strong."
"It is not that you are weak."
Only after hearing Ebizo's words did some light return to Tatsuya's eyes.
"Ebizo-sama, are you saying I have already reached elite jonin level?"
"That's right."
Rasa looked toward Ebizo.
"Ebizo, how many stones like this are there?"
"At present, we have only found two. This is the only one that has already been adjusted. And that was after we selected from more than eight hundred stones. If the ratio remains the same, there may be around a dozen in total."
Rasa raised a brow.
One superior Devil Fruit could raise a jonin to elite jonin level.
If there were around a dozen, that would already be a tremendous improvement for Sunagakure.
After all, Kirigakure's Seven Ninja Swords were roughly at this level as well.
Aside from Samehada and Hiramekarei being slightly special, the rest could not really be considered that strong.
The value of such a force could be seen from how much Kirigakure valued the Seven Ninja Swordsmen.
"Ebizo, select these special stones as quickly as possible. War may very likely come again. I need you to use these stones to forge an elite shinobi team for Sunagakure!"