Rasa had spent a long time reflecting on the tragedy of his life.
Why was his fate so cruel?
He'd been on a mission when an arrow suddenly shattered his knee. He still didn't know who fired it. The mission failed. He limped back to the village in disgrace, his reputation shattered, branded a failure for all to see. He refused to accept it. He hardened himself, pushed harder, clawed his way back up.
Then Kakuzu found him, accusing him of stealing from his organization. What a joke. He had the Gold Dust jutsu—did he look like he needed money?
So he handed over most of his savings anyway.
Damn it. If I ever find out who set me up, I'll tear them apart.
That nightmare haunted him for years.
But he survived. He clawed his way higher. He became the Fourth Kazekage. High spirits. Dominating. Arrogant. His ambitions were vast—he launched a war against Konoha, ready to crush them beneath his heel.
And then he was sniped.
Thirty-six high-ranking officials died in one night.
Now, standing on his gold dust carpet above the battlefield, Rasa's eyes were bloodshot, his jaw clenched so hard it might crack.
Below him, rows of black cannon barrels pointed skyward, their muzzles crackling with blue arcs of lightning. The Hyuga Seiran's magnetic weapons.
"You... bastards!" The words came out like gravel between his teeth.
The cannons swung toward him in perfect synchronization.
"Fire!"
Rasa threw his hands up. "Magnet Release: Gold Dust Defense!"
The battlefield erupted. A tsunami of gold dust swept outward, a glittering wall of sand that should have crushed anything in its path—
BOOM!
Blue lightning tore through it like paper. The gold dust scattered like petals caught in a hurricane.
Rasa ducked low, abandoning his attack. He kicked his carpet into motion, racing away while desperately throwing up barriers of gold dust. Each volley forced him to dodge, to retreat, to keep moving.
This isn't right. I came for revenge!
But every time he tried to counterattack, the shells found him. Every opening was cut short. He was being herded like a dog on a leash.
"Despicable!" Rasa snarled through gritted teeth. "This vicious Hyuga brat!"
As Kazekage, suffering this humiliation?
He kept fleeing, his carpet skimming across the battlefield. Below, Sand shinobi watched in stunned silence.
"That's... Lord Kazekage? Why is he running?"
"The Fourth Kazekage... being chased like a stray dog?"
"Lord Kazekage! Hold on! Our forces are mobilizing!"
Rasa didn't hear them. Every nerve was screaming. He needed distance. He needed space.
At last, he crashed past the Sand shinobi lines, gasping for breath, his robes singed and tattered.
"It's far enough now. They shouldn't reach—"
A shell pierced through the line behind him, tearing through three Sand shinobi. Their screams were cut short.
Rasa threw up a wall of gold dust, barely deflecting the blast that would have taken his head. "Not yet! I need to run farther!"
---
Meanwhile, Hyuga Seiran was already dispersing his Shadow Clones in waves.
His chakra was depleted. Nearly empty.
But his strategy had worked perfectly. He'd forced Rasa back—not to kill him, but to push him away from the One-Tail. Rasa's gold dust would be invaluable for his next phase. Chasing it to Sunagakure, refining it from scratch—that would waste time he didn't have.
"Main body," a Shadow Clone called out, its form already fading. "Mission complete."
The clones dissolved into white mist, leaving only barrels and scattered armor in their wake.
Seiran shoved a handful of pills into his mouth and closed his eyes, forcing his chakra to stabilize. His breathing was ragged, controlled.
The battlefield fell silent.
The shinobi from both villages seemed to understand without words—they stepped back, dropping their engagement. Everyone knew now. The war's outcome rested not with them, but with the magnetic kekkei genkai user and whatever remained.
Orochimaru noticed the shift from his command post. His sensor ninja reported quickly: "Lord Orochimaru, Hyuga Seiran used a powerful ninjutsu. The fully transformed Shukaku was defeated. Rasa has been forced to retreat."
Orochimaru's lips curved into a smile. His vertical pupils gleamed. Seiran... you always surprise me.
From here, he'd only seen blue light tear through the One-Tail, but he'd suspected Seiran's involvement. Not like this, though. Not like he'd just casually dismantled a tailed beast.
His strength... it might have already surpassed my own.
Elder Chiyo received similar reports. Her teeth ground together, frustration etched across her weathered face. She abandoned her engagement with Tsunade without another word, moving toward Rasa's position as quickly as her old body could carry her.
Both knew the truth. Everything now hinged on that battlefield.
---
Rasa's mind was fracturing under the pressure.
He couldn't stop. Couldn't rest. Couldn't let his guard slip for even a moment, because the instant he disappeared from Seiran's sight, that would be the moment a shell found his spine.
Every breath was shallow. Every muscle was wound tight.
The images wouldn't stop—Sand shinobi burning. Companions screaming. The relentless blue light cutting through everything.
A bead of sweat traced his temple as he rejoined his remaining forces.
"How is the situation?" he demanded, his voice hoarse.
A sensor ninja stepped forward, trembling slightly. "Lord Kazekage... Lord Bunpuku fell into a coma after the transformation ended. We attempted to retrieve him, but the attacks... they kept coming. Three elite jonin have already... they've already..."
"Are you telling me the One-Tail has fallen into Konoha's hands?!"
Rasa's teeth nearly cracked under the pressure of his rage.
Defeat was one thing. But losing the One-Tail? That meant everything was finished. Over. Done.
His eyes turned cold, calculating.
I have to get Ichibi back. I have to.