Boom—!
After charging for some time, a searing Scorch Release fireball, several meters in diameter, exploded at the exact spot Rasa had pointed out with his gold dust.
In an instant, the blistering heat, capable of turning any living creature into charcoal, swept across the forest for hundreds of meters in every direction.
The ground at the center of the explosion turned into a hellish pool of magma, and the vibrant trees at the forest's edge were reduced to smoldering kindling.
Ash filled the air, and a wave of scorching heat surged upward, forming a mushroom cloud that reached for the heavens.
Rasa forced himself to stay upright, raising a wall of gold dust to block the blazing inferno that surged toward him.
As the rolling shockwaves began to fade, the golden shield in front of him had already started to show signs of melting.
In the distance, the Sunagakure puppet corps continued their charge toward the Konoha encampment, occasionally glancing back at the catastrophic jutsu behind them with a mix of awe and sympathy.
That lackey of the so-called "Shadow of the Hidden Villages"… sure had some terrible luck.
He had run straight into the pride of Sunagakure—Rasa with his Magnet Release and Pakura with her Scorch Release.
Caught between the two of them?
That guy probably didn't even leave ashes behind.
"Is… is he dead?" Rasa gasped for air.
That elbow strike from earlier—monstrously powerful—had shattered nearly half the bones in his chest.
His ribcage had caved in, leaving his lungs compressed by the splintered bone. Every breath he took now was sheer agony.
Damn it! Since when did Konoha have this many monsters who completely ignore the rules?!
He had reinforced his defenses using gold dust armor—he should have been nearly untouchable. But that guy had punched right through it like it was paper!
"No idea," Pakura replied, shaking her head slightly. Her eyes scanned the burning forest below. "But you need to get out of here and get treatment. Fast."
That guy had likely used Flying Thunder God to escape just before the blast.
A simple elemental jutsu couldn't have stood up to the scale of her Scorch Release attack.
"Huff… Pakura… go assist the puppet corps… stop Konoha from retreating… huff… I'll head back to camp first…" Rasa spoke while lowering the gold dust beneath her feet so she could jump to the ground.
As for himself—whether that enemy was dead or had teleported away—flying directly back to the temporary Sunagakure base was the safest option.
This joint ambush on Konoha had been coordinated with Iwagakure, attacking from both the east and the west. Iwa had the numbers and took on the main offensive, while Sunagakure's puppet corps was in charge of cutting off any retreat.
This mission wasn't just about victory—it was about securing Rasa's position as the Fourth Kazekage… and the political alliance between the two villages.
But in his current state, he couldn't continue fighting.
If he returned to the battlefield now, he'd just become a sitting target.
From here on, everything would depend on Pakura.
...
Whoosh—
Before Rasa could finish his sentence, Yamanaka Shinno reappeared on the scorched battlefield, his entire body glowing with a fierce sky-blue chakra aura.
Rasa, nerves already on edge, quickly pushed his and Pakura's gold dust platforms higher into the sky.
Pakura didn't hesitate—she launched Scorch Release: Extremely Steaming Murder.
Dozens of fireballs, each the size of a human head, streaked toward Shinno's position.
But in the next moment...
Rasa's expression shifted into horror as he watched the enemy rise from the ground, weaving through the fireballs with fluid agility, coming straight for them.
He can fly—and he's way more agile than we are!
"Retreat!" Rasa hissed under his breath.
He immediately controlled the gold dust beneath himself and Pakura, blasting westward at full speed.
Forget the alliance with Iwagakure or the Kazekage position.
None of that matters if I die here.
And compared to the unscathed Pakura, any smart enemy would go for the wounded one first—me.
If I want to make it out, I'll have to drag Pakura with me to cover the retreat!
...
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Pakura's fireballs exploded midair, releasing intense waves of heat that could roast a jōnin into a desiccated corpse.
The inferno bought them a few precious seconds.
Rasa's eyes stayed locked on the shimmering, heat-warped air behind them—and on the sky-blue figure rapidly closing the gap.
"Demonic Illusion."
Shinno saw Rasa staring directly at him, grinned, and formed a one-handed seal.
"Aaaaagh—!"
A blood-curdling scream tore through the night.
Only a moment of eye contact had passed in the real world—but in the genjutsu, Rasa endured three full days of torment.
His eyes bulged, red veins spiderwebbing across his sclera. The gold dust beneath his feet began to shake violently, sending both him and Pakura plummeting toward the forest below.
That bastard had simulated Chiyo and Ebizō inside the illusion—torturing him nonstop for three days!
He'd been flogged with salt-soaked whips, stabbed between the ribs, scalded with boiling water, scrubbed with iron brushes until his flesh peeled away—
Then, Chiyo—looking disturbingly "kind"—had dressed his mangled body in a swimsuit and opened his eyes for him.
"Damn it! Pakura! Stop him—cough!"
Another mouthful of blood burst from Rasa's lips.
One arm clutching his almost-bursting skull, the other holding himself upright, he struggled to keep flying on the shaking gold dust platform.
"Got it!"
Pakura answered at once. Her own gold dust slowed slightly, aligning itself with Rasa's platform and taking up the front position—
Placing herself directly in Shinno's path.
A human shield.
...
Beneath the night sky, the three of them streaked through the air like meteors.
Shinno cast a glance toward the Konoha encampment, several kilometers away—bright with the chaotic lights of ongoing battle.
No more time to waste.
He unleashed his full power, surging forward with a burst of speed.
He weaved past Pakura's showy Scorch Release fireballs like they weren't even there, rapidly closing the distance.
"Demonic Illusion: Heaven on Earth."
"!!?"
Pakura froze mid-jutsu, cheeks suddenly flushed with pink.
"Pakura! Pakura! Cough!"
Rasa's heart clenched. She'd been caught in another genjutsu!
He raised his left arm, channeling chakra into the gold dust to disrupt hers and snap her out of it.
But that sky-blue figure had already reached her.
Boom!
A heavy punch smashed into Pakura's side.
Fresh blood spurted from her lips as her body was hurled back—toward Rasa.
Shinno locked eyes with the man just a dozen meters ahead and gave him a brilliant smile.
Before Rasa could release his control over the gold dust under Pakura's feet—
Shinno stomped hard on the platform, launching himself forward while forming a hand seal with his left hand.
Rasa didn't even think—he clamped his eyes shut.
Max defense—focus all chakra to block genjutsu and raise a wall of gold dust shields around him.
The gold dust Shinno had stepped on transformed into a dozen golden spears, stabbing toward him.
Sage Art: Water Style – Severing Wave!
Zzzzzzz!
A high-pitched slicing sound cut through the air.
Rasa opened his eyes—just in time to see a jet of water, no thicker than a finger, slashing toward him.
Damn it!
It wasn't genjutsu—it was Water Style!
He barely twisted his upper body in time to avoid a fatal blow.
But from the thighs down, both legs were severed in an instant.
His legs went numb before the pain even hit. He collapsed face-first onto the gold dust.
And that water jet circled back, slashing from a different angle!
Maybe Shinno's chakra was running low—the jet widened as it looped back, growing to the thickness of a bowl, and slowed slightly.
Rasa rolled just in time to avoid it—but not completely.
The water blade shredded the legs he'd already lost—and also took his left arm, which hadn't moved fast enough.
...
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
A fresh round of Scorch Release explosions erupted behind them, accompanied by unfamiliar screams.
To Rasa, they sounded like salvation.
In the throes of despair, he summoned every ounce of willpower left, desperately urging his gold dust to carry him and Pakura as far away as possible.
----------------
Pls Drop some Power Stones
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