A vast, endless sea of yellow sand stretched out, with not a single living thing in sight, resembling a forbidden zone for life.
The blazing sun in the sky poured down scorching rays, with temperatures high enough to parch a person into a husk. There wasn't a hint of moisture in the air, and walking through it filled one with an overwhelming sense of despair.
The yellow sand howled, and the environment of the Land of Wind remained as harsh as ever.
To thrive in such an environment, one not only needs the determination to issue correct political orders but also vast resources to back them up.
For Sunagakure, which had suffered repeated defeats in the Shinobi Wars and been taken advantage of by Obito, despite having the "Gold Miner" Rasa in charge, things were still difficult.
Fortunately, Rasa understood his role well. He firmly held onto the core policy of clinging to the Kirigakure's thigh and not wavering, and with the help of both the Kirigakure and the Konoha, the broken economy of Sunagakure gradually improved.
...
In the ruins of the former Gold Sand Fortress, a sand hut stood quietly.
Inside the hut, two people sat across from each other, with a pot of tea on the table.
The two individuals looked quite similar, one of whom was the current leader of the Land of Wind, the Golden Miner of Sunagakure, the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa.
The other person appeared to be around the same age as Rasa. Under a yellow cloak, he wore a gray belt around his waist and a black tight-fitting combat outfit underneath.
However, the most striking feature was the tattoo of a green dragon and black claws on his head and right eye. It looked very menacing. He also had two brown braids at the back of his head, and his overall appearance was quite rare in the current shinobi world.
"I never imagined the shinobi world would develop to this extent. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't believe it," the man in front of Rasa slowly spoke, his tone full of amazement.
"I'm very sorry, Shamon-sensei. The state Sunagakure is in now is all because of my incompetence," Rasa said deeply, lowering his head in self-reproach. "Not only was I unable to lead the village to prosperity, but I was also controlled by someone with the Sharingan, nearly leading the entire village to the abyss."
"I am the sinner of this village, Shamon-sensei!"
If anyone outside had heard Rasa's words, they would surely be shocked.
The Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, was apologizing to a predecessor? If any of the elders of Sunagakure had been present, they would have surely dropped their jaws!
The reason? The person speaking to Rasa was none other than the former leader of Sunagakure, the Second Kazekage, Shamon!
"Stop saying such nonsense, Rasa. All of this is not your fault," Shamon, who had already understood the current situation of the shinobi world, naturally wouldn't blame the man in front of him. In fact, if it weren't for Rasa stepping up, when the Third Kazekage went missing, Sunagakure would have already been invaded and crushed by Kumogakure.
Without a doubt, Rasa was a hero of Sunagakure. Even though he had been controlled by the enemy and nearly led Sunagakure into an endless abyss, this fact still could not erase his status as a hero.
Receiving the recognition of his predecessor, Rasa couldn't hold back his emotions and his eyes reddened.
"Take it easy, you're too tired," Shamon said with a smile, patting Rasa's shoulder. "Sunagakure now has not just you. I'll also stay here to help you."
"Really? That's great!"
Rasa was overjoyed.
Not long ago, he had hoped that Yuki Yoru would provide more support for Sunagakure. Yuki Yoru had readily agreed, and Rasa had thought it would be in the form of resources or personnel. He never expected that Yuki Yoru would directly summon the Second Kazekage, Shamon.
The Second Kazekage, Shamon, had dedicated his life to researching the One-Tails Shukaku and knew a lot about Shukaku. Now that Rasa was the jinchūriki of Shukaku, if he could get help from Shamon, it would undoubtedly be a great joy for him.
Besides, Shamon had developed the skills of Puppet Jutsu and Sand Manipulation, making him the originator of both techniques.
These two techniques were absolutely mainstream in Sunagakure today. If they could receive guidance from Shamon, the overall skill level of Sunagakure's ninja would certainly improve dramatically!
"However, don't get too excited too soon. I am already a Shinigami, and given the current trend in the development of spiritual powerf, if Sunagakure wants to become stronger, the first step is to completely convert chakra into spiritual energy," Shamon said in a deep tone.
"Ah, rest assured, Second Kazekage. I've already been working on it. Currently, 60% of the village's ninjas have completed the conversion to spiritual energy, and the rest are all working hard to do so."
"For example, the place we are in now, where spiritual energy is particularly strong, I've decided to rebuild the Gold Sand Fortress and transform it into a spiritual energy conversion facility, specifically to train Extermination Masters."
Rasa explained, then hesitated for a moment before continuing, "The real problem for me is how to complete my own spiritual energy conversion... I have Shukaku within me, and you are an expert in Shukaku, so..."
"This is indeed a difficult matter, and it's the very reason I'm here!"
Shamon said in a serious tone, "The best method currently is to directly extract Shukaku from your body and then have it use its power to transform you into a Shinigami like me."
"However, the cost of this is that you will have to experience death..."
The entire world was seeking spiritual energy, and Shinigamis were among the top in the spiritual energy power system. Choosing the first method would not only allow Rasa to extract Shukaku and regain control, but also become a Shinigami directly—truly killing two birds with one stone!
Compared to this outcome, experiencing death seemed like a small price to pay.
However...
Shamon paused for a moment, clenched his fist, seemingly feeling the power within him: "Only by becoming a Shinigami can one truly understand this power... This power was directly bestowed by that being, not a gradual process like 'chakra converting into spiritual energy.'"
"Though this power is very strong, anything given directly is inevitably tainted. You should understand what I mean, Rasa."
"Ah. But isn't this the price of power?"
There is no such thing as an unearned blessing in this world. If one wants power without paying the price, such a thing doesn't exist.
Moreover, Yuki Yoru's influence was overwhelming in the shinobi world, and Sunagakure had already fully aligned with the Kirigakure. Even if there was something inexplicable within the power of the Shinigami that might make him a puppet of Yuki Yoru, so what?
"Since that's the case, I'll just..."
"Clearly, you're the shadow of a village, the ruler of a great nation, yet all you think about is relying on others."
A sudden voice caused both Rasa and Shamon to freeze, and the next moment, the space around them twisted violently. A figure Rasa knew all too well emerged from the distortion.
Although the figure wore a white mask and not the usual swirl face, the familiar voice and the space-time ninjutsu made it impossible for Rasa to forget.
"It's you?!" Rasa's gaze suddenly darkened, and his chakra stirred within him. "You bastard, how dare you show up!"
"This is my village. Even you, the Kazekage, are nothing more than my puppet. Why wouldn't I dare to show up?"
Obito, wearing a cold smile, mercilessly exposed Rasa's scars.
To the world, Rasa was a noble and powerful Kage. But to Obito, he was nothing more than a clown, a piece of trash to be toyed with.
Obito had returned to Sunagakure with the goal of taking back Shukaku, but what he didn't expect was that Rasa wasn't in the village. Instead, he was in the Gold Sand Fortress, a place where Nagato had once battled with Yuki Yoru.
The most crucial part was that, besides Rasa, there was someone here who should have been long dead!
The Second Kazekage, Shamon!
"Shamon-sensei, be careful! This guy is Uchiha Madara, extremely powerful, especially with that Mangekyō Sharingan!" Rasa quickly warned. He knew full well that with his own strength, he couldn't stand up to Obito. His eyes were the natural counter to Rasa's.
To defeat him, they could only rely on Shamon, who had already completed the Shinigami transformation!
"Uchiha Madara?"
Shamon furrowed his brow and glanced at Obito. He wasn't very familiar with him, as during his adaptation to the Shinigami transformation, he had only roughly understood the current state of the shinobi world and Sunagakure's situation.
However, one thing was certain. The moment he saw Obito, Shamon completely rejected the idea that Obito was Uchiha Madara.
"Don't joke around. Uchiha Madara is not someone like you, hiding in the shadows, who can impersonate him!"
"An old era relic pulled out of the Pure Land by Yuki Yoru, huh?"
Obito tilted his head slightly, his gaze lingering on Shamon's Zanpakuto at his waist for a moment. "Zanpakuto... interesting, but I'm not in the mood to play guessing games with you about abilities right now."
"Kamui!"
"Amaterasu!"
Obito's right eye under the mask suddenly widened, and the dark chakra of the Yin release burst forth, spreading blood-red lines.
Boom!!
Even though Shamon had anticipated the attack, the space-time distortion caused by Kamui accelerated the release of Amaterasu, and in the blink of an eye, the eternal black flames had already fallen upon Shamon. The flames even splashed onto Rasa.
The scorching heat and intense burning sensation caused Rasa to gasp in shock, instinctively trying to extinguish the flames.
"Stop messing around. These are the unquenchable flames of Amaterasu. Use the Tailed Beast Cloak!"
The voice of Shukaku suddenly rang out. Rasa didn't have time to be shocked about why Shukaku, who usually opposed him, would suddenly help him. He quickly activated the Tailed Beast chakra within him and transformed it into the Tailed Beast Cloak to strip the Amaterasu flames away.
Seeing that Shukaku's method worked, Rasa let out a sigh of relief, but his expression immediately tightened.
Shamon-sensei!
Although Shamon was the Second Kazekage, he didn't have Shukaku inside him.
If he was struck by Amaterasu...
As expected, when Rasa looked at Shamon now, his face changed drastically.
At this moment, Shamon had clearly not been able to dodge Obito's sudden attack. His whole body was covered in Amaterasu flames.
The most powerful physical attack, which was said to burn everything to ash, relentlessly scorched Shamon's body. Even his pure white haori began to fall apart.
"Shamon-sensei!!"
Rasa's face was filled with worry, but Obito narrowed his eyes, sensing something was wrong.
Shamon, whose body was covered in the flames of Amaterasu, showed no signs of panic. Instead, he gripped the Zanpakuto at his waist, which made Obito realize something, and a slight sense of annoyance rose in his heart.
These damn Shinigami abilities, just like the Mangekyō Sharingan, are all bizarre and incredibly troublesome.
Clearly, the reason Shamon was able to remain unharmed under the Amaterasu flames was due to the release ability of his Zanpakuto!
"It seems you've fought with quite a few Shinigamis, but this is the first time I'm using this ability in real combat," Shamon said, his voice mocking. "How dare you, a rat, hide behind the name Uchiha Madara and cause trouble for Sunagakure!"
Shamon drew his Zanpakuto, and its blade transformed into countless fine threads, vanishing without a trace.
At the moment the blade turned into threads and disappeared, Shamon's body suddenly developed fine cracks. Then, like a puppet, his entire form shattered, and the flames of Amaterasu, which would not extinguish until the target was reduced to ash, immediately vanished.
In that instant, Obito's brow furrowed, and a feeling of unease crept into his heart.
With the immense power of the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, Obito suddenly noticed the threads in the air, finer than a strand of hair, quietly landing on his body, slipping past the Kamui's ability to penetrate.
The fine threads, when they hit the ground, caused the earth beneath Obito's feet to crack and explode!
"Sever them! Puppet Threads!"
Shamon, completely unharmed, floated in the air, his body held together by fine spiritual threads. Numerous delicate threads shot out from him, spreading across the area and completely enveloping it.
In an instant, the entire building collapsed, and even the ground began to tremble!
"So, you've turned your Zanpakuto into fine threads to cover everything indiscriminately," Obito, using Kamui, saw through Shamon's release. "No... It's not that simple. He must have used this ability to avoid Amaterasu earlier?"
"Avoided my Puppet Threads?"
"Yes, it's the space-time ninjutsu, Shamon-sensei! This guy also controls a special space-time ninjutsu!" Rasa, now fully covered in sand, managed to crawl out of the wreckage, shouting loudly.
"I see now."
Shamon nodded. Though space-time ninjutsu was rare, he wasn't unfamiliar with it. In the Warring States era, there was a famous white-haired user of space-time techniques.
If the enemy had a space-time user, it would indeed be very troublesome. Moreover, the space-time ninjutsu used by the person before him was different from that of the white-haired man. This technique, which allowed one to place themselves in a space-time dimension, essentially put them in an invincible position.
If this were the Shamon from his past life, he would have been completely helpless.
But now...
"My Puppet Threads aren't that simple!"
Shamon raised his hand and suddenly grasped at the space where Obito was standing.
"Lock down! Puppet Threads!"