Time crawled by.
The moon climbed to its highest point.
The ninja at Konoha's main base had all drifted into sleep.
But in truth, every one of those "ninjas" was a White Zetsu using the Transformation Technique.
Kabuto led the group on a detour, circling toward the main base of the Hidden Sand.
With White Zetsu's help, even though Konoha had many shinobi moving in the area, they slipped past every Hidden Sand ninja without being noticed.
Kurenai's and Kakashi's squads advanced straight toward the stronghold where the Sand was hiding the Chakra Cannon.
Kitazawa tailed them silently from behind.
At a certain point, he lifted his head.
His Byakugan flared to life, and the interior of the Sand stronghold was laid bare before his eyes.
Inside, Rasa and the others were pouring chakra into the Chakra Cannon.
When it reached its limit, the cannon trembled violently. A tightly compressed chakra shell blasted out.
Its speed was terrifying, far surpassing that of most shinobi.
However, the distance between the Sand's stronghold and Konoha's main base was considerable; it didn't hit instantly.
That brief gap was enough for the White Zetsu to flee.
One after another, the White Zetsu sank into the earth and vanished.
A heartbeat later, the massive chakra shell descended.
BOOM!
The entire night sky flashed white.
The ground roared, the air itself seemed to tear, and countless currents of chakra erupted into a storm, sweeping in all directions.
Konoha's main base was obliterated in an instant, wiped from the earth without a trace.
"It seems the Fourth Raikage wasn't lying." Rasa exhaled slowly.
He couldn't see the impact site from here, but even at this distance he could feel the tremors in the ground.
This power really was on par with a Tailed Beast Ball.
"Konoha's main base was hit by the Chakra Cannon while completely defenseless. If nothing unexpected happened, most of them are dead."
Rasa said, a smile tugging at his lips. "But just in case, have the Anbu confirm the situation before we move."
"Yes, Lord Kazekage!"
The response came back loud and excited.
At that moment, screams rang out from outside the tent.
"What's going on?"
Rasa's smile stiffened.
He strode out of the tent in a hurry—
Only to see the entire stronghold in chaos.
At the center of the disturbance were none other than Kurenai and Kakashi's teams.
Rasa was more than familiar with their faces and recognized them at a glance.
A bad feeling stabbed through him.
Their timing was far too neat to be a coincidence.
But this was no time to stand around and analyze it.
"Retreat!"
Rasa barked at once.
Even though there were over thirty Hidden Sand jonin stationed here, the enemy had two Jinchuriki. The outcome of a direct clash was far from certain.
More importantly, Kurenai's and Kakashi's sudden appearance was too suspicious. Rasa didn't dare get bogged down here.
[Current Mission: Defeat Fourth Kazekage Rasa. ]
[Mission Reward: Magnet Release: Gold Dust.]
[Accept?]
Kitazawa's eyebrow rose as he stared at the three lines of text that suddenly appeared before him.
He already had Magnet Release.
But his came from the Third Kazekage—more accurately, Magnet Release: Iron Sand.
Its power lay in controlling objects containing iron or manipulating the iron within sand.
The Fourth Kazekage Rasa's Magnet Release, on the other hand, controlled Gold Dust.
In terms of value, Gold Dust was naturally superior to Iron Sand.
That was why Rasa often played the role of a gold miner, panning for gold in the desert.
Kitazawa selected "accept" without much thought.
He had no intention of stepping in personally.
The system only required Rasa to be defeated; it didn't say who had to land the finishing blow.
And, above all, Kitazawa simply wasn't interested.
For him, the reward for this mission was nothing more than mediocre.
Compared to the earlier Origami Crane Teleportation and Sukunahikona, this was frankly underwhelming.
"Everyone, move up!"
Rasa barked the order and raised his hand.
Magnet Release: Sand Cushion!
A vast cloud of gold dust surged forth, churning like quicksand as it spread out in front of him.
The Sunagakure Jonin leapt onto it one after another.
Rasa followed, landing atop the golden cloud.
With a casual wave of his hand,
The cloud-like cushion shot high into the sky.
"They're trying to escape!"
Kurenai shouted at once.
"Leave it to me!"
Kakashi's eyes sharpened, his gaze blazing.
A gigantic blue hand materialized and lunged toward the Sand Cushion—
the initial stage of Susanoo.
Rasa froze for a heartbeat, then swiftly formed hand seals.
Magnet Release: Gold Dust Cube!
A massive golden cube slammed down toward the Susanoo hand.
Kamui Shuriken!
Kakashi flicked his arm and hurled a shuriken.
The instant it struck the golden cube, the cube vanished without a trace.
"What?"
Rasa's disbelief deepened.
At the same time, the other Sunagakure Jonin rapidly formed hand seals.
With a thunderous boom,
The giant blue hand shattered.
In that moment, Yakumo unleashed Super Beast Imitating Drawing.
A swarm of ink-drawn flying beasts burst from her scroll and dove toward the Sand Cushion, forcing the Sunagakure Jonin atop it to scatter.
"Karin!"
Yakumo shouted, hands already flashing through seals.
Horror Illusion!
The nearby Sunagakure ninja were instantly dragged into her genjutsu.
Tailed Beast Chakra Mode!
Chakra-enhanced strength!
Karin leapt high and came crashing down into the crowd.
The ground split with a crack, and torrents of chakra mixed with flying rubble tore through the Sunagakure ranks, killing ninja one after another.
"Kiba!"
Kurenai formed hand seals and cast Darkness Genjutsu.
The Sunagakure ninja before her were swallowed by pitch-black nothingness.
Kiba and Akamaru, in their three-headed wolf form, charged straight in.
Relying on their keen sense of smell, they ignored the illusionary darkness and tore into the blinded enemies, leaving them covered in bite wounds.
This was one of the two coordinated tactics their team had developed recently.
In comparison, the direct killing speed of Shino, Chino, and Sakura wasn't as overwhelming.
But their teamwork was flawless.
Chino used her Ketsuryugan to lock down targets, while Shino's Honey Technique further restricted enemy movement.
Sakura coordinated Water Release with Shino's Kikaichu and exploding insects to launch combined attacks.
The most devastating were the exploding insects.
Again and again, Sunagakure ninja were blown apart in bursts of white light.
"Damn it!"
Rasa had never imagined Sunagakure's forces would crumble like a collapsing mountain in the span of a few breaths.
But he himself was now in danger.
Facing Kakashi blocking his path, he drew in a long, steadying breath.
Kakashi had entered Tailed Beast Chakra Mode, violent chakra raging around his body, and the gleam of his Mangekyo Sharingan made him look even more terrifying.
Magnet Release: Gold Dust Wave!
Rasa formed hand seals.
The earth heaved as dense gold dust surged upward, gathering into a colossal tidal wave.
The golden wave roared toward Kakashi and the others—
and at the same time, Rasa turned and ran.
The situation had already gone far beyond what he could handle.
Kamui!
Kakashi vanished from where he stood.
Super Beast Imitating Drawing!
Yakumo immediately unfurled a blank scroll.
Water Release: Water Formation Wall!
Sakura's hands blurred through seals, and a towering wall of water erupted in front of her, straining to hold back the oncoming Gold Dust wave.
Shino raised both hands.
Countless Kikaichu exploded outward, swarming into the air.
Rasa had only run a short distance when a silver-haired figure appeared ahead of him—Kakashi Hatake.
His pupils trembled in shock.
"Space–Time Ninjutsu?"
Rasa's heart sank.
The fastest technique in the ninja world was, without question, Space–Time Ninjutsu. Even with his Magnet Release letting him fly at high altitude, he couldn't outrun a jutsu that ignored distance itself.
In other words, there was no escape.
He either had to defeat Kakashi and his team here or hold out until other Sunagakure ninja arrived.
"Magnet Release: Gold Dust Spear!"
Rasa accelerated straight toward Kakashi. At the same time, Gold Dust surged in front of him, compressing into a glittering spear.
It shot out like an arrow loosed from a bow.
Kakashi didn't even move.
The spear passed cleanly through his body.
"What's going on?"
Rasa stopped abruptly, eyes narrowing.
"Raikiri!"
Kakashi, of course, had no intention of explaining why Rasa's jutsu had failed. He simply raised his right hand, chakra crackling, and slashed forward.
Rasa reacted instantly. Gold Dust rose to form a shield before him as he retreated, stepping back onto a cloud-like sand platform and lifting himself into the air.
"Double Kamui!"
Space twisted. Kakashi tore through the air and vanished.
Rasa's heart jolted. He whipped his head around, scanning the sky.
Kakashi appeared behind him, Raikiri already thrusting toward his back.
Rasa's response was lightning-fast. He raised both hands, and Gold Dust surged like liquid, wrapping around Kakashi's right arm and locking it in place.
He spun around. From his hands, razor-sharp, bamboo-shoot-like spikes of gold dust erupted.
Magnet Release: Gold Dust World.
Kakashi's counter was brutally simple.
"Genjutsu: Mangekyō Sharingan."
Rasa didn't recognize the Mangekyō pattern in Kakashi's eye. Under the pressure of the battle, all his focus was on maintaining his Magnet Release: Gold Dust World. He left himself completely open to genjutsu.
His gaze went vacant.
The gold dust in his hands froze.
Kakashi seized the opening, clenched his left fist, and drove it straight into Rasa's head.
Thud.
Rasa's body was blown away, crashing into the ground like a cannonball.
Kakashi glanced around the battlefield. Most of the remaining Sunagakure ninja were already down and unable to fight.
He let out a quiet breath, then leapt down and landed firmly on the ground.
"We actually captured the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, alive?"
Sakura stared in disbelief.
"Hahaha!" Kiba Inuzuka laughed. "I feel like I'm about to get a title out of this!"
"I don't really care about titles." Kurenai clenched her fist. "As long as we can win this war."
"I wonder how things are going on Kabuto-senpai's side," Karin said as she released her Tailed Beast Chakra Mode.
"The only strong person left at the Sunagakure headquarters is Ebizō," Shino added, adjusting his glasses. "He won't be a match for Kabuto-senpai."
"Indeed," Chino agreed with a nod.
"What should we do now?" Yakumo asked, having just knocked out the last of the Sunagakure ninja she had been controlling.
"Let's go check out that Chakra Cannon first," Kurenai said after a brief moment of thought.
Kakashi and the others nodded.
The power that the cannon had shown earlier had genuinely shocked them. If not for White Zetsu's intervention, Konoha might have suffered heavy casualties.
They stepped into the tent and came face-to-face with the Chakra Cannon's massive frame.
"It doesn't look like anything special," Kiba muttered, rubbing his chin.
"Let's take it back. It'll definitely be useful in the future," Kurenai said, pulling out a summoning storage scroll.
"I'll go find White Zetsu."
Kakashi turned away and stepped out of the tent.
Before he could call out, White Zetsu rose from the ground at his feet.
"White Zetsu, take these Sunagakure ninja back to Konoha headquarters," Kakashi ordered.
"Kakashi-sama," White Zetsu reminded him, "Konoha's headquarters has been destroyed by the Chakra Cannon."
Kakashi was momentarily stunned.
At that moment, Kitazawa appeared in front of him.
"Hokage-sama," Kakashi greeted quickly.
"I'll send them back to Konoha," Kitazawa said. Then he glanced at White Zetsu. "Gather them all together."
"Yes, Hokage-sama."
White Zetsu stomped on the ground.
The earth churned and rose as ten White Zetsu clones emerged.
Under Kitazawa's direction, they lined up the unconscious Sunagakure ninja in several neat rows.
Kitazawa activated the Flying Thunder God.
In the next instant, he had transported them all to the ANBU base.
"Hokage-sama."
Nearby ANBU operatives spotted him and hurried over.
After saluting, they noticed the Sunagakure ninja sprawled across the ground.
As ANBU, they were well acquainted with the top officials of the major hidden villages. When they recognized Rasa and the others among the captives, their expressions shifted to open shock.
It had only been a few days, and the Fourth Kazekage had already been taken alive?
The ANBU who had fought in the Third Shinobi World War felt even more disoriented. This so-called four-village offensive in the current war felt far easier than the last one.
"Lock them up," Kitazawa ordered with a wave of his hand, then vanished again.
He reappeared at the Sunagakure outpost.
"Kitazawa!" Kurenai called out excitedly. "We won! Sunagakure has been completely defeated!"
"It seems things are settled on Kabuto's side too?" Kitazawa asked with a smile.
"Yes." Kurenai nodded. "White Zetsu just reported that Kabuto has already taken control of Sunagakure headquarters."
"Good. I'll take you there."
Kitazawa used the Flying Thunder God once more.
The group materialized inside Sunagakure headquarters.
The moment Kitazawa steadied himself, the heavy stench of blood hit him.
The headquarters was in ruins—walls collapsed, stone scorched and shattered.
All around, he saw the marks of giant serpents: massive shed scales, deep gouges in the rock, and smeared trails where they had passed.
From that alone, Kitazawa could roughly infer Kabuto's tactics. He had clearly let the snakes of Ryūchi Cave clear the path first.
"Kitazawa-sensei."
Kabuto appeared in front of him.
"Well done." Kitazawa nodded. "Finish securing the battlefield. Once you're done, lead the Fourth Division of the Allied Shinobi Forces back to Konoha."
"Yes, Kitazawa-sensei," Kabuto answered immediately.
Kitazawa paused to think, then summoned White Zetsu again.
This was too good a chance to build their reputations to let it slip by.
Yakushi Kabuto, Kurenai Yuhi, Kakashi Hatake, and the others could all use this opportunity to become famous.
After all, this might be their last chance to make a name for themselves.
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