Chapter 182: The Fourth Kazekage's Cold Reality
Puppets again?
In that rushed moment, Rasa could only draw this conclusion.
This was the only explanation he could conceive to make sense of the madness before him. Otherwise, there was simply no way to understand why so many Cloud ninja and Konoha's Root leader Shimura Danzo would join forces against Sunagakure.
In a flash of thought, Rasa reined in his scattered thinking.
Now was not the time to investigate the truth. His immediate priority was eliminating this masked man and recovering the Shukaku pot containing the sealed One-Tail.
His eyes dropped, focusing only on the masked man's hands and feet as he silently mobilized his full chakra reserves. His hands moved once more like a conductor leading an orchestra.
The next instant—
The gold dust that had lost control and accumulated on the ground reconnected under Rasa's Magnetic Release chakra, reforming into a unified whole. Magnetic Release: Gold Dust Imperial Funeral surged forth again like a terrifying tsunami, launching a second charge toward Uchiha Tatsuhata.
But Uchiha Tatsuhata stood motionless, a contemptuous mocking smile curling beneath his mask. "Still think you have a chance at this point?"
In his derisive murmur, pale life threads erupted madly from his right palm. In less than the blink of an eye, he used the Toyoakitsushihime ocular technique to weave and construct a new replica.
Brown short hair, black combat uniform, unremarkable appearance—unmistakably Rasa's form.
The life threads that had penetrated Rasa's body for over ten seconds had successfully completed copying Rasa's chakra. Even though Rasa had subsequently broken free from the genjutsu and severed the threads, the copied chakra information had already been transmitted back.
Now he directly manifested replica Rasa, letting it contend with the original. This was an excellent opportunity to gauge how well his replicas created with Toyoakitsushihime performed when battling their originals.
Replica Rasa extended both hands and swung them violently, just like the Fourth Kazekage opposite him. The ground beneath his feet shattered as he unleashed Magnetic Release: Gold Dust Waterfall Flow, pulverizing rock, soil, and buildings within a sixty-to-seventy-meter radius into flowing sand mixed with exceptionally sparse flecks of gold light.
Immediately after—
Magnetic Release: Gold Dust Wall.
Replica Rasa barely managed to control his gold dust before Rasa's gold dust tsunami crashed over, constructing a barrier over ten meters high and twenty meters wide standing before him.
Uchiha Tatsuhata, meanwhile, was lifted into the air by a cloud of gold dust, observing from above the collision between the gold dust tsunami and gold dust wall. It was like waves crashing against rocks... no, like waves crashing against a sandcastle. The gold dust wall only withstood the impact for a brief two seconds before crumbling under the tsunami's assault.
With a thunderous crash, shattered sand particles scattered in all directions.
This was the expected result.
Replica Rasa had been hastily created by Uchiha Tatsuhata to meet the attack. Blocking for two seconds was already impressive performance—the combat instincts inscribed in the chakra were quite formidable.
Seizing those two seconds, replica Rasa also rose into the air on a gold dust cloud, avoiding the subsequent tsunami impact. Unfortunately, nearly all the gold dust he controlled was buried under that surging tsunami, preventing him from seizing this opportunity to counterattack. He could only generate as much additional gold dust as possible.
"This is..."
Rasa stared dumbfounded at this other 'self' riding a gold dust cloud into the sky. A chill rose in his heart. This other 'self' not only looked identical to him, but that skilled Magnetic Release gold dust technique was also indistinguishable from his own. It was like watching his own shadow clone.
This is related to those pale threads that penetrated my body?
This thought flashed through Rasa's mind. As cold dread filled his heart, blazing killing intent also erupted like a volcano. Now he not only needed to recover the Shukaku pot with the sealed One-Tail, but he absolutely had to kill this masked bastard!
This kind of person was far too dangerous!
After seeing this other 'self,' his mind immediately grasped the terrifying technique that masked man possessed. Though the underlying principle remained unclear, the opponent obviously had means to copy and create replicas of others.
The Cloud ninja genius Magnetic Release user Troy, Konoha's Root leader Shimura Danzo, and himself—they'd all apparently been manipulated by those pale threads, allowing him to create their... replicas!
"That's right, replicas."
Rasa muttered to himself.
The Sharingan inherently possessed the ability to copy others' ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu for its own use. Only secret techniques, Kekkei Genkai, and certain forbidden techniques couldn't be copied.
And this masked man's ability was like an enhanced version of the Sharingan's copying ability—even Kekkei Genkai could be replicated, and he could even create replicas of opponents. This ability was absurdly broken, completely defying logic!
If this masked man continued copying like this, if this ability had no additional constraints, he might gather replicas of all five great ninja villages' strongest warriors and become invincible in the shinobi world!
"I absolutely cannot let you run rampant like this!"
Rasa's killing intent fully translated into action. He clapped his hands together fiercely, unleashing an attack-focused Sand technique.
Magnetic Release: Gold Dust Shigure.
Thousands upon thousands of walnut-sized spherical gold dust bullets exploded upward from below. Both replica Rasa and Uchiha Tatsuhata were encompassed within the attack range.
However—
His replica also possessed Magnetic Release gold dust technique, mastering every technique he himself possessed.
Magnetic Release: Gold Dust Wall.
Replica Rasa manipulated the gold dust he'd just created to rise skyward, once again constructing a thick, solid barrier that completely blocked those gold dust bullets powerful enough to easily shatter steel.
"Damned bastard."
Seeing this, Rasa cursed in frustration.
His own attacks were blocked by 'himself.' He'd always felt his own strength was insufficient, worrying anxiously about the village's future. But now facing this other 'self,' he felt the powerlessness of that overwhelming strength.
Magnetic Release: Gold Dust Arm.
Magnetic Release: Gold Dust Spear.
Magnetic Release: Gold Dust Drizzle.
Rasa unleashed wave after wave of attacks, continuous and unrelenting like angry tides. Thunderous sounds echoed over Sunagakure's skies. Fortunately, by this time Sunagakure had entered the highest level of combat readiness under advisor elder Ebizo's direction.
Besides Sand ninja guarding various posts, dozens of jonin and special jonin had rushed to the battlefield vicinity, assisting Chiyo and ANBU to kill all the Cloud ninja and Shimura Danzo replicas once over.
But within just a few breaths, the Cloud ninja and Shimura Danzo who'd been torn to pieces reappeared completely unharmed, once again clashing fiercely with the Sand ninja in intense combat.
Of course, this time the Sand ninja no longer rushed to kill these enemies, but instead injured without killing, attempting to seal them. However, sealing proved far more difficult. Even with numerical superiority, completing seals without paying a price wasn't easily accomplished.
Fortunately, Chiyo was not only a top-tier puppet master—her sealing technique mastery also ranked among Sunagakure's best. With Elder Chiyo present, replica Shimura Danzo and those Cloud ninja replicas shouldn't be able to cause greater trouble.
The situation was becoming stable and controllable.
This slightly improved Rasa's mood. Of course, this also related to his own progress. Though his attacks were all blocked by replica Rasa, through this intense combat he'd determined that his replica seemed to rely entirely on instinct while fighting.
This greatly relieved him. Mindless beasts, though fierce and dangerous, ultimately weren't matches for intelligent humans.
But he didn't dare completely relax, because though his replica lacked intelligence, its combat power truly wasn't inferior to his own. Moreover, he hadn't forgotten about that masked man. Though the guy hadn't taken action, one couldn't conclude from this that he was incapable of fighting while controlling these replicas.
Better to remain cautious and act prudently.
However—
Uchiha Tatsuhata felt it was about time. The fierce battle between Rasa and replica Rasa had given him extremely clear and deep understanding of his created replicas' combat capabilities.
Thanks to the high-quality, high-quantity chakra he supplied, the replicas' combat power approached infinitely close to the originals. The greatest weakness was lack of intelligence—they fought purely on instinct.
Though he as the technique user could intervene to control replicas in battle, his mental capacity was limited. Once controlling multiple replicas simultaneously, their demonstrated combat power might not exceed replicas fighting on instinct—nine times out of ten it would actually be inferior.
Fortunately, this wasn't a major problem. Uchiha Tatsuhata didn't plan to become a top-tier puppet master. Even though he'd already copied Chiyo, this puppet grandmaster's chakra, he still had no interest in becoming a puppet technique master.
Letting replicas fight based on combat instincts inscribed in their chakra and simple commands he issued was sufficient. Ordinary opponents could easily be swept aside by replicas. If he truly encountered formidable enemies, he naturally wouldn't sit by and watch.
For instance, now—
Replica Rasa alone obviously couldn't defeat the true Fourth Kazekage.
This Fourth Kazekage truly didn't possess the dazzling brilliance of the Fourth Hokage that made hearts tremble with fear, nor the domineering brute force of the Fourth Raikage that made people unwilling to clash head-on.
But Rasa was still a genuine Kage. His gold dust technique operated flawlessly without gaps, transitioning smoothly between offense and defense. Replica Rasa, fighting entirely on combat instinct, was gradually being completely suppressed.
Uchiha Tatsuhata stood atop the gold dust cloud, rotating his crimson eyes, looking down from above at this monotonously colored village with its endless expanse of dull yellow. He smiled and said, "Let me help dye this place with more vibrant, brilliant colors!"
The moment his words fell, he clapped his hands together fiercely. The chakra within his body immediately flowed out like floodgates opened to maximum.
Wood Release: Advent of a World of Flowering Trees.
Under the shocked gazes of hundreds of Sand ninja present, tender green branches sprouted madly within this rolling gold dust. Within a few breaths, that green color deepened from pale to rich. Hundreds of lush green trees stood tall in Sunagakure, the shortest over twenty meters high, the tallest exceeding thirty meters, forming an unprecedented spectacular sight—
A forest in the desert!
Almost everyone's attention was captured by this suddenly descending forest. Only the Sand ninja still fighting the replicas dared not lose focus. Fortunately, they had numerical superiority and under Chiyo's leadership achieved results.
Sealing Technique: Lion Closing Roar.
One of Chiyo's Chikamatsu Collection puppets hurled a spherical ninja tool that rapidly expanded mid-air, transforming into a fang-filled lion's head that viciously bit down on replica Shimura Danzo, who'd been knocked into the air. It directly sealed replica Shimura Danzo's chakra completely.
Replica Shimura Danzo became motionless.
The remaining replica Cloud ninja led by replica Troy were also successively sealed by Sand ninja.
"Still one of the five great ninja villages after all! Still has some foundation."
Uchiha Tatsuhata stood on a treetop, letting out a sigh of admiration. He showed no concern about his created replicas being sealed by Sand ninja.
Because—
Fourth Kazekage Rasa was already in dire straits.
Replica Rasa desperately interfered with Rasa's gold dust technique while simultaneously Rasa was being beaten by replica Uchiha Madara.
After unleashing Wood Release: Advent of a World of Flowering Trees, Uchiha Tatsuhata immediately summoned Uchiha Madara's replica. He'd firmly decided to give Sunagakure a harsh lesson this time.
The moment replica Uchiha Madara appeared, he demonstrated extremely terrifying abilities. His three-tomoe Sharingan saw through all of Rasa's movements. Rasa didn't dare make eye contact with replica Uchiha Madara, while his gold dust technique was tightly entangled and obstructed by his own replica, unable to commit fully against replica Uchiha Madara.
This allowed replica Uchiha Madara to charge into close range, displaying formidable taijutsu honed through countless bloody battles. Just a few punches and kicks left Rasa bleeding from his mouth and nose, dizzy and disoriented.
Rasa's heart filled with frustration, anger, and a trace of panic.
He smelled death's scent.
This suddenly appearing replica of some unknown Uchiha brought him unprecedented terrifying pressure. This guy was too strong. Without even using any powerful techniques, relying solely on clean, efficient, and viciously sharp taijutsu, he demonstrated strength approaching perfection through simplicity.
Can't win!
No way to win like this!
Realizing the situation was dire, Rasa's thoughts turned to retreat.
He didn't need to fight to the death alone. This was Sunagakure, his home ground as Fourth Kazekage. As long as he was willing to accept casualties, he could completely mobilize a large army to surround and annihilate this damned masked—
Heart-piercing agony interrupted all his thoughts. Rasa looked down to see wooden spikes protruding from his chest. His consciousness became hazy. His abundant strength drained from his body like a burst dam.
Behind him—
Was Uchiha Tatsuhata's upper body silently emerging from the tree trunk, using those crimson eyes to quietly observe the Fourth Kazekage's falling corpse.