"Elder Chiyo!!! Magnet Release: Gold Dust World Method!"
Seeing this scene from the air, Rasa's eyes split with fury. He no longer cared about conserving chakra. Manipulating massive amounts of gold dust, he created countless spear-like spikes within a radius of several dozen meters. The sharp sand lances erupted from the ground like bamboo shoots, launching a wide-area indiscriminate assault!
Rasa knew that his single-target attacks were extremely difficult to land on Kushina Uzumaki, who possessed overwhelming speed.
So he chose to overwhelm her with sheer quantity, sealing off every possible route she could use to dodge.
This tactic proved effective. Under such a dense barrage, Kushina had no choice but to abandon her attack and flash away to evade.
"Don't panic. This old woman is fine!"
Suddenly, Elder Chiyo's figure appeared among a pile of shattered puppets more than ten meters away. Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth as she panted slightly, looking rather disheveled.
Although she had used the Substitution Jutsu (Kawarimi no Jutsu) in time—relying on years of combat experience—to avoid Kushina's grab and the follow-up attack, the assault had still come too suddenly.
She had still been struck by the shockwave of Kushina's palm.
Her internal organs had been violently shaken.
Seeing that Chiyo was still alive, Rasa finally let out a small breath of relief. The tension in his chest eased slightly.
After all, Elder Chiyo was not like Konoha's elders such as Shimura Danzō, Koharu Utatane , and Homura Mitokado.
To Sunagakure, she was a true pillar of stability.
She stood at the forefront of the village in fields such as medical ninjutsu and puppet techniques, and her authority within Sunagakure was no lower than that of Konoha's "Elder Council."
But unlike those elders, Chiyo and her younger brother Ebizō had never fought for political power. Instead, they had handed most administrative authority over to Rasa, the Fourth Kazekage, focusing entirely on strengthening the village.
For Rasa, Chiyo was the greatest pillar supporting Sunagakure's development. Naturally, he did not want to see her fall here.
Just then—
"Whoosh!"
A sharp sound cut through the air as a kunai shot toward Rasa from afar, arriving before his eyes in the blink of an eye.
Rasa's pupils shrank. Instinctively he tilted his head to dodge.
Although he avoided a fatal hit, the blade still left a thin line of blood across his cheek.
In the next instant, once Rasa saw the weapon clearly, his eyes widened.
This was no ordinary standard kunai.
It was the specially forged Flying Thunder God Kunai belonging to Konoha's Yellow Flash—Namikaze Minato.
Before Rasa could react further—
"Whoosh!"
Minato's figure suddenly appeared in front of him. With a swift motion of his hand, he slashed past Rasa's body as the two figures crossed paths.
Chiyo saw this and cried out in alarm, her heart trembling.
At the same time, Rasa's expression turned extremely grim.
In the intelligence gathered by the Allied Shinobi Forces of the Three Villages, Orochimaru had supposedly led two thousand Konoha troops to reinforce the Land of Hot Water border and the southern coastline of the Land of Fire.
Yet now—
Orochimaru had appeared here.
If that was the case… then where were the two thousand Konoha troops under his command?
Thinking of this possibility, Chiyo's face instantly turned pale.
Just then—
"BOOM!!!"
A tremendous explosion sounded in the distance.
Rasa turned his head and looked toward Hill D-No. 4, the route their forces had used earlier.
What he saw made his heart sink.
A gigantic purple snake had appeared on the hill, its massive body crushing large sections of the mountain.
"It's Manda, the summoning beast of Konoha's Sannin Orochimaru! Why is Orochimaru over there?!"
Chiyo immediately realized the terrifying implication.
"Rasa—this is a trap. We've been surrounded!"
Her voice was solemn.
"Launch a signal flare! Have the village's shinobi break out immediately!"
Rasa's expression darkened. Without hesitation, he pulled a signal flare from his ninja pouch and fired it into the sky.
A specially made "firework" exploded high above.
Even in broad daylight, the dark smoke was extremely eye-catching, visible to people within a radius of more than ten kilometers.
Seeing this signal, Chiyo immediately spoke again, her voice grave.
"Rasa, the situation is hopeless. It's time to retreat."
"You immediately organize the main force to withdraw. This old woman will stay behind to cover the rear!"
Rasa's gaze flickered.
While controlling the gold dust to restrain Kushina's movements, he replied:
"Elder Chiyo, that won't be necessary. We can leave one thousand men to hold the rear."
Chiyo's eyes flickered slightly.
The reason she had volunteered to stay was twofold:
First, to delay Konoha's pursuit.
Second… to see if she could drag Kushina Uzumaki down with her in death.
After all, although many of her puppets had been destroyed, if she could take Kushina with her, it would still be worthwhile.
But the probability of success was not high.
After a brief silence, Chiyo said nothing more, tacitly accepting Rasa's decision.
However—
Retreating was never something that could be done simply by deciding to retreat.
Konoha's defending forces would never allow them to withdraw so easily and regroup for another offensive.
Someone had to stay behind to block the pursuit.
And once Sunagakure withdrew, even if Iwagakure and Kumogakure wanted to continue fighting, they would have no choice but to retreat as well.
Without Sunagakure's support, Konoha would have a much easier time devouring the remaining forces.
This battle would truly become irreversible.
At that moment—
Rasa suddenly brought his hands together.
"Magnet Release: Quicksand Waterfall Flow!"
A terrifying surge of chakra erupted from his body.
Countless streams of gold dust burst from beneath the battlefield, splitting the terrain apart and opening escape routes for the allied shinobi.
"Everyone, listen to my orders!"
"Assault Unit One, Two, Three… Seven… Seventeen—!"
Rasa began rapidly assigning units to cover the retreat.
The remaining soldiers would form the rear guard.
Naturally, those left behind would face almost certain death.
However, the majority of the allied surprise force consisted of Iwagakure shinobi.
For Rasa, sacrificing them to ensure his own safe withdrawal was something he felt no hesitation about.
Compared to losing Elder Chiyo, the lives of ordinary soldiers meant far less.
Meanwhile, on the battlefield, the shinobi of the three-village alliance were still fighting fiercely.
When they suddenly saw the retreat signal flare, confusion spread through their ranks.
Many were caught off guard, leading to chaotic disorder and heavy casualties.
Only those who managed to escape quickly had a chance to survive.
The ones left behind…
would almost certainly die.
At that moment—
Rasa suddenly felt a chill brush across his neck.
A gentle voice sounded beside his ear.
"If your throat is cut by cicada wings…"
"…there won't even be any blood."
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