"Asuma is dead?"
"The Hyuga clan did it?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen's face turned deathly pale.
Even though Asuma was not the one Sarutobi Hiruzen was satisfied with—
Even though his usual performance was poor, and he was not diligent enough in ninja training, far inferior to Shinnosuke—
Even though Sarutobi Hiruzen was very disappointed in Asuma and often scolded him—
He was still his son.
His biological son.
It was impossible for Sarutobi Hiruzen not to care about Asuma.
And Asuma was still so young.
So terribly young.
Now, the news of Asuma's death had suddenly arrived.
Sarutobi Hiruzen's body swayed. He had to brace one hand against the table to keep himself from falling.
"Hokage-sama, are you alright?"
At precisely this moment, the young shinobi without any tact asked that question as though out of concern.
Sarutobi Hiruzen was so angry he nearly coughed blood.
Alright?
Did he look alright?
His son was dead.
This was the pain of a white-haired man seeing off the black-haired young.
"Hyuga clan!"
"I will never let you go!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen looked toward the young shinobi and waved weakly.
"You may leave first."
"Yes, Hokage-sama."
After watching the young shinobi leave, Sarutobi Hiruzen could no longer support himself and collapsed into his chair.
"Biwako, Asuma… one after another, you have left me."
"Is this what Senior Mito felt back then?"
"Watching helplessly as Senior Hashirama, Nawaki, and the others left this world one after another."
Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyes turned red.
Only after a long time did he slightly calm himself.
"But fortunately, I still have Shinnosuke. Shinnosuke is still alive."
"With Homura and Koharu assisting him, Shinnosuke will definitely be able to achieve great merit this time. Among the younger generation of shinobi, he can be considered among the very best."
"My Sarutobi clan still has a promising future."
"Hyuga clan, I will remember this debt."
"Once the war calms down, I will come to settle accounts with you."
"Just wait!"
"You cannot withstand this old man's wrath!"
…
…
The Hyuga clan's defection had caused Rasa's points to rise madly.
Before long, they had broken through the number three thousand.
Rasa was just about to begin his third thirty-pull.
At that moment—
Suddenly—
The growth, which had already begun to slow, erupted once more.
Rasa froze for a moment.
"Has some change occurred that I do not know about?"
An intelligence shinobi delivered a secret report. Rasa opened it, read the contents, and only then revealed an expression of realization.
"Sarutobi Asuma is dead? The Hyuga clan did it?"
Rasa's expression turned strange.
"The Hyuga clan actually had that much courage?"
"By killing Asuma, they have basically become irreconcilable enemies with Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Sarutobi clan, and Konoha."
"This draws even more hatred than the Uchiha clan."
Rasa watched as the points on his system panel directly reached the number four thousand.
"Split it into two rounds. One for the small guarantee, and one for the major guarantee."
With a thought from Rasa—
"Thirty-pull, begin!"
[Congratulations, Host. You have obtained an F-rank item: One tael of gold.]
…
[Congratulations, Host. You have obtained a B-rank item: Ninjutsu Scroll: Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet.]
…
[Congratulations, Host. You have obtained an A-rank item: Mechanical Azure Dragon Blueprint.]
"Mechanical Sand Boat, Mirage Tower, Three-Zhang Bat Wings, and now this Mechanical Azure Dragon."
"I already possess four types of mechanical creation blueprints."
"These four all possess considerable value."
"The Mechanical Sand Boat can perfectly replace all previous modes of transportation in the desert. It is extremely practical, a completely revolutionary change, and has greatly helped the commerce of the Land of Wind."
"It can be said that it has raised the prosperity of the Land of Wind's commerce by an entire level."
"And in turn, the lives of ordinary people within the Land of Wind and Sunagakure have also improved to a certain extent because of it."
"As for the Mirage Tower, although it has not yet been built because it requires a massive investment of resources and there is currently no urgent need on the ocean side…"
"Once completed, it will be equivalent to a fortress upon the sea. A mobile fortress far stronger than an ordinary island."
"It possesses extremely good defensive capability in and of itself."
"It can also accommodate many people."
"Because the hull is so large, it will not rock like ordinary sea ships."
"The Three-Zhang Bat Wings can give Sunagakure shinobi absolute aerial superiority."
This could be seen from the trouble the Sky Ninja attack had caused Konoha.
A Sky Ninja Village so small and already declining had still caused such heavy damage to Konoha precisely because most shinobi were helpless when facing threats from high altitude.
And the flexibility of the Three-Zhang Bat Wings surpassed that of the Sky Ninja.
In addition, in the original storyline, Sunagakure had also suffered greatly from such a threat.
When Deidara attacked, the entire village only had one person capable of responding—Gaara.
"The Mechanical Azure Dragon comes from Mohist mechanical arts. It is a killing-type mechanical beast developed to counter hegemonic mechanical arts."
"Because it was too ferocious, the Mohists hid it away for many years."
"Among the Four Great Mechanical Beasts, the Mechanical Azure Dragon is the strongest, and the difference is almost qualitative."
Then, Rasa drew again.
"Ten-pull!"
[Congratulations, Host. You have completed your one-hundredth draw and triggered the guarantee. You have obtained an S-rank item: Otsutsuki Bloodline, 5%.]
Rasa did not hesitate.
"Use it!"
Rasa immediately felt that familiar power surge into his body.
His body was strengthened.
His chakra rose.
…
The next moment—
Rasa felt his eyes changing.
He quickly took out a mirror and observed them.
At this moment, his two eyes were in different states.
One was a Byakugan.
The other was a three-tomoe Sharingan.
At that moment, the Byakugan slowly began to change. The white faded away. Black surfaced. Crimson tomoe appeared upon it.
One.
Two.
Three.
"Double three-tomoe Sharingan!"
"There isn't much improvement in vision. After all, maintaining one Byakugan and one Sharingan is the best state for me. But my ocular power has increased somewhat."
"Forty percent Otsutsuki bloodline."
"It is finally approaching half."
Rasa sighed faintly.
"My personal strength has risen once again."
"But it is still not enough."
"I should properly consider what kind of next rumor to create."
"The ninth rumor."
As night approached, a figure entered the Kazekage's office.
"Kazekage-sama."
"Kabuto?"
Rasa lifted his head and looked at the newcomer.
"Is something the matter?"
Yakushi Kabuto's eyes were bloodshot, but he looked extremely excited.
"Kazekage-sama, regarding the item you asked me to research, there are already some clues. Would you like to take a look?"
"Of course!"
Rasa's interest was immediately stirred.
He had extremely high expectations for what Yakushi Kabuto could produce by relying on Orochimaru's handwritten notes.
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