Chapter 338: Tragic, Rasa's Tragic End

"The Three Hands can't hold up." Ei watched as the lightning on his body slowly crumbled, a hint of appreciation flashing in his eyes. "Such a strong junior. Though it's not voluntary, I'd still like to see how much power you can really show."

"Lightning Release: Hell Stab: Two Hands!" He quickly followed up with, "Hell Stab: One Hand!"

The lightning flared again, but compared to the tank-like lightning armor from before, it now seemed to turn into a sharp sword. This unstoppable sword clashed against the powerful storm, and for a moment, it actually managed to suppress the Silver Wheel Rebirth Blast.

Lightning and storms—truly timeless topics.

With the Dust Release still active, he was the calmest among everyone. After all, Dust Release was a Kekkei Genkai, and while its power couldn't fully withstand the Silver Wheel Rebirth Blast at full force, once that blast's power spread out, he actually gained the upper hand thanks to the strength of Dust Release.

Of course, there's also the fact that the Edo Tensei body has infinite chakra. Without that, he wouldn't dare to use Dust Release this way—it consumes chakra at an incredible rate.

In the center of the green storm, Naruto kept his hands forming signs to maintain the Silver Wheel Rebirth Blast. His mind sank into his inner world. "Kurama, now's the time!"

Kurama stared at the enormous storm connecting the heavens and earth, momentarily speechless.

Not knowing what to say, Kurama said nothing. His body moved along the path to the inner world and instantly appeared outside, his giant form remaining inside the Silver Wheel Rebirth Blast. The overwhelming pressure continuously squeezed his body.

Kurama furrowed his brow, his orange-red form turning pale. Black Tomoe markings appeared on his body, and nine huge Sage Orbs floated behind him.

The pressure disappeared.

Kurama nodded in satisfaction. "Naruto, I'll go first. After you deal with these four, catch up with me immediately."

"Got it." Naruto didn't say much. Right now, he needed to maintain this technique, and his focus was entirely on controlling his chakra. He just nodded in response to Kurama's words.

Kurama understood Naruto's current state and said nothing more. He turned and flew toward the sky, using the gap Naruto made to fly out of the storm, quickly heading toward the direction of Shukaku.

Once Kurama left, Naruto felt resistance in his body. Just using the technique was already a struggle, and now he had to keep it up to cover Kurama's departure. Even with Kurama's chakra supporting him, Naruto felt like it was becoming unbearable.

But now that Kurama was gone, Naruto didn't need to keep the technique active.

He slowly released control over his chakra, and the storm calmed down. The nine green Sage Orbs fell from the sky, their green shells shattered, 

turning into small black orbs that floated back behind Naruto.

Naruto took a long breath. That strike ate up almost half his chakra, plus a huge amount of nature energy—most people could never pull it off.

The storm calmed. The flashes of lightning and the white Dust Release faded. A huge water sphere came into view, and inside he could feel Hozuki Gengetsu's chakra holding steady.

On the other side, bits of paper were gathering into shape. Naruto ignored it, swung a Truth-Seeking Orb behind him, and blew it apart.

The three remaining shinobi glanced at the falling scraps and frowned. Gengetsu looked surprised. "Was the Fourth Kazekage really that weak?"

"His jutsu is strong, sure, but going down in a single hit is a disgrace to the Land of Wind," A said with folded arms, full of mockery.

Mu gave them a look. "If he were dead, the gold sand under your feet should have vanished."

Naruto, A, and Gengetsu paused and glanced down—the sand was still there.

"And you two aren't in much better shape," Mu added, eyeing his own body that was about to crumble. "One technique almost wiped out the three of us. That power is beyond anything we imagined."

Gengetsu, for once, didn't talk back. He studied his own body with an unreadable smile. That hit had nearly killed him; if this weren't an Edo Tensei body, he'd be flat on the ground.

The Raikage stared at his right hand. His piercing strike had blocked the blast, but now that arm was useless and the rest of him was close to falling apart.

Honestly, Mu was the least hurt of the three; A was the worst off. If they weren't reanimated, Mu might still fight, Gengetsu could barely move, and A would already be done.

A wave of gold sand drifted over and slowly formed Rasa. "Gold Sand Body Flicker… handy little move."

Much like Konan's paper form, it let him ignore physical damage for a short time, though far from invincible.

Arms still folded, A let out a laugh. "Looks like you're the least injured one among us."

Bits of paper kept spinning off the other three, but Rasa looked perfectly fine.

That was because Naruto hadn't aimed at anyone in particular—he'd spread the blast wide, letting Rasa slip out.

Even so, Naruto had a doubt. He frowned at the fading scraps in the distance. "Which Edo Tensei body did I smash just now?"

"Only a clone," Rasa said, flicking his right hand. At once the drifting paper froze and turned into flying gold sand.

Seeing it, Gengetsu nodded. "At least you're worthy of the title 'Kage.'"

If Rasa had been wiped out in one shot, that word would've lost all weight.

They were Kage from the old age of chaos—each far stronger than most Kage today. Surviving Naruto's wide-area blast was expected. The real question was how long they could last, not whether they could take a single hit.

Mu twitched. "You, who nearly died from that jutsu, aren't in a spot to judge someone who walked away almost untouched."

"But, kid, your power reminds me of someone I really don't like," Mu went on, arms crossed, eyes narrowed at Naruto.

"Your first line annoyed me, but I agree with you for once—I thought of the same man," Gengetsu said with a grin.

A stayed silent, puzzled.

Mu and Gengetsu traded a glance and spoke the name together: "Senju Hashirama!"

Gengetsu stroked his chin. "You, like him, could define an era—just a bit green still."

"True," Mu nodded.

Both of them had lived under the rule of Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama and had watched those two create an age of fear.

Back then, the Mist and Stone villages were under their thumb, and Mu and Gengetsu weren't even Kage yet, but they saw it all. A had it rougher: by the time he understood the world, Hashirama and Madara were gone. When he finally grew into strength, the Second Raikage and Senju Tobirama died, and after A became the Third Raikage, he ended up facing Sarutobi Hiruzen.

Lucky or unlucky? He was the strongest Raikage, yet he kept running into one strange opponent after another.

As for Rasa?

He missed the whole scene—he didn't even get to fight in Hiruzen's time. By the time Minato showed up, the Sand had already given up, and when Rasa thought he could see the end of the story, Orochimaru took him down.

A total disaster.

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