Chapter 106: The Giant Beast
After resting for about ten minutes, everyone had regained their optimal condition.
Rasa, along with Sand Lizard and Sand Hawk, launched their assault on the Island of Forgotten. Rasa, of course, controlled his gold dust to fly directly toward the island. Meanwhile, Sand Lizard and Sand Hawk ran across the surface of the sea.
The island was indeed teeming with giant beasts. Not long after they began their advance, the seawater beneath Sand Lizard and Sand Hawk began to churn. A massive octopus emerged from the depths, its tentacles lashing out toward the two shinobi.
As seasoned shinobi, the two easily severed the tentacles using Wind Release techniques. However, the octopus possessed the ability to regenerate its severed limbs.
The severed tentacles writhed and squirmed, and in moments, new ones grew in their place.
Seeing the opportunity, Rasa immediately issued orders.
"It seems the intel was correct. The giant beasts on this island possess extraordinary abilities. Test the limits of this octopus's regenerative power,"
"Hai!"
But just as Sand Lizard and Sand Hawk prepared to continue their Wind Release assault, two enormous crab claws emerged from the sea. A strikingly beautiful, giant blue crab appeared, seizing two of the octopus's tentacles. Despite the octopus's agonized wails and struggles, the crab dragged it back into the depths.
"Incredible...! This island is truly remarkable!"
Rasa exclaimed, visibly impressed.
"Let's move inland!"
"Understood!"
---
Meanwhile, deep within the forest of the Island of Oblivion, beneath the shadowy canopy of trees, a young girl with fiery red hair stood with a cold gaze fixed on the three men flying toward the island.
She closed her eyes and formed hand seals.
At that moment, every giant beast on the island seemed to sense something. The girl's figure then vanished into the forest.
---
!!!
High in the sky, Rasa, who was flying on his cloud of gold dust, suddenly sensed something and turned his gaze toward the distant forest on the island.
"Was that... an illusion?"
He had clearly felt a surge of chakra moments ago, but now it was as if nothing had happened.
"No... it wasn't an illusion."
Rasa wasn't particularly skilled in sensory abilities, especially compared to those shinobi who excelled in long-range detection.
Could it be that this island also held some hidden secret?
Just then, a series of bestial roars echoed across the island.
Roar!
The sound was so loud that everyone heard it, and an ominous feeling washed over them.
"What's going on?"
Before the three could comprehend what was happening, they saw a giant eagle, which had been circling above the island, suddenly dive toward them.
"Watch out!"
The giant eagle approached Rasa at an astonishing speed, its massive wings stirring up a hurricane that caused the sea to churn violently. Sand Lizard and Sand Hawk nearly lost their footing and tumbled into the water.
"What's happening?"
Rasa was puzzled by the sudden attack from the giant eagle.
As his subordinates, Sand Lizard and Sand Hawk immediately stepped forward.
"Kazekage-sama, leave this to us!"
But just as the two began to form hand seals, the giant eagle's lantern-like eyes emitted rippling waves of energy.
In that instant, both Sand Lizard and Sand Hawk felt their chakra become chaotic which startled Rasa.
"This giant eagle can actually use genjutsu!"
Fortunately, the eagle's genjutsu wasn't particularly powerful. As seasoned jonin, Sand Lizard and Sand Hawk quickly broke free from its effects.
Seeing this, the giant eagle immediately flapped its wings and flew away, putting distance between itself and the group. Sand Hawk, however, was filled with excitement. He turned to Rasa and made a request.
"Kazekage-sama, this giant eagle is incredible! Would it be possible for me to choose it as my summoning beast?"
Sand Lizard was taken aback, surprised by how quickly Sand Hawk had reacted.
Not only did the giant eagle possess an enormous size and genjutsu abilities, but its flying capabilities alone made it a top-tier summoning beast.
Rasa nodded.
"No problem. But for now, let's focus on getting to the island."
Seeing Rasa agree so readily, Sand Hawk was filled with gratitude. Sand Lizard, on the other hand, silently resolved to claim the first powerful summoning beast he encountered for himself.
With the giant eagle no longer interfering, the three quickly made their way onto the island. The solid ground beneath their feet brought a sense of relief to all of them.
"What's our next move, Kazekage-sama?"
Sand Lizard asked. Rasa surveyed the vast island before issuing his orders.
"From here, we'll split into three groups to explore the island. I'll take the center. You two, head left and right. If you discover anything, immediately notify the others with a signal flare."
"Understood!"
The two jonin eagerly dashed into the forest, one to the left and the other to the right.
Rasa, however, remained where he was. He channeled his senjutsu energy, and fine grains of sand began to flow out from his body, rising into the air and coalescing into a massive eye that surveyed the entire island.
The Island of Oblivion was truly enormous.
In terms of size alone, it was four to five times larger than Sunagakure. At its center stood a massive active volcano.
From what he could see and sense, the giant beasts on the island seemed to gather around this volcano. Through his Sand Eye technique, Rasa could already spot over a dozen different giant beasts of various kinds.
"In that case, I'll head to the volcano first!"
Having made up his mind, Rasa dispelled the technique and took to the air, flying toward the center of the island.
However, before he had even covered a third of the distance, the cry of the giant eagle echoed through the sky once more.
This time, it wasn't alone. Accompanying it were a massive bat and a giant bird that resembled a vulture.
At the same time, Rasa sensed movement below him. In the forest beneath his feet, a giant, multicolored spider and a three-headed dog emerged, baring their fangs and glaring at him.
"Oh?"
This development puzzled Rasa.
It was clear that these giant beasts were targeting him specifically. But what surprised him was their level of intelligence. They seemed to be coordinating their attacks, working together as a team.
Recalling the strange sensation he had felt upon arriving on the island, Rasa wondered.
"Could these giant beasts be under someone's control?"
Rasa rubbed his chin before a grin appeared on his face.
"How interesting!"
If these were ordinary enemies, Rasa wouldn't hesitate to show mercy. But these giant beasts were potential summoning creatures for Sunagakure. There was no way he would harm them.
"In that case..."
"Golden Dragon Staff: Diamond Prison!"
Rasa summoned his Golden Dragon Staff, which flew into the air and multiplied—one becoming ten, ten becoming a hundred, and a hundred becoming a thousand.
It had to be said that even though Rasa had replaced his chakra with senjutsu energy and developed many new techniques, the Golden Dragon Staff remained his most reliable and versatile tool.
With its abilities to transform, manipulate inorganic matter, absorb chakra, and its magnetic control, it was more effective than many ninjutsu techniques.
Faced with the onslaught of Golden Dragon Staff clones, the giant beasts each used their unique abilities to defend themselves.
The giant eagle flapped its wings, creating powerful gusts of wind. The bat unleashed sonic waves from its mouth, while the vulture-like bird sent sharp wind blades flying through the air. The giant spider spat webs, and the three-headed dog nimbly dodged and weaved through the forest.
Rasa was even more delighted by this display. He felt that this expedition was already worth it.
These summoning beasts could significantly boost Sunagakure's strength.
However, no matter how fast or versatile these creatures were, they stood no chance against the overwhelming number of Golden Dragon Staff clones controlled by Rasa. One by one, they were trapped in golden, cube-shaped cages that fell from the sky with a resounding crash, eliciting mournful cries from the beasts.
"Stay put for now!"
With that, Rasa flew off toward the volcano's crater.