Chapter 13: Wanting to Punch Someone
The Hidden Sand Village was poor and understaffed, with little profit to squeeze. In fact, to set a good example, the higher a ninja's rank, the more they had to contribute to the village.
So, sometimes, being a leader in the Sand Village…
It hurt your body, your heart, and your wallet!
Look—if nothing went wrong, Rasa was set to become the Kazekage, practically the village's dad~
Whenever funds ran low… he'd head to the desert to pan gold and feed everyone.
And during this time, who knew how Momu had managed~
No money, reporting to the higher-ups that this front couldn't hold and begging for reinforcements, only to get… a bunch of kids and their Chunin instructors. Five or six teams—what good were they~?
But to defend the Land of Wind's borders and keep the Grass and Rock ninja from penetrating deeper, he had no choice… but to fill the gaps with lives.
Now, seeing Lord Rasa—previously missing and presumed dead—return as a powerhouse, storming the Grass Village's camp without a word and throwing down…
Momu was thrilled. All the Sand ninja were thrilled. After two months of stifling battles, they could finally strike back!
If the Rock and Grass Villages hadn't controlled the war's pace to minimize their losses, waiting for news from the Cloud-Sand front to exhaust this defense line, the Sand ninja would've collapsed long ago.
And so…
With hearts ablaze, under temporary commander Momu's rallying roar, all the Sand ninja charged toward the Grass Village's camp.
…
"Lord Loess, what do we do now?" a Rock ninja asked, frowning at the Grass ninja, cornered by a single man.
"It's indeed the Third Kazekage's disciple—Rasa," Loess said, his brow furrowed. "But… no news for over two months. What happened in that time?"
"This needs attention," he added, nodding and staring at the Grass Village's plight. "And…"
His tone hardened.
"Didn't you report that Rasa was mentally broken and unstable due to the Third Kazekage's incident? What's going on now?"
And…
This strength… it was terrifying.
[Does the old man have this kind of power?]
Maybe with Dust Release, it'd be close~
That ability to turn ninja into dried husks, and the way he turned to sand when attacked.
[A strange ability… some kind of bloodline limit?]
Especially that sand-transformation—was it really a special Sand Village clone technique?
He couldn't discern the truth, but he quickly ordered his Rock ninja to record and assess the intel.
As for the Grass Village…
Whether they helped now didn't matter. Their sacrifice was valuable, providing the Hidden Rock Village with more intel.
Besides, the Grass Village was the Hidden Leaf's ally, not theirs!
Even the Uzumaki Clan, once close to the Leaf, was now… heh~ Why should the Rock ninja care?
"Record the intel and analyze his strength and situation. Wait… that terrifying ability seems to have stopped?" Loess noted.
But before he could continue…
"Lord Loess… the Sand ninja… they're coming too," a Rock ninja reported.
…
The minute passed quickly. When elementalization faded, Rasa had to rely on his ninja skills to fend off the Grass ninja's attacks. And, well… after the initial shock, even without the card's power, the Grass ninja didn't dare act rashly.
But…
It didn't take long.
"That weird ability can't last!" a Grass ninja shouted.
"Everyone, attack!"
"Avenge our fallen comrades!"
Realizing Rasa's strange, terrifying power was gone, their pent-up rage exploded, and they charged.
Rasa knew he couldn't stay. Through the sand, he sensed the Rock ninja had already closed in, merely observing. Once they realized his ability was gone and his strength waned, they'd pounce to kill him and take his body back for research.
A ninja's secrets… even a corpse couldn't hide.
Facing the frenzied Grass ninja, Rasa sighed helplessly, glancing at the surviving ninja and the intact camp. "Time to bail~" he murmured.
But just as he spoke…
He spotted, in the distance…
A bloodied, frail Grass ninja, barely clinging to life, bite the arm of a red-haired girl nearby. Instantly… he was bouncing around, full of energy!
Rasa's eyes lit up. [Could she be…]
Red hair, massive chakra, healing injuries.
No doubt about it!
He thought of Karura's frail body… Sure, with his cheat system, grinding enough pulls would eventually yield a way to heal her, but why pass up a ready-made solution?
If Karura bit her arm, she'd surely avoid any childbirth complications.
And…
He was doing a good deed, saving someone from hell, accumulating virtue!
One bite… shouldn't be a big deal, right?
With that, Rasa charged toward the medical ninja's area. [I, Rasa… want to be a good person!]
"Damn it, stop him!" the Grass ninja shouted, instantly spotting his intent and sending more to intercept. And, well… they caused some trouble. A few Grass ninja weren't hard to handle, but stopping meant risking getting swarmed by the rest.
This was a Grass ninja army for war, not some small training squad.
Even his earlier wave… only took out a fraction.
To save time, Rasa gathered his gold dust, blocking the charging Grass ninja, keeping them at bay.
"Damn it!" the Grass commander growled, his face ashen, watching this Sand ninja weave through their ranks like no one's business. He knew tomorrow… the Grass Village would be a laughingstock.
A joke mocked across the ninja world.
Another village's single ninja—not even a Kage—stormed their camp, and they had no answer… How could others not laugh?
Watching the panicked medical ninja and the Grass ninja unable to keep up with Rasa's pace…
The commander aged visibly.
[This war… the Grass Village has already lost!]
Then, his expression hardened, glaring at the red-haired Uzumaki Clan member, taken in by the Grass Village after their nation's fall.
"Kill her! Kill her now!" he ordered.
As the Grass Village's commander, he couldn't let his village be shamed.
But as his words rang out…
"Magnet Release: Gold Dust Shield!"
Rasa, with no other choice, remotely shielded the Uzumaki girl, then kept charging. But as he got closer… the pressure mounted. Just as he wondered if he should abandon the plan, retreat, and find another way later…
"Lord Rasa, we're here!" a familiar—and infuriating—voice called from behind.
(End of Chapter)