Chapter 35: Rasa’s Ambush

Author Note:

Here's the BONUS CHAPTER as promised—thanks for the support, and let's keep this energy going!

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Kato Dan sat cross-legged, his body still and unresponsive.

The four other Jōnin positioned themselves defensively around him, forming a protective square. Each faced a different direction, eyes sharp, chakra ready.

"Is the captain unable to see or hear anything in this state?"

Guts suddenly asked, watching Kato Dan's blank expression.

A middle-aged Jōnin, noting Guts's age with a hint of curiosity, nodded.

"Yes. This technique is powerful—few jutsu can affect the spiritual plane."

"But while the soul is out, the body is completely vulnerable. That's why missions like this require a team."

"Huh,"

Guts said casually, eyeing Kato Dan.

"So, if I slapped him right now, he wouldn't even notice?"

The question nearly made the Jōnin spit out water.

"You brat!" the older shinobi coughed, both amused and irritated.

"Trying to ruin team chemistry already?"

"Just kidding,"

Guts waved it off and resumed his alert stance.

"Don't worry. I don't care if he dies, but if the enemy shows up, they won't exactly be picky."

The team fell silent again, the desert wind whispering across the sand.

Three minutes passed.

The four Jōnin scanned their surroundings, eyes constantly moving.

Guts, however, suddenly narrowed his gaze, focusing on a sandstone boulder roughly twenty meters ahead to the right.

He raised a finger.

"Finger Gun."

A sharp burst of compressed air exploded from his fingertip, boring a clean hole through the thick rock with a sound like thunder. The rock shattered—pierced straight through.

"Are you insane!?"

One of the Jōnin shouted, furious.

"You trying to alert the enemy?! This mission is top secret!"

The other three Jōnin looked equally angry.

Twenty kilometers might sound distant, but to a trained shinobi, that was only a ten-minute sprint.

Worse yet, they were operating near the border of the enemy's territory.

But Guts remained calm.

"Look closely."

He pointed at the boulder.

The four leaned in, and seconds later, their eyes widened.

Floating particles of yellow sand around the rock had gathered into the shape of an eye.

But now, a perfect hole was punched through its center—courtesy of Guts's attack.

The Eye of Sand.

A surveillance jutsu, later seen in the Chūnin Exams, often associated with Gaara. But in this era, only one person knew how to use it.

And he wasn't a child.

Suddenly, the ground quaked beneath them. Yellow sand surged upward like a wave, throwing the team off balance.

Guts reacted instantly, springing into the air, eyes locked on the desert's surface.

The sand writhed and coiled unnaturally, as if manipulated by an unseen force—like a tsunami made of dust.

Gaara? No.

Not yet.

There's only one other who could do this.

The other four Jōnin struggled to regain their footing. Kato Dan, still deep in his wet dream Spiritualization Technique, lay completely exposed.

One of the younger Jōnin, the same one who'd yelled at Guts earlier, bit his lip, grabbed Kato Dan, and leapt—just a second too slow.

The wave of sand caught his ankle mid-air.

Crack!

"AAAGHHH!!!"

With a scream of pain, both he and Kato Dan tumbled back to the ground.

"Get out of the way!"

Guts said loudly, slamming his fist into the desert floor.

BOOM!!!

The impact sent shockwaves through the ground. Sand exploded upward in a wide arc, scattering into the sky.

From the upheaval, a dozen Sunagakure shinobi were flung into the open—revealed at last.

They wore headbands of the Hidden Sand and expressions of shock.

At their front stood a young man, around eighteen, with piercing eyes and short, dark red hair. His black combat vest fluttered in the wind.

Guts immediately recognized him.

Rasa.

The future Fourth Kazekage.

And Gara's father in name only.

When Guts had sensed the "third eye" earlier, he'd already suspected. Now, the confirmation stood before him.

Rasa stepped forward with calm arrogance.

"So it's true. Konoha has a shinobi adept at Spiritualization Technique. I expected you'd send him to infiltrate us. That's why I've been waiting—right here."

His lips curled slightly.

"Let your corpses serve as a warning. Konoha's morale will fall when they see how easily you died."

Guts tilted his head, unimpressed.

"A Jōnin under twenty, huh? Is that what you're proud of?"

The smugness on Rasa's face faltered.

He had been promoted young. But compared to legends like the Sannin, or Namikaze Minato, who reached elite Jōnin status at fifteen, it was hardly exceptional.

And now, a child—no older than five—was challenging him.

Another Konoha prodigy.

Rasa's face darkened.

"Hmph. Geniuses often die early,"

He muttered coldly. Then, forming a seal, he slammed his hands together.

"Quicksand Waterfall Flow!"

A torrent of sand surged toward them like a living avalanche.

Guts narrowed his eyes.

He hasn't mastered Gold Dust yet.

As the massive wave loomed overhead, Guts tensed, prepared to meet it head-on.

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