126-130

*Chapter 126: Rasa – The Advantage Is Mine!*

"Everyone wants to kill me."

"My father wants to kill me."

"Even my uncle wants to kill me."

"Haha...hahaha..."

Wrapped in crimson chakra, Gaara suddenly opened his eyes. His pupils had been completely consumed by hatred as he whispered softly, "In that case... die."

"Everyone, die together!"

Gaara finally made his decision, surrendering his soul fully to hell.

In that instant, a suffocating aura exploded, spreading like a tsunami through the entire village. Even the desert winds seemed to howl in agony.

The crimson chakra burst forth wildly from Gaara's body, forming into countless grains of sand that converged into a colossal creature.

The One-Tailed Shukaku had returned to the mortal realm.

The moment it reappeared, Shukaku let out a sharp, piercing roar: "I'm finally free again!"

Its body, a massive construction of sand and stone, loomed like a mountain. Its surface was covered in seal-like markings, and just the smallest movement of its enormous form was enough to shake the heavens and the earth.

The roar awakened the deepest fears of every resident of the Sand Village.

Shukaku's gigantic silhouette weighed on their hearts like a crushing mountain.

Perhaps eager to release the fury of being sealed for so many years, Shukaku raised its massive tail. A terrifying shadow engulfed countless houses, crashing down like a giant sword.

The sky seemed to collapse.

Even the arriving ninja quickly using Earth-Style jutsu to create countless walls were utterly helpless against Shukaku's immense size.

Under the tremendous impact, the Earth-Style walls shattered like children's blocks, followed by the houses beneath them, and then the very ground itself.

All defenses proved futile against Shukaku's casual strike.

Deep fissures tore through the ground, shattering the earth into rubble and sending dust clouds rolling wildly outward.

"So, this is the power of a Tailed Beast?"

Kaneki observed Shukaku's actions closely.

To be precise, he had been recording everything: from the Jinchūriki's emotional instability, the Tailed Beast's rampage, the Jinchūriki willingly releasing the seal, to the full manifestation of the Tailed Beast and its subsequent behavior. All of it was valuable experimental data.

Shukaku, as the first Tailed Beast Kaneki had encountered, did not disappoint with its display of power.

To say nothing else, its sheer size alone was enough to shift the tide of a battlefield!

Kaneki took a deep breath, savoring the chakra-filled air and the fear emanating from the villagers.

"How exciting!"

In contrast to Kaneki's "excitement," Rasa's face was as dark as storm clouds.

Originally, he had only planned to use Yashamaru's death to test Gaara's potential as a weapon.

If Gaara's potential fell short, Rasa intended to sever Gaara's worldly attachments and turn him into a heartless killing machine.

Even if Gaara went berserk, Rasa believed he could easily suppress him with the sealing formulas left on Gaara and his own Gold Dust techniques.

But who could have predicted that the seal on Gaara would unravel so completely this time? Worse yet, he was being held up by this "Tobi."

"To lose control this thoroughly... It seems Gaara's potential is indeed lacking," Rasa muttered darkly, glaring at the fully released Shukaku.

Kaneki scratched at his mask, feigning annoyance.

"Stop rambling about 'potential' already. If you had the guts, you would’ve volunteered to be the Tailed Beast's Jinchūriki back then, instead of forcing a child to endure such pain."

"And don’t assume that just because you're willing to sacrifice yourself for the village, everyone else is too. Don’t impose your will on others, you scumbag—you're worse than a murderer."

As the Kazekage, Rasa had never been spoken to so crudely. For a moment, he was too stunned to retort, his face flushing red with anger.

Kaneki continued mercilessly, "Quit holding your breath in frustration. At this rate, the Sand Village you’re so desperate to protect will soon be reduced to rubble."

Sure enough, at the rate Shukaku was wreaking havoc, not just one Sand Village—ten would have been flattened.

"You little brat!"

Rasa, struggling for a better comeback, could only spit out a weak insult that had no effect on Kaneki.

Giving up on handling Shukaku first, Rasa decided to eliminate this annoying brat before him.

The Anbu and other ninja had already arrived at the battlefield. They should be able to hold Shukaku off for now. Rasa just needed to take care of Kaneki as quickly as possible.

*With greater numbers, the advantage is mine!*

"Prepare to die!"

Rasa raised his hand, and countless streams of Gold Dust emerged from every crack in the building, forming into sharp spears aimed at Kaneki from all directions.

"Magnet Release? Interesting," Kaneki muttered, showing no sign of fear—only intrigue.

After all, he had never acquired an experimental subject with a Kekkei Genkai before.

Seeing Kaneki's relaxed expression, Rasa clenched his hand tightly.

The golden spears shot toward Kaneki from all directions.

"Earth Style: Hiding Like a Mole Technique!"

Kaneki sank into the ground, narrowly evading the attack.

Rasa frowned. "He can use jutsu without seals?"

Emerging outside the Kazekage's building, Kaneki spread a pair of enormous blood-red wings from his back.

Flapping the wings sent a powerful gust of air, propelling Kaneki into the sky like a rocket.

Of course, Rasa wasn’t going to let Kaneki escape so easily. Forming seals once again, he shouted:

"Magnet Release: Gold Dust Wave!"

A torrent of Gold Dust erupted like an inverted waterfall, surging toward the sky.

Watching the wave rush toward him, Kaneki's eyes gleamed thoughtfully.

"Did he prepare a massive amount of Gold Dust underground in advance, then use Magnet Release chakra to manipulate it for his attack?"

"An impressive and creative strategy."

Even when facing a Kage-level opponent, Kaneki remained composed.

Naturally, his calm demeanor only infuriated Rasa further.

"Damn you, brat! Don't underestimate the Kazekage!"

The Gold Dust surged faster, forcing Kaneki to adjust his mask slightly, preparing to deal with the attack seriously.

---

*End of Chapter*

*Chapter 127: Combined Ninjutsu*

A surge of golden sand roared upward like a mighty river defying the heavens, its momentum vast and unstoppable.

"By launching such a massive attack, he's covering all the paths I could use to evade," Kaneki calmly analyzed.

Raising his palm, a swarm of explosive insects shot out from the mouth on his palm, diving straight into the incoming golden sand. Once inside, they detonated, using the force of the internal explosions to disperse the sand.

In the instant the wave of sand shattered, several massive blood-red tentacles sprouted behind Kaneki, thrusting downward through the fractured golden sand.

The blood-red tentacles exuded an aura of extreme malevolence, causing Rasa's expression to grow even more serious.

Without hesitation, Rasa controlled the surrounding golden sand, forming a thick, solid wall in front of himself.

The enormous tentacles struck the sand wall with great force, but it wasn’t enough to shake the golden sand's density.

"Impressive durability," Kaneki remarked indifferently.

At that moment, small openings began appearing on the tentacles' surface, releasing waves of purple poison gas.

The poison gas corroded the surface of the golden sand wall upon contact, creating faint wisps of white smoke.

"This is..."  

Rasa, a veteran of many wars during the Second Great Ninja War, immediately recognized the purple gas. It reminded him of a man who once struck terror into every ninja village: the one known as the "Demi-God," Hanzo of the Salamander.  

And Rasa’s guess wasn’t wrong. This toxic ability did indeed originate from Hanzo's salamander.

After studying its poison glands, Kaneki transferred this ability to his clone and even refined it to a certain extent.

"I can’t let this poison spread any further inside the village," Rasa thought with a grim expression as he swiftly formed hand seals.

*"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"*

A powerful gust of wind erupted from Rasa's mouth, blowing the spreading poison gas high into the air.

Immediately after:

*"Magnet Style: Golden Sand Blades!"*

Strands of golden sand separated from the thick sand wall, transforming into razor-sharp blades that sliced through the poison-releasing tentacles.

"This isn’t enough. I need to eliminate the source of the poison," Rasa thought darkly.

Kaneki’s poison gas was wreaking havoc on one side, while the One-Tail Shukaku was rampaging uncontrollably on the other. As the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa was reaching the limits of his patience.

His mounting anger transformed into terrifying power, directing countless streams of golden sand toward Kaneki.

Noticing the shift in Rasa’s demeanor, Kaneki’s expression took on an amused look.

"For someone so cruel to his own son, you seem very concerned about the villagers. How ironic," Kaneki sneered.

"What do you know, brat?!"  

Rasa could no longer hold back his rage. He condensed the golden sand into thousands of long spears, sending them hurtling toward Kaneki in midair.

"What a powerful attack," Kaneki muttered.

He retracted all his tentacles and assumed a defensive stance. Folding his wings around himself, his skin sprouted layers of hardened armor, enclosing him into a steel-like sphere.

The next second, Rasa’s relentless assault enveloped him.

The sharp, unyielding spears struck Kaneki with immense force, creating dazzling sparks that lit up the night sky.

Although Kaneki's armor bore countless scratches, he withstood the storm of golden sand.

"Even this can’t break your defense?"  

Rasa stared at the figure surrounded by sparks and suddenly smirked.

"Unfortunately for you, while your strength is impressive, I still have the upper hand in experience!"  

He clenched his hand, summoning the dispersed particles of golden sand that had shattered into dust during their collision.

Rasa commanded the airborne sand to close in rapidly around Kaneki, aiming to trap him midair.

Yet, despite hiding within his armored wings, Kaneki could still perceive the outside world.

The moment Rasa paused his offensive, an eye opened on the surface of Kaneki's armored body.

"That was close. If I’d been sealed by the golden sand, even I would have struggled to escape without outside help."  

Realizing Rasa’s intentions, Kaneki prepared his next move.

A fissure appeared on the surface of the armored sphere, and a powerful burst of air erupted from within. Propelled by the pressure, Kaneki, wearing his tiger-patterned mask, shot downward like a cannonball toward Rasa.

The sudden turn of events caught Rasa off guard. Much of his golden sand had already been sent into the air, leaving less than half at his disposal.

But the battlefield leaves no room for hesitation. Rasa quickly mobilized the remaining sand to intercept Kaneki.

*"Wind Style: Pressure Damage!"*

Kaneki formed seals, gathering a massive amount of chakra in his mouth, condensing it into a high-pressure stream of air.

And he wasn’t finished. After completing the Wind Style hand seals, he immediately formed another set.

*"Lightning Style: False Darkness!"*

Blinding lightning erupted from Kaneki's mouth, crackling with destructive energy.

Wind chakra and lightning chakra fused seamlessly, combining the high-pressure air and the lightning’s piercing power into a single, devastating technique.

*"Combined Ninjutsu: Thunderous Roar of the Wind God!"*

A destructive aura radiated from Kaneki as a blinding white beam of energy shot downward, like divine judgment striking Rasa’s golden sand wall.

"Is this... combined ninjutsu?"  

The white light illuminated Rasa’s pale face, his eyes widening in shock.

It wasn’t because he had never seen combined ninjutsu before—quite the opposite. Having witnessed it, he understood just how extraordinary it was.

Combined ninjutsu typically required two people to execute. Both ninjas needed perfect synchronization, releasing their techniques at precisely the right moment to achieve an effect greater than the sum of their parts.

It demanded an extraordinary level of trust and understanding between the users.

Yet this brat before him had performed it alone.

"Just how deep is his understanding of ninjutsu?"  

The destructive force of the combined Wind and Lightning Style instantly shattered Rasa’s golden sand defense. The high-pressure air erupted through the opening torn by the lightning, expanding with ferocious intensity.

The attack was so fast that all anyone could see was a flash of blinding white light. Then, the golden sand wall in front of Rasa crumbled to pieces with a deafening crash.

*(End of Chapter)*

Chapter 128: Don’t Underestimate the Shadow of the Sand Village!

A bolt of lightning illuminated the dark night, and the high-pressure air stream shattered the golden sand wall into pieces.

Behind Kaneki, flames of Kagune surged like burning wings, propelling his speed to the limit. In an instant, he tore through the crumbling sand and turbulent airflow, appearing directly in front of Rasa.

With a swift, clean slash, Rasa’s head fell effortlessly to the ground.

“A sand clone, huh…”

Kaneki turned his gaze downward.

Sure enough, the head that had fallen to the ground instantly turned into sand and dispersed.

A hand suddenly emerged from the ground, firmly grasping Kaneki’s ankle.

“I told you, don’t underestimate the Shadow of the Sand Village.”

The ground beneath Kaneki’s feet quickly turned into flowing sand. Under the dragging force of the hand, his entire body was swiftly pulled toward the depths of the sand.

The moving grains of sand rubbed against each other, releasing an incredibly terrifying pressure.

Rasa unleashed all his power.

By now, he was certain of one thing: he had to use his full strength to deal with this masked brat standing before him!

A massive surge of power erupted from Rasa’s wrist, and the surrounding sand cooperated perfectly, rising to tightly enclose Kaneki.

But even this level of pressure wasn’t enough to render Kaneki helpless.

To be certain, countless sealing scripts, like chains, crawled onto the golden sand enveloping Kaneki.

An immense sealing force was instantly released, trapping Kaneki securely!

Rasa exhaled heavily after completing the technique.

From the way his chest rose and fell violently, it was clear that this battle against Kaneki had drained him considerably.

“Although I burned through a lot of chakra, I’ve finally managed to seal this guy—at least for now.”

Rasa breathed a sigh of relief. Had he not risked his life to bait Kaneki into attacking, the outcome would’ve been hard to predict.

With this matter settled temporarily, his next focus would be…

Rasa shifted his gaze from the sealed “pyramid” of golden sand to Shukaku, who was still wreaking havoc on the village.

With its massive size, Shukaku’s destruction was happening at an alarming speed.

A single movement from the beast caused extensive property damage and countless civilian casualties.

Of course, the Sand Village’s shinobi weren’t just standing idly by.

Through their coordinated attacks and continuous harassment, Shukaku’s body was already covered in numerous wounds.

But the price was steep—the sacrifice of many shinobi.

Now that it was free, Shukaku’s rage was uncontainable. Combined with Gaara’s deep hatred toward the Sand Village, Shukaku’s destructive urges were magnified tenfold.

“All of you… die!”

A shrill voice echoed as Shukaku opened its mouth. A massive amount of chakra condensed into air currents, compressed within its giant maw.

As if venting years of pent-up fury, Shukaku unleashed the attack in one terrifying burst!

The violent, high-pressure air stream swept across everything, obliterating anything in its path.

Houses shattered in the storm, the ground was ripped apart with ease, and those shinobi who failed to dodge were crushed into pulp.

The Drilling Air Bullet tore a deep, gaping scar through the Sand Village, stretching from its center all the way to the outskirts.

“So this… is the power of a Tailed Beast…”

Everyone was left in shock at Shukaku’s display of power.

Some shinobi even showed overwhelming fear in their eyes. If not for the fear of punishment, half of them might have already fled.

After all, a Tailed Beast’s immense size, chakra reserves, and devastating jutsu brought unparalleled pressure to any shinobi.

With such massive chakra reserves, even the simplest technique from a Tailed Beast could wreak near-apocalyptic devastation.

It was no wonder Tailed Beasts were regarded as strategic weapons. Without sufficiently powerful warriors to seal them, ordinary shinobi would find it nearly impossible to exhaust a Tailed Beast’s chakra.

Just as despair began to settle among the shinobi, their hero finally appeared.

The ground beneath Shukaku suddenly cracked open, and countless streams of golden sand shot out, binding the beast tightly like unyielding ropes.

The sudden appearance of the golden sand reignited hope in everyone’s hearts.

“It’s the Fourth Kazekage!”

“Lord Rasa is here!”

“Thank goodness. With Lord Rasa here, Shukaku will definitely be sealed again.”

Rasa’s appearance instantly boosted the morale of the shinobi.

“Damn you, Rasa!”

Shukaku struggled against the golden sand’s restraints, cursing the man who had once sealed him away.

“Of course… I can’t rely on that idiot Kaneki to stop him!”

Shukaku cursed Kaneki as well.

At this moment, Rasa floated in front of Shukaku, standing atop a platform of golden sand.

As the Kazekage, Rasa had significant experience in dealing with Shukaku’s rampages.

After all, his large-scale golden sand techniques were highly effective against the beast.

“Shukaku, it’s time to go back.”

With those words, Rasa raised both hands high. More golden sand surged from the ground, turning the Sand Village into a veritable ocean of gold.

Shukaku, now trapped, felt like it was sinking into a swamp. No matter how much it struggled, the sheer volume of golden sand held it tightly.

Finally free from its seal, there was no way Shukaku, a proud Tailed Beast, would quietly accept defeat.

“All of you… die!”

Shukaku let out a piercing shriek, and everyone on the battlefield immediately felt an oppressive, suffocating pressure.

Rasa’s pupils trembled slightly as he looked up. “It’s that move!”

Shukaku opened its mouth once more, condensing pale blue Yang Release chakra and dark red Yin Release chakra.

Under Shukaku’s control, the two chakra types fused together, gradually forming a dark purple, nearly black, sphere.

The instant the sphere took shape, a crushing sense of impending doom settled over everyone.

With his wealth of experience fighting Shukaku, Rasa immediately recognized the technique.

“It’s the Tailed Beast Bomb! It must be stopped!”

Rasa’s expression turned grim. If Shukaku were to launch the Tailed Beast Bomb at the Sand Village, at least half—

At least half of the village would be reduced to rubble!

The resulting shockwave could potentially devastate the entire village.

It had to be stopped!

These thoughts raced through Rasa’s mind in less than a second.

As the feeling of impending destruction grew heavier, Rasa finally took action.

“Magnet Release: Golden Sand Wave!”

The golden sand beneath Shukaku suddenly surged upward, forming a massive tidal wave that slammed into the beast, knocking it off balance.

Shukaku’s Tailed Beast Bomb veered off course and shot toward the sky instead…

“Boom!”

---

*(End of Chapter)*

*Chapter 129: Long Live Lord Jashin*

The night sky was lit up.

A terrifying crimson explosion tore apart the clouds looming over Sunagakure.

A dazzling sun seemed to bloom in the sky, its scorching light almost burning those below. The deafening explosion threatened to rupture everyone’s eardrums.

Next came the shockwave—an overwhelming torrent of air that bore down on Sunagakure, leaving the entire village breathless.

This was the power of a Tailed Beast Bomb.

And this was its impact, even detonated hundreds of meters above the village.

It was hard to imagine what would have happened if such an attack had landed directly inside the village.

Every villager shuddered at the thought.

The fear of Gaara and Shukaku only deepened in their hearts.

Truly, such a monster should never have been allowed to remain in the village—even if he was the Kazekage’s son!

Thankfully, all of this would soon come to an end…

With hope in their eyes, they turned toward the battlefield.

Having unleashed the Tailed Beast Bomb, Shukaku no longer had any chance to resist. To minimize further destruction, Rasa quickly manipulated his gold dust, forming a vast sea to reseal Shukaku once again.

Other ninja stood guard around Rasa, remaining vigilant to ensure no one disrupted the process.

As the golden dust fully engulfed Shukaku, intricate sealing scripts spread across the surface.

Under the pressure of the sealing technique, Shukaku’s massive form began to shrink bit by bit, unwillingly reverting into chakra that was sealed back into Gaara’s body.

“Gaara still doesn’t have the composure to become a perfect Jinchūriki. It seems he can only be turned into an emotionless weapon,” Rasa muttered in disappointment, adding even more layers of seals onto Shukaku.

As the Tailed Beast chakra was sealed away, Gaara’s small, fragile body emerged from the sand.

The corrosive effects of Shukaku’s chakra had left his skin completely eroded. His entire body looked bloodied and raw.

Rasa, however, remained indifferent. What mattered to him was whether his child could grow into the weapon he desired.

Judging from Gaara’s performance, he was clearly dissatisfied.

To fall into darkness over Yashamaru’s death and relinquish control of his body to Shukaku? Such weakness was absolutely unacceptable!

Furthermore, his failure had allowed that mysterious figure to exploit the opportunity, causing massive losses to Sunagakure.

If Rasa hadn’t risked his own life to contain the intruder, the village might not have survived this ordeal.

Thinking of this, Rasa’s gaze toward Gaara grew even colder.

If not for Gaara’s weakness, Sunagakure wouldn’t have suffered such a heavy blow!

“Take Gaara to receive treatment,” Rasa ordered.

He called for a medical ninja to tend to Gaara.

After all, if the Jinchūriki were to die, the Tailed Beast would perish with him.

Though a Tailed Beast would eventually reincarnate, who knew when or where Shukaku would revive?

News of the Tailed Beast’s rampage in Sunagakure was bound to spread to the other great ninja villages.

If Gaara died and this information leaked, Sunagakure would face enormous military pressure.

Even if they managed to endure, wouldn’t they still need to capture Shukaku again in a few decades?

Thus, regardless of Rasa’s feelings toward Gaara, for now, the Jinchūriki absolutely could not die.

After settling the matter with Gaara, Rasa could finally turn his attention to another pressing issue—the masked intruder.

He was impatient to discover who had dared to plot against Sunagakure!

Was it Konoha? Or one of the other great nations?

What was their goal? The Tailed Beast? Or did they simply want to see Sunagakure suffer devastating losses?

Whatever the case, he needed answers.

And if the man refused to cooperate, Sunagakure had its own ways of extracting the truth.

Rasa approached the small pyramid of gold dust that sealed Kaneki and slowly began to undo the seal.

To ensure nothing went wrong, Rasa had summoned several Anbu ninja to guard the area.

After all, his chakra reserves were almost depleted after the prolonged battle.

If that hadn’t been the case, he wouldn’t have risked unsealing the enemy now.

It would have been far wiser to wait until the village’s turmoil had been brought under control before interrogating him.

But there was no choice—if Rasa didn’t deal with the enemy now, the seal restraining him would weaken over time.

Allowing him to escape would be disastrous.

Still, Rasa was confident.

Under the pressure of his sealing techniques, the masked man wouldn’t have a chance to cause trouble.

And with so many Anbu ready to act at the first sign of danger, it was impossible for him to escape.

With everything in place, Rasa finally lifted the seal.

As the sealing scripts faded, the gold dust that restrained Kaneki began to dissipate.

Rasa carefully controlled the speed of the dispersal, halting it once Kaneki’s head was exposed.

That was all he needed to extract information.

The moment Kaneki saw Rasa, he smiled.

Of course, the mask concealed his expression, but his voice carried an unmistakable hint of amusement.

“Well done, Kazekage-dono. You managed to suppress Shukaku so quickly.”

Rasa ignored the mocking tone and asked coldly, “I’ll ask you again—who are you, and what is your objective?”

Unlike before, Rasa was now the victor, while Kaneki was the defeated.

Yet, Kaneki showed no sign of frustration. He simply chuckled and said, “I’ll answer again: I am the earthly servant of Lord Jashin, His most faithful follower—call me Afei.”

Rasa narrowed his eyes and ordered, “Remove his mask. Enough with these games.”

Unfazed, Kaneki allowed two Anbu ninja to remove his mask, revealing a face unfamiliar to all.

The two Anbu glanced at each other and shook their heads.

This meant the man wasn’t from Sunagakure, nor was he affiliated with any known ninja village.

“If we can’t confirm his identity, then we’ll search his soul!”

Upon Rasa’s command, one of the Anbu immediately performed a secret technique to invade Kaneki’s mind and extract information.

Strangely, Rasa waited for a long time without any response.

“What’s going on?” he demanded.

Another Anbu placed a hand on his comrade’s shoulder.

The mind-reading ninja slowly turned, revealing a nearly deranged smile.

With one swift motion, he plunged a kunai into his partner’s chest. Then, raising his bloodstained hands to the sky, he shouted:

“Long live Lord Jashin!”

*(End of Chapter)*

Chapter 130: Art Is... X2

“Damn it!”

Upon noticing the anomaly, Rasa immediately controlled his gold sand to restrain the crazed Anbu ninja.

But right then, he met Kaneki's faint smile.

“Mr. Rasa, are you ready to welcome the punishment of the Evil God…”

“Punishment, is it?”

As Kaneki’s smile widened, an overwhelming and dangerous aura erupted from him, leaking uncontrollably.

Rasa’s heart sank, and he instinctively tried to cover Kaneki again with his gold sand.

But it was already too late.

“Praise the Evil God.”

As Kaneki’s words fell, his entire body began to grow wildly and uncontrollably. Countless tentacles shot out in every direction.

Sensing imminent danger, Rasa shouted, “Retreat!”

Using the Body Flicker Technique, he quickly distanced himself from Kaneki. The faster-reacting Anbu members also swiftly fled the scene.

However, some ninja were not fast enough and were pierced by Kaneki’s tentacles.

The tentacles wriggled inside their bodies, draining them dry within seconds.

Outside, Rasa ignored the fallen ninja. Using the last of his chakra, he manipulated his gold sand to completely enclose Kaneki.

The next second, Kaneki’s grotesquely expanded body exploded violently.

The horrifying shockwave shattered the gold sand walls Rasa had constructed. A flood of crimson light engulfed everyone’s vision, destroying the ground, buildings—everything in its path turned to dust.

When the crimson light finally faded, the center of Sunagakure had been flattened, leaving only a terrifying crater.

At the same time as the explosion—

The Anbu squad escorting Gaara came under attack.

After all, our great Evil God had more than one loyal follower.

Sunagakure Hospital

The Anbu squad tasked with protecting Gaara had just arrived at the hospital, only to find bloodstains covering the floor.

Moments later, Hidan—clad in the Akatsuki’s signature cloud-patterned cloak—emerged from the hallway, carrying his massive triple-bladed scythe over his shoulder.

“This is so annoying. That idiot Kaneki actually made me take on a job like this…”

Hidan scowled. After all, what he enjoyed was straightforward, brutal killing—not sneaking around to abduct some brat.

But since it was Kaneki’s command, he had no choice but to comply, however reluctantly.

“Damn it, another lunatic from the Evil God’s cult?”

The Anbu ninja protecting Gaara looked grim.

The squad leader quickly issued orders: “The medical staff in the hospital are already dead. Take the Jinchūriki and return to Lord Kazekage immediately. I’ll hold this guy off.”

No sooner had he finished speaking than Hidan grinned and stepped forward.

“Lunatic from the Evil God’s cult? That’s an accurate description. I like it. But don’t you think you’re overestimating yourself if you think you can stop me alone?!”

In a flash, Hidan appeared in front of the Anbu squad, his enormous blood-red scythe slicing through the air in a graceful arc.

Although the three Anbu ninja were quite skilled, it made no difference against Hidan. Within two minutes, they had all fallen under his relentless assault.

“This kind of rainstorm-like battle is so dull. They didn’t even get to witness the judgment of the Evil God properly,” Hidan muttered with disappointment.

Unfortunately, he had to finish the job quickly. Otherwise, Kaneki would probably shove his head into a test tube again.

After dispatching the Anbu squad, Hidan suddenly noticed the crimson light erupting from Sunagakure’s center.

“Hah, that idiot Kaneki used his self-destruction move again.”

The terrifying explosion naturally threw Sunagakure into chaos.

Everyone’s attention was focused on the blast's epicenter—Sunagakure’s core area.

With Gaara temporarily overlooked, Hidan took advantage of the distraction. Guided by his insect scouts, he smoothly found a route and slipped out of Sunagakure unnoticed.

At this moment, the village remained in turmoil.

Kaneki’s explosion was not merely a blast; it also released a large amount of toxic gas that spread across the village, carried by the shockwave.

If not handled properly, the post-battle death toll would be unimaginable.

Fortunately, Sunagakure’s ninja were skilled in Wind Release techniques, giving them a slight edge in dealing with the poisonous mist.

Once the village had stabilized somewhat, Rasa received a piece of news that nearly made him faint.

“The One-Tail Jinchūriki, Gaara, is missing.”

“Didn’t I assign an Anbu squad to protect him?”

Rasa’s face darkened to the point of dripping water.

The disasters Sunagakure had faced tonight were simply overwhelming.

First was Shukaku’s rampage. Just as they managed to suppress it, a mysterious individual launched a suicide attack. Now Gaara, the Jinchūriki, was missing...

The Anbu ninja standing before Rasa could clearly sense the overwhelming killing intent radiating from the Kazekage.

In response to Rasa’s inquiry, the Anbu gritted his teeth and replied, “At the same time as the explosion, another mysterious individual attacked the hospital and abducted the One-Tail Jinchūriki.”

Hearing this, Rasa smashed his fist against the wall, gritting his teeth. “Damn it! As I suspected, their target is Shukaku inside Gaara!”

After calming himself, Rasa quickly issued orders: “Recall all ninja currently on missions outside the village. Dispatch elite squads of Jōnin to follow the enemy’s trail and retrieve Gaara at all costs!”

“Yes, sir!”

Rasa clenched his fists tightly.

Honestly, he wanted to personally lead the effort to rescue Gaara.

The problem was, he couldn’t risk leaving the village unattended, as there was no telling if those fanatics from the Evil God’s cult would strike again.

For one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages to be toyed with so thoroughly by a mere cult—it was clear Sunagakure’s reputation on the international stage would take a massive hit.

Under such pressure, Sunagakure’s war machine finally began to operate at full capacity.

All ninja were recalled, ensuring that Rasa had enough forces to command.

The border patrols were strengthened to prevent neighboring nations from exploiting the chaos.

Within the village, some ninja were tasked with clearing Kaneki’s poisonous gas and managing the aftermath, while others formed elite search squads to locate and recover the One-Tail Jinchūriki.

True to its reputation as one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, Sunagakure quickly regained stability after the unexpected chaos and responded in the most effective way possible.

(End of Chapter)