"Space-time ninjutsu?"
"The Flying Thunder God?"
Rasa clenched his hand, then quickly slapped the ground with one hand. A patch of gold sand appeared around him, enveloping him and Bunpuku, rapidly forming a golden sphere.
But the next moment, a spatial suction force came from outside. Another kind of space-time ninjutsu?
Rasa immediately sensed that something was wrong, grabbed Bunpuku, and directly escaped using Earth Style.
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!
When he emerged from the ground, the golden sphere had been completely absorbed.
What a terrifying jutsu!
Cold sweat dripped down Rasa's body.
Who on earth is this guy? He swallowed.
"Shukaku, I command you to assist us in battle!"
Bunpuku sighed.
"I don't want to kill people with this power."
Obito appeared in front of Bunpuku. He grabbed Bunpuku and directly retreated with a body flicker. At the same time, a powerful suction force appeared in his pupils. The target… Rasa!
A look of anger flashed in Rasa's eyes.
"It's not up to you. Otherwise… you should understand the consequences."
Bunpuku was silent for a few seconds, but finally, as Obito flickered over, his arm transformed into Shukaku's hand. He did indeed possess the ability to control Shukaku.
Bang!
Obito was sent flying, but he was not seriously injured.
On the other hand, Rasa was pierced through the shoulder by the power of Kamui. But he stood beside Bunpuku, and at this time, Bunpuku was gradually transforming into a Tailed Beast.
Boom!
Sand filled and destroyed the surroundings.
Obito's figure instantly merged into another space, then appeared in the distance.
Kamui!
He was going to take the Jinchuriki directly!
A part of Shukaku gradually disappeared from before Rasa's eyes. He gathered his gold sand to try and stop it, but it was all absorbed. This jutsu…
"I have to attack his main body!"
Rasa controlled his gold sand, which surged towards Obito.
Gold Dust Imperial Rain!
The gold sand turned into a dust storm, flying into the air, and then, under the action of the wind, it flew towards Obito like a downpour. Although the gold sand would be absorbed, more of it got close to Obito, forcing him to give up maintaining Kamui. And the effect this time… was only to absorb the Shukaku hand that Bunpuku had produced.
The real body had only lost one hand.
"Damn it!"
Obito quickly retreated.
Rasa narrowed his eyes, he had a plan—the two space-time abilities could not be used repeatedly in a short period of time. Then… just as he was about to continue his attack, suddenly, the soil under his feet loosened.
What?
Rasa was somewhat taken aback. He looked down and saw a hand extending from below.
Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu!
Although he managed to protect himself with gold sand in time, preventing himself from being completely pulled down, his jutsu was still interrupted. The next second, Obito appeared beside Bunpuku, his body slowly disappearing. A series of sharp spikes quickly shot out from all directions.
Gold Dust Imperial World!
But around Obito, trees grew out, protecting his body. He knows Wood Style too?
At this moment, Rasa's mentality really collapsed a little. What is the origin of this guy? A test subject from Konoha?
Seeing that Obito was about to take the person away… in an instant. Bang! A figure quickly shot out, sending both Obito and Bunpuku flying. Then, one after another, fireballs appeared.
White Zetsu immediately escaped into the ground, but part of his body was still burned. The scorching flames even heated the sand until it was fiery hot.
Scorch Release!
Rasa's eyes lit up. Pakura really isn't dead!
Suddenly, Obito's pupils shrank. He sensed a terrifying chakra presence, as well as a spatial fluctuation.
Space-time ninjutsu! Whether it was Kyohiko or Namikaze Minato, the current Obito couldn't beat either of them. It was already impossible to take Bunpuku away.
Obito couldn't understand.
"Damn it! Why won't you come with me?"
He believed Bunpuku was extremely foolish. These people had treated him like this, yet he still chose to stay, not understanding what the true path to peace was at all.
Bunpuku maintained a Buddhist salute with one hand. It wasn't that he didn't want to put his hands together, but that his other hand was in Obito's dimension, and his shoulder was still bleeding at this moment.
Obito flickered back, and streams of gold sand wrapped around him. Rasa still wanted to make one last attempt. However, all his gold sand was sucked into the spatial passage around Obito. The moment Ryoho Kyohiko landed, Obito's entire body had already become intangible and entered another space.
Obito looked at Bunpuku, then his figure escaped into another dimension.
"You will regret this!"
Last time, Kyohiko had used the Flying Thunder God: Guiding Thunder to blast a Tailed Beast Bomb into his dimension through the residual spatial passage, beating him half to death. Obito didn't want to experience that life-and-death scene again. He quickly escaped into another space and disappeared without a trace under the escort of the gold sand.
Rasa's brow furrowed. The gold sand exploded several times on the spot, with a taste of anger and embarrassment.
"Damn it!"
This guy… if not for his mastery of space-time power, he would have been killed by him several times already. And Konoha's space-time ninjutsu was always very troublesome. Before it was Kyohiko and Minato, and now there was a new face!
He looked towards Pakura's side. But at this time, Pakura had already flickered away and escaped. Only one person remained on the spot… Ryoho Kyohiko.
Rasa took a deep breath.
"What are you doing here!"
Ryoho Kyohiko sneered.
"Heh, I got the news and rushed over to save the day at the first moment. Do you think it was easy coming directly from the Land of Snow?"
Rasa was silent, then bowed slightly.
"Sorry, I was a little emotional just now."
Although he was the Kazekage, but… facing Kyohiko, he had to be soft when he needed to be. Firstly, the other was stronger. Secondly, the current Sunagakure really needed Kyohiko's help. Just now, if not for Kyohiko's arrival, that guy would probably have entangled them for a while longer, and who knows, might have been able to kill Bunpuku and release Shukaku. At that time, Sunagakure's losses would have been too great!
He took a deep breath.
"Thank you for your support. Sunagakure will remember it."
Ryoho Kyohiko sighed softly.
"That's more like it. Our two villages are allies. It's natural to help each other. In fact, when we heard that Takigakure was attacked, we immediately took action."
"Unfortunately, I went to the Land of Snow for another matter. Otherwise, I could have come over earlier and captured Uchiha Obito."
"Uchiha Obito?"
Rasa thought of the strange ninja from just now. It was him?
Ryoho Kyohiko nodded and briefly explained the situation between Obito and "Madara."
"It's a shame. Although we have now cleaned up the internal problems of the Uchiha, Uchiha Madara and his party have still cultivated a capable fighter…"
"So that's how it is."
Rasa was silent.
Madara. He certainly didn't believe before that such a long-dead figure could still be alive in the world. But now, after listening to Kyohiko's account, he felt the credibility had risen to seventy percent—the remaining thirty percent was mainly because he hadn't personally seen Uchiha Madara, so he couldn't completely believe it. And Kyohiko's tone also implied a similar meaning. They haven't seen the real Madara!
After a moment of silence, Ryoho Kyohiko said.
"Let's deal with Elder Bunpuku's matter first."
He looked at the old monk. At this moment, the old monk had already returned to his own prison. But what bound him was not the prison, but the temple, the hearts of the people. As Shukaku had evaluated… this old monk might be pedantic and stubborn, but he did indeed possess a character similar to that of the Sage of Six Paths. He deserved to be respected.
Ryoho Kyohiko moved closer and used medical ninjutsu to heal the wound on his shoulder. But Bunpuku's life force had already reached its end.
"I think you need to consider transferring the Tailed Beast as soon as possible. In a little while, you might have to wait for Shukaku to be reborn."
Bunpuku was dying.
"Then let's switch."
Rasa looked at Bunpuku, his gaze emotionless, as if looking at a tool.
Bunpuku sighed and silently recited scriptures. Although there was a hint of sadness in Rasa's eyes at this moment, it was not for Bunpuku, but for his daughter—according to the agreement, the next Jinchuriki would be his daughter, Temari. At the same time, Temari would go to Konoha and become Sunagakure's "pledge" in Konoha, to show Suna's loyalty.
Originally, the two sides had agreed to send Temari to Konoha when she was five years old… but after the battle with Obito, Rasa knew very well that Sunagakure did not have the ability to protect her. His eyes were dim. First Namikaze Minato, then Ryoho Kyohiko and Hatake Kakashi. Now, Uchiha Obito, who had defected from Konoha, actually had very powerful talent as well. Rasa was very sad. Sunagakure, it seems, has no such genius.
Perhaps they had once. But the highly talented Third Kazekage was dead. Sasori of the Red Sand was not normal and was forced to give up, finally dying at the hands of Ryoho Kyohiko. And Pakura. Between Rasa and Pakura, it was more of a political disagreement; there was no deep-seated hatred. After causing Pakura's death, he once felt regret. Sunagakure was already very weak and shouldn't have used such means. But at that time, he really couldn't think of a better way. But thinking about it afterwards… maybe there was a better way. Pakura's appearance had thrown Rasa's mind into chaos, and under the chaos of his thoughts, he had to stop his regret and remorse.
"Look forward!"
"The priority now is the One-Tailed Shukaku."
Rasa composed himself.
He looked at Kyohiko, formed hand seals to create a shadow clone, and quickly rushed home. His main body remained here with Kyohiko to watch over Bunpuku. At this time, the ninjas of Sunagakure also arrived one after another. But Rasa waved his hand. They did not continue to approach.
After casting aside distracting thoughts, Rasa began to think about the purpose of Kyohiko's visit. The other party had mentioned the Land of Snow several times just now.
Konoha went to the Land of Snow? The Land of Snow, isn't that a major mineral-producing country? Rasa was shocked.
All countries in the shinobi world had some mineral resources, but the rich deposits were mainly in the Land of Earth and the Land of Snow. And the Land of Earth had their own ninjas and teams for excavation. Only the Land of Snow, with its vast territory, sparse population, a country without a ninja village, and very rich mineral resources and supporting facilities.
Rasa's eyes lit up.
"You got the mineral commission for the Land of Snow?"
Ryoho Kyohiko smiled.
"I thought you had already forgotten our cooperation. Well then, I would like to ask, how is the training of your Magnet Release ninjas? Can they meet our industrial needs?"
Rasa forced himself to be calm.
"There has been some progress recently. It's not yet mature enough for actual commissions, but I can take on the work in this area and won't fall behind."
Ryoho Kyohiko frowned, feigning worry.
"That's not very good, is it? If you leave Sunagakure, who will stay behind to guard the village? I don't want Sunagakure to fall into such a crisis again."
Rasa was silent. The current Sunagakure couldn't produce a second powerful ninja like him. There was one before, but… he looked in the direction Pakura had fled, regretting it again in his heart. Why was I so foolish back then?
Ryoho Kyohiko said.
"It seems we'll have to wait until next time to cooperate. This time, we'll mine it ourselves."
Rasa wanted to speak but stopped. The current Sunagakure indeed couldn't do without him, but to watch such a deal slip through his hands, he was unwilling. Let Konoha protect Sunagakure? A dangerous thought flashed through his mind, and then his whole body shivered, and he immediately rejected it. Impossible! To have Konoha send people to protect Sunagakure, what secrets would Suna have left? I'd rather not earn the money than do that!
He squeezed out a smile.
"Then let's forget it this time. Next time, when our Sunagakure has made mature progress in Magnet Release, we'll have a chance to cooperate again."
Ryoho Kyohiko feigned a sigh.
"So be it. What a pity!"
If Sunagakure couldn't participate, the pressure on Konoha's side would certainly be greater, but it was better for the long run. And this aspect had to put pressure on Sunagakure, otherwise how would Rasa make concessions?
He looked at Bunpuku. At this moment, Bunpuku's presence was already gradually weakening, with only a faint trace of life left. Ryoho Kyohiko frowned. The old monk was now holding on by a thread, just wanting to peacefully transition the Tailed Beast. However, as Bunpuku's life force declined, Shukaku's chakra became more and more restless and violent, and the chakra slowly began to riot. It seemed to want to send Bunpuku on his way, and at the same time… send itself on its way.
Ryoho Kyohiko formed hand seals.
"What are you doing?"
Rasa immediately became alert, but the next second, Kyohiko's single hand directly pressed on Bunpuku's abdomen, and a Four Symbols Seal mark slowly spread out.
Shukaku's chakra was suppressed.
Ryoho Kyohiko looked at Rasa.
"Is she here yet?"
Rasa was at a loss for words. He didn't know what the situation was with his clone, but the shadow clone hadn't returned yet, so it should be on its way. However, the next second, Bunpuku's presence gradually weakened. He couldn't stand the commotion anymore. After this, he was left with only one breath.
Ryoho Kyohiko took half a step back.
"Make a choice."
"Unseal! The next Jinchuriki is on the way."
"Alright."
Ryoho Kyohiko formed hand seals and released the Four Symbols Seal again.
Then—Unsealing Jutsu! The seal was instantly released.
At this moment, a commotion came from the rear, and then a figure grabbed a little girl and ran wildly with a body flicker. Rolling gold sand was wrapped around them.
Swish!
The clone was released.
Rasa's voice was cold.
"She's here!"
The girl's eyes flashed with despair.
"Chichi-ue…"
She understood her fate and ending, but at this moment, she still hoped that her loving father would change his mind. However, there was only coldness on Rasa's face.
"This is your destined fate!"
Before Kyohiko could draw out the chakra… Roar! A furious roar.
The chakra rushed out, the powerful presence shaking the surroundings. The One-Tailed Shukaku was out!
Ryoho Kyohiko grabbed Temari and quickly moved away.
"Kazekage-sama, you'll probably have to solve Shukaku yourself!"
This was Sunagakure's Shukaku. He had already given them enough face by helping to suppress the seal and unseal it. Why should he risk his life?