"Tch, what a miserable sight."
Kiyosuke shook his head as he looked at Rasa's brutally mangled corpse, as if he hadn't been the one to do it. But truth be told, if he had revealed his full abilities, this guy would've died even more horribly.
With a wave of his hand, the stone forest around them vanished—it had all been an illusion.
Dragging the body behind him, he walked forward and soon ran straight into Pakura and her group. When they saw Rasa's corpse in Kiyosuke's hand, everyone was stunned.
"Kazekage-sama?!"
"No way! Kazekage-sama!!!"
"Impossible! How could he…?! Avenge Kazekage-sama!"
Rasa's death drove them into a frenzy. The group of Sunagakure shinobi charged forward, Pakura among them. Yet, as she looked at Rasa's lifeless body, all she felt inside was exhilaration.
How satisfying!
Still, she pretended to join the crowd rushing to attack Kiyosuke.
"Inorganic Reincarnation!"
The sand beneath their feet transformed into a towering sand giant. Mounted atop it, Kiyosuke looked down at the crowd. The sand giant swung its massive arm, swatting away several ninja like flies.
"How?! Why can he control sand?!"
Only one person in the current Sunagakure possessed the ability to control sand—Rasa's son, Gaara, the Jinchūriki of the One-Tail Shukaku. But Gaara didn't yet have the power to kill the Fourth Kazekage… unless the Tailed Beast had gone berserk.
Yet everyone could see clearly—the armored man before them had no connection to the One-Tail.
"You know nothing of true power!"
Kiyosuke deepened his voice deliberately.
"I am the most benevolent, the supreme, the most powerful king! Trying to kill me is! Utterly foolish! Hahahahahaha!!!"
Controlling the sand giant, he threw another punch, sending more shinobi flying.
"Your Fourth Kazekage was worth quite a lot on the black market. Solved my financial troubles nicely."
"You bastard! How dare you desecrate Kazekage-sama like this!"
"Out of my way!" Pakura raised both hands, a massive orange-red fireball forming in her palms.
"Pakura-sama!!"
"Scorch Style!"
The fireball shot toward Kiyosuke. He snorted and used Water Style to extinguish most of it.
Hiss!
The moisture in the air instantly evaporated. Even Rasa's corpse in Kiyosuke's hand shriveled up. Thankfully, Kiyosuke had partially elementalized his body—otherwise, he might have been hit directly.
"Scorch Style, huh? That's definitely a tricky one. Even more annoying than this guy was. Tch, you're a real pain in the ass. Killing Rasa was easier than dealing with you."
With a snort, Kiyosuke commanded the sand giant to stomp down on Pakura.
Boom!
Dust and smoke exploded outward, but Pakura burst through it and shouted:
"All units, recover Kazekage-sama!"
"Yes!"
It was like they'd found their backbone. Wind Style, Earth Style, shuriken, kunai, puppets… a barrage of techniques flew at Kiyosuke.
The sand rose again, forming a shield to protect him.
"You're all so damn annoying."
"Water Style!" Pakura commanded.
"Water Style: Great Waterfall Technique!"
"Water Style: Surging Wave Technique!"
Under her direction, two Water Style users launched their jutsu, flooding forward and shattering the sand giant's legs.
Forced to retreat, Kiyosuke leapt away and bolted in a specific direction.
"Pakura-sama?"
"After him! If I remember right, there's a quicksand field in that direction. Be careful—if possible, drive him into it."
"Yes!"
Everyone chased after him. Kiyosuke sensed the people behind him and nodded inwardly.
Almost there. Time for the final act.
Suddenly, he came to a stop, turned back, and said:
"This is bad… You actually chased me all the way here. That won't do."
He raised his hand, preparing to attack—
But was interrupted by a storm of shuriken raining down from above.
"Defense, now!"
He immediately raised Rasa's corpse like a human shield, using it to block the incoming barrage of shuriken and kunai.
"Damn it! That bastard actually—!"
"Rasa-sama!!!"
"You bastard! We'll kill you!"
"Scorch Style—"
Another fireball came flying toward him. Kiyosuke retreated while dragging Rasa's body, but his foot suddenly sank into the quicksand.
"Tch! Just some lousy quicksand—"
"Scorch Style: Super Steam Kill!!!"
"AAAAAARRRGHHH!!!"
Kiyosuke let out a "painful" scream as Rasa's body shriveled up rapidly, turning into a dried husk weighing less than ten kg.
His whole body trembled as he tossed the corpse aside and collapsed backward.
"Rasa-sama!"
A shinobi used a puppet to retrieve Rasa's body. Just as he was about to collect Kiyosuke's "corpse," he realized—it was too late. The body had already been swallowed by the quicksand, leaving no trace behind.
"Damn it! That bastard got off easy!"
"Rasa-sama…"
The group cried out in grief. Pakura, putting on her best act of heartbreak, said:
"I'm sorry. I couldn't even preserve Rasa-sama's remains."
"No, it's not your fault, Pakura-sama. If you hadn't thought to trap him with quicksand, we wouldn't have had any chance to kill him. Don't blame yourself. You're still our hero."
"Yeah, that's right. Don't be too sad, Pakura-sama."
Sad?
Pakura couldn't be happier Rasa was dead. Hidden beneath the quicksand, Kiyosuke rolled his eyes. Still, he didn't linger—it was Pakura's show now.
...
Afterward, the group returned to the village with Rasa's body. An autopsy revealed that his teacup had been poisoned. The drug suppressed chakra, but it was undetectable once in the corpse.
Rasa's body, scorched by Pakura's Scorch Style, had been mummified into a dry husk. Nothing useful could be found from it.
The official verdict on his death was sealed: ambushed and poisoned by a criminal, leading to his death in battle.
That same night, the elders convened to appoint the Fifth Kazekage.
They unanimously chose Pakura.
Everyone had been fed up with Rasa for a long time. If not for his gold dust and the fact that he'd fathered a Jinchūriki son, no one would've let him keep the position of Fourth Kazekage. He'd done nothing else of note for the village.
Pakura, on the other hand, was deeply loved by the people.
They hoped she could lead Sunagakure out of its current crisis.
Rasa's death was kept under wraps. Only the elders and the shinobi who had been there that night knew the truth. They had to protect this information—last time, because of a leak, Kumogakure took advantage of them. They couldn't afford to make the same mistake again.
Everything was settled.
...
On the third day after Rasa's death, Pakura officially took the position of Fifth Kazekage.
Wearing the Kazekage's ceremonial cloak and hat, she stood atop the Kazekage Building and declared to the village:
"I am the Fifth Kazekage. I will lead us into a new era!"
Kiyosuke looked up at her from below and chuckled.
Now that's more like it. A woman as radiant as summer flowers—it would've been a waste for her to die.
So, Pakura… are you ready to shoulder the weight of an entire village?
To become a Kage… means to bear that responsibility.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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