The captain of the team, Elite Jonin Yūhi Shinkō of Konoha, gravely surveyed the motley crew before him.
Konoha had pulled out all available active ninja.
This hastily assembled special unit included seasoned ninja who had been through many battles, as well as some reserves recently called up from the village.
He even spotted the famous perennial Genin, Might Duy, among them.
"Everyone, the village is facing its most dangerous moment since the Second Hokage. Our team has been assembled on short notice, so I hope that during this mission, everyone will strictly follow orders."
"Before we left, the Hokage gave us instructions. Our mission isn't to defeat this detachment from Sand Hidden, but to probe Rasa, who hasn't made a move in a long time, and to delay the advance of the Sand Hidden forces as much as possible until command comes up with a new strategy."
...
While Yūhi Shinkō spoke, Might Duy continued his push-ups, sweating profusely.
Not long after, Aburame Shiro, who was using his flying insects for reconnaissance, spoke up:
"Rasa's forces are about to reach the ambush point. Everyone, prepare to move. Be very careful; our goal is to delay the enemy's advance, not to fight to the death."
Yūhi Shinkō drew his Ninja Blade.
"In that case, let's go!"
A few minutes later.
The forces led by Rasa were ambushed.
Turbulent Water Release, carrying Earth Release mud, sand, shattered rocks, and broken wood, surged from the distant dense forest.
Close behind them came Konoha ninja, weapon in hand or forming hand signs to use Ninjutsu, striking over the water's surface.
They attacked the rear of the Sand Hidden forces.
Rasa's body was enveloped in gold dust, but he didn't rush to engage. Instead, he assessed the lineup of the attacking Konoha ninja.
Since the enemy dared to ambush, they surely had more tricks up their sleeve than what was currently visible.
At least a few strong individuals would be present.
Otherwise, it would be a suicide mission.
Did they use a large-scale Genjutsu barrier to block the Puppet Force drones' senses? That's either Orochimaru's work or Yūhi Shinkō's.
The insect swarm is quite large, and its destructive power is greater than that of ordinary Destructive Insects. Aburame Shiro must be here too, and also Hyuga Hizashi, the new head of the Hyuga Clan's branch family...
As eyes formed from gold dust surveyed the entire battlefield, Rasa's mind quickly settled on a plan.
This Konoha team was a mixed bag, with some skilled individuals and some cannon fodder, but the strongest were just three decent Elite Jonin.
Even if Rasa wasn't at his peak right now, he still retained most of his strength. Facing this Konoha lineup...
It's a sure win!
Losing was out of the question. At most, he'd be harassed a bit, and his march would be briefly delayed.
This victory is guaranteed!
Rasa smiled confidently and raised his prosthetic hands.
"*Magnet Release: Gold Dust Tsunami!*"
The gold dust scattered. The next instant, Yūhi Shinkō, Aburame Shiro, and Hyuga Hizashi—three Konoha Elite Jonin—appeared instantly before Rasa, each using their Ninjutsu to intercept him.
"*Demonic Illusion: Tree Binding Death!*"
"*Secret Technique: Insect Sphere!*"
"*Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams Air Palm!*"
Rasa calmly raised his hand to use his Ninjutsu, acting with ease and even diverting some Chakra to interfere with the other Konoha ninja.
The three Elite Jonin could exchange a few blows with Rasa, and working together, they could barely hold their own for a while. Some of the more skilled Jonin and Special Jonin could also manage to defend or dodge when facing the Ninjutsu Rasa unleashed with his diverted attention.
But others might not be so lucky.
"Not good!"
A young Chunin, barely in his teens, narrowly dodged several gold dust spears, but one pierced his leg, sending him tumbling to the ground.
He quickly turned, nervously formed hand signs, and spat a jet of Water Release upwards.
However, it was useless.
His powerful Water Release was mercilessly shattered by Rasa's gold dust cube, which then bore down on his body.
Am I going to die?
The young Konoha Chunin turned his head, trying to find a nearby comrade who could help him.
But at that moment, everyone else had already avoided the area covered by the gold dust Ninjutsu.
No one could save him.
It's over!
The young Konoha Chunin helplessly closed his eyes, awaiting death.
"Fifth Gate of Closing, Open!"
A phantom figure, radiating green steam, flashed by.
*"Bang!"*
The solid gold cube shattered under a bandaged fist.
Might Duy looked at his fist, blood oozing through the bandages, then glanced at the three Konoha Elite Jonin, barely holding their own against Rasa amidst the swirling gold dust, seemingly on the verge of injury at any moment. He let out a heavy sigh.
So, this is the power of those important figures?
Indeed, very strong!
But it seems he might have the right to intervene!
"Are you alright, Heiyun?"
"I'm fine, Duy. You actually..."
Heiyun, a Chunin, was stunned.
Was this still the eternal Genin he used to pity?
He remembered... he had been on a team with Might Duy during his Genin days, and they had helped each other out a few times. But soon after, he was promoted to Chunin, and they never went on missions together again.
"Heiyun, retreat as quickly as you can. I'm going to help Captain Yūhi and the others!"
"Duy, your Ninjutsu is indeed very powerful, but isn't it..."
Heiyun's voice trailed off.
"Sixth Gate of View, Open!"
Seeing the terrifying green steam erupting from Might Duy, and the aura of power more intense than any beast, Heiyun, the Chunin, immediately fell silent.
"Only the Sixth Gate, and I'm already approaching my limit? No, the so-called limit is meant to be broken! Burn, youth!"
Feeling the immense pressure on his body, Might Duy gritted his teeth, then roared.
"Eight Gates Formation, Seventh Gate of Shock, Open!"
A surging blue steam burst forth, and the powerful aura even made Rasa, who was some distance away, cast a sideways glance.
The three Konoha Elite Jonin didn't look, fearing that any distraction would lead to mistakes and injuries.
Even Rasa, not at his peak, was still significantly stronger than these Elite Jonin.
Their ability to hold on for this long was already quite impressive.
"Dynamic Entry!"
A blue figure, like a fierce beast, streaked through the air at high speed, exploding the air as it charged towards Rasa.
*"Bang!"*
A large mass of gold dust was scattered by an orange-striped boot, and when it tried to re-coalesce to bind him, it was kicked apart again by another foot that followed immediately.
Rasa had to momentarily retreat, drawing more gold dust in front of him, and at the same time, gathering a large mass of gold dust to charge towards Might Duy.
"Leaf Whirlwind!"
The gold dust shattered again.
"Leaf Great Whirlwind!"
"Leaf Strong Whirlwind!"
Rasa retreated again and again, utterly terrified.
What the hell.
When did Konoha get another terrifying Taijutsu master like this, and why did I have to encounter them?
Why didn't you use them in the previous wars?
Could it be that Konoha itself didn't even know it had such a top-tier expert?
No, absolutely not.
The only explanation was that the opponent might have used something like the Akimichi Clan's Chili Pill, which carries great danger after use.
Although his reasoning was flawed, Rasa had arrived at the correct conclusion.
But precisely because of this, Rasa was somewhat unsettled.
If the other side brought out such a trump card, were they determined to win?
Were they even trying to use this opportunity to eliminate him?
Qingshui wasn't here this time, and no one could save him.
Rasa was truly terrified by what happened with Hiruzen Sarutobi last time.
Little did he know, at this moment, he and Might Duy were like a straw fighting a wolf—both sides were afraid.
Might Duy was around thirty years old, and for the past decade or so of his ninja career, he had been a Genin.
This meant he had never fought against a master before; now, he was fighting purely on instinct and awareness.
More importantly, it hadn't been long since the fight began, and Might Duy was already feeling his body giving out.
Unlike Might Guy in the future, Might Duy didn't possess the strength to fight Jonin with Taijutsu alone when the Eight Gates were closed.
His inherent foundation was lacking. Not only was the power he unleashed when opening the Seventh Gate incomparable to Might Guy in his prime, but its duration was also far shorter, even less than Ultraman's three minutes.
However, even so, Rasa was no longer as at ease as before; instead, he appeared quite disheveled.
The three Konoha Elite Jonin hadn't anticipated such a turn of events, but all three were veterans with extensive combat experience. They reacted promptly, seizing the sudden shift in the situation to create an opening immediately.
"Gentle Fist: Mountain Crusher!"
The sand-gold protective barrier was shattered into a shower of flying sand by the Gentle Fist.
"Demonic Illusion: Temple of Nirvana!"
A few feathers drifted down from mid-air. Rasa's heart sank, and he unleashed Chakra, forcefully breaking free from Yūhi Shinkō's Genjutsu, only to find Might Duy's fist, carrying a powerful airflow, already closing in.
At this moment, he had no time to form hand seals and manipulate the sand-gold.
This was because the sand-gold closer to him was currently being held back by a torrent of Destructive Insects.
Fortunately, when Sasori made his Puppet prosthetic arm, he thoughtfully left him a trump card.
Rasa pushed his hands forward, injecting Chakra into the Puppet prosthetic arm.
"Puppetry: Mechanism Shield Seal!"
A blue Chakra shield condensed in front of Rasa, blocking Might Duy's fist.
Then came the second punch, the third punch...
The air friction generated flames, accompanying two bandaged fists bursting with Chakra, continuously pounding the Mechanism Shield Seal. From afar, it looked like a peacock fanning its tail.
"*Crack!*"
The Chakra shield formed by the Puppet prosthetic arm shattered with a crash, and Might Duy also retreated in time, avoiding two incoming streams of sand-gold.
Rasa looked at the two Puppet prosthetic arms, which had developed slight cracks on their surface due to excessive Chakra, and instantly pulled back.
This was his first attempt at fully utilizing Magnet Release while simultaneously deploying the Mechanism Shield Seal at full power.
Normally, using the Magnet Shield alone was fine, but once combined with the Mechanism Shield Seal, the Chakra metal within was unaffected, but other material components struggled to withstand the stress.
This move could only be used as a last resort for self-preservation.
Currently, Rasa couldn't use the Mechanism Shield Seal a second time.
He wasn't a Puppet Master and lacked the ability to temporarily reset the internal mechanisms of the Puppet prosthetic arm using Chakra Threads.
The reason he could even use the Mechanism Shield Seal just now was that Sasori had adjusted the wiring within the Puppet prosthetic arm using Chakra metal, so Rasa only needed to inject Chakra into the Chakra metal in a foolproof manner.
"Truly... terrifying explosive power, terrifying Taijutsu. Konoha Ninja, what is your name?"
Rasa gave the strangely dressed, panting Konoha Ninja opposite him a deep look and asked.
"I am a Konoha Genin, Might Duy!"
Might Duy clenched his fists and declared loudly.
Rasa's expression was a bit strange.
You're telling me that's a Genin?
You're telling me, Rasa, a strong contender for the Fourth Kazekage, an important aide to the future Fourth Kazekage, and one of the next generation of high-ranking officials in Sand Hidden Village, was nearly wiped out by a Konoha Genin?
"Hmph, you Konoha are truly cunning. To hide such a trump card, you actually let such a master remain a Genin. Very well, this time Sand Hidden miscalculated, but next time, you won't be so lucky!"
Rasa finished speaking with another cold snort, then waved his hand, signaling the Sand Hidden Village ninjas to retreat.
He could tell that Might Duy might not last much longer.
But what if the opponent was faking it?
Even just one more close call like that, and he, Rasa, would be finished.
While it was true that he had been caught off guard by Might Duy's sudden burst of power, Rasa didn't need to gamble.
In this situation, he just needed to go back and ask Qingshui how he planned to resolve it.
Moreover, Sand Hidden still held the advantage, and Konoha was the one who should be anxious.
"Captain Shinkō, should we..."
A Konoha Special Jonin stepped forward, first glancing at Might Duy with surprise, then asked Yūhi Shinkō.
"We can't pursue."
Before Yūhi Shinkō could answer, Hyuga Hizashi interrupted first:
"Sand Hidden has truly retreated. You don't need to hold on anymore, Duy."
Hyuga Hizashi glared with his Byakugan, watching Rasa and the others retreat out of the safe zone before speaking to Might Duy.
Hearing Hyuga Hizashi's words, Might Duy finally let out a sigh of relief and deactivated the Eight Gates Formation.
The blue Chakra steam subsided, and Might Duy swayed precariously, finally unable to stand, and fell backward.
Hyuga Hizashi quickly supported the Konoha Genin, who had just performed such a great service, with both hands.
"The forbidden Jutsu that Genin Duy just unleashed is very dangerous. I'm not yet clear on the specific principles, but his body was under immense pressure just now. Many parts of his body were damaged, and many hidden injuries also flared up. He needs a Medical Ninja to stabilize his injuries immediately to prevent them from worsening."
With the Byakugan's penetrating vision, Hyuga Hizashi could clearly see how terrible Might Duy's current physical condition was.
Soon, two Medical Ninjas were called over and began emergency treatment for Might Duy.
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