Freed from his restraints, Bunpuku grabbed Rasa and quickly shifted to the right, barely dodging the storm of countless Finger Gun Rasengan that rained down like bullets at the last moment.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
The spot where Rasa and Bunpuku had just been trapped was blasted into a cloud of thick smoke.
Before they could even breathe a sigh of relief, a dark-purple fireball shot out of the smoke at terrifying speed, aiming straight at them again.
"What?!"
Bunpuku realized there was no way to dodge this one—he could only take it head-on.
Large amounts of sand rose from the ground, wrapping around both Bunpuku and Rasa, growing larger and larger.
"Trying to block it with sand so the flame rasengan won't hit? Won't work."
With his Six Eyes, Mitsuki could clearly see the two of them inside the sand sphere.
The rasengan slammed into the giant sand ball, its searing heat instantly melting through the grains and forcing its way inside.
But to Mitsuki's surprise, the hole melted by the rasengan was quickly filled again as the sand writhed and compressed.
At the same time, Bunpuku and Rasa broke free from within, and under Bunpuku's control, sealing patterns rapidly appeared across the sand sphere's surface.
In that instant, Mitsuki felt the chakra link between himself and his Rasengan vanish.
"Sealing jutsu really are troublesome…" he thought to himself. This wasn't the first time his attacks had been swallowed by sealing techniques.
"The One-Tail's jinchūriki — if you surrender now, I might consider only killing the guy next to you."
Mitsuki wasn't eager to fight Shukaku here. Too many injured and unconscious konoha shinobi lay around, severely restricting his movements.
Besides, if he captured the tailed beast alive, Suna would lose its final war potential, essentially dropping out of the Third Great Ninja War's table of power.
Bunpuku heard Mitsuki's offer, but only remained silent. He was, after all, a man of Suna. If he simply handed Shukaku over to Konoha, Suna would lose its deterrent force among the Great Villages.
Even the Land of Wind itself could tumble from its position as one of the Five Great Nations. The ones who would ultimately suffer would be the ordinary citizens. That was something Bunpuku could not accept.
As for Rasa, he wouldn't be shaken by mere words. Judging by what Mitsuki said, Rasa figured he was as good as dead no matter what. So what was the point of negotiating?
Besides—
"His technique… it's almost exhausted."
Rasa's eyes narrowed on the orbs behind Mitsuki. Once nine in number, after constant use, only three chakra spheres remained.
Rasa had also noticed something else: while Mitsuki's techniques were versatile, the same elemental jutsu couldn't be fired simultaneously from multiple spheres.
Whether it was lightning telease and wind release at the start, or just now—if two fireballs had been launched together, the One-Tail's jinchūriki would have been far harder to handle.
Feeling he had seen through Mitsuki's ability, Rasa grew confident. If they could just withstand the remaining three chakra spheres, victory would still belong to Suna.
Mitsuki didn't know their thoughts, but seeing Rasa's expression, he could guess: celebrating early—classic Suna shinobi tradition.
"Sigh…"
Mitsuki was honestly helpless. He wasn't a stubborn fool—if it truly came down to it, he would sacrifice a few Leaf ninja.
But the problem was—
"Even though I'd love to capture the One-Tail alive, I don't know any sealing techniques. So… don't die too quickly in the next round, One-Tail's jinchūriki."
Mitsuki slowly drew Mistcutter, speaking with resignation.
The moment the words fell, his figure vanished.
The next second, with the sound of a thousand birds screaming, Mitsuki slashed at Rasa with Mistcutter in hand.
"Chidori Current!"
"Damn that Mitsuki—after stalling the One-Tail for so long, his real target was me?!"
During Bunpuku's defense, Rasa had swallowed plenty of soldier pills and blood-increasing pills. He could stir a little magnet release chakra now—but only a little.
A few streams of gold dust tried to block Mitsuki, but the raging arcs of Chidori Current dispersed them instantly, scattering harmlessly to the ground.
Bunpuku reacted quickly, controlling the sand into a giant hand that slammed toward Mitsuki's back.
But under the all-seeing vision of the Six Eyes, every attack was laid bare.
With just a thought, Mitsuki launched another chakra sphere. Dark-purple flames surged out, transforming into a massive fiery shield that melted the sand hand instantly.
Yet while Bunpuku attacked, he simultaneously manipulated sand to grab Rasa's feet, yanking him away from Mitsuki's blade.
"Splurt—"
Blood sprayed into the air.
Mitsuki's slash had been too fast.
Even with Bunpuku's desperate rescue, he was a step too late—Rasa's left arm was severed clean at the shoulder.
"You're a tough bastard. Can't you just drop dead already when you're low on HP?" Mitsuki couldn't help but complain.
"Haha… maybe I'm just lucky." Rasa actually laughed, using gold dust to plug the wound.
But deep down, he knew—this was the end. He would likely die here.
And yet, that didn't matter. As long as he could complete his mission and secure Suna's victory, he was willing to sacrifice himself.
With resolve in his heart, Rasa forcefully squeezed out more chakra from within his battered body.
This was the nature of chakra—unlike Mitsuki's previous life as a human, in this world, shinobi could conjure power from sheer desperation and rage.
The golden dust began to move again, this time in torrents.
"Sand Waterfall Flowing Dragon!!"
A colossal stream of gold dust surged upward like a reverse waterfall. Under the immense pull of his magnet release, the flow solidified — forming a golden dragon!
The dragon roared to the heavens, brimming with unstoppable momentum, before diving straight at Mitsuki.
This was Rasa's final strike. He didn't expect to kill Mitsuki in one blow—only to burn out his remaining chakra spheres, so Bunpuku could have a chance at victory.
Though the odds were slim, after fighting this long, he knew all too well—this opponent was a monster.
"Bunpuku! You must finish the mission… if not, Suna truly has no future left… I beg you!"
Rasa poured even the gold dust sealing his wound into the dragon. Blood gushed out again, staining the battlefield red.
He staked everything on this one attack. Even if he died, at least in the Pure Land, he could face the forebears of Suna with pride.
The only regret—he would never see the birth of his first child with Karura.
He remembered her worried expression when he departed. He knew he had already failed as a husband.
But he thought:
"If I can win this war, my child can grow up happy. That way, I can at least be a father worth something."
Endlessly mining gold for the village in the desert with his magnet release, leaving himself little rest—he had already been a terrible husband.
He could not allow himself to also become a terrible father.
But now it seemed…
"I'm sorry, Karura… If it's a girl, name her Temari, just as you wished. It's such a beautiful name…"