"Jiton (Magnet Release)! Satetsu no Yari (Gold Dust Spear)!"
"Jiton (Magnet Release), Satetsu no Yari (Iron-Sand Spear)!"
The two clashed. Same jutsu, different colors and styles.
Rasa's gold spears were huge, fast, and powerful. Shigeo's iron-sand spears were black and sharp. Compared side by side, Shigeo's looked cheaper.
The two spears met with a crack. Sparks flew. Both weapons hung in the air. Rasa formed seals with both hands and forced his jutsu under control. He watched the other. The opponent used iron sand jiton, yet stood steady. Rasa had not even seen him form seals.
At that moment the cloaked figure walked forward. How could his jiton work without the user visibly stabilizing chakra?
Rasa stared. When the cloaked figure passed, he realized the man inside the great cloak was just a child of eleven or twelve. Smooth jaw. pale skin. A lock of hair fell over his chest. He turned and smiled.
"Who are you?" Rasa's eyes flashed with alarm.
"Guess." Shigeo tilted his head. The old man was more talkative than his sons. Kankurō and Gaara rarely spoke, yet Rasa kept asking.
"Stop him—" Rasa barked. Hidden ANBU sprang forward.
"Jiton, Magnet Needles!" Shigeo flicked his fingers and shouted.
Countless magnetic needles formed and sprayed toward the Sand Village ANBU.
Rasa cursed. He abandoned the gold spears, whipped sand to shield his men, and the iron needles clattered harmlessly into the gold.
But without chakra control the gold spear Rasa had been holding collapsed. Shigeo's iron-sand spear pierced it, then stabbed through and flew on. Rasa dodged, but the spear opened a bowl-sized wound in his arm.
This land had plenty of iron sand. Shigeo's Jiton multiplied his force. Iron sand gathered into needles and rained toward six shinobi.
"Form up!" Rasa shouted, continuing to shield with gold sand. He charged to block Shigeo from the pit.
When Rasa ran forward, with still ten meters between them, the child's mouth suddenly shouted one word: "Shinra Tensei (Almighty Push)!"
An invisible shock flung Rasa and the gold-shielded jōnin away. They smashed into rocks and ground, badly injured.
What jutsu was that? He hadn't seen seals.
Rasa did not know that Shigeo's hidden fingers had already moved. When Shigeo used that jutsu the magnetic needles still floated. That proved he could use two natures at once. His chakra reserve was enormous. One blast staggered Rasa.
"What do you want?" Rasa demanded. He saw the boy stepping toward the golden sand pit. Panic rose.
He tried to rise. His hands and feet were bound by iron-sand Jiton. Several ribs near his chest were broken, though his vital pulse was intact.
The magnet needles hovered before them. Any sudden move would make them pin the jōnin like a sieve.
"Playing?" Shigeo's smile vanished. He looked cold. Even eight-year-old Kankurō had not abandoned his brother. A father who immediately chose to kill his son deserved no mercy.
"Stop this—" Rasa forced out.
Magnet needles pierced him. Pain shocked his body. He could not gather chakra. Shigeo bent, placed a palm on the ground, and said one word: "Hakai (Break)."
The full-position seal covering the golden sand pit vanished. Earth rose. Before the ground fully reformed, the One-Tail burst out.
"Senjutsu (Sage Art), Myōjinmon (Divine Gate)!" A seven-colored mask flashed before Shigeo's eyes. A massive Wood Release Myōjinmon fell from the sky and boxed the One-Tail down.
Everyone froze. Rasa, still panting, asked: "You are… Shigeo?"
In the shinobi world, few could use Wood Release Myōjinmon. Only someone who had suppressed Two-Tails and Seven-Tails in the past could manage it.
The boy shrugged and said nothing. The Eight Trigrams sealing formed and settled on the One-Tail. Chakra flowed. The beast receded. Gaara appeared beneath the Myōjinmon.
Shigeo scooped him up, then faced Rasa. "Today I could have killed you. But for your two sons' sake I spared you. Remember this: don't believe everything you hear."
"You mean when you declared war on the Five Great Shinobi Villages over a year ago? If you were in my position, what would you choose? At that time we had no choice. Ku's attack on the Five Villages was less than a month ago. You issued a declaration of war on behalf of Ku. True or false, we had to decide—" Rasa answered.
"So your decision was to make me the enemy of the shinobi world?" Shigeo's face was frost.
"Yes." Rasa answered like a man.
"Fine. Then I'll be that enemy."
Shigeo snapped his fingers. Countless magnetic spears swarmed and drove toward Rasa pinned by the rocks.
Puf puf puf…
They embedded in him. He spat blood. "What do you want with the bijū? We didn't attack. At worst we sent ANBU to investigate. Release my son!" Rasa gasped.
Yes. It had been Konoha who struck first. Shigeo allowed the truth.
"I didn't kill you. I left you alive. As for your son—you don't want him. Why do you care?" Shigeo sneered, then turned and vanished with Gaara cradled in his arms.
He had intended mercy. Rasa pushed him past the limit.
When Shigeo reappeared, he stood before Kankurō. Hidden by a rock, Kankurō had watched everything with his mouth agape. He could not believe it.
"You—you killed—killed my father?" he whispered.
(End of Chapter)
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