However, he decided to summon the gold sand for defense first, leaving his ace for last.
"Magnetic Style: Sand Gold!"
As Rasa whispered the words, the sand around him rapidly condensed into dozens of rectangular golden shields, each two meters thick and three meters high, spinning swiftly around him.
At the same time, the sand beneath his feet formed a solid platform, lifting him into the air.
An ugly-looking jonin watched Rasa's technique and nodded approvingly:
"Not bad. The sand forms a shield, and with it spinning around you, you've created an automatic rotating defense. This could block 90% of attacks."
A younger chunin added:
"Not only that, Rasa's control over the sand is much faster than before. Within a single breath, he manipulated dozens of meters' worth of sand into shields. That speed and range are at least three times what he used to manage!"
"It makes sense he's confident enough to face Jonin Aoki."
Rasa hovered ten meters above the ground, his eyes fixed on the thick fog below that was slowly dispersing.
"Whoosh, whoosh!"
Suddenly, hundreds of shuriken shot out from the mist, spinning so fast they blurred into afterimages.
They flew directly toward the spinning shields surrounding Rasa.
He frowned slightly. This was an attack relying on numbers. Even with his spinning shields, gaps would inevitably appear.
Was Aoki really relying on such a gamble?
Rasa smiled. A senior jonin wouldn't leave things to luck alone.
But fine—let's see what you have in mind.
"Crash! Crash!"
With a thought, the shields halted abruptly, linking together to form a solid wall.
"Zheng! Bang!"
The shuriken collided with the shields, sinking only half a meter into the sand before stopping entirely.
"Boom!"
Suddenly, the shuriken at the top exploded.
Smoke cleared, revealing six humanoid puppets of different shapes, their bodies jet-black.
Holding weapons, they leapt over the shield toward Rasa.
Calmly, Rasa moved his left hand slightly. The surrounding sand surged forward at incredible speed, wrapping the six puppets in sand cocoons.
At first, muffled impacts rattled the cocoons, but soon the noise ceased as the sand tightened around them.
"Boom!"
An explosion shook one cocoon, cracks appearing across its surface.
Rasa frowned. Didn't Aoki know the sand could be reinforced?
He waved his hand, adding layers to strengthen the cocoon's exterior.
Another noise came—another puppet shot upward, racing toward him.
Rasa narrowed his eyes. Wasn't Aoki limited to six puppets? How could there be a seventh?
He didn't hesitate. Clenching his fist, the shields scattered into sand.
The sand surged downward, striking the attacking puppet. At the same time, sand from a four-hundred-meter radius rose from the ground, chasing it.
The ground sank over five meters before quickly refilling.
On the dunes, shinobi watched in shock.
A chunin exclaimed:
"Impossible! How can Rasa have this much chakra? And control so much sand at once? That's at least 3,000 tons!"
Another agreed, frowning:
"Records show his last attack was six months ago. Back then, he could control about 1,000 tons within 200 meters. Even with progress, he couldn't increase five or six times instantly!"
A female jonin murmured:
"Even at his peak, the Third Kazekage could only control tens of thousands of tons over a thousand meters. Judging by Rasa's calm expression, he's controlling this effortlessly. If he got serious, he could probably double both range and weight."
Rasa's skill stunned everyone. They forgot about Aoki's seventh puppet entirely.
That puppet was quickly surrounded by sand—then, before being crushed, it burst into smoke, sending thousands of needles flying.
Another puppet appeared behind, launching kunai.
The needles and kunai screamed through the air toward Rasa.
Even the spectators now turned their admiration to Aoki. To control seven puppets simultaneously, attack from multiple directions, and remain unseen—he rivaled Chiyo's puppetry.
The kunai released black mist—poison.
Rasa frowned, then relaxed. Although this was sparring, both he and Aoki understood the truth. Poison was to be expected.
He glanced at a sand dune.
Hanori clenched her left fist, her right hand raised. She had tried to send the Shadow Guards after Aoki several times but restrained herself.
Seeing the poisonous mist, she nearly gave the order—until she noticed Rasa shaking his head.
Veins popped on her smooth forehead as she reluctantly lowered her hand, canceling the command.
Rasa breathed a sigh of relief.
Turning back, he faced the fog, the hidden weapons, and the puppets. He understood Aoki's plan—his real body could be hiding in the mist, or it might still be a decoy.
With a wave of his hand, all nearby sand, except that binding the puppets, formed a towering wave over thirty meters high.
It surged forward, scattering the poisonous fog and burying the hidden needles and kunai.
The battlefield grew calm again.
Rasa frowned. Did he guess wrong? Was Aoki's body really not in the mist?
Where was he hiding? By logic, puppet strings couldn't stretch too far…
Before he could ponder further, loud laughter echoed:
"Haha! Your strength is greater than I expected, but wisdom still wins!"
From the waves of sand, Aoki appeared.
He stomped the ground, sinking it several meters, then rushed at Rasa with spinning shuriken in both hands.
"Wind chakra armor?" Rasa muttered.
Aoki lunged at him, aiming at his neck.
"Hehe, so what if you have a lot of chakra? You never imagined I was hiding in the sand waves!"
Hanori, Pakura, Ayame, and Karura gasped in shock.
Before Aoki's smug grin could fade, terror replaced it.
The shuriken in his hands had stopped spinning.
"Why… can't I move my hands?!"
Rasa blinked. The sandworms around him scattered.
Delighted, Aoki tried to control his puppets—only to find he couldn't.
Before he could react, sand wrapped tightly around him.
On the dunes, spectators' faces showed jealousy, admiration, awe, and excitement.
But no matter their emotions, one truth was clear:
Rasa had easily defeated Senior Jonin Aoki.
He was destined to become the Fourth Kazekage.
Rasa stretched out his hands, and the puppets floated obediently behind him.
Aoki's face twisted in disbelief.
"Impossible! You're not a puppeteer!"
His voice cracked in terror.
Rasa covered his ears in disgust.
Aoki's scream carried across the dunes, drawing curious eyes. Some braver ninja crept closer to witness the scene.
Rasa spoke calmly:
"Aren't you curious why you couldn't strike me with your shuriken?"
Without waiting for Aoki's reply, he moved his fingers slightly.