The shuriken that Aoki held tightly in both hands suddenly wriggled free from his grip!
Two shurikens shot toward Rasa, then simultaneously turned to aim at Aoki.
Seeing this, Aoki slowly swallowed. His heart skipped a beat as a chilling possibility crossed his mind. His pupils suddenly shrank.
"No… that's impossible, right?"
Aoki's face twisted into a strange mixture of laughter and tears.
It seemed he both wanted his inner guess to be right and hoped it was wrong.
"It's exactly as you think."
Rasa ruthlessly cut through Aoki's fantasy.
"Huh? Ha! Hahaha! Haha!!"
Once the truth sank in, Aoki laughed up at the sky, a strange mixture of emotions in his voice.
Then he grinned at Rasa:
"Hee! You're worthy of being the Third Kazekage's only disciple. You actually mastered iron sand! It's not unfair for me to lose—it's not unfair at all!"
Rasa quietly observed Aoki's crazed expression, shaking his head slowly:
"Do you really think my master's iron sand could control iron tools and puppets to this extent?"
Aoki froze, staring blankly at Rasa. He pursed his lips, then burst into laughter, tears streaming from his eyes.
Everyone on the sand dune exchanged bewildered glances—they had never expected this.
A forty-year-old man, a veteran of two Ninja World Wars who had collected corpses on the battlefield since age five and survived countless life-or-death battles, could actually lose his composure like this.
As the saying goes, men don't cry easily. And as a ninja, how could he laugh and cry at the same time?
After over ten seconds of laughter, Aoki, still bound tightly in the sand cocoon, could only blink and wipe the tears from his eyes.
His expression became complicated, a mix of admiration and frustration, lips curling into a faint smile:
"Oh, you brat! Yes, the Third Kazekage could only control iron sand, but you can freely manipulate weapons and puppets. You surpass the Third Kazekage—you even surpass your master!"
"No wonder you're so confident!"
"Hehe, what sins have I committed? First he suppresses me for decades, then I wait for him to die… and now it's your turn, an even more outstanding person!"
Dozens of ninjas close to Rasa overheard Aoki's words.
They were stunned, then overwhelmed with joy.
The others on the sand dunes only processed it a second later. Their reactions were the same: shock, then jubilation, and some even cried with excitement!
The Sand Village had never been favored by fate.
Though these ninjas often dreamed of someone saving the village, it never happened.
Now, with the Third Kazekage gone, they expected the village's collapse.
Unexpectedly, it seemed as if the gods had finally heard them.
They were witnessing the rise of a genius who surpassed the Third Kazekage!
Pakura stared at Rasa, admiration in her eyes, lips parting into a smile:
"Humph, now this is a worthy person. You deserve to be Pakura's best friend!"
Yasha Rei hugged Karura with excitement, even clinging to her sister.
Karura gently stroked her sister's hair, gazing at Rasa tenderly, tears welling up:
"I told you Master Rasa is the savior of the Sand Village! But you wouldn't believe me!"
Ayame placed her hands on her slender waist, turning to lecture the Shadow Guard members beside her.
The Shadow Guard glanced at each other, then at Rasa. Only their eyes showed behind their masks—filled with excitement.
"Hu, hu, hu!"
Hanori stared at Rasa, her chest rising and falling with heavy breathing despite the restraints. She was so overwhelmed that she couldn't speak.
Aoki sighed and asked, puzzled:
"Then why didn't you use iron sand from the beginning? If you had, I would have lost immediately, and you wouldn't have had to fight so long."
"If you win quickly, everyone respects you more. Don't you know that?"
Rasa smiled, shielding his eyes from the sun:
"The Ninja World War is only a matter of time. When it comes, as Kazekage, I must personally face the strongest ninjas from other villages."
"So I need to know: how many moves would it take to defeat an elite jonin using only half my strength?"
"As for face or obedience? Defeating you is proof enough."
Rasa moved his fingers slightly, and the sandworms binding Aoki immediately dispersed.
Aoki, numb from being restrained, didn't move.
He stood straight, frowning at Rasa—the first time he truly looked at him.
Rasa met his gaze calmly, full of quiet confidence.
Aoki studied him, realizing the dull young man he remembered was now calm, with a depth only seen in the Second and Third Kazekage—yet without their doubts about the village's future.
The First Kazekage had died shortly after Aoki's birth, so he had no memory of him.
"Rasa… I take back my words. You are indeed the most suitable person to lead the Sand Village in the upcoming war."
Aoki's brows relaxed, a hint of shame on his face:
"I truly am inferior to you."
He turned away, silent, eyes on the sand, as if contemplating or plotting something.
Time passed, yet it felt like only a moment.
Aoki steadied himself, turned back, and solemnly knelt on one knee before Rasa.
His head, never bowed, touched the sand.
"Jonin Aoki, meet the Fourth Kazekage!"
Rasa's face revealed no surprise, as if he had expected this.
He calmly observed the kneeling Aoki, then turned to scan the surrounding sand dunes.
The ninjas recovered from their shock and slowly knelt on one knee.
"Jonin Pakura, meet the Fourth Kazekage!"
"Jonin Karura, meet the Fourth Kazekage!"
"Jonin Benizuki, meet the Fourth Kazekage!"
"Jonin Mizuon, meet the Fourth Kazekage!"
…
"Chunin Yasha Rei, meet the Fourth Kazekage!"
"Chunin Rakuman…"
Though not perfectly in unison, the voices echoed across the dunes.
Rasa took a deep breath, suppressing his excitement, digging his fingernails into his palms behind his back.
Yes, he was not as calm as he appeared, but he knew he had to hide his emotions.
He slowly looked up into the distance as a breeze moved his black robe.
"Don't worry. As long as I'm here, the Sand Village will never fall—it will thrive even more!"
....
"What did you say? Rasa defeated Aoki in just five minutes?"
In the Kazekage office, Chiyo widened her eyes.
She tapped her ears, thinking she might have misheard.
"The Fourth-Kazekage did indeed eliminate Jonin Aoki in five minutes—and effortlessly."
"And the fourth-Kazekage has mastered the Third Kazekage's iron sand and surpassed him."
Nearby, a plump woman wearing an eagle mask tried to suppress her excitement, speaking calmly.
An unfamiliar middle-aged voice sounded in the office:
"Fourth-Kazekage? Already calling him that?"
Sitting in the Kazekage seat was a middle-aged man with blue hair and yellow eyes, wearing a white Kazekage robe over a blue ninja suit.
Ayame nodded slightly:
"Yes. Everyone present knelt before Master Rasa and acknowledged him as the Fourth Kazekage."
The man nodded, a hint of regret in his voice:
"Really? Pity I wasn't there. From your description, it must have been incredible."
Chiyo tapped her ears to ensure she wasn't hallucinating. Suppressing her excitement, she rolled her eyes at him:
"Brother, stop talking. Your desk has a pile of documents waiting. Finish them quickly and head to the village this afternoon."
This man was Ebizo, using substitution techniques to impersonate the Third Kazekage.
Ebizo shook his head helplessly. Already old and past retirement, he had to continue like this.
Seeing Chiyo's angry expression, he returned to burying his head in the documents.
After observing Ebizo working obediently, Chiyo told Ayame:
"Go tell Hanori to inform all ninjas on the dunes to continue addressing Rasa as before. Don't mention 'Fourth Kazekage' yet."
"Now, we still need the Third Kazekage to stabilize things. When the situation can't be concealed in a few months, Rasa will officially succeed as Fourth Kazekage."
"Call Rasa over as well."
Ayame nodded, feeling relieved:
"Yes."
Ebizo, focused on the documents, suddenly asked:
"Sister, how did so many people find out about the Third Kazekage's disappearance?"
Chiyo picked up her teacup, sipped, and snorted coldly.