Faced with Rasa's hardline attitude, Chiyo could not hide her disappointment.
Ignoring Chiyo, Rasa immediately announced,
"From this moment on, I will assume full command authority. All Sunagakure ninja of chūnin rank and above are to assemble in one hour for a meeting!"
One hour later, the encampment was filled with ninja.
Rasa began his address:
"The current situation is extremely unfavorable for Sunagakure. The other villages have already abandoned the war against Konoha. Now, only Sunagakure remains, fighting alone.
"But we cannot retreat. If we do, the sacrifices of our fallen comrades will have been in vain!
"Konoha's ninja stationed across the Land of Fire's front lines are converging on this area. We have very little time left—so we must act quickly!
"I hereby announce that I will personally lead all the ninja present here and launch a decisive battle against Konoha!"
Seeing their Kazekage personally enter the war, the Sunagakure ninja were instantly reassured, shouting Rasa's name in unison.
After the meeting ended, Rasa met privately with Maki and Gaara.
"Maki," Rasa ordered, "you will lead my ANBU into the Land of Fire and attack Konoha. Force the Konoha reinforcements to abandon the front line and return to defend the village."
Maki nodded slightly. "Yes, Kazekage-sama."
Rasa then turned to Gaara, undisguised disgust filling his eyes.
"Gaara, this is the time to prove your worth. Don't disappoint me."
Gaara gave no response, his expression filled only with bloodlust.
Maki led Gaara and the ANBU as they infiltrated the Land of Fire.
—
Within Konoha, Hiruzen Sarutobi also received news that Sunagakure's Kazekage, Rasa, had arrived at the front lines.
Homura Mitokado sneered,
"I didn't expect that brat Rasa to be so impatient—to actually take the field himself."
Koharu Utatane showed no concern at all and said calmly,
"The outcome of this battle is already decided. As long as we wait for Tsunade and the others to reach the front lines, even Rasa won't be able to change the result of Sunagakure's defeat."
Danzō laughed darkly.
"This is the perfect opportunity to kill Rasa on the battlefield. If that happens, Konoha can annex the Land of Wind."
Hiruzen took a puff from his pipe and replied,
"Even if Rasa dies, we cannot annex the Land of Wind. Leaving aside whether our current military strength could even occupy it—if Rasa were to die, the other major villages that have only just settled down would surely mobilize again. And the smaller villages that aspire to become one of the Five Great Nations would also start stirring.
"The Five Great Ninja Villages can only ever be the current five. This is an unspoken consensus among us, and no one is allowed to break it."
Danzō understood this perfectly well. It was a matter of political consensus, and his words were nothing more than venting.
Because of this war, Danzō's Root had also suffered heavy losses, making this one of the rare occasions since Hiruzen became Hokage that the two stood firmly on the same side.
Just as the group was discussing when the front-line battle would end, a violent tremor suddenly shook Konoha.
Villagers began fleeing in panic throughout the village.
Hiruzen and the others rushed to the rooftop of the Hokage Tower to see what was happening—and were met with a sight they could hardly believe.
A massive tanuki, its entire body covered in curse-like markings, was rampaging through Konoha.
The four of them stared grimly and spoke in unison:
"Shukaku… the One-Tail?!"
Shukaku destroyed buildings with wild abandon, shrieking excitedly,
"I'm finally free! Destruction! I want to destroy everything!"
A Konoha ninja appeared before Hiruzen and the others.
"Hokage-sama! We've detected Sunagakure ninja within the village—they're wreaking havoc!"
Hiruzen immediately gave orders.
"Notify everyone at once! Gather all remaining Konoha ninja and assist the civilians with evacuation!"
He then turned to Danzō.
"Danzō, how many Root ninja do you still have stationed in Konoha?"
Danzō's expression darkened.
"Most of Root hasn't returned yet. Fewer than ten remain in the village."
"Koharu, Homura—have the communications unit notify the Konoha ninja heading to the front lines to temporarily return and defend the village. Danzō, you will lead Konoha's forces to eliminate the Sunagakure ninja. I will go and stop the One-Tail!"
Hiruzen removed his Hokage hat and charged straight toward the rampaging Shukaku.
—
When Rasa received news that Maki and Gaara were already attacking Konoha, he immediately ordered a full-scale assault against Konoha's ninja forces.
Rasa and Jiraiya stood facing each other.
Jiraiya mocked him,
"Sunagakure really has a small-minded outlook. Sending the Kazekage himself—does that mean you don't have any ninja worth mentioning left?"
Rasa sneered back,
"And does Konoha still have anyone worth mentioning? You wiped out the entire Uchiha clan—quite an eye-opener. Pulling out your own fangs like that is rare indeed. Is your Hokage senile?"
Jiraiya replied coldly,
"You're not much better. Turning Sunagakure's hero, Pakura, into a disposable sacrifice was also an eye-opener for us… Oh, right—I hear Pakura isn't actually dead. Do you think she'll come for your revenge someday?"
At Jiraiya's taunt, Rasa's expression instantly darkened.
"Magnet Release: Gold Dust Spear!"
Rasa compressed his gold dust into a drill-like shape and thrust it straight toward Jiraiya.
"So you've snapped, huh? Ninjutsu—Needle Jizō!"
Jiraiya violently shook his head, his silver-white hair wrapping around his entire body and hardening, blocking Rasa's attack.
The clash between Rasa and Jiraiya officially signaled the beginning of the battle.
Sunagakure and Konoha ninja collided across the battlefield.
In an instant, ninjutsu filled the air as shuriken and kunai flew everywhere.
"Needle Hell!"
From within Needle Jizō, Jiraiya launched his hair like a barrage of flying needles at Rasa.
Rasa casually raised his hand, and a wall of gold dust rose from the ground, blocking the attack.
Standing atop a platform of gold dust, Rasa ascended into the air, choosing not to remain entangled with Jiraiya. Instead, he continuously aided Sunagakure ninja in killing Konoha ninja.
Jiraiya's expression grew grave. He had to stop Rasa. As long as Konoha's reinforcements arrived, victory would surely belong to Konoha.
Jiraiya bit his thumb and slammed his hand onto the ground.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
Gamabunta was summoned from Mount Myōboku onto the battlefield.
Back at Mount Myōboku, Naruto sensed Gamabunta's departure and immediately understood—
The battle between Konoha and Sunagakure had begun.
Naruto's eyes sharpened.
"…The opportunity has finally arrived."
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