"Also, I have another advantage."
"I possess the Byakugan."
"The Byakugan can see extremely far—much farther than Uchiha Sasuke can see. It can also see through objects."
"The Byakugan can raise the ability of Quicksand Displacement to an entirely new level."
Rasa walked to the window and looked outside.
What entered his sight was endless yellow sand.
With a thought—
"Quicksand Displacement!"
In an instant, Rasa's figure vanished.
When he appeared again, he was already standing atop the desert sand.
"Fast. Extremely fast."
"The previous Quicksand Displacement was still physical movement. It was merely very high-speed movement."
"But the current Quicksand Displacement is absolutely a spatial movement technique. Even if I were trapped inside a completely sealed metal chamber, I could still move to any place outside where sand exists."
"It is no slower than Minato Namikaze's Flying Thunder God Technique."
"And it is far more convenient. It requires no advance markings at all."
"As long as sand exists, I can move."
Rasa raised his hand.
Large amounts of sand floated up.
One cluster after another hung suspended in midair.
And Rasa's figure appeared, vanished, appeared again, then vanished again.
Like a golden flash.
"Extreme mobility."
"Whether for attacking or evading, this is an enormous improvement."
After returning to the village, Rasa immediately brought a storage scroll with him.
He went into the desert and began pouring sand into the scroll at a frantic pace.
"For now, this is the best I can do before I forge a suitable ninja tool."
Rasa still accepted Onoki's invitation to the conference.
Aside from Sunagakure, Kumogakure, and Kirigakure, many smaller shinobi villages also received invitations.
In addition, Tsunade in the capital of the Land of Fire was invited as well.
Shimura Danzo was not invited.
That made Danzo extremely displeased.
On one hand, Danzo felt he had been slighted. On the other, he also felt he had been falsely accused.
"I have already clarified that the attacks on the jinchuriki and tailed beasts have nothing to do with me, and nothing to do with Konoha."
"And why invite Tsunade?"
"Tsunade is not even the leader of a shinobi village!"
The giant bull was once again fitted with restraints, dragging the massive sand ship as it sailed across the desert.
Rasa stood on the deck at the bow.
While enjoying the blazing sun overhead, he considered what kind of rumor he should create next.
"My Otsutsuki bloodline concentration is currently at eighty-four percent. At this rate, if I make a trip to the moon and use Blood Collection, perhaps I can raise my bloodline concentration close to ninety percent."
"If it reaches ninety percent, that means I will only need to create two more rumors to raise my Otsutsuki bloodline concentration to one hundred percent."
"At that point, I will no longer be different from Otsutsuki Momoshiki or Otsutsuki Urashiki."
Rasa recalled the information regarding the Otsutsuki.
Even among the Otsutsuki, there were differences in strength.
The Otsutsuki possessed a relatively universal method of increasing strength—planting a God Tree, then harvesting its fruit.
It was precisely Otsutsuki Isshiki and Otsutsuki Kaguya who had come to the shinobi world to plant the God Tree.
By feeding an Otsutsuki body to the Ten-Tails, a God Tree could be created.
Originally, Otsutsuki Kaguya was supposed to be the sacrifice. However, she betrayed Otsutsuki Isshiki.
Afterward, Otsutsuki Kaguya cultivated a mature God Tree and consumed its fruit, thereby obtaining extraordinary power. She ruled the entire shinobi world and proclaimed herself a god.
But because she feared punishment from the other Otsutsuki for what she had done, Kaguya wanted to activate the Infinite Tsukuyomi, create a large number of White Zetsu, and use them to fight against the other Otsutsuki.
However, her actions were opposed by Otsutsuki Hagoromo and Otsutsuki Hamura.
The two children of Otsutsuki Kaguya joined forces, and with the power of natural energy added in, they defeated Otsutsuki Kaguya and sealed her on the moon.
Given the current state of the shinobi world, combining the Gedo Statue with the nine tailed beasts would allow the God Tree to be planted once more.
Once it absorbed enough chakra, it would be able to bear a Chakra Fruit.
"I can wait for the Akatsuki to gather the tailed beasts, then steal the fruit of their victory."
The Land of Grass.
The Land of Grass had once been full of ambition.
Now, however, the Land of Grass had become unbearably obedient.
After being divided and plundered once by Sunagakure, Iwagakure, and Konoha, Kusagakure could no longer even rank near the top among small shinobi villages. The problem it now considered was no longer expansion, but self-preservation.
This time, Onoki had set the conference location in the Land of Grass, and Kusagakure had prepared with extraordinary care.
"Kazekage-sama has arrived!"
A voice rang out.
Immediately afterward, everyone's eyes turned over.
Onoki looked in Rasa's direction with a complicated gaze.
In earlier years, Iwagakure had not placed Sunagakure in its eyes at all. They could suppress it however they wished.
But now, Sunagakure had already surpassed Iwagakure in every respect.
Their middle-level shinobi had obtained the power of Devil Fruits, raising them by an entire tier.
As for top-level shinobi, Iwagakure now only had one left, while Sunagakure had three.
And Rasa's strength far surpassed everyone else.
"If there is anyone capable of opposing the one who attacked Kumogakure, it may only be Rasa."
Onoki felt somewhat unwilling, but still forced out a smile.
Tsunade looked at Rasa, her eyes flickering uncertainly.
Strength and the like were not what Tsunade cared about most.
What Tsunade cared about was the rumor that Rasa could use Wood Release.
The moment Rasa's figure landed, Tsunade could no longer hold herself back and immediately asked,
"Kazekage, can you truly use Wood Release? Are you perhaps also a member of my Senju clan?"
On the other side, Uchiha Yashiro also stared at Rasa with burning eyes.
"Kazekage-sama, are you a member of our Uchiha clan?"
"Which branch do you belong to?"
"And who was the Uchiha who attacked Sunagakure that day?"
Rasa waved his hand. He did not answer either of their questions directly. Instead, he said,
"We can discuss those matters later. For now, let us talk about the most important issue before us."
"What thoughts do you all have regarding the Akatsuki organization and Konoha?"
Everyone's expressions sank slightly.
Whether it was the Akatsuki organization or Konoha, both gave everyone present a severe headache.
First, the strength of the Akatsuki members was truly too great.
Among those present, aside from Rasa, no one had the confidence to contend with the person who had attacked Kumogakure. Not even Onoki.
Onoki did not believe he could simultaneously fight Killer B, Yugito Nii, and the Fourth Raikage.
Second, everyone had misjudged Konoha's strength.
They believed the Uchiha who attacked Sunagakure was Uchiha Fugaku.
And after the battle, Uchiha Fugaku had appeared in Konoha again.
Therefore, they believed that Uchiha Fugaku and the Nine-Tails had merely been repelled by Rasa.
If they wanted to defeat the current Konoha, they would have to face Uchiha Fugaku and the Nine-Tails.