Night was falling.
The Rock ninja commander knew they couldn't keep dragging this out. No matter how many ninja he sent, the Sand ninja in front of him would just sweep up his gold dust and run.
It was clear this disciple of the Third Kazekage had grand ambitions—perhaps planning to take down all the Rock ninja?
But it was getting late!
Who knew how the Grass ninja blockading the Sand ninja were faring? If more Sand ninja came to reinforce, the Rock ninja would be in serious trouble!
As the commander, it was his duty and responsibility to ensure as many of his subordinates survived as possible.
But the bizarre scene before him… it left even this veteran of the Second Great Ninja War, who had survived its chaos, uncertain!
Caution, vigilance, observation—these were essential ninja skills. As one of the best, he had to be even more careful than others.
That was the secret to his long survival!
The commander's expression flickered between grim and uncertain as he watched Rasa, not far off, dispersing his chakra yet again. His mind was filled with doubt. [Why does he have so much chakra?]
After gathering and dispersing it countless times, he still showed no signs of stopping.
[Does he have Uzumaki blood? Or…]
His eyes caught Rasa pulling out another small bottle of pale blue liquid.
[A new chakra-restoring item developed by the Hidden Sand Village? Could it be… that old hag Chiyo's work?]
The commander's expression shifted. If that were true, the Hidden Rock Village's hopes of claiming a piece of the pie just got trickier.
"We have to get that potion!" he declared.
If they could bring it to the Tsuchikage, perhaps the Hidden Rock Village could replicate it.
Turning to his ninja, he said seriously, "We need to seize that potion. As for the Third Kazekage's disciple…"
He glanced at Rasa, who was frowning. [Looks like he's getting impatient!]
"Put him on hold. Prioritize capturing the potion!"
"Understood!" the Rock ninja shouted in unison.
"Charge!" the commander ordered, waving his hand.
Seeing the Rock ninja suddenly abandon their game of "chase me," Rasa's heart skipped a beat. [Have they figured it out?]
How did these Rock ninja get so smart all of a sudden?
Couldn't they just keep playing tag?
Let's ride the sand and live freely together!
His second lottery draw was almost funded. As for the first… ugh, don't even mention it. The drop rate was abysmal, yielding nothing to solve his current predicament, though…
Vitality +1.
Not bad. Without it, he'd probably be exhausted from all this running~
Seeing the Rock ninja charge with ferocious expressions—clearly serious this time—Rasa tensed.
"Surround him! Throw kunai!" the commander barked.
At his command, the Rock ninja sprang into action, hurling kunai at Rasa.
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
Sparks flew as Rasa halted his refining to envelop himself in gold dust for protection.
When the attacks subsided, he peeked through a gap… and saw explosive tags plastered everywhere!
"…"
I've got a word for this, but I'm not sure I should say it!
Rasa sighed, reinforcing his defenses, but the impact of so many explosive tags—unleashed by so many Rock ninja—wasn't easy to withstand.
The force!
It made him want to puke!
He hurriedly sold off the gold dust that had done its job, then burned more chakra to gather another batch.
[This feels like grinding a dungeon while buying gear mid-fight.]
Except the in-game recycling rate was trash—a garbage game!
He chugged one of the red potions from his set, instantly recovering a chunk of stamina. [Are these Rock ninja finally playing for real?]
Rasa's eyes narrowed, his face flashing with anger. Then, gathering more gold dust… he turned and bolted!
So many Jonin—he wasn't an idiot!
Sure, in theory, Rasa's strength could let him solo the One-Tail in the desert and seal it, but he'd only been here a month. Give him time to adjust to ninja combat!
He wasn't the Third Raikage, who could single-handedly fight ten thousand ninja for three days and nights before dying of exhaustion!
Oh, wait—that hadn't happened yet.
Meanwhile…
"What the hell?!"
The Rock ninja watched, dumbfounded, as Rasa fled again, dispersing and regathering his chakra while running.
If they still thought this Third Kazekage's disciple had a secret weapon, they'd be unworthy of being ninja!
"Chase him! He's mocking us Rock ninja!" the commander roared, his face alternating between pale and livid, waving his men forward.
Why did this Sand ninja keep gathering and dispersing chakra?!
[Could it be…]
A thought struck him, his eyes narrowing, a surge of fury building in his chest.
[Mentally broken, unstable… maybe this disciple can't properly refine his chakra due to his trauma?]
Gasping with rage, the commander pointed ahead. "He's a fraud! Get him!"
"Yes, sir!"
"???"
A fraud? What had he scammed?
Rasa glanced back at the furious commander, feeling a bit wronged. From the moment he started running, he hadn't said a word!
How was he a fraud?
Sighing helplessly, he knew the situation left no room for overthinking. If he didn't escape, he might actually get beaten to death.
Seeing he'd finally scraped together enough for another draw, he hesitated…
Ten thousand ryō took too long. Better draw now!
Gritting his teeth, he clicked the draw button, thinking, [I wonder how the Sand ninja are doing? Why haven't they sent backup?]
Ding!
A crisp, festive chime rang out.
Rasa's eyes widened, staring at the system interface.
"This?! Did I finally get something good?!"
…
Meanwhile, on the Sand ninja's side…
Having escaped the Grass Village's encirclement, the Sand ninja found a spot to rest briefly.
"Momu, what now?" one Sand ninja asked, looking worriedly at the temporary commander appointed by Lord Rasa. "With so many Rock ninja… Lord Rasa must be in great danger."
"This…"
Momu looked at his comrades' concerned faces, about to nod and lead them to reinforce Rasa, when… he recalled Lord Rasa's serious expression, his earnest tone, his look of trust…
[I absolutely can't let Lord Rasa down!]
His face hardened with resolve as he addressed the Sand ninja. "No! We can't disappoint Lord Rasa! He drew the Rock ninja away so we could survive. We can't let his sacrifice be in vain."
Raising his fist, his expression radiant, he declared, "We swear to protect the Hidden Sand Village!"
"Swear to protect the Hidden Sand Village!" the other Sand ninja shouted, raising their fists with unwavering determination.
"We absolutely can't let Lord Rasa down!"
(End of Chapter)