Rasa arrived before Orochimaru and Chinya, accompanied by three Jōnin.
Crossing his arms, Rasa looked at Orochimaru and Chinya and sneered, "Hmph. Never thought I'd see the day—Orochimaru, one of the legendary Sannin, and Chinya, the 'Crimson-Eyed Asura,' hiding behind Otogakure."
Orochimaru smirked slightly as he asked, "Rasa, since you've come here to meet us, does that mean our cooperation has been confirmed?"
Rasa denied it bluntly, "No. I won't bet the entire Sunagakure on your word alone and go adventuring with your Otogakure. I need a complete plan from you, and also to know how we should divide the benefits."
Chinya couldn't help but laugh, "Hey Rasa, you say no, then immediately ask about dividing the benefits? You really have some nerve. You want to pressure us into giving you more before we've even agreed to cooperate?"
Rasa coldly snorted, "You need to get this straight—we're the ones asking for help, not the other way around. If you're targeting Konoha, the only possible ally is our Sunagakure. And the two of you are the ones behind Otokagure… so the advantage lies with us. Whether we cooperate or not is just a single word from me."
Chinya stared at Rasa as if looking at an idiot, "Orochimaru-sensei, even someone of this level can become a Kage now?"
Orochimaru said nothing, but his eyes were filled with the same contemptuous look aimed at Rasa.
Faced with Chinya's mockery and Orochimaru's disdainful gaze, Rasa's expression darkened, "What exactly do you two mean?"
Shaking his head, Chinya replied, "Still don't get it? Sunagakure's current circumstances are dire. When Orochimaru-sensei and I came to you for cooperation against Konoha, we didn't actually have to mention Otokagure. Just using our names—me and Orochimaru—itself proves we have the strength and capability to partner with Sunagakure.
"So since we didn't have to reveal Otokagure, you would've come to us anyway. Then why on earth would we give you that kind of advantage?"
Rasa's face turned grim.
Chinya laughed openly, "We told you because it made no difference either way. We just wanted you excited enough to rush out and meet us quickly, without giving you too much time to think. After all… we're in a hurry."
With a thumb, Chinya unsheathed the Ninja Sword at his waist.
[Thunder Breathing Third Form – Gathering of the Storm!]
Lightning erupted from Chinya's body as he spun rapidly around Rasa and the three Jōnin accompanying him.
The three Jōnin didn't even have time to react before they were instantly decapitated.
Rasa, however, reacted far quicker, already conjuring a cloud of gold dust swirling around his body, preparing to counter Chinya's attack.
Chinya didn't target Rasa though—he was Orochimaru's prey.
After finishing off the three Jōnin, Chinya stepped aside, "Orochimaru-sensei, he's all yours. I'll watch; he can't escape. Feel free to test your abilities however you like."
Rasa's face turned livid with rage—he finally understood that Orochimaru and Chinya had lured him out specifically to kill him.
But Rasa was confused too. "Why? You hate Konoha, don't you? Why would you want to kill me?"
Orochimaru smiled slightly and said, "Actually, we're genuinely interested in cooperating with Sunagakure to attack Konoha, but we'd like to be the ones leading. Therefore, I plan to replace you and lead Sunagakure to attack Konoha myself."
Orochimaru's eyes had transformed into Mangekyo Sharingan.
Rasa looked at Orochimaru's eyes in disbelief: "Uchiha Clan's Mangekyo Sharingan?! How come you have it?"
Orochimaru didn't answer Rasa, but instead aimed both hands directly at him.
[Bone Pellet!]
Ten finger bones from Orochimaru shot out like bullets toward Rasa.
Qianyu raised his eyebrows.
Kimimaro Kaguya's Shikotsumyaku... So that's what Orochimaru meant earlier when he said he transplanted more than one Kekkei Genkai. In addition to the Mangekyo Sharingan, he also had the Shikotsumyaku.
However, Rasa blocked all of Orochimaru's flying finger bones with his Gold Dust.
Rasa sent a surge of Gold Dust lashing out at Orochimaru in retaliation.
[Magnet Release: Gold Dust Cube!]
The Gold Dust coalesced into a massive cube and hurtled toward Orochimaru with crushing force.
Using the Dojutsu ability of his left Mangekyo Sharingan, Orochimaru saw a thread connecting Rasa, his cubic Gold Dust, and himself.
This thread represented the predicted trajectory of Rasa's attack through his left eye's Dojutsu. As long as Orochimaru avoided this line, he could dodge Rasa's attack.
There was another thread as well.
This was the second ability of Orochimaru's right Mangekyo Sharingan,
While predicting the trajectory of Rasa's attack, it simultaneously calculated the best trajectory for counterattacking Rasa.
From his palm, a sharp bone blade shot out along the exact trajectory calculated by his eye.
Following the trajectory shown by his right eye, Orochimaru smoothly dodged the Gold Dust cube and positioned himself beside Rasa.
Rasa's heart skipped a beat.
Orochimaru had appeared exactly where Rasa least expected—and his bone blade was already slashing toward him.
However, the Gold Dust surrounding Rasa automatically intercepted Orochimaru's attack.
Rasa immediately retreated backward, increasing the distance between them.
His heart pounded rapidly—if not for the Gold Dust automatically blocking Orochimaru's attack, he'd have been wounded by Orochimaru just now.
He cast a wary glance at Qianyu standing off to the side, still biding his time.
The current situation was completely disadvantageous for Rasa. One Orochimaru was hard enough to handle, let alone not knowing when Qianyu might enter the battle.
Therefore, continuing to engage with both Orochimaru and Qianyu here was unwise.
He needed to find a way to break free.
Molding a series of hand seals, Rasa drove both hands into the sand beneath him, converting highly refined Chakra into magnetic power. He channeled Magnet Release chakra into the ground. From beneath the desert, a vast wave of Gold Dust erupted like a rising tide.
[Magnet Release: Gold Dust Enclosure!]
With a low shout, Rasa used the Gold Dust to create a massive, densely packed barrier of long spikes targeting both Orochimaru and Qianyu watching nearby.
Qianyu unsheathed the Ninja Sword at his waist, flashing with lightning, cutting apart every spike of Gold Dust heading toward him.
With the dojutsu of his Mangekyo Sharingan, Orochimaru glided effortlessly through the dense storm of gold dust spikes, closing in on Rasa without effort.
Rasa watched in disbelief as Orochimaru twisted through grotesque angles, narrowly evading the piercing gold dust spikes while rapidly closing the distance between them.
He realized that Orochimaru had already begun evading before the gold dust spikes even formed. What baffled him was how Orochimaru could not only evade, but also rush forward at such incredible speed.
Could this man actually possess the power to see the future?
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