A dull, wet sound echoed through the air.
Rasa looked down in disbelief.
Two slender, pale fingers—wrapped in a faint white glow—had pierced straight through his chest, side by side, blood seeping around them.
His eyes widened.
But as the Fourth Kazekage, his combat instincts were honed to the extreme.
He retreated instantly.
The fingers withdrew, scorching pain tearing through him as blood sprayed into the air.
Rasa landed heavily, breathing raggedly, and his gaze snapped toward the figures lying in the distance.
Three bodies.
Lifeless.
Cold dread crawled up his spine.
He spun around sharply, gold dust rising instinctively around him.
"Who is it?!" Rasa roared. "Who's sneaking around?! Show yourself!"
A calm, almost gentle voice drifted into his ear.
"Rasa… the world you're seeing right now isn't real. Look closer."
Rasa's pupils contracted.
"…Genjutsu? Release!"
Kaka—kaka—kaka—
The sound of glass shattering rang out.
Cracks spread through the air itself, and in the next instant, countless transparent fragments collapsed outward.
The illusion broke.
The scene before him twisted violently—
There were no corpses of Namikaze Kirito or the others.
Instead, the ground was buried beneath swirling gold dust, and dozens of Sand shinobi lay scattered across the battlefield.
They stared at Rasa with wide, lifeless eyes.
Some looked confused.
Some looked betrayed.
As if they were silently asking why the Kazekage they revered had turned his hand against them.
The weight and sharpness of the gold dust had left none of the bodies intact. Broken limbs, torn torsos, blood-soaked sand—nothing could be clearly distinguished anymore.
Rasa's throat tightened.
His body began to tremble.
"…What… is this…?"
His voice shook.
"An illusion…? I was caught in an illusion?!"
As a Kage-level shinobi, Rasa immediately understood what had happened.
He hadn't been overwhelmed.
He had been tricked—caught off guard for just a moment.
And that moment had cost him his own men.
Sunagakure was already weakened from previous conflicts. The shinobi he'd brought with him were not many but every single one of them was an elite.
And now… a portion of them were gone before the battle had even truly begun.
What was happening back in the village?
The thought alone made his chest feel tight.
Rasa clenched his fists, killing intent surging.
He wanted nothing more than to tear the three figures before him apart.
"Tch… how cruel, Kazekage-sama."
Orochimaru's hoarse voice slid into the air, carrying faint amusement.
Namikaze Kirito ignored him.
His gaze remained fixed on Rasa, calm and composed.
"So," Kirito said softly, "Fourth Kazekage… can we sit down and talk now?"
Rasa gritted his teeth.
"You call this sincerity?" he spat. "Who are you?"
"My name is Namikaze Kirito," Kirito replied evenly. "As for sincerity—didn't you strike first? The fact that you're still alive is our greatest goodwill."
"Namikaze… Kirito?"
Rasa's eyes narrowed.
"Namikaze… Uzumaki bloodline… and that face…"
Realization struck him like a blade.
"You're the son of the Fourth Hokage—Namikaze Minato."
It wasn't a secret.
Every major village had its intelligence networks.
A Hokage's bloodline was never something that went unnoticed.
The surname, the red hair inherited from the Uzumaki clan, and that unmistakable presence—
There was no mistaking it.
The Yellow Flash.
A name that had once terrified entire battlefields.
A name every enemy village had issued the same order for:
If you encounter Namikaze Minato—abandon the mission and flee.
As that name resurfaced in his mind, Rasa's killing intent deepened.
Sunagakure and Konoha had never been on good terms.
"The son of the Fourth Hokage comes to Sunagakure," Rasa said coldly. "What—here to show off your power? Or to start another ninja war? And Orochimaru… you expect me to believe you truly betrayed Konoha?"
"Fourth Kazekage," Kirito interrupted calmly. "Enough speculation. We have nothing to do with Konoha. We came here for one reason."
Rasa's gaze sharpened.
"…Who?"
"Chiyo," Kirito said. "Tell me where she is."
Rasa stiffened.
"Advisor Chiyo?!"
The name hit him hard.
Chiyo was no ordinary shinobi.
Before Rasa had taken the position of Kazekage, she had been the one steering Sunagakure from the shadows.
It was she who had elevated him to the seat.
Her son and daughter-in-law had died at the hands of Konoha's White Fang.
Her grandson had vanished.
With her will to lead gone, only then had Rasa been able to rise.
If Chiyo still held power—
No Kazekage could be chosen without her consent.
"You came… for her?" Rasa asked cautiously.
Kirito nodded.
"There's a ninjutsu in her possession that interests me. Have her hand it over, and we leave."
He smiled faintly.
"In return, I'll help Sunagakure deal with its enemies. Any village you choose."
"Even Konoha."
"That," Kirito said, "is cooperation."
Rasa stared at him, doubt swirling violently in his mind.
Chiyo was troublesome but she was still Sunagakure's internal affair.
Letting outsiders touch her would destroy his authority.
And promises like these… were they anything more than bait?
"You slaughtered my men," Rasa growled. "And you still talk about cooperation? Don't insult me."
At that moment—
Uchiha Itachi stepped forward.
He had been silent until now.
His Sharingan spun violently, transforming into a three-tomoe Mangekyō.
"Fourth Kazekage," Itachi said quietly, "it seems you still don't understand your position."
In the next instant—
He vanished.
"Tsukuyomi."
Itachi reappeared directly in front of Rasa.
The Mangekyō Sharingan activated.
Before Rasa could even react, his consciousness was dragged into a pitch-black world.
Seventy-two hours.
Endless suffering.
Endless torment.
In reality—
Only a heartbeat passed.
Rasa collapsed to the ground, eyes vacant, his body instantly restrained by white snakes that coiled around him.
"As expected of a Kazekage," Orochimaru said with interest. "Even after Tsukuyomi… he didn't give us anything."
Itachi lowered his head slightly.
"…My apologies."
"It's fine," Kirito replied calmly. "If he won't talk, someone else will."
He turned away.
"Orochimaru. Take him."
"We're going straight to Sunagakure."
With a soft chuckle, Orochimaru lifted Rasa effortlessly, white snakes tightening their grip.
And without another word—
The three figures vanished toward the heart of the Wind Country.
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