After charging for a long time, a massive fireball, several meters in diameter, exploded at the precise location marked by Rasa's gold dust.
In an instant, a terrifying heat, hot enough to turn any living being to charcoal, swept across the surrounding forest for hundreds of meters! The ground at the center of the explosion melted into a hellish pool of lava, while the lush trees at the forest's edge turned into nothing more than burned-out firewood. Ashes filled the air, and the rising heatwave formed a towering mushroom cloud.
Rasa struggled to prop himself up, using his gold dust to shield himself from the incoming wave of scorching heat.
As the rolling shockwave of heat gradually subsided, the surface of the gold-dust shield had already begun to show signs of melting.
In the distance, the Puppet Brigade, still advancing toward Konoha's encampment, looked back at the terrifying ninjutsu explosion and sighed in amazement.
That lackey was truly unlucky.
He had run straight into the combined force of Rasa's Magnet Release and Pakura's Scorch Release.
Facing these two… That guy probably wouldn't even leave behind ashes!
"Is… is he dead?" Rasa panted heavily.
That enemy's terrifying elbow strike just now had shattered nearly half of his ribcage. His chest had collapsed inward, and the fractured bones were severely compressing his lungs.
Even breathing had become agonizingly difficult.
Damn it! Why does Konoha have so many monstrous ninjas?!
Even with his gold dust significantly reinforcing his defenses, that guy still punched straight through his gold dust armor.
"I don't know, but I suggest we leave quickly—you need immediate medical attention." Pakura shook her head slightly, her gaze sweeping over the still-burning forest below.
He must have used the Flying Thunder God Technique to escape. A single-element jutsu wouldn't have been able to withstand her large-scale scorch attack head-on.
"Huff… ha… go assist the puppet brigade in stopping Konoha's retreat… Huff… I'll head back to camp first…" Rasa struggled to support himself atop his gold dust. As he spoke, he gradually lowered Pakura's altitude to make it easier for her to jump to the ground.
As for himself—without confirming whether the enemy was dead or had escaped with the Flying Thunder God Technique—his safest option was to fly directly back to Suna's temporary encampment.
This time, Suna and Iwa had launched a pincer attack on Konoha's camp from the east and west. The larger Iwa force was responsible for the primary assault. Meanwhile, Suna's Puppet Brigade was tasked with intercepting Konoha's retreat.
This wasn't just about securing his position as the Fourth Kazekage—it was also crucial to maintaining the alliance between the two villages. In his current condition, he could no longer sustain high-intensity combat. If he appeared on the front lines, he would likely become a primary target for the enemy.
From here on, the mission was in Pakura's hands!
Before he could finish speaking, a figure, shrouded in a sky-blue chakra aura, suddenly reappeared on the scorched battlefield, where flames still had not fully died down.
Rasa, already on edge, immediately tried to gain altitude, pulling himself and Pakura higher into the air. At the same time, Pakura began preparing the next attack.
One by one, small fireballs, each the size of a human head, shot toward the enemy. But in the next instant, Rasa's expression changed drastically, his heart skipping a beat as he saw the enemy soar into the air, effortlessly weaving past the fireballs and charging straight at them.
The enemy can fly too—far more agilely than his gold dust!
Rasa shouted in a low voice.
He immediately controlled the gold dust beneath himself and Pakura, propelling them northwest at full speed.
No matter the alliance with Iwa or his claim to the Fourth Kazekage title—
None of that mattered if he was dead.
If he perished, he would truly be left with nothing!
Besides, compared to Pakura, who was still in peak condition, any enemy would prioritize attacking him—the already wounded target.
If he wanted to escape, he had to stick close to Pakura, relying on her to shield him and stall the enemy!
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Pakura's fireballs detonated before reaching the airborne enemy.
Their searing temperatures, capable of instantly reducing even elite jonin to mummified husks, spread outward, blocking the enemy's advance.
Rasa kept his gaze locked on the distorted air behind him, where the scorching heat had twisted the space, and on the sky-blue figure beyond the high-temperature zone. He dared not let his guard down for even a second.
"Demonic Illusion: Tsukuyomi!" Kei noticed Rasa staring intensely at him and smirked as he formed a single-hand seal.
A piercing scream echoed through the night sky. Though only a fleeting moment had passed in reality, within the illusionary space, three entire days had elapsed.
Rasa's eyes widened in agony, bloodshot veins crawling across his sclera. The gold dust beneath his feet trembled violently, causing both him and Pakura to plummet toward the dense forest below. That bastard had simulated the figures of Chiyo and Ebizō within the genjutsu… For three relentless days, they had tortured him.
Ebizō had whipped him with saltwater-soaked lashes, numbing his nerves before stabbing between his ribs with a sharp blade, plucking at his bones.
Chiyo had poured boiling water over his body, then scrubbed his flesh raw with an iron brush. Once he was barely recognizable, she had dressed him in a swimsuit and, with a "kind" smile, performed an eye-opening surgery on him!
"Pakura! Stop him—ugh!" A mouthful of blood sprayed from Rasa's lips.
He barely managed to support his failing body, clutching his throbbing head as he lay sprawled on the gold dust. Still, he forced himself to control it, pushing forward in flight.
"Understood!" Pakura responded immediately.
The gold dust supporting her slowed slightly, falling back a dozen meters to align with Rasa's, forming a single line. Now, she stood directly in Kei's path—serving as Rasa's human shield.
Kei glanced toward Konoha's encampment several kilometers away, where various ninjutsu explosions continued to light up the battlefield.
Not wanting to waste any more time, he suddenly unleashed his full speed, his flight accelerated in an instant. Effortlessly weaving past Pakura's ineffective attacks, he rapidly closed the distance.
"Demonic Illusion: Ecstatic Tentacle Games!"
The moment Kei's words fell, Pakura, who had been mid-jutsu, suddenly froze. Her eyes glazed over, and a faint blush crept onto her cheeks.
"Pakura! Pakura! Cough…!" Seeing Pakura also fall victim to the enemy's genjutsu, Rasa panicked.
He raised his left arm and infused chakra into the gold dust, disturbing Pakura's chakra flow to try and break her out of the illusion.
But at that moment, that terrifying sky-blue figure, seizing the instant Pakura was ensnared in genjutsu, had already closed in on her side!
A devastating punch landed directly on Pakura's abdomen. Just as she snapped out of the illusion, a spray of blood erupted from her mouth, and her body was sent flying toward Rasa.
Kei lifted his gaze and grinned brightly at Rasa, who was just ten meters ahead.
Before Rasa could sever his control over the gold dust beneath Pakura's feet, Kei abruptly pushed off the surface of the gold dust, accelerating toward Rasa while forming a hand seal with his left hand.
Rasa didn't even hesitate—he immediately shut his eyes. At the very least, he had to prevent the enemy from ensnaring him in another genjutsu. He commanded the surrounding gold dust to form layers of semi-circular shields.
The gold dust Kei had just stepped on transformed into countless golden spears, stabbing directly toward him.
"Sage Art: Water Severing Wave!"
A piercing slicing sound rang through the air.
Rasa, enclosed within his gold-dust defenses, hurriedly opened his eyes, only to see a razor-thin water jet slicing horizontally toward him!
His enemy wasn't using a genjutsu, he was using Water Release!
Forcing his weakened right arm to move, Rasa barely managed to twist his upper body, narrowly dodging the deadly water jet.
But his legs weren't so lucky. Everything below his thighs was severed in an instant! A brief numbness spread through his lower body, before he could even register the pain, he collapsed onto the gold dust.
And then, the water jet curved mid-air, looping back from an angle! Perhaps due to a loss of momentum, the once-fine stream of water widened, but at the same time, its slicing speed decreased slightly.
In the face of imminent death, Rasa mustered the last remnants of his strength, rolling away just in time to avoid the final strike.
However, the legs he had left behind, as well as the left arm that had been a fraction too slow in his desperate movement, were instantly shredded into a mist of blood!
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
"Aaaagh—!" A series of Scorch Release explosions erupted in the distance, accompanied by unfamiliar screams.
For Rasa, who had been drowning in despair, this was like catching a glimpse of salvation. Using the last of his strength, he frantically manipulated the gold dust beneath him, carrying both himself and Pakura as they fled at top speed.