Naruto: Kurotsuchi Mayuri

Boom!

The sound of an explosion was accompanied by rising smoke and swirling sand, spreading between the two monstrous figures locked in battle on the battlefield.

"Is the Sand Village out of ninjas? Why are there so few of you here?" the Third Raikage shouted at Rasa, who was panting heavily.

Magnet Release: Gold Dust!

Rasa completely ignored the Third Raikage's taunts. Streams of gold dust surged from beneath the desert sands, forming a rushing river that tightly trapped the Third Raikage in the middle of a golden sea.

Their battles always played out this way. If the fight got up close, Rasa would lose the upper hand. But if he could maintain a distance, trapping the Third Raikage in his sea of gold dust, the Raikage could only struggle to stay afloat in the gold dust sea.

No one else usually dared to intervene in their clashes.

Over time, Rasa and the Third Raikage developed a mutual understanding to take their fights far away from the main forces whenever they faced each other.

In the past, the Third Raikage had ignored Rasa's challenges and charged alone into the Sand Village's elite troops, massacring them without restraint.

In retaliation, Rasa used his Magnet Release to devastate the Cloud Village's forces.

After several battles, the Third Raikage realized that this tactic of mutual destruction was a losing game. From then on, he was forced to face Rasa directly, pulling their fights away from the main battlefield.

By now, the two had developed an unspoken agreement—whenever war broke out, they would always target each other.

The Third Raikage knew very well that Rasa's strength was not on par with his. But Rasa's Wind Release and Magnet Release posed a significant threat, effectively countering his techniques.

When cloaked in the Lightning Release Armor, Rasa couldn't deal any substantial damage to him, no matter how much effort he put in.

However, the constant barrage and pressure of the gold dust slowed the Raikage down, preventing him from building up speed for his deadly charges.

Through countless battles, Rasa could practically write a manual on how to counter and restrict the Third Raikage.

While he couldn't overpower him, Rasa focused on containment. As for the Raikage's endless insults and provocations, Rasa had learned the hard way—after a close brush with death—to tune them out entirely.

"It looks like the Sand Village really doesn't have any reinforcements left," the Third Raikage remarked. As he skillfully pulled himself out of the flowing gold dust, he still had the presence of mind to glance at the battlefield around them.

This time, the Sand Village's resistance was even weaker than before. Entire divisions were missing, and the once-renowned puppet troops had been shattered, now scattered in fragments to supplement other ninja units.

From the battlefield's situation, it was clear that Sunagakure's defeat was only a matter of time.

In truth, the fact that Sunagakure managed to hold off Kumogakure's forces for nearly two long years had already exceeded the Third Raikage's expectations.

Originally, he thought that a village without its Kage—even one of the Five Great Shinobi Nations—could at best last about a year under Kumogakure's offensive.

But now, Sunagakure has finally reached its breaking point.

Even though the plan to completely annihilate Sunagakure hadn't succeeded, once Sunagakure became a defeated nation, Kumogakure could still reap significant benefits from the Land of Wind and the village itself.

For one, Kumogakure could seize a large share of the missions that Sunagakure's shinobi once handled. Beyond the funding provided by their respective nations, the number of missions a shinobi village could secure was a critical measure of its economy and strength.

Sunagakure's forces had already retreated near their encampment, and their formations were fragmented and surrounded by Kumogakure's troops.

With victory in sight, Kumogakure was on the verge of delivering a decisive blow to wipe out the last of Sunagakure's shinobi. Everything seemed to be progressing favorably. Yet, inexplicably, a sudden, intense sense of danger surged within the Third Raikage.

The sea of gold sand erupted violently, swirling to trap him where he stood. At the same time, a brilliant and deadly white light shot from the distant sky, streaking straight toward the Third Raikage.

The lightning surrounding the Third Raikage erupted again, solidifying into tangible arcs of electricity that buzzed with a cacophony resembling the cries of thousands of birds.

In a critical instant, the Third Raikage twisted his body to the side, altering his angle just enough. The white beam that was aimed at his chest instead grazed past his left arm.

It was utterly silent.

The Raikage's arm seemed to vanish into thin air, as though it had been erased. Even the strongest shield of the Lightning Armor, which once deflected countless attacks, provided no protection.

The golden dust and sand stirred up by the Raikage's explosive movement settled quickly, revealing his sharp gaze locking onto a hunched and diminutive figure hovering in mid-air.

Dust Release!

It was none other than the Tsuchikage of Iwagakure, the man known as Ōnoki of Both Scales.

The sight of Ōnoki immediately set off alarm bells in the Third Raikage's mind.

If Ōnoki was here, it could only mean one thing—the Kumogakure forces stationed to defend and monitor Iwagakure's movements had likely suffered devastating losses.

The idea that Ōnoki had come alone to assist Sunagakure and Rasa was dismissed almost immediately.

As an old rival, the Raikage knew Ōnoki's personality all too well. The man was cautious, stubborn, and utterly ruthless in achieving his goals.

Ōnoki would not recklessly place himself in danger, nor would he risk his life for Sunagakure's sake. His presence here had only one explanation—to end this war and claim the spoils for himself.

Rasa, seizing the opportunity, retreated swiftly. The Raikage glanced at Rasa's figure retreating through the air back toward the Sunagakure camp but made no move to stop him. His focus was entirely on Ōnoki, who was steadily floating closer.

Sensing the situation was rapidly turning against him, the Third Raikage silently wished Rasa would leave the battlefield entirely, even if it meant taking the defeated Sunagakure forces with him.

If Rasa and Ōnoki joined forces, it would become nearly impossible for the Raikage to escape this battlefield unscathed.

Magnet Release: Golden Sand Waterfall.

A massive torrent of golden sand surged across the battlefield, cutting through the clash between the Kumo (Cloud) and Suna (Sand) shinobi. The golden wave rescued the Suna ninjas who had been surrounded by the Kumo forces, one by one.

As the commander of the Kumo forces, Dodai immediately regained control of his troops upon witnessing this scene.

The appearance of Rasa made both Dodai and the Kumo shinobi realize that something must have gone wrong on the Raikage's side.

"Lord Dodai, the sensory unit has detected the appearance of a massive chakra presence—there are at least 10,000 shinobi!"

A panicked Kumo ninja hurriedly reported to Dodai from the rear.

10,000 shinobi?

As Kumo's strategist, Dodai instantly understood that this was the worst-case scenario.

The Suna forces had been nearly decimated by the Kumo army. Even if Sunagakure were to deploy reinforcements, they wouldn't be able to send that many ninjas.

As for Konoha? 

Based on what Dodai knew about the Hokage, Konoha would never commit all their forces to this battlefield.

The only village in the entire ninja world that could field 10,000 ninjas—and appear here—was just one.

Iwagakure of the Land of Earth!

Ōnoki was here!

In that instant, Dodai pieced together the situation in his mind. He now understood why Rasa had been able to leave the Raikage's battlefield, while Kumo's Third Raikage had yet to reappear.

****

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