As Mirai Uchiha stepped forward, Rasa's expression darkened once again, despite having just begun to relax slightly.
Originally, he had never stood a chance against Mirai Uchiha. Much less now, after fighting Orochimaru and expending a massive amount of chakra and physical energy...
Yet compared to earlier, Rasa wasn't nearly as panicked now.
His battle with Orochimaru had boosted his confidence quite a bit.
Although he still didn't believe he could defeat Mirai Uchiha, he felt that escaping should still be manageable, right?
Thinking this, Rasa prepared to use Magnet Release to fly at high altitudes toward Sunagakure.
He had heard what Mirai Uchiha said earlier. Although he didn't know exactly what Mirai was planning, it was likely that he wouldn't want others finding out about his death.
In other words, the more people who saw him alive, the safer he would be.
Earlier, when he fought Orochimaru, ninja from the village must have noticed.
Perhaps reinforcements were already on their way!
After quickly sorting out his thoughts, Rasa activated his chakra, gathering large amounts of gold dust behind him.
The gold dust transformed into the image of Shukaku, blocking Mirai Uchiha's path.
This ultimate defense… should be able to hold off Mirai Uchiha for a while, right?
Just as Rasa was about to leave, he saw Mirai Uchiha's body suddenly enveloped in a golden chakra aura.
Mirai Uchiha's steps gradually quickened.
[A golden blur!]
Rasa only saw a flash of golden light before a suffocating sensation coursed through his body.
Before he even had time to react, Mirai Uchiha had already appeared directly in front of him, reaching out and tightly gripping his throat.
On the gold-dust Shukaku he had created earlier, a huge hole suddenly appeared.
The scattered gold dust had only just begun floating around him.
That's impossible!
He hadn't even seen the movement—only that single flash of golden light…
His eyes couldn't keep up with such speed anymore.
Rasa had once fought against the current Fourth Raikage before the outbreak of The Third Great Ninja War.
Even the Raikage, famous for his incredible speed, paled in comparison to the speed Mirai Uchiha had just displayed!
And the defensive jutsu he had created using gold dust hadn't worked at all.
How much had Mirai Uchiha's power grown?
Damn it…
Rasa gritted his teeth and glared at Mirai Uchiha. His life had barely begun, yet he was going to die here so helplessly?
At their first meeting, Rasa should never have let Mirai Uchiha go alive, even if it meant risking his life!
Seeing Rasa's expression, Mirai Uchiha gave a slight snort. "Don't wear that look. Countless ninja have died by my hands—remembering your name is already something worth boasting about."
Crack!
[Ding! Congratulations, Master! Successfully acquired reward: +1 Chakra!]
With a mildly frustrated look, Mirai Uchiha picked up Rasa's corpse and tossed it onto the ground. "Orochimaru, I'll leave the body to you."
The corpse of an S-rank ninja with a Kekkei Genkai certainly held immense research value.
Rather than letting it go to waste, handing it over to Orochimaru made more sense.
Watching Orochimaru stand there stunned, Mirai walked up and patted her on the shoulder. "Ninja from Sunagakure are approaching soon. Get ready."
With that, Mirai's figure vanished into thin air.
After quite some time, Orochimaru finally snapped out of her shock, raising her arm to wipe sweat from her face.
Witnessing the entire fight in which Mirai defeated Rasa had left Orochimaru with an indescribable feeling of unease.
It seemed like Mirai's strength had gone far beyond her comprehension…
Rasa, who could once battle evenly against her, had been instantly killed in one move!
Her ultimate defensive jutsu hadn't even posed the slightest problem for Mirai Uchiha!
"Thank goodness I'm completely loyal to Mirai. Otherwise, my fate would surely be no better than Rasa's."
Thinking back on how they'd met, Orochimaru couldn't help but feel chills run down her spine.
If not for her talent in scientific research, would Mirai really have given her so many chances, considering her reckless personality?
Walking over to Rasa's corpse, Orochimaru quickly peeled off its face. [Face Copying Technique!]
The face of Rasa now adhered to Orochimaru's own. She adjusted her form using *Soft Physique Modification*, then dressed in Rasa's clothing before sealing away the remains.
Just as she finished, ninja from Sunagakure arrived.
"Lord Kazekage, what just happened?"
"Nothing much. I was attacked by Orochimaru, but she fled after realizing she couldn't beat me."
Looking at the snake skin and bloodstains left behind on the sand, the Sunagakure ninja all gazed at him in admiration.
"No wonder you're the Kazekage. Who would've thought someone as dangerous as Orochimaru would already be no match for you anymore."
"With you guarding us, Sunagakure will surely rise to greatness again."
"Daring to attack the Kazekage near our village? Orochimaru sure has guts!"
"Lord Kazekage, shall we pursue and kill Orochimaru?"
Rasa shook his head silently. "Leave him to them. Let Konoha deal with this mess."
That answer drew another round of praise, as the Suna ninja extolled Kazekage's foresight and strategy.
Orochimaru couldn't stand to hear any more. He immediately activated the [Shifting Body Technique] and vanished from the spot.
No one noticed a thing.
After all...
These Suna ninja could never imagine that their Kazekage would be cut down without a sound right in their own territory.
———
In the dark, damp holding cells beneath Konoha, Hiruzen Sarutobi opened his eyes.
Prolonged imprisonment had done little to change Hiruzen, except that his gaze had lost its former gentleness.
Hiruzen stared unblinking at the visitor and spoke in a deep voice, "So, Mirai Uchiha... you've finally come to see me."
"What? Are you here to kill me?"
Mirai Uchiha gave a light chuckle. "Of course not. I'm actually here to help release Hokage."
Hiruzen laughed arrogantly for a moment. "No matter how strong you are, in the end you still don't dare do anything to me."
"Kill me, and the Uchiha Clan will forever bear the stigma of seizing power."
"The naturally evil Uchiha Clan will never deserve to be the village's rightful successor!"
Hiruzen originally regarded every potential threat to his authority with equal caution. But Mirai Uchiha took everything away from him, causing him to change his thinking.
Now he finally understood what his teacher meant. Just being suppressed for decades and they rebelled—the Uchiha Clan was indeed the greatest destabilizing factor in the village.
They placed their hatred on him. Was wanting stability for the village truly wrong?
The fault lay with the Uchiha.
If they were willing to obey quietly, would he really exterminate them?
It was just unfortunate that this variable called Mirai Uchiha appeared among the Uchiha Clan...
"Additionally... Forget it. I won't go with you to make your wishes come true."
Hiruzen clearly remembered that Mirai Uchiha had said he wanted to ruin his reputation.
After being locked away for so long, he had no idea what trap Mirai had set for him to fall into.
Upon hearing Hiruzen's words, Mirai Uchiha responded indifferently, "Suit yourself, but I need to tell you something beforehand."
"What?"
"Danzo Shimura, Homura Mitokado, and Koharu Utatane have all died. The Shimura Clan, Mito Gate Clan, and Tenkin Clan no longer exist."
"If you want the Sarutobi Clan to meet the same end, then by all means keep clinging to your beliefs."
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