Sunagakure was both poor and sparsely populated. There wasn't much to gain here.
And in order to set an example, the higher your rank as a shinobi, the more commission you had to hand over to the village.
So sometimes, being in a high-ranking position in Sunagakure...
Was exhausting, heartbreaking—and expensive!
Look—if nothing unexpected had happened, and Rasa-sama had officially become Kazekage, he would've basically been the village's father figure.
Anytime the village needed funds, he'd head straight into the desert to dig for gold and support the entire village.
As for what Momu had gone through during this time… only the heavens knew~
No money.
Reporting to the higher-ups that they couldn't hold much longer, asking for reinforcements—
And what showed up?
Just a bunch of genin with their chunin instructors. Five or six squads.
Completely useless.
But to defend the Land of Wind's borders, and prevent Iwagakure and Kusagakure from pushing deeper, he had no choice…
He had to use lives to hold the line.
And now, seeing Rasa-sama, long thought missing or dead, suddenly return in full force—charging straight into the Kusa camp without saying a word—
Momu was fired up.
All of Sunagakure's shinobi were fired up.
After two months of stifling battle, they could finally go on the offensive!
If it hadn't been for Iwagakure and Kusagakure deliberately restraining the tempo of the war—trying to minimize casualties while waiting for word from Kumogakure and Sunagakure in hopes of grinding down Suna's defenses—the line would've already collapsed.
And now—
With their blood boiling, at the command of acting commander Momu, all Suna shinobi charged toward the Kusagakure camp.
"Kitsuchi-sama, what should we do now?"
Watching the Grass-nin being completely overpowered by a single person, an Iwa shinobi frowned and turned to his commanding officer.
"That's definitely Rasa, the disciple of the Third Kazekage... But he disappeared for over two months. What happened during that time?"
"This is something we need to look into."
Kitsuchi nodded, also frowning, his eyes fixed on the chaos unfolding within the Kusa forces.
"And also—"
His tone suddenly dropped.
"Didn't you report that Rasa had been mentally unstable after what happened with the Third Kazekage? That he'd suffered psychological damage and lost his clarity?"
"Then what's this?"
On top of that...
That power—was terrifying.
Does the old man even have this level of strength?
Maybe if he used Dust Release, they'd be close~
And that ability that turned shinobi into mummified corpses, along with the transformation into sand the moment he was hit…
A strange power… could it be some kind of Kekkei Genkai?
Especially that sand-like transformation—was that a unique clone technique from Sunagakure?
Even though Kitsuchi couldn't confirm what it really was, he immediately ordered the surrounding Iwa shinobi to record the intel and begin assessing Rasa's strength and combat capabilities.
As for Kusagakure...
Whether or not they stepped in to help didn't matter anymore.
Their sacrifice had meaning.
At the very least, it allowed Iwagakure to gather more information.
And anyway—Kusagakure was an ally of Konohagakure.
They weren't allies of Iwagakure.
Even the Uzumaki clan, who had once been like family to Konoha, had ended up like that… heh.
Why should Iwa care?
"Quickly record the data. Analyze his jutsu and condition. Huh… it looks like that terrifying ability of his just disappeared?"
But right after Kitsuchi said that—
"Kitsuchi-sama! The Suna shinobi… they're heading this way too!"
A minute passed quickly.
As the elemental transformation wore off, Rasa had to rely on his own physical strength and combat skill to resist the Kusa shinobi's attacks.
And honestly, even after his card-based abilities vanished, the earlier intimidation was enough—the Kusa shinobi still didn't dare rush him carelessly.
But…
It didn't take long.
"That strange power… it doesn't last long!"
"Now's our chance—get him!"
"Let's avenge our fallen comrades!"
The Grass-nin quickly realized that the terrifying ability Rasa had shown was truly gone. Rage surged, and they charged forward in full force.
Rasa knew he couldn't stay here anymore.
From the sand's feedback, he already sensed that Iwagakure's forces had moved closer—they had been hiding on the sidelines, watching.
Once they realized his special ability was gone and his power weakened, they would definitely try to kill him and bring his corpse back to their village for research.
A shinobi's secrets… couldn't be hidden, even in death.
Facing the crazed Kusa shinobi, Rasa sighed helplessly.
He looked at the still-standing Kusa camp and the remaining enemies, muttering to himself:
"…Time to pull out."
But as soon as the words left his mouth—
He suddenly saw, not far ahead—
A blood-soaked, near-death Kusa shinobi suddenly come back to life after biting the arm of a red-haired girl next to him!
Rasa's eyes lit up.
Could she be…?
Red hair.
Massive chakra.
An ability to heal others by letting them bite her.
No doubt about it!
He thought of Karura's body… Sure, he could grind and "pay-to-win" his way into finding a method to restore Karura eventually.
But if he could find a ready-made solution, why not take it?
If Karura bit this girl's arm, she definitely wouldn't die in childbirth.
And more importantly—
This was a good deed! He'd be saving someone from hell—doing charity work!
Just one bite… shouldn't be a problem, right?
Thinking this, Rasa immediately rushed toward the red-haired medical-nin.
"I, Rasa… just want to be a good guy!"
"Damn it! Stop him!!"
But the Kusa shinobi quickly caught on to his intent.
They surrounded him again.
And honestly, even though it was just a few of them, they were still a pain.
They weren't difficult to deal with—but once he stopped moving, he risked being completely surrounded by the entire Kusa force.
This wasn't just some patrol squad.
This was a full-scale Kusa army, deployed for war.
Even his earlier rampage only took out a portion of them.
So, to save time, Rasa immediately gathered the nearby gold sand and sent it flying to block the advancing Kusa-nin, making it impossible for them to get close.
"Damn it!"
The Kusa commander's face went pale.
Watching Rasa moving in and out of their formation like he owned the place, the commander knew:
By tomorrow… The Kusagakure would be the laughingstock of the entire shinobi world.
A shinobi—not even a Kage—had invaded their base, and they had done nothing to stop him.
Who wouldn't laugh at that?
He looked at the panicked medics, and the Kusa shinobi who couldn't keep up with Rasa's movements…
And suddenly… he felt old.
This war… Kusagakure has already lost.
Then, his face twisted in anger as he looked toward the red-haired girl—the Uzumaki clan survivor they had taken in after her homeland was destroyed.
"Kill her! Kill her now!!"
As the commander of Kusagakure's army, he could not let the village fall into disgrace.
But before the words had even finished—
"Magnet Release: Gold Sand Shield!"
Rasa quickly activated his jutsu to protect the Uzumaki girl from a distance, then continued charging forward.
But the closer he got, the greater the pressure on him.
Just as he was wondering whether to give up and retreat for now—
"Rasa-sama! We're here!!"
From behind, came a familiar voice…
A voice so familiar… it made him want to punch someone.