"Damn it… I knew I walked right into it."
Rasa—the Fourth Kazekage—stared at the bone blade jutting from the sand where he had stood moments earlier. Two of his five elite guards hadn't been as lucky; the blade had pierced straight through them, killing them instantly. His expression darkened with fury and dread.
"Bone Blade… so it's the Kaguya clan from Kirigakure."
Ash's eyes glimmered as he examined the attack. The Kaguya clan's Shikotsumyaku—bone manipulation—was powerful and notoriously deadly.
Their bones served as both offense and impenetrable defense, and even the Hyūga clan's Byakugan and Gentle Fist were overshadowed in raw durability by Kaguya bone techniques.
"That's right," Orochimaru replied with a faint sigh. "But unfortunately… this child's bloodline disease is severe. His body won't last long."
The boy in question—Kimimaro of the Kaguya clan—stood silently, expression unreadable. He was the clan's last survivor, and the only remaining wielder of Shikotsumyaku in the entire shinobi world.
"Leave the Fourth Kazekage to me," Ash said, meeting Rasa's hateful glare without fear. "I could use a little entertainment."
He removed the cloud-patterned cloak from his shoulders, revealing the Sharingan beneath.
The three remaining Sunagakure ANBU tensed.
"The three of you—return to the village and request reinforcements! I'll hold them off!"
Rasa quickly ordered, hands already forming seals. He couldn't afford hesitation—Ash's Sharingan alone made him a nightmare opponent.
"You won't succeed today," Orochimaru hissed. "Kimimaro. You four—kill the ANBU."
"Magnet Release: Gold Dust Shuriken!"
Dozens of spinning shuriken formed from compressed gold dust burst forward toward Ash and Orochimaru.
"Soru."
Ash vanished instantly with a blur of speed, leaving an afterimage in the sand.
"Soft Physique Modification."
Orochimaru's body bent and twisted like a serpent, weaving through the incoming blades with eerie flexibility.
Rasa tried to form another seal—
"Bang!"
Ash appeared behind him mid-motion and drove a straight punch into his back, sending him staggering.
"Damn… this situation is too unfavorable. I need a wide-range technique!"
Rasa cursed. His attention had fixated on Orochimaru, and he had let Ash momentarily slip from his sight. A fatal mistake.
"Magnet Release: Sand Tsunami!"
Rasa slammed his palms to the ground. A massive wave of gold-infused sand surged forward with overwhelming force.
Although it was classified as Magnet Release, Rasa's technique was only an imitation of the Third Kazekage's true kekkei genkai. Still, the sheer destructive power was undeniable.
"Kamui: Reversal."
Ash's expression didn't change. His left Mangekyō Sharingan spun, locking onto the oncoming wave.
A spiraling black point formed at the center of the sand mass, distorting reality itself. A space-time vortex swallowed the attack, leaving a gaping void where the wave had been.
"What…? Space-time ninjutsu!"
Rasa's eyes widened in shock. His strongest attack had vanished instantly.
He didn't hesitate and formed another seal—
"Magnet Release: Sand Binding Flow!"
The ground beneath Ash's feet shifted. Ordinary sand transformed into heavy gold dust, rising like molten iron and locking tightly around his ankles.
"So that's it… not true Magnet Release, but you increase the density of the gold dust to enhance its binding power."
Ash's Sharingan analyzed the technique instantly.
"Well… I'm sure Sasori will be delighted with your body."
Ash smiled lightly—and simply walked forward. The binding crumbled beneath him as if it didn't exist.
"That's impossible! My technique bound him! How—?"
"Lord Kazekage!"
One of the ANBU who had been intercepted shouted from a distance.
"I can't sense his chakra! It must be some form of space-time ninjutsu! Stay alert!"
Rasa's expression twisted. Fear crept into his eyes.
He finally understood—
He was fighting a monster.
"So it really is space–time ninjutsu… I haven't seen such an ability since the Fourth Hokage died."
Rasa muttered grimly. The Fourth Kazekage had already begun reassessing the battle, and Ash's Kamui only made the situation worse.
"You still have the time to think about other things?" Orochimaru's voice slithered behind him.
"Don't forget—your opponent isn't only him."
"Not good—!"
Bang!
"AHH!"
While Rasa was focused on analyzing Ash's technique, Orochimaru suddenly appeared at his back. Before he could use the Body Flicker Technique, Orochimaru delivered a vicious horizontal kick, flinging Rasa aside like a ragdoll.
"Damn…"
Rasa gritted his teeth, forcing himself to stabilize in mid-air before landing on the shifting sand. Pain surged through him, but he didn't dare relax—not with Ash and Orochimaru both standing in front of him.
Ash's eyes shifted.
"Susanoo — Yan Release: Earth-Rending Fate."
His Mangekyō Sharingan turned sharply, and a towering half-bodied construct erupted around him—a red, skeletal giant, wrapped in blazing chakra. Susanoo's incomplete form still radiated overwhelming power.
In its left hand, the avatar raised an ancient bow forged from pure chakra. A black arrow—Amaterasu flames compressed into a single lethal point—formed on the bowstring.
Its tip aimed directly at the Fourth Kazekage.
"So this is… Susanoo? W-what is that thing…?"
Rasa's heart pounded. He had heard countless rumors about Ash—the Sharingan prodigy who rivaled monsters—and yet almost no one had ever witnessed him fight seriously.
Now that he was seeing just a fragment of that power, every instinct screamed danger.
A single arrow from that thing could erase him from existence.
(End of Chapter)
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