Chapter 7: We Absolutely Cannot Let Lord Rasa Down
Night had begun to fall.
The Iwa-nin commander knew they couldn't afford to drag this out much longer. But no matter how many shinobi he sent out, that Suna-nin in front of them would simply summon his golden sand and vanish again.
It was clear now—this disciple of the Third Kazekage had ambitions far beyond the norm. Was he planning to devour every single one of them?
But time was running out.
There was no telling what was happening with the Grass-nin squad that had been dispatched to block other Suna-nin from reinforcing the area. If backup really did arrive…
They'd be in deep trouble.
Still, as commander of the Iwa-nin, it was his duty—his obligation—to ensure the survival of his men. That was what leadership demanded.
But the bizarre behavior of the Suna-nin in front of him…
Even as a veteran who had survived the Second Great Ninja War, he found himself second-guessing everything.
Caution, vigilance, observation—these were the fundamentals of being a shinobi. And as one of the elite, he had to be more cautious than anyone else.
That was the key to his survival all these years.
His expression shifting between doubt and calculation, the Iwa commander watched Rasa disperse his chakra yet again, feeling a deep unease in his gut.
[Just how much chakra does this guy have?!]
He had gone through the gather-and-dispel cycle so many times, and still showed no signs of exhaustion.
[Does he have Uzumaki blood in him? Or maybe…]
His eyes narrowed as Rasa pulled out another small vial of pale blue liquid.
[A new chakra recovery item developed by Sunagakure? Could it be… something crafted by that old hag Chiyo?]
The thought alone made his expression harden. If that was true, then Iwagakure's plans to reap the spoils of the weakened Wind Country just became much more complicated.
"We have to get our hands on that formula!"
If they could secure even one sample and bring it back to Lord Tsuchikage, perhaps Iwagakure could reverse-engineer it.
Turning to his subordinates, the commander's tone grew solemn. "We must secure that medicine. As for the Kazekage's disciple…"
He shot a sharp look at Rasa, who seemed to be growing impatient.
[So, he's finally getting tired too.]
"Forget him for now—focus on seizing the medicine!"
"Understood!" the Iwa-nin chorused in unison.
"Advance!" the commander bellowed, slicing the air with a wave of his hand.
At that moment, Rasa—who had been comfortably playing tag with them—suddenly felt a chill down his spine.
[Wait… did they figure it out?!]
Why were these Iwa-nin suddenly so smart?
Wasn't it more fun to keep playing this game of cat-and-mouse? Why not continue dancing in the dunes together, living carefree under the desert moon?
And he was just about to get enough for his second draw!
As for the first draw…
Ugh. Don't even mention it.
The drop rate was abysmal. Nothing particularly helpful came out of it—but hey, he did get…
+1 Stamina.
If not for that, he probably would've collapsed by now from all this running.
But seeing the Iwa-nin now, their faces twisted with determination and focus—
Yeah, they were serious this time.
"Surround him! Throw the kunai!"
At the commander's order, the Iwa-nin sprang into action, whipping out their kunai and hurling them in unison toward Rasa.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Sparks erupted as metal struck metal. Rasa had no choice but to abandon his refining efforts and cloak himself in a protective layer of golden sand.
Moments later, sensing the attacks around him had stopped, Rasa cautiously opened a small gap in his sand armor to peek outside—
—and saw the area around him plastered with explosive tags.
"…"
I swear, I have something to say, but I don't know if I should say it.
Rasa let out a long sigh and thickened his sand barrier again. But the sheer impact of those explosion tags—especially launched simultaneously by multiple Iwa-nin—was not something that could be brushed off easily.
The power behind that barrage…
It honestly made him want to vomit.
Taking advantage of the chaos, he quickly sold off the gold sand that had finished its job, then used more chakra to refine a fresh batch.
[This feels like running a dungeon while grinding gear at the same time…]
Too bad the in-game recycling system sucks. What a trash game!
He popped open one of the red potions he'd drawn earlier and gulped it down—sure enough, his chakra was partially restored in an instant.
[So these Iwa-nin are finally getting serious now, huh?]
Rasa's eyes narrowed, his face showing a flicker of genuine irritation. Then, summoning another surge of golden sand around him—
He turned and ran.
Yeah. He ran. Again.
So what if he could solo Shukaku in the desert and even seal it up by himself?
He'd only been in this world for a month! Let the man adjust to shinobi combat first, will you?
He wasn't the Third Raikage, okay? That guy went toe-to-toe with ten thousand enemy shinobi for three straight days and nights before dying from sheer exhaustion.
…Not that that had happened yet.
---
Meanwhile...
"What the hell?!"
The Iwa-nin stared blankly again as Rasa escaped once more. And just like before, he was still alternating between gathering and dispersing chakra while he ran.
At this point, if they still believed this so-called disciple of the Third Kazekage was hiding some secret weapon, they were kidding themselves.
"Chase him! He dares to toy with us, the shinobi of Iwagakure!"
The commander's face shifted between pale and livid as he waved his arm for another full pursuit.
Still… something didn't add up.
Why was the Suna-nin constantly gathering and then releasing chakra?
[Could it be…?]
A possibility flickered through the commander's mind, his eyes narrowing, fury bubbling in his chest.
[Mental trauma… A damaged psyche… Is this Kazekage's disciple unable to properly refine chakra because of psychological wounds?!]
His breathing grew heavy as he pointed a trembling, furious finger at the fleeing figure.
"That guy's a fraud! Get him!"
"Yes, sir!"
"???"
A fraud?!
What fraud? What did I do?
Rasa glanced back at the furious Iwa-nin commander who now looked like he wanted him dead, and felt a wave of injustice.
He hadn't even said a single word since he started running!
How did he suddenly become a con artist?!
He let out a helpless sigh—but now wasn't the time to be thinking about fairness. If he didn't keep running, he really was going to get beaten to death.
Then he looked down at the system interface—
He had finally gathered enough points for another draw.
He hesitated for a moment…
Ten draws later might have better odds, but screw it—let's just roll now.
Gritting his teeth, he hit "Draw."
[What's taking the rest of the Suna-nin so long? Why aren't they backing me up yet?]
Just as that thought passed through his mind—
"Ding~"
A crisp, cheerful chime rang out.
Rasa's eyes went wide as he stared at the result on his system screen.
"This is it?! Finally a decent drop?!"
---
At the same time...
The Suna-nin had finally escaped the trap laid by the Grass-nin and found a place to regroup and rest.
"Momu, what do we do now?" a Suna-nin asked the temporary commander Rasa had appointed in the field. His face was full of worry. "There are so many Iwa-nin… Lord Rasa must be in terrible danger right now."
"This…"
Momu looked at his anxious comrades, and just as he was about to nod and rally them for a rescue mission—
He suddenly remembered Rasa's face before leaving: serious, sincere, filled with a quiet trust.
[I absolutely cannot betray Lord Rasa's faith in me!]
His expression grew resolute. He turned to the others and declared:
"No. We must not let Lord Rasa down! He lured the Iwa-nin away so that we could survive. We can't let his sacrifice be in vain!"
He raised a clenched fist, his face full of righteous light.
"Swear to protect Sunagakure to the death!"
With that—
"Swear to protect Sunagakure to the death!"
The other Suna-nin also raised their fists high, their voices ringing with determination.
"We will not let Lord Rasa down!"