My Journey as Fourth Kazekage

"How interesting. To think it can actually harm a Tailed Beast's body, is this the special power of Sunagakure?"

Not far from the battlefield, Madara Uchiha's tone grew noticeably serious.

Now that he had already acquired the power of Outher Path of Rinnegan, he fully understood what Tailed Beasts were.

They were lifeforms created by the Sage of Six Paths through Yin-Yang Release, so in theory, the only powers that could harm or control them were Yin-Yang Release and pure taijutsu.

But now, this small shinobi village, Sunagakure, had demonstrated a power that could harm a Tailed Beast.

This suggested that even the Yin-Yang Release he possessed might not be as invincible as he once believed.

As he continued to watch the battlefield, he asked in a low voice.

"Have you gathered any intel on what this power actually is?"

White Zetsu's voice sounded a little flustered.

"Uh, Madara-sama, according to your orders, we didn't dare risk investigating that mysterious oasis in Sunagakure. After all, there's a Uzumaki survivor there, and they can sense us. As for those Iwagakure guys, we lured them there, but unfortunately, they were completely useless. They found nothing and got sealed up instead. Fearing the risk of exposure, we didn't retrieve the spores either."

Madara said nothing. He understood. White Zetsu's group was indeed good at gathering intel, but their intelligence overall was lacking. It seemed that for the sake of his future plans, he needed to create another perfect agent that could carry out his will without fail.

Hm?!

Let's call it... Black Zetsu!

---

As expected from a battle between the strongest forces of each side.

The clash between Pakura in Phoenix Mode and Roshi in his full Tailed Beast form was nothing short of earth-shattering.

Even though the Iwagakure shinobi had already retreated three miles, the shockwaves and intense heat from the battle still forced them to fall back another five miles. At this point, there was nothing they could do to intervene.

In a battle with this level of destructive power, even a jonin would be nothing but a hapless target. No one was surprised that a Tailed Beast could wield such devastating power.

But why did this Sunagakure kunoichi possess the strength to match?

What made the Iwagakure shinobi even more uneasy was that far away, the Kazekage still hadn't made any move at all. If just one Sunagakure shinobi was this strong, how terrifying must their Kazekage be?

Thinking of this, the Iwagakure shinobi suddenly understood.

Why did the three Sunagakure shinobi dare to face six thousand of their own and even challenge two Jinchuriki? It was because they truly had the strength to do so.

At the center of the battlefield, Roshi was finally experiencing the same suffering that Han had endured. Faced with the airborne Pakura, he could only endure her relentless attacks. Furthermore, due to his massive size, he was nothing more than a walking target.

"Damn slippery thing, so annoying!"

At this point, Roshi could no longer hold back.

He suddenly tilted his head upward, gathering chakra rapidly in his mouth.

As a fully transformed Tailed Beast, Roshi's Tailed Beast Bomb at this moment was far larger than Han's earlier one, it wasn't just a little bigger, it had grown from the size of a fist to something nearly the size of half a basketball court.

Seeing this, Pakura, already transformed into a phoenix high in the sky, sensed the overwhelming chakra packed into the Tailed Beast Bomb and broke into a cold sweat.

Though unwilling, she understood that with her current power, she could not block this fully powered Tailed Beast Bomb.

Fortunately, just then, Rasa's voice sounded behind her.

"Half an hour is up. Pakura, Michikawa, you two can fall back. Leave the rest to me."

Of course, Rasa's movements didn't escape the watchful eyes of the Iwagakure shinobi and Madara Uchiha.

"Oh, he's finally making his move? Let's see what kind of power this kid holds."

Madara murmured.

Without any hesitation, Pakura and Michikawa deactivated their techniques, reverting to their normal appearances, and retreated to the golden cloud of sand Rasa had floated over on.

Roshi, who was preparing the Tailed Beast Bomb, felt a twinge of unease upon seeing this, but his confidence in the Tailed Beast's power made him launch the massive bomb at Rasa without a second thought.

Facing the massive, deep purple Tailed Beast Bomb hurtling toward them, Rasa remained calm, bringing his hands together.

"Sage Art: Desert Slave Rebellion."

Just as the Tailed Beast Bomb was about to strike the three of them, two enormous arms of sand burst from the ground, grabbing the Tailed Beast Bomb mid-air.

"Wha...what!!!"

It wasn't just the Iwagakure shinobi who were stunned, even Roshi, the very master of this Tailed Beast Bomb, was frozen with shock. A Tailed Beast Bomb capable of destroying an entire village had been caught so easily?

Even Madara, watching from afar, was a little surprised. Of course, he himself could easily block a Tailed Beast Bomb with Susanoo's defense. And his old friend Hashirama could even catch one bare-handed and play with it like a ball.

But this shinobi from Sunagakure…

As everyone was still reeling from the shock, the Tailed Beast Bomb, struggling fiercely in the grip of the sand arms, began to shrink, smaller and smaller, until eventually it dissipated into a wisp of green smoke.

"This..."

The Iwagakure shinobi stared at the scene, horrified, instinctively retreating further back.

"You've got to be kiddinh! That terrifying attack was neutralized so easily..."

"So this is Sunagakure's Kazekage?"

"He's on a completely different level from those other Sunagakure shinobi!"

Not long ago, Michikawa had also managed to block a Tailed Beast Bomb, but definitely not as effortlessly as this.

Gulp!

The Iwagakure shinobi all unconsciously swallowed hard.

Behind Rasa, Pakura and Michikawa also revealed faint, hard-to-detect expressions of shock.

Though they had long known Rasa was frighteningly powerful with sage energy, they hadn't truly grasped just how strong he was. Rasa seldom showed his full power.

But now they clearly understood: Rasa was no longer on the same level as them.

Rasa, meanwhile, paid no mind to the two behind him.

After destroying the Tailed Beast Bomb, Rasa slowly floated on his golden cloud of sand until he was face-to-face with the still-stunned Four-Tails, Son Gokū.

Nearby, Han, the jinchūriki of the Five-Tails, also tensed up and transformed into his complete Tailed Beast form, a gigantic white creature resembling a fusion of a dolphin and a goat, towering above everyone.

At this moment, two mountain-sized Tailed Beasts stood between the Iwagakure shinobi and their enemies. Standing before them, representing Sunagakure, were Kazekage Rasa, Pakura of Scorch Release, and Michikawa of Magnet Release.

Rasa looked at the two Tailed Beasts, now on full alert, and spoke slowly.

"Personally, I have no interest in slaughter. But as Kazekage, for the sake of my village, I must eliminate Iwagakure's forces here. However, if the jinchūriki of the Four-Tails and Five-Tails choose to surrender now, I will spare the lives of the Iwagakure shinobi."

"Don't joke with us!"

Before Rasa's words had fully faded, Roshi's voice roared out from within the Four-Tails' body.

"Iwagakure shinobi may fall in battle, but we never surrender!"

Though not surprised by the answer, Rasa sighed.

"I see. Then, I can only apologize."

At that moment, standing behind Rasa, Pakura, and Michikawa were both wide-eyed in shock. They could feel the overwhelming sage energy radiating from Rasa, vast as a mountain.

"Sage Art: Magnet Release: Birth of the Sand Tree World!"