Chapter 176: Chapter 176: White Snake Scales
The news of the Four-Tails Jinchūriki and Five-Tails Jinchūriki from Iwagakure being captured by Sunagakure's Kazekage spread throughout the world.
It immediately pressed the pause button on the entire shinobi world, which was already caught in the chaos of war!
Upon receiving the news, Ōnoki, the Tsuchikage of Iwagakure, was naturally furious. However, after venting his emotions, Ōnoki chose the wisest course of action. He immediately ordered the ninjas from both of the village's battlefronts to retreat ten miles and cease their attack on Sunagakure.
Just as Rasa had predicted, Ōnoki was not willing to gamble.
If Iwagakure continued their attack and Sunagakure chose to take drastic measures and directly killed the two Jinchūriki, even though the Tailed Beasts themselves couldn't die, the loss of the Jinchūriki would be devastating to the village. Additionally, the cost of recapturing the Tailed Beasts was not something Iwagakure could bear at this moment.
Especially during such a chaotic time in the shinobi world.
One wrong move could cause Iwagakure to fall into an irreparable situation.
After receiving the news, the Third Raikage of Kumogakure also made the same decision. He quickly ordered the Eight-Tails Jinchūriki, who was still on the battlefield, to return to the village.
Although Kumogakure had not suffered any direct losses, the Raikage had already lost Iwagakure as an ally and now had to face Sunagakure alone. Moreover, the display of power by Sunagakure had greatly unsettled him. Particularly, the appearance of the Scorch Release ninja Pakura and the Magnet Release ninja Michikawa, who had joined the hunt for the Four-Tails and Five-Tails, now arriving in the Land of Rivers, made the Third Raikage believe that Kumogakure had no chance of victory.
In contrast to the anger and frustration of the ninjas from Iwagakure and Kumogakure, Sunagakure had no intention of hiding the news.
Therefore, the ninjas and civilians of Sunagakure, upon hearing the news, were filled with immense excitement.
The display of power by Kazekage, Pakura, and Michikawa, as well as the possibility of avoiding the continuation of the war, had elevated their admiration for the three to its peak. The entire village of Suna was engulfed in a joyous and enthusiastic atmosphere.
This caused those with malicious intent hiding in Sunagakure to retreat and lie low once more, caught between reluctance and fear.
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Dragon Oasis. This is where the God Tree resides.
Unlike the God Tree that had been transformed from the Ten-Tails in his memory, this God Tree in Dragon Oasis did not seem to have grown significantly larger due to an increase in chakra.
In fact, compared to the other massive trees of Dragon Oasis, it could be considered relatively small. If it weren't for the seals and sculptures surrounding it, it would be difficult to distinguish it from the other trees.
Rasa was unsure if this was due to the surrounding sealing techniques, the container below limiting its growth, or the chakra he had provided not being enough. However, he didn't feel dissatisfied, so he didn't mind.
Rasa's sole purpose for coming here today was to use the power of the God Tree he had created to train. With this in mind, Rasa took out a scroll from his pocket.
As the seal on the scroll was undone, a palm-sized, jade-white scale appeared before him.
This was the scale gifted to him by the White Snake Sage, imbued with the power of the Dragon Cave.
This scale, though small, allowed Rasa to feel the surging natural energy within it.
Without hesitation, Rasa raised his right hand and pointed the [Kāma] at the white scale.
In an instant, the natural power within the scale was drawn toward the [Kāma] by its immense pulling force. The surging natural energy transformed into a massive white serpent and flew into the [Kāma].
As this natural energy from the White Snake Sage fused with Rasa's body through the power of [Kāma], Rasa immediately felt a new strength slowly emerging in his heart. At the same time, he realized that his sensory ability was rapidly expanding, stretching out further and further, its range growing wider.
"So, this is the spatial ability the White Snake Sage spoke of?"
At this moment, Rasa's weakest sensory ability was quickly replenished. His sensory range, initially just one kilometer, began to expand rapidly, two kilometers, three kilometers...
What was even more terrifying was that he wasn't just improving his range; the details within the range—every blade of grass, every tree—became increasingly clear. The closer the object, the more distinct the sensation.
With his eyes closed Rasa slowly acclimated to this newly acquired ability. After about half an hour, he slowly opened his eyes.
At that moment, his sensory ability surpassed even the strongest sensory abilities of the Uzumaki clan, such as the Kagura Mind's Eye. Within a ten-kilometer radius centered on him, he could clearly sense everything, including chakra, natural energy, and senjutsu energy. He could detect the precise location of others, the size of their energy, and even the chakra attributes.
Beyond the ten-kilometer range, while not as clear, he could still vaguely sense the direction of others. This range extended up to around 100 kilometers.
This range was measured from his position; if considered from Rasa's perspective, it spanned a direct 200 kilometers. However, Rasa was still not fully satisfied.
He clearly remembered that in the later stages of the Hokage's story, for example, both Hashirama and Tobirama, while in the Uzumaki village, could sense Madara from the battlefield, and that distance was at least over a thousand kilometers.
Of course, for Rasa at present, the most important aspect of this ability was that it would prevent Black Zetsu and White Zetsu from spying on him.
"Hm!?"
At that moment, Rasa sensed something and vanished with a Body Flicker Technique.
When he reappeared, he was already inside Chiyo's laboratory in the Dragon Oasis.
"What's this?"
As Rasa infused senjutsu energy into several test subjects from Iwagakure, six white Zetsu bodies emerged from the experiments.
Seeing Rasa, who had extracted them, the white Zetsu were filled with fear.
"How is this possible?"
"I see, the Spore Technique?! What a shame, these aren't the top-tier Zetsu like the ones Akatsuki has!"
However, such valuable research material couldn't be wasted.
Rasa didn't give them any time to react. He immediately sealed them using Magnet Release and stored them in a scroll.
As for the appearance of White Zetsu, Rasa wasn't too surprised. In fact, it would have been strange if they hadn't shown up! Given his current strength and Madara's weakened state, Rasa wasn't worried at all.
It was Black Zetsu that truly concerned him. After dealing with White Zetsu, Rasa returned beneath the God Tree.
Though the newly acquired spatial power pleased him, Rasa wasn't entirely confident about using it directly to practice the Dragon Cave's secret transformation technique. He still wanted to add an extra layer of precaution.
With that thought, he didn't hesitate anymore. He placed both of his hands on the trunk of the God Tree.
The God Tree seemed to sense his intentions, and a pull came, drawing all the power Rasa had just gained into his body.
Soon, a brand-new fruit appeared on the tree's canopy. Seeing this, Rasa nodded in satisfaction.
At the same time, he recalled the words the White Snake Sage had told him. Any normal person would likely dislike living under constant surveillance.
Once this war ended, perhaps he could begin attempting to help those around him abandon chakra as a source of power. With this thought in mind, Rasa wasted no time and picked the new fruit from the tree, eating it.
The moment he consumed it, Rasa, who hadn't expected much, suddenly felt a strange shift within his body.
He could clearly sense what was happening.
It was a power he had never used before, a gift from the priestesses of the Land of Demons, known as the power of foresight.