My Journey as Fourth Kazekage

When Danzo stepped out of his residence and arrived at the Root base outside, he saw waves of golden sand surging towards the base like an ocean. All the Root ninjas in the organization were engulfed by the sand.

As expected, only the Fourth Kazekage from Sunagakure could control such golden sand!

But, wait a minute, what was going on?

Hadn't Orochimaru said that he had killed the Fourth Kazekage? And why was he invading the Root base?

Danzo couldn't make sense of it at all.

Just then, a ninja wearing a black mask descended from the sky. He was one of Danzo's trusted subordinates, a member of the Yamanaka clan, Fū Yamanaka.

"What's going on? Why is the Fourth Kazekage here?"

Danzo asked coldly, and Fū knelt on the ground and answered.

"Danzo-sama, according to the latest intelligence, Orochimaru used the Edo Tensei technique to summon the First and Second Hokage, as well as the Fourth Kazekage from Sunagakure. However, the technique went awry, and the Fourth Kazekage broke free from Orochimaru's control and escaped from the barrier."

"!?"

Danzo was startled, then narrowed his eyes, looking at the Root base, now covered in sand. He spoke in a low tone.

"Edo Tensei... a forbidden technique from my master? Orochimaru... But the Fourth Kazekage actually managed to break free. How did he do that? No... that's not important. Where's the wind? Why hasn't he arrived yet?"

As soon as he finished speaking, another figure appeared, a person with orange hair, wearing a Konoha headband and carrying a short sword on his back. He was another of Danzo's trusted subordinates, a sensory ninja from the Yamanaka clan, Yamanaka Kaze.

"Have you found the Kazekage's trail?" Danzo asked. He asked this because Yamanaka Kaze was one of the few sensory ninjas in Root.

Unfortunately, Yamanaka Kaze shook his head and knelt on the ground.

"Sorry, Danzo-sama. The sand is filled with massive chakra, interfering with my sensory abilities."

Danzo's expression grew darker.

"I see. Looks like this Kazekage was well-prepared. But why doesn't he go after Orochimaru for revenge? Why come to our Root base?"

This question also confused the nearby Root members.

"Go... find the Kazekage. Also, bring along the sealing squad members. He's in a reanimated body, and ordinary techniques won't be able to destroy him. Only sealing jutsu will work..."

"Yes, sir!"

Root ninjas immediately scattered, searching for Rasa's whereabouts within the base. Meanwhile, Rasa had already arrived at his destination.

The vast amounts of sand pouring into the Root base allowed Rasa to fully understand the internal structure of the Root organization. With his current sensory abilities and the ability to move through the sand, he quickly located his target.

It was a massive cave hidden beneath the Root base. A giant stone blocked the path ahead, covered in various sealing jutsu.

Rasa was very familiar with these sealing techniques. They were all from the Uzumaki clan.

It seemed that after Hashirama's death, his wife, Uzumaki Mito, had personally laid these seals. From these techniques, it was clear that Uzumaki Mito's talent in sealing was far superior to that of Tsunade.

Unfortunately, Rasa did not have the time to study these sealing techniques. With limited time, he decided to forcefully break through them.

Without hesitation, he formed a series of hand seals.

Though it had been over a year since he last used ninjutsu, he still executed the seals with ease. Suddenly, four sand clones emerged beside him.

"You guard the surroundings!"

After giving the command, Rasa approached the massive stone and pressed his right hand against the seals. In an instant, the enormous pulling force of the [Kāma] absorbed the seals from the stone.

After a brief moment, the stone began to rumble and slowly shifted aside.

When Rasa entered, he found a vast cave inside.

Sunlight streamed down from above, casting light onto a massive tree below.

The tree's trunk was so large it seemed to have lived for over a thousand years, about the width of ten people embracing it. Its canopy resembled a giant green umbrella, covering everything around it.

At the base of the tree, a small shrine stood.

Despite having been dead for decades, the body of the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, still lay there, lifelike as ever.

Upon closer inspection, Rasa noticed that Hashirama's body seemed to merge with the tree itself.

Even though Hashirama had died many years ago, the chakra emanating from his body was still overwhelming. It was far stronger than the chakra of any tailed beast. The familiar sensation confirmed Rasa's suspicions.

"As expected, Hashirama Senju's power isn't just ordinary Wood Release. It's the power of the God Tree, or rather, the power of the Ten Tails. One could say that Hashirama Senju is the living Ten Tails!"

However, all of this now belonged to Rasa.

---

In Konoha.

At the Chuunin Exams venue.

Rasa's unexpected appearance caused Orochimaru much confusion and curiosity, but it didn't affect his primary goal. This time, his only target was to kill his dear teacher, the Third Hokage.

However, the sudden retreat of Sunagakure's forces had a significant impact on the ongoing battles in Konoha.

While Konoha had been devastated, it was still far from a village that Sunagakure or Otogakure could easily attack.

Not to mention, Sunagakure itself was in a weakened state.

Once Sunagakure's ninjas withdrew from the battlefield, Otogakure's ninjas were left on their own and couldn't handle the Konoha ninjas. Additionally, the legendary Sannin member Jiraiya had secretly intervened.

After the initial confusion, Konoha's ninjas quickly regained control of the internal situation.

At the exam arena, Kakashi, Naruto, and the others' teacher used his Sharingan to observe everything. Seeing the order given by the Kazekage for Sunagakure's ninja to retreat, although somewhat confused, Kakashi felt relieved.

Only the single-minded Guy did not understand what was happening. After kicking an Otogakure ninja away, he rushed over to Kakashi, anxiously asking,

"Kakashi, what happened? Why did Sunagakure's ninjas suddenly retreat?"

Kakashi, whose Sharingan was focused on the battle inside the barrier, calmly replied.

"It was the Kazekage of Sunagakure who gave the order. They've ended their alliance with Orochimaru and retreated."

"That's great!"

Guy sighed in relief, but quickly realized something and looked toward the barrier.

"If the Kazekage retreated, then who's fighting the Third Hokage?"

Kakashi's face darkened as he said the name, which made Guy's expression change dramatically.

"Orochimaru."

"What!!?"

At that moment, Naruto, Sakura, and Shikamaru, who had just awakened from the genjutsu, came over to Kakashi and Guy's side.

"Kakashi-sensei!"

"Guy-sensei!"

"What's going on?"

Facing the confused expressions of the others, Kakashi simply said.

"It's fine now. Sunagakure's ninjas have retreated, and Otogakure is not a concern. Now, we'll just have to watch the battle of the Hokage..."

However, as Kakashi spoke, he noticed something was off when he looked at the kids in front of him. After a second look, he became anxious and asked.

"Where's Sasuke!?"

As soon as he said that, Naruto and Sakura immediately realized Sasuke was no longer with them.

At that moment, Yamato appeared in front of the group with a troubled look on his face.

"Sorry, Kakashi-senpai, I sent Sasuke to pursue Sunagakure's Gaara and the others."