"Hmph! Bastard, if you want to start a war, then come at me!"
"I am the Fourth Kazekage. I will never bow my head to you Konoha shinobi."
"Especially not to someone like you!"
Hearing Gekko Chizan's words, Rasa grew even more furious.
On the contrary, Gekko Chizan laughed heartily. He had suddenly come to the Land of Wind not only to witness Shukaku, but more importantly, to find someone who could help him test his abilities.
Rasa was a very suitable test subject. Although his approach was a bit excessive, for him right now, it was far better than looking for opponents within his own village.
After all, over the past year, despite stirring up all kinds of trouble in the village, his taijutsu attribute was still lacking just a bit and hadn't reached its limit.
So he could only choose an unconventional path to try.
"My, my, look at your bearing. Why is it so small?"
"If you let Gaara take me as his sensei, I can make the decision—Konoha and Sunagakure will form an alliance!"
"How about it?"
Gekko Chizan waved his hand again, and an invisible force scattered all the gold dust.
But his words were far more shocking to Rasa than his methods.
An alliance between Konoha and Sunagakure? For Sunagakure, this would bring nothing but benefits—of course, that was only if both sides stood on equal footing.
Although the Land of Wind had vast territory, its resources were extremely scarce. If not for his ability to use gold dust, the situation in Sunagakure might have been even more dire.
As Kazekage, Rasa naturally prioritized his village, and it wasn't like he had never considered forming alliances with nearby shinobi villages.
After all, the Third Shinobi World War had already ended.
All the villages had returned to normal life. Although friction remained, large-scale battles would not break out.
Kirigakure: ???? Are you serious?
Kumogakure: Ahem, ahem...
"Hmph, how can I trust what you say?"
"The ghost of Konoha, you who walk in the shadows—can you represent your Hokage?"
Rasa waved his hands again. The gold dust seemed endless, surging wave after wave toward Gekko Chizan.
But every time the gold dust reached Gekko Chizan, it would be blocked by an invisible force.
The originally dazzling gold dust would simply vanish without a trace.
This strange phenomenon greatly heightened Rasa's vigilance. For a moment, he found himself unable to see through Gekko Chizan.
"Tch, so what if I'm a ghost?"
"A ghost is still one of Konoha's Twin Stars. Not to brag, but in Konoha, aside from the Hokage, Namikaze Minato, I'm definitely second in command."
"My words carry a lot of weight with the Hokage."
"Besides, if we become allies, you'll still have to exchange things for resources, right?"
"The desert may be barren, but I know Sunagakure has its own medicinal herb base. The herbs there are all top quality."
"Of course, we'll trade with equivalent value."
Gekko Chizan was extremely shrewd. There was no way he would take a loss.
"Hmph, I still don't trust you."
"You still don't believe me? Look over there."
Seeing Rasa still doubtful, Gekko Chizan grinned and glanced toward the sand dunes behind him.
Rasa followed his gaze, but couldn't see anything clearly—no, it was more like everything was blurred.
"What's over there? It's all blurry, I can't see anything."
"Uh..."
Only then did Gekko Chizan realize this was the effect of his Sage Art, and quickly explained:
"Stop the gold dust. I'll release the technique, and you'll be able to see."
Rasa frowned, thinking: So it really is some kind of technique?
But what kind of technique is this?
Curious despite his doubts, Rasa immediately halted the gold dust's attack. The next moment, his vision changed.
The blurriness disappeared, and everything became clear.
When he saw the two figures in the distance, his vigilance instantly surged.
"Konoha White Fang? Tsunade?"
"When did they appear?!"
Without hesitation, Rasa gathered a mass of gold dust and threw it into the sky. It exploded midair.
Gekko Chizan didn't react at all upon seeing this. It was just a signal to call for reinforcements.
So what if more people came? If he wanted to leave, he could do so anytime—even bringing Hatake Sakumo and Tsunade with him.
"Hey, hey, no need to call for help. If I wanted to harm you, I wouldn't need them at all."
"I had them come just to show you my sincerity."
"You and I are both fathers. Those two over there—one is my son's sensei, the other is my daughter's sensei."
"If you're willing, I'll be your son's sensei from now on."
"Then Sunagakure and Konoha can form an alliance. Wouldn't everyone be happy?"
"As for the One-Tail Shukaku? With me around, you don't need to worry at all."
Gekko Chizan spread his hands. His technique had already been tested. Next was to win over the One-Tail Jinchūriki.
That was also the reason he chose Rasa as his target.
The Two-Tails was already on his side, the Seven-Tails was himself.
He had already started sending people to search for the Five-Tails, the Four-Tails had left its village.
The Six-Tails Jinchūriki had changed, and the Three-Tails had yet to revive—he had to start laying out plans again.
"What exactly is your goal? I don't believe you came all the way to Sunagakure just for my son."
"Is it for Shukaku?"
"Hmph, it's not that I look down on Konoha, but if you possess two Tailed Beasts at once, you know very well what that means."
"No matter how strong Konoha is, it won't have a monster like the First Hokage again."
Rasa's words were correct. That was also why Gekko Chizan had always concealed his identity as the Seven-Tails.
Konoha, which already possessed the Nine-Tails, absolutely could not have another Tailed Beast. That would break the balance, and the other four great villages would definitely unite to attack Konoha.
Ahem, although things had been like that for years, the meaning was different.
"I told you, I just get along well with your son, understand?"
"He's meant to be my disciple. As for you, we can barely communicate as equals."
Hearing that last sentence, veins bulged on Rasa's forehead.
He was furious!
"Bastard! Die!"
"Gold Dust Waterfall!!!"
"Die in this desert!"
The gold dust surged again, directly forming a massive waterfall.
"Hey, hey, why are you still so hot-tempered???"
"In that case, let me show you the technique I developed after a year of seclusion."
"Sage Art."
Gekko Chizan raised his index and middle fingers, forming a sword hand seal.
The chakra around his body began to contract, then suddenly surged forward just before the gold dust waterfall reached him.
The next second, a terrifying scene appeared...
The gold dust waterfall was blasted open from the front, forming a massive hole—and it continued to spread outward.
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