Hyuga Sōchō went straight to his study the moment he got home. No tea this time. He pulled out a bottle of sake and started pouring.
One cup after another.
A single thought kept circling in his head.
Was endless compromise really the right path for the Hyuga clan? If they kept bending like this, would their situation actually end up better than the Uchiha's? The Uchiha had left and were thriving—sailing the open sea with their navigation group, free and making deals with the Land of Water. The Hyuga? They could only keep sacrificing, keep compromising, keep giving in with no bottom line.
"The Byakugan… this time it means someone from the main family has to die."
Sōchō gave a bitter laugh. "But who the hell do I choose?"
...
Sunagakure.
After crushing Jiraiya and returning, Rasa watched the emotion points skyrocket right before his eyes. Combined with what he already had, they quickly hit 2,000. He didn't hesitate. The 2,000 points from Hiruzen Sarutobi converted straight into 2,000 system points, pushing his total to 3,266.
"Just a few hundred short and the sixth rumor will be complete. Before I design the seventh one, let's do this draw first."
"Thirty consecutive draws—start!"
The invisible wheel spun.
[Congratulations, Host. You have obtained an F-rank item: one tael of gold.]
...
[Congratulations, Host. You have obtained a B-rank item: A-rank Ninjutsu Theft Card.]
...
[Congratulations, Host. You have obtained an A-rank item: S-rank Ninjutsu—Electromagnetic Cannon.]
"Electromagnetic Cannon?"
Several possibilities flashed through Rasa's mind. None of them sounded bad.
[Electromagnetic Cannon]
[—Uses electromagnetic force to accelerate metal projectiles to extreme velocity, granting massive kinetic energy.]
"Kid's Magnet-Magnet Fruit ability again. Ultra-long range, insane speed, and ridiculous destructive power. Exactly what I've been missing."
Most of Rasa's current abilities were mid-to-close range. Now he could strike enemies from absurd distances.
He looked at the second reward.
[A-rank Ninjutsu Theft Card]
[—Target one ninja and permanently steal any A-rank or lower jutsu they possess. You gain full mastery of it. They lose it forever.]
Rasa raised an eyebrow. "Only A-rank and below sounds limited at first. But making them lose it permanently? That's brutal."
Not every shinobi had S-rank trump cards. For a lot of them, their strongest jutsu was A-rank. And plenty relied on chains of related techniques—like Naruto's entire Rasengan family. Take away the base Rasengan and suddenly Wind Release: Rasenshuriken disappears too. Same with Kakashi losing Chidori. His power would drop hard.
"Summoning Technique is also A-rank and below. Orochimaru and Jiraiya both lean heavily on their summons. Steal those and their combat strength tanks. This card could hit harder than an S-rank jutsu if I pick the right targets."
Rasa's eyes lit up. "If I could pull a few more of these, I could really punish every summoning specialist in the ninja world."
Near dusk, Rasa headed outside the village and hovered in midair. Across from him stood a large sand mountain he had raised.
"Electromagnetic Cannon!"
Massive amounts of gold dust gathered in front of him—some forming a long cannon barrel, the rest shaping into solid metal projectiles. No gunpowder. Pure metal.
Electromagnetic force kicked in.
BOOM!
A deafening roar ripped through the air as the projectile launched at insane speed. Sonic booms cracked behind it. In the blink of an eye it was already at extreme range.
CRASH!
The shell slammed into the mountain. No explosion. No fire. Just raw kinetic impact. The entire sand mountain shuddered like a stone dropped into still water. Shockwaves rippled outward—then the whole thing collapsed with a thunderous roar, leaving a massive, deep crater in the ground.
Rasa floated above it, looking down.
"This kind of power is already top-tier even among S-rank jutsu. Two extra advantages: insane range and pure kinetic energy. Chakra absorption techniques are useless against it."
The entire village was buzzing with excitement. The clash with Leaf had ended in total victory. One of the Legendary Three—Jiraiya—had been defeated by Rasa.
"Lord Kazekage is actually insane!"
"First Minato, now Jiraiya—master and student both fell to Lord Kazekage!"
"Student couldn't do it, teacher couldn't either!"
One Sand ninja excitedly recounted the fight. "Jiraiya came in all aggressive at first, but the second Lord Kazekage got serious he started struggling hard. Almost got killed on the spot. If that toad hadn't used reverse summoning, he would've died right there. And Lord Kazekage still wasn't even using everything he had!"
"Now who the hell can still say Lord Kazekage isn't the strongest in the ninja world? He is the real number one!"
The Sand side was bursting with pride. Other villages, however, were growing more wary of Rasa. Even Ōnoki, who possessed Dust Release, lost a lot of his earlier confidence after hearing how badly Jiraiya had been beaten. Dust Release was strong, but it wasn't invincible.
The worse Mist felt, the stronger Rasa became—because it meant their chances of ever turning things around kept shrinking. Even if Rasa had stopped growing after the Third Great Ninja War, their odds were already basically zero.
Cloud Village felt a strange mix of emotions. On one hand they feared Rasa's power. On the other, his overwhelming victory had created the perfect opening for them to squeeze the Byakugan out of the Leaf. In that sense, they almost owed Rasa a thank-you.