"Lord Kazekage, our path has been barred. There is a single person standing on the road ahead."
The Sand Shinobi army had naturally deployed a reconnaissance team to scout their advance. As soon as the report came in, Yashamaru delivered it to Rasa without delay.
"Is it a shinobi from the Cloud? Or perhaps a Rain ninja?" Rasa asked, his voice tight.
"Neither." Yashamaru shook his head, a flicker of genuine terror dancing in his eyes.
Rasa caught the look and felt a sudden, sharp prickle of unease. "Wait—you said we were blocked by one person? Who is it?"
"It's... 'Iron Fist' Ikki."
The moment the name left Yashamaru's lips, the air in the command tent seemed to crystallize. An indescribable pressure settled over the room, weighing heavily on every heart present.
"What is he doing in the Land of Rain?" Rasa's expression darkened.
He hadn't expected Chiyo's earlier warnings to manifest so soon, nor so directly. A part of him wondered if they should simply turn back to the Land of Wind and abandon the campaign, but he crushed the thought the moment it surfaced.
To retreat now, especially after he had fought so hard to push this offensive, would make him the greatest laughingstock in the history of the Kazekage. The Hidden Sand was already considered the "tail of the crane" among the Five Great Nations. If they fled without even exchanging blows—frightened off by the mere sight of a single man—their reputation would be buried in the dunes for the next thirty years.
"Go on, Lord Kazekage," Chiyo said suddenly, her voice surprising him with its sudden resolve.
"Elder Chiyo? You're suggesting we move forward?" Rasa asked, stunned. If he remembered correctly, she had been the most vocal opponent of this war precisely because of Ikki's return.
"Lord Kazekage, if I suggested we retreat, would you actually listen?" Chiyo asked, her gaze knowing.
"No," Rasa admitted, shaking his head. "We've gone too far. There is no way out but through."
"Then we must attempt to negotiate. And if that fails..." Chiyo trailed off. She didn't need to finish the sentence; the grim reality of the alternative hung in the air between them.
"Then let us go and meet the man who pacified the Warring States," Rasa said. Taking a deep breath, he signaled Chiyo and Ebizō to follow him to the front of the column.
As they crossed the final dunes and stood at the precipice of the Land of Rain, all three of them stopped dead. It wasn't a lack of will that stayed their feet, but the sheer presence of the man standing on the border. He stood like an immovable monolith, a pillar of heaven separating the desert from the rain. He had noticed them, and as he turned his gaze toward the three of them, the world seemed to shrink.
"Is that him? Is that Ikki?" Rasa muttered.
He forced himself to meet Ikki's eyes, and for a moment, his mind buzzed with a dull roar, as if he'd been struck by a physical hammer. Beads of cold sweat began to pour from his forehead, soaking his neck and back.
The pressure wasn't reserved for the Kazekage alone. Chiyo and Ebizō felt it too—a weight like a falling mountain pressing down on their shoulders. Despite being three of the most powerful shinobi in the Hidden Sand, their breathing became ragged and turbulent under the weight of that singular stare.
"I am Rasa, the Fourth Kazekage of the Hidden Sand!" Rasa barked, gritting his teeth to break the suffocating silence of the confrontation.
He stared at Ikki, who stood perfectly balanced on the dividing line between the two nations. To Rasa, this man wasn't just a legend; he was a literal mountain that he had to climb if his village was ever to stop "eating sand."
"And?" Ikki asked, his voice flat.
He looked at the trio and shook his head inwardly. This generation of Kage is the worst I've seen, he thought. Not a single one of them measures up to the old guard. In his mind, Rasa and the Hidden Sand were a perfect match: a village of stragglers led by the weakest of the Five Kages.
"I must ask you to step aside, Lord Ikki," Rasa said, trying to maintain his dignity even as his heart hammered against his ribs. "Our quarrel is with the Cloud, not the Leaf. We have no intention of threatening the Fire Nation, nor will we endanger the last of the Senju bloodline. I ask only for your cooperation."
As soon as the words were out, Rasa felt a twinge of regret at the pleading tone that had crept into his voice. But he was committed now; he had to bite the bullet.
"Are you finished?" Ikki asked, his expression unchanging.
"I am. I would be most grateful for your... convenience in this matter," Rasa responded, his scalp prickling under Ikki's gaze. He stood his ground, bolstered by the presence of Chiyo, Ebizō, and the eighty percent of the Sand's elite forces stationed behind him.
A/N: For this week, every 100 Powerstones will get ya'll an extra chapter! Thank you!