Two figures began pushing through the battlefield toward me. Both wearing jonin vests. Both carrying blades..
Raido saw them..
"That's bad."
One of them spoke while approaching. "So you're the one."
The second jonin's eyes moved over the bodies around me. "Impressive for someone your age." The first drew his blade slowly "But you've done enough." The second cracked his neck. "We can't allow talent like you to grow." They separated slightly.
Raido stepped forward again. "Now I'm helping." But before he could move
A blur dropped between us and the two Suna jonin.
Genma. He landed casually, senbon between his teeth. "You two look lost."
The jonin stopped. Another Konoha figure landed beside Genma. A tall jonin with a scar across his jaw. Then another. Three Konoha jonin now stood between me and the Suna pair. The scarred jonin glanced back briefly.
"You the Uchiha kid?"
"Yes."
He nodded once. "Good work."
Then he turned back toward the Suna jonin. "Now fall back."
Raido grabbed my arm. "You heard him."
But I didn't move. The battlefield in front of us was still shifting. Fire jutsu exploded to the left. Wind blades tore through a group of Konoha chunin to the right. More Suna shinobi were pushing toward our section.
Genma spoke without turning around.
"Shinji."
I looked at him.
"Get back into formation."
"But"
"That wasn't a suggestion." His voice stayed calm.
"Yes sir." Raido pulled me away toward the main Konoha line.
Behind us the jonin battle erupted. We rejoined the main battle line. Raido exhaled.
"Man…"
He shook his head. "You just pissed off half the Suna command structure."
"Probably."
A Suna chunin charged toward us. Raido intercepted him with a kick to the chest. I moved past them into the next clash of shinobi. A Konoha chunin was struggling against two Suna attackers.
I slid between them. My blade cut across the first one's stomach. The second tried to stab me from behind. I twisted. My elbow smashed into his jaw. Then the tanto finished the job.
The Konoha chunin stared at me.
"…Thanks."
I nodded once and kept moving.
Across the battlefield
Jiraiya crouched on Gamaken's head as the giant toad swung his weapon. Gamaken's massive sasumata slammed into the ground, crushing a group of Suna shinobi trying to flank them.
Rasa stood several dozen meters away. Golden dust floated around him like a living halo.
Jiraiya wiped sweat from his forehead.
"You know…" He glanced down at the golden particles swirling in the air. "That stuff is really starting to get on my nerves."
Rasa raised his hand slowly. The gold dust responded instantly. It shot forward like a tidal wave.
"Gold Dust Avalanche."
Gamaken jumped backward just before the massive wave crashed down. The sand smashed into the desert with a thunderous boom. The ground trembled from the impact.
Jiraiya clapped his hands together.
"Fire Style: Toad Oil Flame Bullet!"
He inhaled deeply. Gamaken spat a massive stream of oil. Jiraiya ignited it. A river of fire roared across the battlefield toward Rasa.
The Kazekage candidate didn't move. Golden dust surged forward. It formed a massive wall in front of him. The flames exploded against the gold barrier.
Heat blasted outward across the battlefield. The clash of fire and gold lit the desert like a second sunrise.
When the flames cleared Rasa was still standing there. Completely unharmed.
Jiraiya sighed. "Man."
Rasa stepped forward slowly. "You rely heavily on large techniques." Golden dust gathered again above his head. "But they are predictable."
The gold suddenly shot downward. Not at Jiraiya.
At Gamaken. The massive toad barely had time to react before the gold slammed into his legs.
The heavy particles wrapped around them like chains. Gamaken struggled.
Rasa closed his hand slowly. The gold began compressing. Trying to crush the toad's legs. Jiraiya's eyes narrowed.
"Hey now."
He bit his thumb again.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
Two more explosions of smoke erupted. Gamabunta and Shima appeared beside them. Gamabunta's massive blade immediately swung toward Rasa.
"You trying to crush my little brother?!"
Rasa's golden sand shot upward to block the strike. The battlefield trembled again as the giant summons clashed with his sand.
Back near the center line
I wiped blood from my blade. The Suna forces were starting to shift. Their formation was adjusting.
Someone was issuing orders. A deeper voice shouted across the battlefield. "Focus the right flank!"
Raido noticed too.
"That's not good."
Several Suna chunin began moving toward our section again. But behind them Another jonin. This one older.
Then spoke calmly to the shinobi around him. "That Uchiha."
"Kill him."
Five shinobi began advancing with him. Chunin and jonin mixed. A small strike group.
Raido muttered quietly.
"You're really popular today."
I exhaled slowly. But my Sharingan spun calmly.
The Suna strike group advanced through the battlefield.
Raido cracked his neck. "Well." He drew his blade. "Guess we're doing this."
The first two chunin reached us quickly. One launched a wind blade toward my chest. The other came low with a spear thrust.
I stepped inside the wind blade's path. The attack grazed my shoulder instead of hitting center.
But I was already moving. My blade cut across the spear user's wrist. The weapon dropped. My knee slammed into his face. He collapsed instantly. The wind user lunged again. I caught his wrist. The blade turned toward his own throat. One quick motion. And he died by his own blade.The remaining two chunin attacked together. Better coordination this time. One launched a barrage of wind blades. The other formed hand signs.
"Earth Style: Stone Fangs!"
Jagged spikes erupted from the ground beneath me. The earth spikes followed my landing point. My Sharingan caught it just in time. I flipped backward.
The spikes barely missed my feet.
But while I was airborne The second chunin was already there. His sword came down toward my neck. I raised my blade at the last moment. Steel collided. The impact forced me to one knee..
"Got you."
A blur slammed into him.
Raido. His kick crushed into the wind user's ribs. The man flew backward across the sand.
Raido didn't stop. He drove his blade into the shinobi's chest before he could recover.
"Don't hog all the fun."
Back in front of me. The remaining chunin tried to finish his strike. But my Sharingan had already read the movement. I twisted my blade. Redirected his attack. Then drove my elbow into his throat.
His grip loosened. My tanto pierced through his chest.
Raido wiped blood from his blade.
"Alright."
He glanced toward the approaching jonin.
"Now comes the real problem."
The Suna jonin stopped a few meters away. He looked down at the bodies calmly.
"You've killed enough today."
Raido muttered beside me. "Man these guys love saying that."
The jonin drew his weapon. A long curved blade. Wind chakra already flowing along its edge.
"I am Karasu."
Raido stepped forward.
Karasu didn't even look at him. His gaze stayed on me.
"Move."
Raido grinned.
"Nah."
Karasu sighed. Then he vanished. The sand where he stood exploded outward. He appeared instantly in front of Raido. His blade flashed. Raido barely blocked in time. The impact threw him backward across the sand.
Karasu turned toward me immediately. Wind chakra erupted from his blade. Three slashes.
Three massive wind blades tore toward me.
I jumped. The attacks carved trenches across the desert. He was already behind me when I landed.
My Sharingan caught the motion.. I twisted.
His blade grazed my ribs. The cut burned like fire.
I countered instantly. My blade slashed toward his neck.
Karasu leaned back just enough to avoid it. Then his knee slammed into my stomach. The air exploded from my lungs.
I staggered backward. He stepped forward calmly.
"You're skilled."
Another strike. I blocked. The impact rattled my arm.
"But you are exhausted."
Another strike. I dodged.
"But most importantly…"
Wind chakra surged around his blade.
"…you are alone."
Across the battlefield
Jiraiya wiped blood from his lip. Gamabunta and Gamaken had pushed forward. Massive summon bodies smashing through Suna formations. But Rasa remained calm. Golden dust floated around him like a living storm.
The sand suddenly surged upward. A massive golden wave rising into the sky.
Gamabunta growled.
"Big one coming."
Jiraiya nodded.
"Yeah."
Rasa's voice echoed across the battlefield.
"Gold Dust Imperial Funeral."
The massive wave collapsed downward. Trying to bury the summons beneath thousands of pounds of compressed gold.
Gamaken jumped.
Gamabunta swung his massive blade. The weapon cleaved through part of the wave. But the rest crashed down around them.
The desert trembled violently. Jiraiya leapt from Gamabunta's head.
Landing on the sand. He wiped dust from his cloak.
"Alright."
His eyes sharpened.
"Guess I should stop playing around."
He bit his thumb again.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
A massive explosion of smoke erupted. When it cleared Another small toad sat on his shoulders. Fukasaku and Shima.
The elder sages.
Fukasaku looked around the battlefield.
"…Big fight."
Shima cracked her knuckles. "About time."
Jiraiya grinned. "Let's gather some nature energy."
Back near the Konoha line
Karasu's blade crashed against mine again. The impact sent pain through my shoulder.
He pressed harder. Our blades locked.
His eyes studied me carefully.
"…You're slowing down."
I shoved him back. But he was right. My breathing was heavier. My vision flickered slightly.
He raised his blade again. Wind chakra roared along the edge.
"This ends now."
But suddenly A Konoha jonin landed beside us. Then another. The scarred jonin from earlier stepped forward.
"You picked the wrong target."
Karasu's eyes shifted between them. Then back to me. He understood immediately.
Konoha had noticed. The bodies. The threat. And now. They were protecting me.
Karasu sighed quietly. "So that's how it is."