Rasa! Fourth Kazekage!
Tatsuma received this information in his mind, but he had never heard of Rasa before today. Even with his ANBU clearance, he couldn't find any record of a person named Rasa in Hidden Sand Village, as if Rasa's existence was a discrepancy in the world or a distortion in Tatsuma's memory.
When he saw the shining gold amidst the yellow sand, Tatsuma was certain that his memory had not erred to the point of creating a fictional character.
"This gold has Chakra fluctuations."
At this moment, Minato also spoke up. Tenko, who had been crouched down preparing to scoop up the sand, paused his movements. Tatsuma did not, and he too crouched down.
Minato, lacking Earth Release Chakra, had keenly observed the Chakra fluctuations on the gold but found it difficult to perform large-scale detection or trace the source.
That's why he went out of his way to inform Tatsuma of this information. Tatsuma extended his right hand, with his index and middle fingers touching the yellow sand, and Chakra immediately surged into the ground.
The interaction between Chakras is better described by auditory effects rather than visual. When one side registers the Chakra signature of the other, it's like a phone pairing with a Bluetooth device. The next step is to find the correct direction and distance by adjusting the direction to locate the signal source more accurately.
From silence to sound, from intermittent to smooth, when the sound becomes stable and smooth, the target is not far away.
Of course, the Chakra chase between two Sensing-type Ninjas is more complex. Both sides' Chakras act as both signal sources and receivers, and they can also alter frequencies, giving some misleading directions.
At this moment, Tatsuma was the one pursuing, while the owner of the gold sand was naturally being pursued. In Tatsuma's sensing, the fluctuations of the gold sand's Chakra were very chaotic.
It was easy to be misled in the wrong direction, giving the opponent a chance to escape. However, Tatsuma's brain processed information quickly, rapidly judging the authenticity of the feedback. For directions that couldn't be ruled out, he simply used more Chakra to handle multiple lines simultaneously.
Minato and the others did not dare to disturb Tatsuma but remained on high alert. They had just set foot in the Land of Wind and were already detected, which was quite unfavorable news.
It is not yet clear how extensive the coverage of the gold sand is. If the coverage is large, it is likely that Hidden Sand Village has set up extensive defenses after receiving their intelligence. If the coverage is small, it means the enemy's targeting is very precise, as if they already knew their landing site.
This implies either Hidden Sand Village has additional intelligence sources that clearly understand their mission's action line, or Hidden Sand Village is cooperating with the rogue ninjas tracking them from behind.
Even among those rogue ninjas, there are Hidden Sand Village ninjas, though they have been dispatched to the gold exchange.
Before Tatsuma finished his sensing, these details were not yet known. Minato and Caterpillar, though highly alert, did not dare to use sensing techniques themselves, as adding another Chakra could potentially disrupt Tatsuma's tracking.
This Chakra chase lasted a full five minutes. Tatsuma finally exhaled and slowly stood up, looking at the questioning faces around him, and said:
"Southwest direction, about 150 kilometers, with extensive defenses. The opponent's sensing precision is insufficient, likely sacrificing accuracy for a larger sensing range.
Moreover, the form of his Chakra is quite interesting. It's like magnetic lines of force, and his sensing method is different from ordinary Chakra sensing or the sensing techniques used by Sand Ninjas. It's more similar to the Third Kazekage's Magnet Release. I speculate that the opponent is also a Magnet Release Ninja.
The gold sand is the medium he uses for Magnet Release. By moving the gold sand, the Chakra attached to it interacts with the surrounding gold sand's Chakra, generating wave-like currents similar to electrical waves to determine the location."
"It's just a crude and clumsy Perception Technique; even inanimate objects can affect his sensing," Tatsuma said with a mocking expression. But he suddenly paused, realizing that his comment about the Perception Technique sounded familiar—was it from Senju Tobirama's notes?
However, Minato and the others didn't quite understand his explanation. What were magnetic lines, intersections, and waves? Were these things Ninja knowledge? Why hadn't their sensei taught them this?
Caterpillar was silent, while Minato was pondering. He vaguely recalled Tatsuma mentioning these things before, and they seemed to have come up in Tatsuma's conversations with Orochimaru. He grasped some of it and asked:
"So even if we had stepped on the gold sand just now, the enemy wouldn't be able to determine if we were Ninjas or identify us?"
"You can understand it that way. He could only sense our location and detect the presence of people or objects. Of course, my actions should be sufficient for him to determine our identities."
Tatsuma nodded and then said, "Owl, you might want to consider this method. Attach Chakra to the sand grains and use the interaction between Chakras to make determinations.
Although it won't be as smooth as Earth Release Chakra blending with the earth for sensing, it can still provide an additional sensing technique. Caterpillar, Badger, if you have time, you might also want to study it."
Upon hearing this, Minato nodded seriously. Caterpillar remained silent, thinking that as an Aburame clan Ninja, he could already sense using insects, which could share sensory information and was far superior to such crude sensing techniques.
Tenko, however, didn't understand. He looked down at the sinking gold sand and said, "But I still think it's really extravagant, even though it can be retrieved."
"Retrieve it? Ha, you really don't take me seriously," Tatsuma said, looking down at the sinking gold sand before lifting his leg.
"Heavenly Kick of Pain!"
"Boom!"
A large pit exploded on the desert, creating ripples across the yellow sand sea that spread out to distant hills.
"Whoosh whoosh whoosh~"
The vibrations caused the sand dunes to collapse, turning the desert into a sea of tumultuous waves.
"Spit, spit, spit! Leader, what are you doing?!"
Caught off guard, Tenko complained while spitting out sand, though Minato and Caterpillar were less affected. Minato used Wind Release Jutsu to blow away the sand, and Caterpillar used Parasitic Insect to create an impenetrable armor for himself. Minato then attempted to explain:
"Such a large-scale impact expands the feedback information to the caster. Additionally, the Chakra attached to the gold sand has been shattered, meaning the caster can no longer control these sand grains."
Tatsuma nodded, agreeing with Minato. Tenko looked down at the sand and asked, "So can we collect these gold grains now?"
"We don't have the time, equipment, or personnel to handle it. We can't take these gold grains with us," Tatsuma said with a wry smile. Tenko gazed longingly at the glittering gold specks in the desert, sighing in regret.
...
In a small oasis about 150 miles southwest, a group of Sand Ninjas, dressed slightly differently from ordinary Sand Ninjas and wearing masks, gathered.
Inside a building severely eroded by wind and sand, a Ninja, similar in attire to the others but with a mask hanging from his waist and short reddish-brown hair, sat cross-legged and appeared to be newly adult.
"Thud~"
Suddenly, his head tilted, and then his entire body collapsed onto the floor.
"Bang~"
"Tap tap tap~"
Within less than a second, the door was forcefully pushed open, and several Ninjas rushed in. Among them, the smallest Ninja quickly went to the fallen Ninja's side, reaching out to check him while asking:
"Brother Rasa, are you alright?! Why did you suddenly collapse?"
"Yashamaru…"
Rasa breathed heavily but weakly, taking a while to steady his breath before saying in a weakened voice, "Tell sensei, Konoha's Sakamoto Tatsuma has infiltrated the Land of Wind."
"What?!"
The surrounding people were shocked, but Yashamaru gritted his teeth and asked, "Brother Rasa, did that Sakamoto Tatsuma cause you to collapse?"
"Don't be impulsive, I just need a moment to rest."
Rasa shook his head gently and said, "By the way, tell sensei that there is another important piece of information about Tatsuma that hasn't been disclosed—he has extremely strong sensing abilities."
"Alright, I'll contact Kazekage-sama. Brother Rasa, please rest well."
Yashamaru helped Rasa to a spot against the wall, then gave a few instructions to the other Ninjas before leaving. The remaining few did not leave but stayed behind to protect Rasa.
After a while, Yashamaru returned without his mask, hanging it at his waist, revealing a face that looked somewhat out of place in the sandy Land of Wind, even more refined than most women's faces.
Rasa, who had rested for a while, looked much better now, despite his lips being a bit pale and his dark circles seemingly worsened. Seeing Yashamaru, Rasa asked:
"What did sensei say?"
Yashamaru came to Rasa's side and said, "Kazekage-sama has instructed us to remain on standby. He will send additional personnel and advised us not to take any independent action, especially you, Brother Rasa."
Rasa could believe this response; it was what sensei had directly told Yashamaru. However, after a moment, he still said, "We'll rest for a day."
"Kazekage-sama didn't say when our reinforcements will arrive," Yashamaru said. Rasa shook his head and replied, "I'll be recovered by tomorrow. Sakamoto Tatsuma is too dangerous; I cannot stand by and watch him wreak havoc in the Land of Wind."
"But his strength…"
Hearing this, Rasa's expression darkened. He said, "Hmph! No matter how talented he is, he's still just a kid under fifteen!"
After saying this, his expression suddenly stiffened, and he looked at Yashamaru, who also had a stiffened face, and said, "Yashamaru, I'm not talking about you, just…"
"I understand, Brother Rasa. If you want to go after Sakamoto Tatsuma tomorrow, I'll follow you. Just don't forget that my sister is still waiting for you to return to the village."
Hearing Yashamaru mention his sister, Rasa's expression softened a bit. He said, "I know. It's just… I was raised by the village, and it's thanks to sensei that I've become who I am today."
"I will never allow someone like Sakamoto Tatsuma, who intends to destroy the Land of Wind and the Sand Ninja Village, to exist within the Land of Wind!"
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