The large group from Sunagakure was resting behind a massive sand dune, likely after just completing a long journey. As Rasa and Hattori descended from the sky, a crowd immediately approached them.
"Lord Rasa, you're back! And the other person is... Lord Hattori?"
"Lord Hattori is here, too! That's amazing!"
"Is this Lord Hattori summon? It looks so powerful!"
"Yeah, totally…"
Listening to the chatter around him, Rasa simply nodded, while Hattori dispelled his summoning technique, waving to the surrounding shinobi as he walked.
"Everyone, thank you for all your hard work! Starting today, we'll be fighting side by side, so I look forward to working with you all!"
Hearing his words, the previously exhausted shinobi instantly grew energized.
"Lord Hattori, we'll fight with everything we have!"
"Absolutely! We'll protect Lord Hattori and claim victory!"
"For Sunagakure...!"
The excitement quickly caught Chiyo's attention. But when she saw that Hattori had come with Rasa, her expression immediately changed.
"Why are you here? I specifically ordered the ANBU not to let you leave the village!"
"Teacher, please don't worry about those details."
Before Chiyo could finish, Hattori raised his hand in a serious gesture.
"Let's find a more private place; I have something important to discuss with you."
"Hmm?"
Hearing this, Chiyo frowned, casting a doubtful look at him before nodding.
"Fine, follow me!"
She led him to a temporary tent and spoke again.
"Alright, what is this important matter? If you're here to ask me to negotiate with the Leaf, save your breath."
Seeing her determined expression, Hattori sighed helplessly and shook his head.
"No, it's not about that. I wanted to tell you that before coming here, I went to the Land of Earth and launched an attack on Iwagakure…"
He proceeded to recount his raid on Iwagakure with his giant dragonfly summon, how he destroyed the Tsuchikage's building, injured Ōnoki, and framed the Leaf Village for the attack. He didn't disclose the true origin of the giant dragonfly, claiming instead that he'd obtained the summoning scroll after killing an Iwa-nin during a previous attack on Sunagakure.
Chiyo wasn't overly concerned with the details of the dragonfly's origin; her focus was entirely on Hattori's assault on Iwagakure. Though she trusted Hattori, she still found the whole event hard to believe. For someone like Hattori—a "little brat"—to injure a battle-hardened Tsuchikage like Ōnoki seemed nearly impossible.
Not only was Chiyo skeptical, but Ebizō, who was with her, also doubted it, wondering if Hattori had been caught in a genjutsu. Faced with their disbelief, Hattori calmly offered a solution.
"Teacher, if you don't believe me, then let me prove it by sparring with Rasa. Since he can fly like Ōnoki, he'd be a good stand-in for the Tsuchikage. Does that sound fair?"
"Uh…"
Hearing his suggestion, Ebizō hesitated and glanced at Rasa.
"Rasa, what do you think?"
"I think it's fine," Rasa responded confidently.
"With my abilities, if he can injure me, then that should be proof enough that he could injure Ōnoki."
With Rasa's approval, Ebizō looked to Chiyo, who also nodded, before turning back to Rasa and Hattori.
"Alright, you two go ahead, but be careful!"
Though he addressed them both, it was clear he was mainly worried about Rasa accidentally hurting Hattori. Rasa understood this concern and nodded seriously.
"Don't worry."
Unexpectedly, as soon as he finished speaking, Hattori also nodded.
"No worries—I'll try to go easy on him, though I can't guarantee perfect control!"
"…"
Ebizō shook his head with a slight grin but said nothing more. Rasa, now silent, flew into the air on his sand and looked down at Hattori, arms crossed as if to say, "Come and get me!"
Seeing this, a sly grin spread across Hattori's face.
"Finally, here's my chance! For Karura, today I'm going to make him pay!"
He immediately bit his finger, made hand seals, and summoned his giant dragonfly. When the dragonfly appeared, Chiyo and Ebizō both showed surprise, seeming to believe Hattori's story a bit more.
Ignoring their reactions, Hattori jumped onto the dragonfly and pointed at Rasa above.
"Get him!"
At his command, the dragonfly buzzed loudly and charged straight at Rasa with lightning speed, closing the distance almost instantly.
But Rasa reacted quickly, pushing his hands forward just as the dragonfly approached.
"Magnet Release: Gold Sand Wall!"
A gleaming wall of gold sand rose in front of him, blocking the dragonfly's charge. At that moment, Hattori threw a powerful punch.
*Bang!*
With a resonant metallic sound, Rasa's sand wall shattered under the impact of Hattori's fist. If he hadn't moved fast enough, Rasa might have been in trouble.
Ebizō, watching from below, stood in stunned silence.
"This kid has such strength? He actually broke Rasa's gold sand? Unbelievable!"
Chiyo, on the other hand, looked pleased.
"Yes, not only does this kid have impressive medical skills, but he also possesses incredible strength. That's why the Third Kazekage values him so highly."
"Ah…"
Hearing this, Ebizō looked at Hattori with thoughtful consideration.
"Could it be that the Third Kazekage wants Sunagakure to have someone like Lady Tsunade…"
Hattori, unaware of Ebizō's musings, was entirely focused on Rasa. After shattering the gold sand wall, he closed in on Rasa and shouted at him.
"Rasa, I'll bet you a kunai you don't have the guts to spit on me!"
"Huh?"
Momentarily confused, Rasa stopped his gold sand technique and, in a bizarre moment of impulse, spit in Hattori's direction.
But as soon as he did, Hattori disappeared from sight. While Rasa was still puzzled, a voice from behind him—a voice that would haunt his dreams—echoed.
"Hattori Ultimate Taijutsu: Super Strength Thousand Years of Pain!"
Rasa: (;Д`)
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