Qi Hai's thought process was simple.
He didn't know what the Kazekage looked like.
The black-eyed, hollow-faced uncle who attacked earlier couldn't possibly be the Kazekage—no way the Kazekage would personally make a move. And usually, the oldest person in the room was the strongest, so logically, the elder Ebizō seemed like the Kazekage.
Thud, thud.
Maki and Jinto, the jōnin in the room, almost fell over, rolling their eyes in disbelief.
A complete idiot had shown up. He didn't even know who the Kazekage was and still dared to issue a challenge.
Ebizō sighed, glanced at Rasa's increasingly dark expression, and said, "Kid, this is the Kazekage."
"Huh?"
Qi Hai's head mechanically turned 90 degrees toward Rasa. His face flushed red, resembling a monkey's butt. He had challenged the wrong person—how embarrassing!
"Kazekage-sama, accept my youthful challenge!"
"Fine," Rasa said coldly. "Prepare to die."
"Eh?"
Qi Hai was stunned. He had acted so clueless and goofy, yet this Kazekage still wanted to kill him? Did the man have no sympathy?
"Magnet Release: Sand Cushion!"
Rasa summoned two golden platforms of sand—one lifted him into the air, and the other carried Qi Hai.
At first, Qi Hai was startled, thinking it was a sneak attack. But he quickly realized that Rasa was simply moving the fight to another location. It made sense—given the Kazekage's abilities, he could likely unleash a natural disaster at will. This central area of the village was too crowded for that.
Rasa's respect for Qi Hai's power wasn't superficial. He knew how tough his gold sand was, and the fact that Qi Hai had casually cut through it made him a serious threat. Besides, Sunagakure's finances were tight; even repairing the Kazekage building would be a painful expense.
With a swift motion, the two soared through the air, breaking through a window and flying outside.
Sunagakure streets.
The sight of Rasa and Qi Hai flying through the air immediately caught the attention of the villagers and shinobi.
"Why is Kazekage-sama flying? Did an intruder break in?"
"Hey, isn't that the kid who ate 40 bowls of beef ramen at my restaurant? Why's the Kazekage bringing him along?"
"Did you see Kazekage-sama's face? It's so dark it's scarier than the bottom of my cooking pot!"
"Quick, let's follow them! Kazekage-sama is about to fight someone!"
Rasa never imagined that his duel with a random boy would attract the attention of thousands of villagers.
The One Line Gorge – An Open Field Nearby.
The fight venue was a secluded area outside the village, a bowl-shaped depression in the terrain, perfect for combat.
Rasa chose this location carefully.
Before long, vendors had already set up stalls at the edges of the battlefield, with signs that read: "Kazekage vs. Mysterious Man! Place Your Bets!"
Qi Hai stood at a respectful distance from Rasa, still grinning dumbly and pretending to be innocent. Inwardly, he was cheering himself on.
"Phase one of the plan is a success. Here's hoping phase two goes smoothly too," Qi Hai thought.
Rasa's dark circles seemed to grow darker. Whenever he prepared for battle, he entered a "Dark Circle Mode," a state he used to suppress the rampaging One-Tail, Shukaku, multiple times in the past.
"Are you ready to die?" Rasa asked, casting a hateful glance at the villagers placing bets nearby.
"Do we really have to fight, Kazekage-sama? Can't we settle this peacefully?" Qi Hai pleaded, putting on his most exaggeratedly pitiful face.
Seeing Qi Hai's overly dramatic performance only infuriated Rasa further.
"Magnet Release: Gold Sand Spear!"
Rasa condensed a massive drill-like spear from his gold sand and sent it hurtling toward Qi Hai. The spear tore through Qi Hai's body, shredding him to pieces!
"Hmm? Dead already? No... a Substitution Jutsu? But when?"
To Rasa's shock, the shattered remains of Qi Hai turned into water, which quickly reformed into Qi Hai's unscathed figure.
As a Logia-type Sea-Sea Fruit user, Qi Hai was immune to all physical attacks. The gold sand spear didn't faze him in the slightest.
Rasa frowned. "No chakra reaction... How is this possible?"
"Magnet Release: Gold Sand Cube!"
Rasa summoned a massive cube of gold sand, which formed above Qi Hai's head and slammed down with thunderous force.
Boom!
Dust and sand exploded everywhere.
As the dust settled, Rasa squinted and saw only a shallow puddle of water where the cube had landed. Seconds later, the water reformed into Qi Hai's body.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! So this is what ninjutsu looks like? Amazing!" Qi Hai exclaimed.
Rasa's face turned pitch black with rage.
This creature... was it made of water? No chakra, no damage—it was like fighting a monster. What was worse, the crowd, including Chiyo and other spectators, had arrived and were watching everything unfold.
"Why is this fool shouting like that? Do I, the Kazekage, not have any dignity?" Rasa thought furiously.
Realizing that Qi Hai's abilities were unusual, Rasa stopped holding back. "Magnet Release: Gold Sand Hands!"
Two massive hands made of gold sand materialized behind Rasa and struck toward Qi Hai.
Miss! Miss!
Qi Hai evaded every attack using Observation Haki, twisting and dodging with ease.
Rasa's dark circles deepened with frustration as he glared at Qi Hai, who was dodging like a monkey.
"Magnet Release: Gold Sand Waterfall!"
A barrage of gold sand spikes erupted from Rasa, resembling a waterfall smashing into the rocks below.
But to Rasa's horror, Qi Hai's body twisted and contorted in impossible ways, dodging every spike. His head bent like a noodle, and his limbs curved like branches, making him look completely inhuman.
"This... is this guy even human?!"
Qi Hai was using Kami-e (Paper Drawing), a technique from the Six Powers of the Marines. By relaxing his muscles to the extreme, he could move his body like a sheet of paper, twisting and flowing to avoid any attack.
Qi Hai, however, had given his version of Kami-e a special name: Seaweed Flex.
With a mischievous grin, Qi Hai said, "Well then, Kazekage-sama, it's my turn!"
"Sea God Cannon!"
Qi Hai coated his fist in Armament Haki, gathered swirling seawater around it, and launched a devastating punch at Rasa's chest.
Boom! The impact echoed across the battlefield.
Rasa was sent flying, tumbling 150 meters away before crashing into the sand.
The crowd gasped.
"Did he just hit the Kazekage?"
"That's it?!"
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