Desert Emperor: Character Card!
Rasa had to admit, it was the rarest and most valuable card he'd drawn after weeks of tirelessly mining gold and throwing it all into the system.
The card came with two powerful, highly practical abilities.
A faint smile tugged at Rasa's lips as he stood in the heart of the desert, surrounded by hundreds of sand warriors he had just summoned.
Exactly as I thought!
He wasn't some baseline version of the so-called "Desert Emperor" who could only summon two soldiers—four at most with an ultimate move. He wasn't Azir.
This was the Shinobi World.
Where massive chakra reserves meant limitless potential.
And with the boost from this card…
He could summon hundreds of warriors right here in the sands.
Sure, it wasn't on par with the chakra of God of Shinobi—but after weeks of attribute stacking, Rasa's chakra reserves were now vast in their own right.
At the very least…
He no longer had to risk his life just to solo Shukaku. As for summoning 9,990 sand hands to grab the Nine-Tails by the throat with just one? Yeah… that was still a stretch.
No time to waste.
Rasa didn't waste a second. He ducked out of the Fourth Raikage's attack range, vanishing into the sandstorm before anyone could react—while the battlefield was still stunned by the sudden emergence of an entire sand legion.
"Damn it!"
A flurry of motion from the Fourth Raikage as his target vanished from sight. He turned his head in every direction, scanning.
"That speed?!"
He barely caught a flicker of pale-golden light whipping past—like a gust of sand—and then Rasa was gone.
This was the first time he'd seen a jutsu faster than his own Lightning Release Chakra Mode!
He kept scanning, searching for the missing figure. Then one of the summoned sand warriors crumbled into dust, and he immediately shouted, "Defensive formation—now!"
But he was too late.
"Magnet Release: Gold Dust Imperial Funeral."
A cold voice echoed across the desert.
BOOM!
The sand beneath the nearby Kumo-nin suddenly churned and spiraled into a massive vortex, pulling them down and swallowing them whole.
"What a terrifying amount of chakra!"
Dozens of shinobi stared, wide-eyed in disbelief.
Especially those from Suna.
Lord Rasa… the Kazekage had this kind of power all along? Why hide it until now?!
If they'd had this from the start, maybe Suna wouldn't have fallen so far.
But most of them understood—jutsu with this level of power and mystery had to be forbidden techniques.
Not something you used lightly.
Just then, another sand warrior shattered.
The Fourth Raikage's expression hardened. While ordering his forces to retreat and regroup, he burst into motion, cloaked in crackling blue lightning.
But again… he was too slow.
"Magnet Release: Gold Dust Imperial Funeral."
Another deadly vortex surged through the battlefield, dragging down a squad of Kumo shinobi in an instant.
Still, shinobi were not so easily caught twice.
Some Kumo-nin, following the Raikage's warning, adapted quickly. They simulated the terrain in their minds and unleashed their own jutsu to escape.
Rasa knew the same move wouldn't work twice on real shinobi. Of course, there were exceptions—certain overwhelming techniques like Shinra Tensei, Chibaku Tensei, or Tengai Shinsei could end a fight before you even had time to react.
But Rasa wasn't Pain.
So for now, it was a race against time.
He activated Shifting Sands again, vanishing into the desert and reappearing elsewhere. His power surged in this environment, amplified by both terrain and chakra enhancements.
This was his moment.
"Magnet Release: Gold Dust Imperial Funeral."
No way he wouldn't catch a few more with this.
After all—Kumo shinobi were everywhere.
On the other side of the battlefield, A knew he couldn't let this drag on. At this rate, Rasa would wear them all down.
His gaze flicked to the strange sand soldiers. Every time Rasa appeared somewhere, one of them would shatter.
If that's the case…
He turned sharply and roared to his troops: "Destroy those puppets! Eliminate the sand soldiers!"
His words clicked instantly.
Kumo-nin launched coordinated attacks with their strongest jutsu, aiming straight for the puppet army.
But Rasa wasn't about to sit still and watch his army get obliterated.
He popped another chakra potion he'd drawn from the gacha, ignoring the taste, and slammed his hand into the ground.
"Sand Soldiers—ARISE!"
Another hundred summoned into the field.
Unfortunately… something was off.
He couldn't control them properly.
If only he could—just with these soldiers, Suna would never need to worry about troop numbers again.
But now wasn't the time to dwell on it.
He immediately shifted again, relocating across the battlefield.
"Magnet Release: Gold Dust Imperial Funeral."
And behind him—a streak of blue lightning chased relentlessly.
The Fourth Raikage.
No—technically, the Raikage Candidate.
Sure, the Third Raikage had stepped down and passed the mantle, and the people of Kumogakure recognized him as the Fourth—but the Daimyō of the Land of Lightning hadn't officially confirmed it yet.
Why call him Fourth Raikage, then?
Because that guy was a blunt-force brute.
He said he was the Fourth, so he was the Fourth. Who the hell cared about protocol?
But as Rasa continued repeating his deadly jutsu, the Kumo-nin quickly developed counters. His strategy began losing effectiveness.
Their losses slowed drastically.
Three minutes later—
The battlefield was a wreck. Kumo-nin scattered, bruised and battered. A stood in the ruins, face dark with fury.
Rasa came to a stop atop the sand, breathing heavily, clutching his chest. Behind him, Suna shinobi were cheering.
Kumo had taken heavy damage—but Suna had paid dearly for it, too. The Kumo forces still outnumbered them.
Even so—
The despair that had crushed them at the start of battle was gone.
Rasa, chest heaving, met the eyes of the Raikage and his brother across the sand. His lips curled upward as he spoke calmly:
"Sunagakure wins."
"Yo, yo, yo!
The battle began, but Rasa just ran!
He got a few hits and got cocky again,
But the Cloud's got numbers, we're still in the game,
We shine with flair, ain't no shame—
Killer Bee's the name! Hachibi's flame! YEAH! AH!"
As soon as he finished—
A surge of chakra burst forth from his body, coating him in a cloak of raw, bestial power.
Rasa's face froze.
The reddish hue forming over Bee's skin—it was bijuu chakra.
He can already access the Eight-Tails' chakra?!
But more importantly…
Why the hell is he about to drop a damn tailed beast bomb out of nowhere?!
Rasa couldn't help muttering under his breath.
"…Mmph… son of a bitch."
Suna's own tailed beast had been locked away ever since Bunpuku's death, sealed in the Black Cauldron and watched under tight guard.
They'd brought Shukaku along for this battle as a last resort… but if they released him now?
No question about it—Shukaku and Gyūki would team up and pound Suna into the ground.
Why?
You'd have to start with Shukaku's deep-rooted hatred of Suna and his long, bitter history with the other tailed beasts.
So now…
Staring at the two brothers who stood ready to fight side-by-side, Rasa let out a sigh.
"…Looks like it's time to use the next card."
PS: Read Advance Chapters at https://www.patreon.com/c/ReadJin