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#74 The Sand Will Rise!
🕑 Added 2025-03-26 16:01:12 +0000 UTCThe two groups, once ready to clash, stood in stunned silence.
Their leaders were floating in the air, eating chicken wings.
Onoki had used his Earth Release: Light-Weight Rock Technique to craft a massive floating rock as a dining table.
Opposite him, Mufasa sat comfortably, matching his casual demeanor.
Beside them, Kurotsuchi poured wine, her expression unreadable.
Onoki sighed between bites. "This old man acknowledges your strength."
Mufasa smirked. "Good. Then hand over the Chakra-Infusing Technique, and I'll return Roshi to you. Let's make it official and sign the contract while we're at it."
Onoki frowned. "I can agree to a contract, but is that forbidden jutsu really so important to you?"
Mufasa leaned forward, eyes gleaming with genuine interest.
"I’m a man of science. When I see a unique jutsu, I have to study it. If I don’t, I won’t be able to eat or sleep properly."
Onoki sighed, nodding in understanding. "That much, I get."
Mufasa glanced at Kurotsuchi. "That thing."
Kurotsuchi blinked. "That thing?"
Onoki glared at her. "When adults are talking, children don’t interrupt."
Then he turned back to Mufasa, his face puzzled.
"That technique is mainly used for large-scale explosions. It doesn’t have much utility beyond that."
Mufasa grinned. "I love explosions. My desert is the perfect testing ground."
Onoki was speechless.
"Fine. This old man will agree to your terms." He took a deep breath. "But return all of my captured men."
Mufasa chuckled.
The old guy was clearly shaken by his black hole technique.
In truth, Mufasa himself could only control one at a time.
If he let it continue expanding, even he wouldn't be able to stop it.
That was dangerous.
It could swallow the entire ninja world.
Still, the psychological effect was useful.
With one move, he had Onoki and Nagato at the negotiation table.
"Alright," Mufasa said. "You can have them all back."
Onoki looked around hesitantly. "Still… I came all this way with this forces. If we just leave after one exchange, it’s like…"
Mufasa smirked. "How about we fight?"
Onoki immediately clutched his back. "Ah, my back hurts. Kurotsuchi, rub my waist."
Kurotsuchi quickly stepped forward, pressing into his lower back.
Mufasa rolled his eyes. "Fine. If you don’t want a real fight, how about a friendly match?"
Onoki raised a brow. "What kind of match?"
Mufasa crossed his arms. "I brought four elite squads with me. Let’s have a four-on-four team battle. Each side picks four squads to fight. No killing—just go until you can’t fight anymore."
Onoki thought it over. As long as he wasn’t fighting Mufasa directly, his men should stand a chance. "Alright."
With the terms set, the two leaders turned to their troops.
Mufasa’s voice echoed through the camp. "The war will be decided by four friendly matches! Fight with honor, but no killing!"
Onoki followed up. "Iwa-nin! Show your strength! Win for me!"
Both sides began selecting their teams.
Gaara turned to his men. "First squad, step forward."
A group of twenty moved into formation.
Onoki squinted. "Why are there so many in one squad? Sand Village’s standard formation is way bigger than ours."
Mufasa grinned. "Feel free to copy us."
Onoki huffed and signaled Jounin Aoto to gather an equal number of Iwa-nin.
Kurotsuchi leaned over and whispered to Aoto. "Be careful. They have a lot of ranged techniques."
Aoto smirked confidently. "Iwa-nin are unbreakable."
As the two teams moved to the battlefield, Onoki, still eating his chicken wings, observed from above.
From a distance, Aoto and his group saw the Sand-nin moving strangely. They weren’t charging in for close combat.
Instead, they lined up in two rows, their mechanical puppets standing before them. The squad leader shouted orders.
"Long-range assault team, prepare!"
"Deploy electromagnetic cannons!"
"Others, defensive formation!"
The puppets in the front crouched down.
Their mouths opened wide, revealing gun barrels.
The ones in the back extended their arms, linking together to generate chakra.
Aoto’s group frowned. "What the hell are they doing?"
Then, the lead puppeteer shouted, "Charge complete—fire!"
A brilliant arc of plasma erupted from the barrels, slicing through the sky.
Onoki nearly choked on his chicken. "What—?!"
The plasma blast struck Aoto’s team, unleashing a cascade of electricity.
Lightning surged through them, paralyzing their bodies.
Even those who avoided direct hits were struggling, caught in the aftermath of the discharge.
Before they could recover, the Sand-nin unleashed a volley of explosives, firing them from their mechanical puppets.
The Iwa-nin were blasted off their feet, unable to retaliate.
Aoto gritted his teeth. "They’re… flying?!"
Onoki’s eyes widened. "Why can your ninjas fly?!"
Mufasa smirked. "You fly all the time."
Onoki scowled. "That’s ninjutsu!"
Mufasa laughed. "And I’m a ninja. The rocket pilots are also ninjas."
The battle wasn’t even close.
The Iwa-nin had no way to counter.
No matter how much chakra they poured into defense, no matter how thick they made their earth walls, they couldn’t withstand the relentless assault.
The Sand ninja team claimed victory once again.
The second match played out the same way.
The only difference?
The Rock ninja learned from their mistakes.
Instead of advancing cautiously, they rushed in, hoping to close the gap before the barrage could begin.
They were met with fire-breathing golems, electric grids, and mines buried beneath the battlefield.
They never got close.
Once again, they fell under a hailstorm of explosions.
Onoki’s mustache twitched in frustration.
"Tch. Kazekage, let’s call this off."
"At this rate, what’s the point?"
Onoki had fought countless battles in his lifetime.
He had lost before.
But this… this was something else entirely.
Losing without even laying a finger on the enemy?
Ridiculous.
Mufasa chuckled. "Well, the third and fourth rounds won’t be like this. No bombing this time."
Onoki squinted at him. "You better not be lying."
Mufasa raised a hand. "If I’m lying, I’ll crawl under you."
Onoki frowned. "That sounds… strange coming from you."
With how unpredictable Mufasa was, there was no telling who would end up ahead.
Mufasa smirked. "To prove my sincerity, my team will go first."
"Third squad, step forward."
A large truck rumbled onto the battlefield.
The back doors swung open, revealing a towering three-meter-tall mechanical warrior.
It stepped out, its silver-white metal body gleaming in the sunlight, a long blade strapped to its back.
Every movement was fluid, unnervingly precise.
Onoki blinked. "This… this is your third squad? Why is there only one of them?"
Mufasa shrugged. "The third squad is a recent project. We haven’t finished making more members yet."
"...Made?"
Onoki’s eye twitched. "Just what kind of nonsense are you Sand ninja up to?"
Mufasa gestured proudly. "Meet the squad captain. His name is Sasori and his puppet is named Genji."
The towering figure was none other than Sasori, now encased in his new mechanical form.
After his defeat at Mufasa’s hands, he had abandoned his old long-range fighting style, opting instead for something stronger.
Something bolder. Something more… macho.
And so, he became Genji Sasori.
Onoki gritted his teeth. He had already lost twice.
"Even if he’s strong, he’s alone. We have twenty men."
Mufasa waved dismissively. "No problem, no problem."
The match began.
Facing Genji Sasori was none other than Akatsuchi, one of Iwagakure’s strongest Jōnin, leading his squad.
Akatsuchi immediately slammed his hands to the ground. "Earth Style: Rock Golem!"
A massive stone warrior rose to match Genji Sasori’s height.
The other Iwa-nin followed his lead, summoning their own rock puppets.
Soon, over twenty towering figures charged at the lone mechanical warrior.
Genji Sasori remained still.
Then, he reached for his blade.
Mechanical vents opened on his back. A ninjutsu scroll activated inside.
"Wind Style: Gale Burst!"
A powerful gust of wind propelled him forward at blinding speed.
His long blade flashed.
"Death is like the wind—always by my side."
He struck.
A single step. A single slash.
One puppet shattered.
Another.
Then another.
One by one, the rock puppets fell, crushed into rubble beneath his relentless assault.
Finally, only one remained: Akatsuchi’s rock golem, the strongest of them all.
It swung a massive fist downward.
Genji Sasori darted forward. "Steel-Cutting Flash!"
His blade glowed. The wind around him surged.
With one devastating upward slash, he carved through the golem’s entire body.
The rock behemoth crumbled.
Akatsuchi and his team stood frozen in shock.
This was no ordinary puppet. This was something else entirely.
Genji Sasori paid them no mind.
He advanced.
Akatsuchi hastily formed hand seals. "Earth Style: Rock Pillar Prison!"
Stone columns erupted from the ground, trying to trap him.
Genji Sasori twirled his blade. "Crescent Slash."
He spun, slicing through every pillar with ease.
The Iwa-nin panicked. "Everyone, attack together!"
They unleashed a final desperate barrage of Earth jutsu.
"Earth Style: Rising Walls!"
"Earth Style: Stone Spikes!"
"Earth Style: Boulder Barrage!"
Genji Sasori lifted his blade high.
"One strike…"
He brought it down.
"Splits mountains."
The entire battlefield shook as his blade cleaved through every defense in its path.
When the dust settled, the Iwa-nin were on the ground, defeated.
Onoki clenched his fists. "What kind of ninja is that?!"
Mufasa grinned. "Mechanical ninja are still ninja."
Onoki was fuming. "You’re not even fighting like a ninja anymore!"
Mufasa shrugged. "I just made a few upgrades. A chakra metal for the blade. Some advanced wind-style techniques. That’s all."
Onoki scowled. "Tch. That’s it. I’m done. I’m not playing this game anymore. You Sand ninja are too weird."
Mufasa held up a hand. "Wait, wait! Don’t give up just yet."
"The next match will be a traditional ninja battle. No weird tricks. Just a classic fight—shurikens flying, kunai clashing."
Onoki narrowed his eyes. "...Really?"
Mufasa nodded. "Of course. If not—"
"You can walk over me."
