Kakashi had not expected Commander Fox to test him.
Why had he not continued attacking the Kazekage?
Kakashi immediately said, "Commander Fox, Minato-sensei said the village does not intend to send a ninja force into the Land of Rivers.
Our goal is to stop Sunagakure from joining the war.
The ideal outcome was to assassinate the Kazekage and leave without anyone knowing.
But Minato-sensei was held up by a mysterious enemy, and the assassination failed.
If we continue attacking now and forcibly kill the Kazekage, it will provoke Sunagakure's militant faction. They'll use revenge for the Kazekage as a reason to accelerate the war.
Ninja never abandon missions just because the enemy is too strong. There are plenty who will charge at a powerful foe regardless of everything.
Killing Rasa in front of everyone now won't stop the war. It will only speed it up."
Yako nodded. "Kakashi, your way of thinking is very good. You can consider the overall situation and think from a Hokage's perspective."
Uchiha Hato's eyes widened in shock.
Commander Fox had actually praised Kakashi that much. Did that mean Kakashi had already entered the village leadership's sights and been marked as a key talent to cultivate?
No wonder Kakashi had become a Jōnin at twelve.
Yako said, "Kakashi, take Uchiha Hato and Nohara Rin and hide. An unexpected variable appeared in the mission, and it has exceeded your team's ability. I'll handle the rest."
Kakashi still wanted to ask about their team's mission, but Commander Fox had already vanished.
In distant Windbird City, Shukaku was locked in fierce battle with Kazekage Rasa.
Yellow sand and golden Gold Dust collided, waves of sand rolling outward and destroying buildings one after another.
Rasa was anxious. He had to push Shukaku out of Windbird City.
If Shukaku rampaged and destroyed Windbird City, the daimyō would be displeased. If that affected the war funding, things would become troublesome.
Rasa had no choice but to waste a great deal of chakra, pouring it into the ground to create Gold Dust. The Gold Dust covered every patch of ground around Shukaku and pushed him outward.
Shukaku manipulated the sand and was surprised to find that Gold Dust was heavier than his sand and carried a certain degree of force.
"That Second Kazekage bastard actually improved Magnet Release from my sand-manipulation technique. What a damnable man."
Shukaku had a huge amount of chakra. He slammed both claws into the ground, merging them completely into the sand. The surrounding desert filled with Shukaku's chakra.
An even greater sand wave surged forth, winning through sheer volume as it crashed toward Rasa.
The sand wrapped around Rasa, and Shukaku shouted, "Got you! Sand Burial!"
Shukaku's sand suddenly contracted inward, compressing from every direction, trying to crush Rasa to death.
However, the sand only compressed a Gold Dust sphere.
That Gold Dust sphere was Rasa's Absolute Defense, resisting pressure from all directions.
Shukaku grew even more irritated. Rasa's chakra volume was far inferior to his, but the quality of Gold Dust was higher than even Shukaku's sand.
Without that layer of Gold Dust, Shukaku's sand could crush Rasa into paste.
At that moment, Shukaku suddenly heard a strange voice.
"Continue. Use Sand Burial again."
Shukaku found it strange. Why could someone enter his soul world?
This person had deep knowledge of the soul, and could actually speak to him on a spiritual level, just like the Sage of Six Paths.
"Who are you?"
"There is no need to care who I am. Just answer this. Do you want to kill Rasa? Do you want to kill the successor of the Second Kazekage? Do you want to kill the leader of Sunagakure, the village that sealed you for thirty years?"
Shukaku's claws groped through the sand, pouring in even more chakra to create more sand.
A larger sand wave, like a waterfall, crashed toward the Gold Dust sphere.
Inside the sphere, Rasa was very calm.
Shukaku was strong, but he could not break through Rasa's Absolute Defense.
The Second Kazekage had created Magnet Release precisely to defeat Shukaku's sand with heavier Iron Sand.
At that moment, the sound of sand grinding made Rasa's scalp tighten.
For some inexplicable reason, sand had passed through the Gold Dust sphere and appeared behind him?
No!
Impossible!
There was not the slightest flaw in the chakra of his Absolute Defense Gold Dust sphere.
The sand that appeared suddenly crushed Rasa's joints with terrifying force.
After the initial shock passed, Rasa's breath seemed to leave him.
He slowly turned his head and saw that there was now another person inside his Gold Dust sphere.
A fox mask...
Rasa suddenly remembered that when he had rushed out of the Wood Release: Four Giant Trees Formation, something seemed to have slapped his lower leg.
He had lost.
He had completely lost.
The agony of his crushed bones seemed not to exist. Rasa asked in a calm voice, "How will you treat Sunagakure and the Sand ninja?"
Yako thought for a moment. Rasa's head would be crushed soon, so he would not leak the information. He said, "Pakura will become the Fifth Kazekage and lead Sunagakure out of the war."
Rasa asked again, "Ōnoki said he wouldn't allow anyone to reap benefits after the war between the Anti-Konoha Alliance and Konoha. He won't allow any ninja village to stay out of the Third Shinobi World War..."
"You actually believe Ōnoki's words? Would you rather believe me the strongest shinobi alive, or believe Ōnoki when he says he won't allow any village to profit from the sidelines?"
Rasa gave a bitter laugh and allowed the sand to swallow him.
In this life, he had revealed outstanding talent as a child. While still in the Ninja Academy, he had been accepted as a disciple by the Third Kazekage.
In his youth, he had never slacked off for a single day, never grown arrogant because he was the Third Kazekage's disciple, and had trained Magnet Release every day.
As a young man, he had followed his teacher to learn governance and how to manage the village.
During the Second Shinobi World War, although he had lost to Konoha, he had made a name for himself.
He had never expected that only a few months after becoming Kazekage, he would die miserably in Windbird City.
It was not worth it...
This damned life had not been worth all his diligence and effort...
In Windbird City, Shukaku squatted among the collapsed city walls and looked at the noble estate in confusion.
The estate had long since been destroyed by sand and Wood Release. Above the ruins lay a thick layer of Shukaku's sand.
Shukaku felt that his sand had crushed something.
He withdrew the sand, revealing a handful of Gold Dust buried inside.
Mixed within the Gold Dust was Shukaku's sand. More importantly, there were glaring traces of blood.
At the top of the sand was Rasa's distinctive reddish-brown hair.
"Kazekage-sama!"
The Sand ninja screamed in horror.
Their Fourth Kazekage had actually been killed by Shukaku!
Pakura had originally thought that after Wind Calamity's assassination failed, there would be no way to kill Kazekage Rasa today. She had not expected Fox himself to come to Windbird City.
Fox had come and left.
Pakura had thought Rasa had escaped disaster.
Unexpectedly, Rasa still died.
As a Sand ninja, seeing the Kazekage die before her eyes made Pakura's heart pound faster and faster in panic.
Until Shukaku's piercing laughter echoed throughout Windbird City.
"Oh! Ohaha! Second Kazekage! Did you see that?! Your Magnet Release is nothing special! Magnet Release can't compare to my Sand Release!"
Pakura's eyes changed. She said to the ninja beside her, "Quick! Seal Shukaku! We can't let it destroy Windbird City!"
After forming hand seals, Pakura released her Rhombus Seal and rushed toward Shukaku.
"Scorch Release: Scorching Bullet!"