"Lord Kazekage, our army's march has been blocked… by a single person."
With the Sand forces mobilizing, scout squads naturally moved ahead.
Upon receiving the report, Yashamaru immediately relayed it to Rasa.
"A shinobi from Kumogakure? Or Amegakure?" Rasa asked.
"Neither."
Yashamaru shook his head, a flicker of fear flashing through his eyes.
"Wait… you just said our path was blocked by one person? Who is it?"
Noticing Yashamaru's expression, Rasa felt a faint sense of dread settle in his chest.
"Iron Fist… Garp."
The moment Yashamaru spoke the name, it felt as if the very air solidified. A heavy, indescribable pressure pressed down on their hearts.
"What is he doing in the Land of Rain?"
Rasa's expression darkened.
He hadn't expected Chiyo's earlier concerns to come true, let alone right at this critical moment.
"Sunagakure only just set out. Are we supposed to slink back home before even leaving the Land of Wind?"
The thought appeared for only an instant before Rasa crushed it.
Putting aside the fact that the Third Raikage was injured, this was a golden opportunity to devour the Land of Lightning or at least rip a sizable chunk of flesh from Kumogakure.
And the decision to attack the Land of Lightning was something he had pushed through against all opposition.
If they turned back before even reaching their target, he would become the biggest joke in the history of Sunagakure.
"Let us continue forward, Lord Kazekage."
Just as Rasa was about to push ahead stubbornly, Chiyo spoke words that shocked him.
"Elder Chiyo… you say continue?"
Rasa couldn't hide his astonishment.
If he remembered correctly, Chiyo was the one who had opposed the invasion specifically because of Garp.
Yet now, with Garp blocking their path, she was even more decisive than he was.
"Lord Kazekage, if I were to say retreat… would you agree to it?"
Chiyo seemed to know exactly what was on his mind.
"No. We have no path of retreat."
Rasa shook his head.
To retreat now wouldn't only make him a laughingstock, Sunagakure itself would become a joke throughout the shinobi world.
Forget fighting, they hadn't even seen the enemy, and already they were turning back in fright.
That alone would secure Sunagakure's place as the bottom of the Five Great Villages for the next thirty years. No one would challenge that spot.
"Then the only option is to attempt negotiation first. If that fails…"
Chiyo paused there, but Rasa and the others understood exactly what she didn't say.
"Then let us meet the hero who brought an end to an entire era."
Rasa took a deep breath and resolutely led Chiyo and Ebizo forward.
After passing through the ranks of Sand shinobi and coming within half a step of the Land of Rain's border, all three of them instinctively stopped.
Not because they wanted to stop, but because the towering figure standing like an unshakable pillar between Rain and Wind had already noticed them and turned his gaze their way.
"That's Garp?"
Rasa forced himself to meet Garp's eyes,
And his mind went blank with a thunderous boom, as if someone had slammed a hammer into his skull.
It was just a single exchange of glances, yet sweat poured down like a river, beading on his forehead, sliding down his neck, his back drenched in moments.
"The strongest among the three legends of the Warring States."
Garp's gaze wasn't only on Rasa, but on Chiyo and Ebizo as well.
Even with Rasa sharing part of the pressure, the two siblings felt as though a mountain had suddenly been strapped to their backs.
Just meeting his eyes made the three strongest shinobi of Sunagakure break into ragged, uneven breaths.
"Lord Garp, I am Rasa, the Fourth Kazekage of Sunagakure."
At last, Rasa gritted his teeth and took a step forward, breaking the suffocating stalemate.
Facing the man standing astride the border of two nations, he understood, Garp was a mountain Sunagakure had to face.
A mountain he had to surpass.
Fail to cross this obstacle, and both Sunagakure and its Kazekage would continue to live in poor conditions.
"And then?"
Seeing Rasa step forward, Garp couldn't help but shake his head inwardly.
This generation of Five Kage…was the weakest he had ever seen.
By far.
Still, Rasa and Sunagakure did match each other rather well.
The weakest village with the weakest Kage.
"I wish to request that you allow us passage. Our forces are marching against Kumogakure, not Konoha.
And we have no intention of threatening the last remaining member of the Senju clan… So, I just ask you to not interfere in this matter."
The moment Rasa finished the sentence, he regretted it. But the words had already left his mouth, he could only continue through.
"Are you done speaking?"
Garp's expression didn't change at all. Only after Rasa finished did he respond slowly.
"Yes. I ask you to allow us the passage, so that there won't be a useless battle.."
Rasa's scalp tingled under Garp's gaze, but with Chiyo and Ebizo at his sides, and eighty percent of Sunagakure's elite waiting behind him, he forced himself to answer firmly.
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