My Journey as Fourth Kazekage

Over an hour later.

Baki, who had been waiting at the cliff base, saw Rasa appear in front of him in an instant.

Before he could speak, Rasa's voice sounded cold.

"From today onwards, Bunpuku and Shukaku will be under your care. Find a suitable place for him, ensure he is well cared for, and do not let anyone approach him."

Baki immediately nodded in agreement and summoned the Anbu to take action.

Rasa then waved his hand, and countless golden sands appeared beneath his feet.

About an hour ago, Rasa's figure had been lifted into the sky through the surge of Gold Dust like a spring. This time, however, the Gold Dust directly gathered beneath Rasa's feet, forming a golden sand cloud that carried his body and flew into the air.

It should be noted that, prior to this, Rasa could not do this. In the manga, Gaara could only control sand to this extent during the Fourth Great Ninja War, but at that time, Gaara only controlled sand. In contrast, Rasa could now control Gold Dust and Sand.

Among the generations of Kazekage, the Third Kazekage was called the strongest because his magnetic release controlled not just sand but iron sand.

Iron sand has six times the density of regular sand.

Density represents mass, mass represents weight, and weight translates into destructive and defensive power.

Rasa's magnetic release is even more abnormal because, based on iron sand, he advanced his control to Gold Dust, which has twice the density of iron sand.

This means stronger defensive and destructive power. However, this also limits Rasa's further control over the Gold Dust. That's because the chakra and energy required to control it increase exponentially.

As a result, Rasa's control over Gold Dust is not as flexible as the Third Kazekage's or Gaara's. His magnetic release excels in wide-range AOE effects rather than single-target destruction.

However, that was in the past.

One could only say that this attempt brought Rasa countless surprises.

After absorbing Shukaku's chakra through the "Kama Seal," he immediately felt changes in his body.

The change in the magnetic release was just one aspect. He was also eager to feel the power he had just gained. However, the village was not a suitable place for experimentation.

Thinking of this, his figure quickly ascended with the help of the Gold Dust cloud.

As a leader of this level, Rasa's fine control over his body allowed him to quickly master the ability to fly with the help of the Gold Dust cloud.

As everything beneath him grew smaller, Rasa experienced, for the first time, just how magnificent the village he now controlled truly was.

Looking out, Sunagakure was much larger than Rasa had imagined. In the vast canyon, various stone buildings with a distinctive Sunagakure style and earthy yellow color stood densely, so packed that Rasa was reminded of the steel-and-concrete cities from his past life.

In other words, in terms of population, Sunagakure was not weaker than the other hidden villages; it just lacked resources and an environment.

With this in mind, Rasa now had a rough idea of the village he would need to manage in the future.

However, developing the village was a matter for later; for now, improving his strength was the most important.

With this thought, he flew directly towards the desert at the edge of Sunagakure.

---

Demon Desert!

This terrifying name knows the desert surrounding Sunagakure.

From the name alone, one can tell how formidable this desert is. This is also why, even in the plot, characters like Sasori and Deidara did not choose to raid Sunagakure by attacking it from the desert's periphery.

This force of nature cannot be opposed by human strength.

Though ninjas possess strength far greater than ordinary humans, in the face of a deathly, boundless desert, even they must hesitate.

The Demon Desert is only a small part of the entire Land of Wind's desert.

According to Rasa's memory, over 80% of the land of Wind is barren desert, which helps explain why the Wind Daimyo was so invested in this war. Who wouldn't be tempted by the lush, fertile lands of the Land of Fire?

Fortunately, although this vast desert restricts Sunagakure's outward expansion, it also provides a natural protective barrier, sparing Sunagakure the trouble of stationing guards around the village.

Anyway, Rasa quickly used the Gold Dust cloud to reach the massive desert outside the village.

The scorching sunlight and the howling sandstorm made Rasa once again experience the harsh environment of Sunagakure.

Although Rasa did not absorb too much of Shukaku's chakra due to concerns for Bunpuku's life and the risk of Shukaku escaping, a tailed beast is still a tailed beast. Even just a small amount of chakra that leaked out, absorbed through the "Kama Seal," brought Rasa enough surprises.

First, Rasa's magnetic release became stronger.

As a representative of the pinnacle of the ninja world, as a Kage, Rasa gained a rough understanding of the chakra in this world through his memories. He also understood that the process of refining chakra and releasing it as ninjutsu is quite complicated.

In simple terms, the practitioner first needs to mix the physical and mental energy produced by the body's 130 trillion cells, which is the chakra's embryonic form. However, at this point, chakra is just raw energy and lacks any specific attribute.

To convert chakra into ninjutsu, it must change from being attribute-less to having one of the known seven basic attributes: Yin, Yang, Fire, Wind, Lightning, Earth, and Water.

This is why, in the world of ninjas, many people can refine chakra but cannot use ninjutsu.

Take the famous taijutsu master, Rock Lee, for example.

He simply cannot convert the chakra from attribute-less to attribute chakra, which is required to release ninjutsu. This doesn't mean he lacks chakra in his body; otherwise, how could he train in the Eight Gates?

Most people who become ninjas naturally have the ability to convert attribute-less chakra into the corresponding chakra type. The talent to become a ninja, as tested by chakra paper, refers to this ability.

For example, Rasa was naturally born with three types of chakra: Wind, Earth, and Water.

By the time one reaches the jōnin level, after mastering chakra nature transformation, most jōnin can control several chakra attributes.

However, there is still a difference between innate and acquired abilities.

The difference lies in the fact that an innate chakra attribute automatically converts attribute-less chakra into the corresponding attribute, a process that does not require any extra effort from the practitioner. In contrast, someone who learns this ability later must actively convert attribute-less chakra into the required chakra during use. This process is known as chakra nature transformation.

The time and energy wasted in this process, although it can be minimized through diligent training, still cannot compare to ninjas who are born with multiple chakra attributes.

This is also why many jōnin or Kage-level experts, despite possessing multiple attributes, still only use ninjutsu based on the chakra attribute they are most comfortable with.

This indirectly demonstrates the terrifying talent of the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Another example of this difference can be seen in the case of bloodline limits and secret techniques.