I founded the "Bragging Cult" in Naruto.

Chapter 625 Sometimes, a show of bravado can make people think you have powerful connections.

"I never expected you to be so impatient. Your actions have only confirmed the rumors that you are colluding with ninjas from other villages."

In the desert, Yekura looked at Rasa, whose face was ashen, with a triumphant smile. In the past half month, the ninja world had been in turmoil.

It all started when Sakamoto Tatsuma, who had disappeared for nearly a year, reappeared in the ninja world. At a time when other ninja villages suspected that something had happened to Sakamoto Tatsuma, Tatsuma's return forced them to stop their preparations.

With the return of Tatsuma's news, a large number of rumors and even evidence unfavorable to Rasa also spread continuously in the Land of Wind. The origin of these rumors is unknown, but they spread at an extremely fast speed.

There were already many rumors and clues pointing to Rasa colluding with other ninja villages, and the recent events seem more like the reaction of a dam storing water and then bursting it to release floodwater.

Rasa, who was already facing some controversy, has recently been in a terrible predicament, with his accumulated reputation being eroded. Even the Daimyo of the Land of Wind has recently become involved.

In an effort to win over this powerful figure who withdrew funding at the slightest disagreement, the village's higher-ups showed considerable favoritism towards another candidate, Yecang.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, Yekura will win the upcoming election for the Fourth Kazekage. Even though she may not be as strong or influential on the battlefield as Rasa and Karura, she is clearly more suitable to be the Kazekage.

Yekura had a premonition that the recent revelations were all the work of Tatsuma, because she had known for a long time that Tatsuma possessed a large amount of evidence.

All other evidence had been thoroughly cleaned up by Rasa, so the only one who could still produce so much "evidence" of Rasa's crimes was Tatsuma.

Looking at Yekura and Shukaku, who was crawling on the ground and had turned into a cloud of yellow sand, Rasa sneered, "I find it hard to believe that you actually came to battle alone with Shukaku. Where is Shinpachi?"

Upon hearing this name, Yekura narrowed his eyes, while Rasa revealed a sickly smile and said, "There is no such thing as Shinpachi in this world, is there? It's just that there is a person named Sakamoto Tatsuma who stole the secret of Magnet Release."

Yekura's smile had vanished, but she wasn't too flustered. Unlike Rasa's actions, Sakamoto Tatsuma was more adept at infiltration.

In fact, Yekura had considered helping Tatsuma conceal his identity as "Shinpachi-san," but it was completely unnecessary because Shinpachi's file was flawless, from his "birthplace" to the places he had traveled throughout his life.

Even in the education department of the Daimyo Prefecture, this person's name is recorded in the files of in-service teachers. He is just a teacher from the Land of Wind who has concealed his Magnet Release ability.

"It seems I guessed right. To be honest, halfway through the investigation, even I was in a daze, questioning whether it was just my own delusion. But now it seems that you and I are not so different."

No. You are far more disgusting than I am. I merely cooperate with outsiders who are beneficial to Sunagakure, while you beg for the enemy's help.

The situation suddenly shifted. Rasa now wore a mocking smile, while Yekura's face darkened. It wasn't that Rasa had discovered Tatsuma's identity, but rather, that she had begged? When had she ever begged that bastard?!

That bastard, even if she begged, he probably wouldn't give her any response!

Rasa didn't know what Yekura was thinking, and simply said, "Your confidence in accepting the challenge also comes from Sakamoto Tatsuma, right? He'll come to your aid? It's alright. Even if I die, I'll make sure the entire Land of Wind knows the truth."

"Ha~"

Yekura suddenly laughed. What did Rasa take her for? Rasa was wrong. Sakamoto Tatsuma wasn't the reason she came to challenge him; "courage" would be a more accurate description.

Rasa didn't understand her, but she understood Rasa. Yecang knew that if she didn't fight back and instead hid behind the village's leaders, she would only make Rasa the enemy of the entire village.

Rather than letting Rasa harm the village in the future, it's better to resolve the whole matter today. If she wins, then she will be the Kazekage without a doubt, a Kazekage who can protect this village amidst the sandstorm.

If she fails, then even if she becomes Kazekage by avoiding battle, she will only be an unqualified Kazekage.

As for Sakamoto Tatsuma, that guy is unlikely to come, because at this point, who wins or loses has little impact on him or Konoha.

He would only sit idly by and watch the infighting in Sunagakure, offering a hypocritical blessing after the outcome was revealed.

"Let's wait and see if you can actually catch him."

Yekura's lips curled up, and the air, already scorching hot from the blazing sun, became even more distorted. Rasa even felt a stinging sensation on her skin, as if she were placing her hand on a kettle that was being heated.

"Swoosh~"

Using the Instantaneous Movement Technique, Yekura transformed into an arrow and rushed towards Rasa. Rasa formed hand seals, causing the ground to tremble and countless gold dust to rise and surge towards Yekura.

"Magnetic Escape! Placer Gold!"

"Scorching Release! Ministerial Fire!"

Yekura also formed hand seals, and her Blazing Release chakra flowed across her body, transforming into a fiery cloak. She did not change direction, but instead plunged headlong into the surging waves of gold dust.

Before the gold dust could even touch Yekura's body, it was melted by the extreme heat. Yekura quickly walked to Rasa's side without stopping, condensed a Blazing Release fireball in her hand, and hurled it at Rasa.

"Scorching Release! Double Strike!"

Despite being a fireball, the ripples it created were as still as water. Rasa's pupils contracted slightly; if he were to be touched by this fireball, the flames of the Scorching Release technique would likely penetrate his body.

Baked on the outside and steamed on the inside, it truly lives up to its name as a killer combination.

"Magnetic Escape! Placer Gold Treasure Cover!"

Luo Sha retreated continuously, while simultaneously summoning a large amount of gold dust above the two of them, which then condensed into the shape of a hat and fell down on Ye Cang.

Yecang only glanced up before changing direction and instantly leaving. The gold dust was too thick; if she were enveloped by it, she would have to expend a lot of chakra to break through, which wasn't worth it.

With the distance increased, Rasa appeared more composed. Even though Pakura's Scorching Release could easily melt the gold dust, the range that Pakura could control was only so large, and compared to the gold dust waves that resembled ocean waves, it was nothing.

Scorch Release is powerful, but as the user, Pakura couldn't fully unleash its potential because of her chakra reserves.

Chakra quantity is not Pakura's strength. At least compared to Rasa, Pakura's chakra is not enough. Even if Rasa had to choose this "wasteful" chakra-based fighting style when facing Pakura's Scorching Release, he was still confident of victory.

As the battle progressed, Yekura's expression grew increasingly solemn. This was the reason why she had never considered using force to decide the fate of the Fourth Kazekage with Rasa.

Because in terms of strength, she is not at an advantage, and can even be said to be at a disadvantage. This is only when facing Rasa alone. If it were Rasa and Karura, a husband and wife team, Yokura would not even have a chance of winning.

The reason why Luo Sha chose to come alone today may be that he was prepared for defeat.

Of course, it wasn't Yoruichi who lost, but rather Sakamoto Tatsuma, right? As long as Karura doesn't show up, even if Rasa dies in battle, Yoruichi won't be able to pursue Karura and their child.

At this moment, Rasa was probably waiting for her to call for backup, but unfortunately, Sakamoto Tatsuma wouldn't be her backup, which disappointed Rasa. In fact, she was the one who was all bark and no bite.

"Shukaku!"

Although unable to get close to Rasa, under Yekura's guidance and pressure, Rasa still managed to set foot on Shukaku.

As Yekura called out, the desert surged instantly, with countless quicksand imbued with sealing techniques rushing towards Rasa like a tornado.

"They actually convinced Shukaku?"

Rasa wasn't surprised, since Shukaku hadn't deliberately hidden itself, and of course, it couldn't hide itself anyway. But Rasa hadn't expected Shukaku to actually cooperate like this.

Standing in the eye of the storm, Rasa was not worried. Although Magnet Release and Sand Manipulation Ninjutsu originated from Shukaku, through the research of human ninjas, they have surpassed Shukaku, their "teacher," in some aspects.

"Magnetic Escape! Alluvial Gold Attack!"

Rasa manipulated a large amount of gold dust, causing it to swirl in the opposite direction of the tornado. Initially, the gold dust was drawn into the tornado, but the smile on Rasa's face became more and more obvious.

As the gold dust was drawn into the tornado, the speed of the tornado visibly slowed down, as gold dust has a much higher density than yellow sand.

As the tornado slowed down, the sand-blown gold tornado gradually took shape, canceling out the yellow sand tornado, and even suddenly exploded.

"Scorching Escape! Steam-Kill!"

Taking advantage of this time, Yekura got close enough to Rasa and fired several Scorching Release fireballs at him. Rasa quickly raised his hand to control the sand gold to intercept them, but the sand gold walls were melted through by the fireballs.

"Bang bang~"

The fireball pierced through Rasa's body, leaving several huge holes, and his skin quickly lost its color. However, Yekura did not let her guard down. Rasa was not that weak, and Karura could not completely disregard Rasa.

"Magnetic Escape! Sand Gold Clone!"

In the next instant, Rasa's body instantly shattered, turning into gold dust scattered all over the ground, while the sand beneath Yekura's feet began to tremble rapidly.

Yekura dodged with her Body Flicker Technique, and Sand Gold barely broke through the ground. Yekura landed some distance away, half-squatting on the ground with one hand on the sand, and said, "Shukaku, thank you."

She knew that if it weren't for Shukaku, the speed of the gold dust wouldn't be so slow. Perhaps she could have dodged it, but she might not have been able to avoid getting hurt, or at least she would have been in a much worse state.

But Shukaku did not respond, and even the yellow sand on the ground seemed to converge in one direction.

Rasa appeared, and Yekura saw a black tea cauldron in his hand.

"Sealed ninja tools?!"

Quickly determining the purpose of the black tea cauldron, Yekura rushed towards Rasa without hesitation. Shukaku was her only external means of power, and she couldn't afford to lose it.

Yekura grabbed the black tea pot, intending to snatch it from Rasa's hand, but Rasa seemed prepared, and Yekura and Rasa were locked in a stalemate.

"Scorching Release! Ministerial Fire!"

Yekura tried to force Rasa back with her Scorching Release technique, but Rasa was prepared. Several gold dust spears shot towards Yekura, causing Yekura's pupils to dilate.

"Pfft pfft pfft~"

The gold-plated spear pierced through Pakura's body, but Pakura did not retreat; instead, she increased her chakra output.

"Hiss~"

The scorching hot tea kettle burned Rasa, forcing him to release his grip. Looking at Yokura, who had collapsed to the ground clutching the kettle, he rubbed his swollen, blistered fingers and said:

"What, hasn't he shown up yet? With injuries like this, no one but him can save you."

Looking at the red-hot tea cauldron and the tormenting Shukaku inside, Yekura gritted her teeth, her scorching flames reigniting, and pressed the molten, deformed tea cauldron directly into her own stomach.

"Scorching escape! The Xun trigram, representing fire, is used to cook food in a cauldron!"

"Yakura! You..."

(End of this chapter)