Did… I lose?
The Raikage stared up at the sky, bitterness flashing across his face.
In a life-and-death battle, the slightest error could flip heaven and earth.
"Father!"
"Third-sama!"
"Lord Raikage!"
The Cloud shinobi watching from afar felt their eyes split with fury.
The Raikage they believed could never lose—
Not only lost…
He was cut in half.
It happened too suddenly.
No one could understand how, in the span of a breath, someone who had been pressing the advantage—about to finish with a killing move—was suddenly reversed and executed.
They were too far away to see what truly happened on the battlefield.
But the bloody truth lay there regardless.
The Third Raikage had been bisected.
In that instant, the shock was so severe that Ei nearly passed out.
If B hadn't rushed forward to support his older brother, Ei might have slammed the back of his head into the ground.
"Kill him—KILL HIM!!!"
Ei recovered slightly, his face twisting into something feral.
Rage and hatred tangled together, warping his stare as he clenched a fist and smashed it into the ground, screaming like a man tearing his throat apart:
"No matter the cost—kill him! Don't let him take a single step out of Kumogakure!"
As he shouted, his other hand gripped B's arm hard.
His fingers went white, crushing bone until it creaked—
Yet B grit his teeth and endured without a sound.
"Big brother…"
Looking at the fury in Ei's eyes, B understood what he meant.
He nodded heavily.
"Don't worry, big brother. I won't let him walk out of Kumogakure alive."
Cloud shinobi charged in from every direction, sprinting toward the center.
Every face was carved with hatred, as if they wanted to tear the man who killed the Raikage into pieces.
The first to surge forward was, of course, the Eight-Tails' jinchūriki—
Already wrapped in a tailed-beast cloak, blood-red chakra flaring, four tails lashing the air with piercing booms.
"…I was careless."
The bisected Raikage, relying on terrifying vitality, forcibly held onto his last breath.
"I forgot you were an Uchiha."
Despite losing, he showed no regret.
Instead, he looked satisfied—almost exhilarated.
Ever since his battle with the rampaging Eight-Tails, it had been a long time since he'd experienced such a thrilling, evenly matched fight.
"Well done, Konoha shinobi."
The Raikage stared at Sogetsu as if he meant to carve that figure into his soul.
"You are the only one who has defeated me head-on."
"Leave your name."
Sogetsu was silent for a moment.
Then he gave it.
"Uchiha Sogetsu."
"Uchiha Sogetsu… hahahahaha!"
The Raikage tasted the name and laughed openly.
"Good!"
"Uchiha Sogetsu—since you defeated me, the new era will remember your name!"
As the Cloud shinobi closed in, Sogetsu turned away and left behind a strange farewell:
"Goodbye, Third Raikage."
Goodbye?
The Raikage couldn't help but laugh.
There was no "goodbye" for him. He knew his own wounds—he wouldn't live.
Watching that retreating back, his vision blurred.
Noise swelled around him, and vaguely he could hear Ei shouting desperately.
"Don't cry, Ei."
Clinging to the last thread of life, the Raikage spoke toward the blurred outline.
"Kumogakure… will be yours from now on."
Ei knelt in the blood, his face soaked with tears, roaring in agony—
But the Raikage could no longer hear him.
His eyes slowly closed.
After he spoke his final words, his breath severed completely.
"From today onward…"
"You are… the Fourth Raikage."
"No!!!"
Ei… no.
From this moment on, he would be called A.
In front of the Third Raikage's death, Ei—kneeling in the blood—formally inherited the name A, becoming Kumogakure's Fourth Raikage!
And the very first order issued by the Fourth Raikage was simple:
At any cost—kill that Uchiha.
Cradling the Third Raikage's remains, A's face streaked with mud and tears, he seemed to mature in an instant.
But in those crazed eyes, an unquenchable flame burned—hatred so fierce it could warp the will itself.
He stepped through the ruins, staring at the distant figure being hunted by Cloud shinobi, and spoke in a hoarse voice packed with murderous intent:
"In the name of the Fourth Raikage…"
"I declare war on Konoha."
At that exact moment—
Far away in Konoha, Sarutobi Hiruzen shivered for no reason.
Beside him lay a "beauty" under a thin sheet—curves outlined in full.
As if sensing his movement, the "beauty" half-opened their eyes and looked at him lazily.
"What is it, Hiruzen?"
"No… nothing. Maybe I caught a chill."
Hiruzen rubbed his brow, unsettled. He couldn't find the source of the unease no matter how he thought.
"By the way, Danzo—how are the Hidden Mist and Hidden Stone moving lately?"
The "beauty" shot him a coquettish glare, tossing their hair with exaggerated charm.
"The Mist is gathering troops along the border. As for Stone, not sure— that old Tsuchikage is too slippery. Root can't penetrate. But they're probably gathering too."
"Not the Mist… and not Stone…"
Hiruzen's thoughts turned—and suddenly one person flashed through his mind.
His eyes widened.
He slapped the "beauty's" backside without thinking.
Smack—
The sheet rippled.
Danzo instantly flung a hand back and slapped him across the face.
"What the hell is wrong with you?! Are you sick?!"
Hiruzen—now wearing a fresh red handprint—didn't even explain. He hurriedly dressed and started walking out.
"This is bad. Something definitely happened in Kumogakure."
"That Uchiha Sogetsu brat even asked me before leaving…"
"Don't tell me he made things worse again?!"
"Tch. Keep dreaming."
Danzo's face twisted the moment that name came up, dripping with sarcasm.
"Kumogakure isn't the Mist. They've got two jinchūriki, and the Third Raikage."
"You couldn't necessarily beat him yourself, let alone that kid."
"What trouble could he possibly cause?"
…When you put it like that, it did sound right.
Hiruzen's frantic movements slowed. He finally let out a breath.
"Right. That's the Third Raikage—someone who can suppress a tailed beast."
"Nothing could happen to him."
Impossible. Absolutely impossible!
It must be that he'd been spending too much time "stuck" with Danzo lately…
Sigh. Getting old really is… exhausting.
Hiruzen silently decided he'd visit the Nara clan tomorrow.
He'd heard they were good at… medicinal preparations.
"Oh, right."
Danzo—still on the bed—suddenly spoke.
"I heard Orochimaru's research on Wood Release has made major progress."
"Did he tell you?"
Hiruzen froze, then his eyes darkened.
"Where did you hear that?"
"Heh. I have a spy among his people."
Danzo smiled mysteriously, voice playful.
"And according to the report… Orochimaru seems to be growing dissatisfied with you."
"I'll talk to him."
Hiruzen clearly didn't want to dwell on it. He threw on his robe and left the room.
Watching the Hokage go, Danzo propped themselves up on one arm.
The sheet slid down, revealing "spring scenery" with dramatic flair.
Their red lips curved into a strange smile.
"Hiruzen… I'll prove it to you."
"Who is truly fit…"
"…to become the next Hokage."
Feels like my brain's been scooped out…
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