Chapter 78
SHIKAKU NARA
Shikaku had been deeply involved when Minato had begun to plan on how to face Madara, and had been there when the blonde man had proposed Izuna's name as his successor, though at that time they had not known that the specter of the Uchiha clan would go on to kill the top brass of their village as well.
Shikaku, despite being a witness to the young Uchiha's prowess, had argued against it for he had thought the boy too young and unprepared.
He had little doubt that Izuna would one day don the hat and hold the mantle of Kage, but in his mind, he was still too young. But the Hokage had remained resolute, and had offered him a few words.
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"If I were to die, then there is no better shinobi to lead this village than Izuna-kun. You have no idea about the true prowess of that boy, and I will just say this," and he looked him dead in the eye as he continued.
"If Izuna ever became a Hokage, then you will begin to pity your enemies."
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And now he understood those words, as he realised just how ruthless a monster their new Hokage was. Shikaku was amongst the few people privy to Konoha's most secret project, 'The War Room', and so he had witnessed it first hand as an entire platoon of Iwa's shinobi was swallowed up by their new Kage as he brought Iwa to its knees with a single stroke.
This was war, but to see thousands of shinobi die at the hands of a single shinobi was still not a normal feat.
"It is just as Minato said," Inoichi whispered from the side as they saw all traces of Iwa's force vanish.
"Izuna is just as powerful and ruthless as him. It is as if I am staring at Minato's shadow," and in a way, Izuna was his shadow, for he had been their Kage's right-hand man even though he did not know that.
"I don't think Iwa can recover from this," he whispered, for these losses were not just crippling, they were decimating, and if Izuna's gamble with the Raikage paid off, then this war would be over before it had even begun.
And suddenly, the space behind him shifted, and four people appeared on the giant sealing formula inscribed into the ground, as the Hokage guard platoon appeared with their young Kage standing amidst them.
And the young Uchiha clan member looked rather unaffected for a man who just killed a kage and slaughtered thousands.
"I thought you were supposed to return after defeating the Tsuchikage," he whispered, as the young kage stepped forward, and while before they had looked to him with hope and desperation, now the eyes in the room looked at their new kage with fear and awe.
"I sensed a second platoon and decided to help out the shinobi," and he wanted to scoff, but he did not, for the power emanating from their new Kage was enough to turn water into ice.
"Help out," Inoichi dared to question, for that was not helping out.
The man had wiped out the entire force almost single-handedly.
"Yeah," he whispered stepping in front of the grand map once more as he eyed the battlefield.
"What is the update from the Northern side?" and that was a good question.
"We know that the forces have clashed, but the rest remains a mystery," and the young Kage nodded.
"I have no doubt that Duy will win, but Kumo will come later. Move the reserve unit to the Southern side, and have them back Choza and Konan," and he moved the pieces on the board.
"For what?" he questioned, though he hardly had an agreement.
"To raze Iwa to the ground," and while in war, they had every right to do such a thing, but it was conventional to offer mercy, especially if a Village's kage had been killed.
"With Ohnoki dead, it is very likely that the Earth Daimyo will sue for peace," and the daimyo were ever fond of peace treaties, but war was a military matter, and it was the Hokage who had the final say.
"There will be no peace," the Hokage answered as he turned away from him and walked towards the door.
"Iwa chose to start this war on their terms. Now we will end it on ours...."
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RASA—The Fourth Kazekage
Rasa stood by the window and stared at the calm, serene village before him as he tried to justify his actions through various means. The betrayal of Konoha was simple to explain, for it was obvious to anyone that Konoha had ballooned up into a behemoth that had to be stopped.
It was his other decision that haunted him, for he was the Kazekage, and as the Kazekage, his first duty was to his village, but in killing Pakura, he had done injustice to that duty.
For all her faults, Pakura was one of Suna's most valuable shinobi, being an S-ranked kunoichi. She was also a symbol of power, strength, and inspiration, and he had condemned her to a death reserved for the most vile of shinobi.
"Was it truly necessary?" questioned one of the only handful of women ever to get an S-ranked bounty.
Old Lady Chiyo held a rather soft corner for the female kunoichi, and he did not dare turn to face her lest she read the inner turmoil eating away at him.
"Yes," he answered still facing the village.
"Pakura's sympathies for Konoha could have caused a rift within the village," and that was how he justified his actions both to himself and his council, but there were many who saw through the lies and the justification.
"Huh," the older woman scoffed, as she saw her eyes narrow in the glass.
"Was it the village she threatened or you?" and he felt a chill run down his spine, fearing for a second that the old woman might attack him in that moment.
However, the attack never materialized, and neither did the admonition, as he continued to argue against the explanation.
"Why would I ever feel threatened by a weaker shinobi?" and the older woman smiled.
"Weaker, huh?" she rubbed her chin.
"Maybe," she added.
"But, she was the one whom they called the Hero of Suna. Not you," and that had irked him for a long time.
"She was their hero. Their inspiration. The one they turned to," and even without looking into his eyes, the older woman had spoken the truth.
Rasa was the Kazekage. He had devoted his life to this village, sacrificed many things, including his own family, and yet the people here remained ungrateful. They looked to her when they should have been looking towards him.
Though oblivious to the fact, Pakura was becoming a threat to him, and he could feel her breathing down his neck, eyeing an opportunity to usurp him, and this reorienting of Suna's alliance could have given her just the excuse.
"And that made you jealous," and the old woman had seen through him, but he would never admit his faults.
"You dare accuse me of jealousy," he questioned, raging at the woman as he turned to face her finally.
"No," she said, shaking her head.
"I do not accuse of jealousy," and he should have guessed that, for as much as she may like the girl, she was old and frail and no longer the shinobi that she once was.
"I had thought as much..."
"I accuse you of both treason and jealousy!" Rasa stilled at her words, as the woman looked him in the eye and finished.
"Pray that Pakura does not survive, for if she does, your reign as Kazekage will be over," and he scoffed, for he was no fool.
Pakura was strong, but strength became meaningless in front of surprise and betrayal. She would not return from that valley alive.
"Do not worry, Pakura should be long dead..." but before he could finish, there was a knock on his door, much to his consternation, for he had asked not to be disturbed.
"Who is it!" he screamed in rage as Baki, his jounin commander, rushed into the room, face pale, as he felt a cold knife twist in his heart.
"It's Pakura-sama!" he began, as Rasa felt the world still.
"She has returned to the village. There are rumors that Iwa sent an entire platoon to kill her but she was rescued by a team from Konoha..."
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And so the world turned, as Rasa found himself face to face with the very woman she had tried to kill. And he tried to think of just who had betrayed him to Konoha, for it had been a team from their village that had saved her.
"I must congratulat..."
"Do not say another word!" and only the two of them now stood in his office as the kunoichi looked down at him with a hateful glare.
"You dare speak to your kage..."
"You are not my kage!" she retorted, as her chakra roared at her command, balls of scorching heat appeared at her back as Rasa raised a brow.
"Neither are you Suna's kage," and with that, she made a declaration.
"Rasa of the Golden Sand! I hereby relieve you of your duties as Kazekage on the suspicion of treason and treachery!"
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Along the Northern front, Orochimaru watched as the strange taijutsu master clashed with the Raikage, and though he had never even heard the name of this Mighty Duy, the man was showing himself to be an equal of the Fourth Raikage.
He used no ninjutsu or genjutsu. All he used was taijutsu, and yet despite that, the Fourth Raikage found himself hampered as Orochimaru whittled away at his forces.
"THAT IS ENOUGH!" the unruly Ay of Kumo roared as Lightning burst forth from his entire being, spreading and cackling all around him.
"I have had enough of you," but despite his prowess, it seemed like the Fourth Raikage had run out of patience.
"It's time to put an end to this!" he roared, and even Orochimaru began to sweat as he sensed the chakra oozing from the man, for this was the successor of the Third Raikage, the man who could face the Hachibi all by himself.
And the fourth showed the might of this heritage, as his chakra was equal to that of a bijuu in his current state.
"Duy!" he called out in concern as he saw the man huffing as he stood there with blue chakra emanating from him.
"To think that a day would come when I would be facing a kage," he heard the man whisper, as Orochimaru landed beside him.
"Do you need any help?" he offered but the man shook his head.
"No," the thick-browed man answered, much to his surprise.
"For years now, I have been nothing but a disgrace to my son. Now I have an opportunity to cement my name in history and become an example for my boy, and I shall do that by killing the Raikage," and the man heard those words.
"You think you can defeat me! You may be strong, but your attacks cannot tear through my Lightning Armor!" the giant of a man raged, as his chakra thundered across the air.
"I know, that is why I must put my life on the line," and suddenly the air shifted around him, as Orochimaru felt the air shift as the black haired man screamed in agony, as the ground was torn apart under his feet.
"EIGHT INNER GATE FORMATION!" and finally the erratic flow of his chakra began to make sense as Orochimaru's eyes widened in realization.
"It cannot be...."
"Gate of Death! OPEN!"
BOOOOOM!
And the blue vapor from earlier turned into the red vapor of blood, as space and time began to shift around the man as he lowered himself and got into a stance.
"Night..." and in a blink, he was in front of the Raikage, his chakra morphing into a giant dragon behind him as he aimed a kick at the man.
"...DUY!"
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