The battlefield fell silent for a brief moment. The sound of the wind, carrying the scent of blood, gunpowder, and chakra, was the only music present. Naruto was kneeling, breathing heavily. Bee, still standing, staggered, his face marked by wounds and dust.
They both looked around... and saw.
Tsunade vs Mizukage.
Jiraiya vs Raikage.
Gaara vs Ōnoki.
The weight of the war was now in the hands of the veterans. The legends.
TSUNADE VS MIZUKAGE
Tsunade stood tall. The Byakugō seal burst on her forehead, releasing chakra in a spiral of healing force and raw power. Her eyes were serene but determined.
— You dare question my village's honor? — she said, firmly.
Mizukage stared back with veiled hatred.
— Honor doesn't cover the scars your village caused to the ninja world. Where were you when we needed balance?
— Fighting alone... as always. — Tsunade answered, and charged forward.
The impact of her punch struck the ground with seismic force, cracking the earth. Mizukage leapt and spat a wave of acid mist, melting the soil as it advanced.
Tsunade summoned Katsuyu in a snap. The slug split apart, shielding her from the mist, while the Senju moved like a living avalanche.
The fight turned into brute force versus corrosive vapor — Mizukage's surgical style against the unmatched resilience and power of the Fifth Hokage.
GAARA VS ŌNOKI
Elsewhere, Ōnoki floated with his arms crossed.
— Kazekage... you grew too fast. Still feel like you have something to prove?
— Not to you. — Gaara replied, calm as the desert. — But to the new generation.
Sand rose like living walls.
Ōnoki responded with Jinton. A beam of pure particle energy tore through the sky like a divine spear. Gaara moved the sand into a massive barrier, but the impact still shattered rocks and scattered solid chakra across the valley.
— If you fall back now… your friend will fall into disgrace. — Ōnoki said, preparing another disintegration cube.
— That's exactly why I won't fall back. — Gaara replied, and advanced with a storm of golden sand.
It was a clash of generations. The weight of experience against the force of renewal. Ōnoki soared like an elder fallen from the heavens. Gaara walked forward with sand swirling around him, forming spears, coffins, walls, and blades.
JIRAIYA VS RAIKAGE
And in the heart of destruction, Jiraiya and the Raikage faced each other like titans of thunder and toad.
Lightning pulsed around A, his muscles tense, his chakra cloak crackling with every heartbeat.
— You dare to stop me, Ero-Sennin?
— I trained the boy who almost killed your brother. — Jiraiya replied, eyes serious, no trace of humor. — And I'll die protecting what he's become.
Raikage lunged like thunder.
Sound vanished for a moment, so fast was the strike.
But Jiraiya dodged by inches, his hair expanding like iron spears to surround his opponent.
— Toad Style! Quick Paralysis Seal!
Raikage shattered the seal with sheer physical strength, sending Jiraiya flying, breaking rocks.
But the Sannin stood up, laughing.
— Old men like us… still got some fire left.
He formed a seal.
— Summoning: Sage Mode.
In a burst of smoke, Fukasaku and Shima appeared on Jiraiya's shoulders. Nature energy wrapped him like a forest god.
— Now we can really play.
— "Shinra Tensei!"
BOOOOOOM!!!
An invisible explosion, an absolute gravitational force devastated everything.
The ground was ripped apart, mountains cracked, the wind screamed as if alive. All the ninjas — even the Kages — were thrown like leaves in the wind. Screams cut through the chaos:
— What was that?! — My arm! — Damn it... I can't see anything in this dust!
When the smoke cleared... the world stopped.
Atop the hill, pierced by silent lightning and cloaked in a black mantle with blood-red clouds... Nagato appeared.
No longer marked by his past suffering. His reborn body seemed forged by gods. The Rinnegan glowing like cursed moons in the darkness.
Behind him, the shadowy silhouettes of the Akatsuki emerged, one by one, like phantoms risen from hell:
Deidara, hands half-closed, arrogant smile in place.
Kisame, Samehada vibrating with anticipation, eyes hungry for blood.
Konan, paper wings folded, standing firmly at Nagato's side.
Itachi, calm, half-lidded eyes, as if observing from beyond reality.
Hidan, laughing and murmuring prayers to Jashin, craving sacrifice.
Kakuzu, with black threads pulsing beneath his cloak.
Sasori, puppet body gleaming under the lightning.
Zetsu, black and white, arguing silently with himself.
They were all there. Except Tobi.
The field went quiet. As if nature itself feared what was unfolding.
— Akatsuki?! — shouted Mei, the Mizukage, eyes wide before Nagato's power.
The Raikage gritted his teeth, sparks escaping his body.
— What the hell is this presence? That chakra... it's crushing everything around it!
Tsunade gasped. — He... he seems to be the leader of Akatsuki.
Gaara remained silent, eyes fixed on Nagato, with sand swirling slowly around him, as if hesitant to obey.
Jiraiya took a step forward, completely stunned.
Fukasaku whispered:
— That's the boy...
Shima added:
— But now... he's a man who calls himself a god.
The wind stopped. The thunder ceased. Time... froze.
And Nagato spoke.
His voice did not echo like a man's. It was a decree. The sound of the end.
— So this is it... The great protectors of peace, all gathered. Killing each other like dogs. Using your greatest weapons against one another... all out of fear.
His eyes swept across the battlefield.
— This war is not about justice. Not about honor. It's about control. A rotten control you keep insisting on calling an "alliance." But all you've done... is create monsters like me.
Nagato stepped forward. The ground cracked beneath his feet as if the world rejected his existence.
— I died... And saw hell. I saw the cycle repeat. Villages arming. Kages lying. Children dying for flags they never chose.
— What is Konoha... What is Kumo... Or Suna... but different versions of the same disease?
— If you keep ruling, the next generation will only inherit blood. Blood, ruins, and broken promises.
The clouds above churned as if the sky itself mourned.
And the worst was yet to come.
Nagato raised his arm.
Six hooded structures emerged behind him, unmoving, lifeless... The Vessels of the Final Judgment.
Their bodies were ready to be filled.
1. Path of Will — Hashirama Senju.
2. Path of Power — Madara Uchiha.
3. Path of Strategy — Tobirama Senju.
4. Path of Time — Minato Namikaze.
5. Path of Wrath — Sakumo Hatake.
6. Path of Death — Shisui Uchiha.
The auras present made the ground vibrate.
Naruto stepped back instinctively. Tsunade was drenched in cold sweat. Jiraiya was petrified. The Raikage clenched his fists until his fingers cracked.
— That's why... I was reborn. Not to continue the sins of the past, but to judge this world.
— The Six Paths of Final Judgment... are ready. And each of them will bring an end to the legacy of war.
His eyes locked onto Jiraiya.
— Jiraiya-sensei. You believe you defend justice. But even you... will realize that fighting for a flag is not the same as fighting for humanity.
— Today, you will learn the true meaning of pain... Not as punishment... But as liberation.
He raised his hand.
— Let the Final Judgment begin!
Everyone leapt. The Six Paths took the lead, landing like gods upon the earth.
Lightning tore through the sky.
Everyone's eyes widened.
Deidara laughed. — He's serious this time...
Kisame spun Samehada. — The real apocalypse has arrived.
Konan closed her eyes.
— Nagato...
High above, he whispered:
— The plan moves forward. Nothing matters now, Konan. Not even that being can stop me anymore.
In the Sky of the Ninja World
The clouds were heavy.
The wind howled over the mountains and fields ravaged by war.
Above it all — like a harbinger from another world — Sung Jin-Woo cut through the skies riding his shadow dragon, Kaisel. The creature roared with a deep thunder, its black wings tearing the sky like blades from the abyss.
The hunter stared at the clouds. His eyes wandering.
The storm wasn't natural. The chakra now erupting from the earth seemed to scream for help and simultaneously threaten everything around it. It was familiar... and new.
He felt the presence.
Not of war.
But of Judgment.
Jin-Woo closed his eyes for a moment. His voice came out low... almost a whisper.
Like a prophecy.
— …Looks like the time has come.
Kaisel roared as if answering.