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Minato tried again, flickering behind the Raikage, driving the kunai for the base of his neck. The cloak sparked, jolting his hand numb. No penetration. The Raikage barely even noticed, his fists hammering down on Hiruzen.
I'm useless, Minato thought, teeth grinding. His power wasn't enough. His precision wasn't enough. He couldn't finish. All he could do was keep darting, keep distracting, hoping to give Hiruzen the sliver of time he needed.
But the Raikage adapted. Every flicker became predictable. His eyes tracked Minato's patterns, his new stance letting him cover angles with terrifying efficiency. Each time Minato appeared, an elbow or a knee forced him away.
Minato froze just a heartbeat. And in that moment of distraction, Hiruzen paid the price.
--
The Raikage saw it... his instincts sharpened to predatory precision. He shifted, knee feinting high, elbow driving low. Hiruzen caught the knee with Enma, but the elbow smashed clean through his guard.
It hit his ribs like a hammer. Bone cracked audibly. The old Hokage gasped, staggering back, blood spraying from his lips.
"HIRUZEN-SAMA!" Minato cried, panic flooding his voice. He flickered forward without thinking, kunai raised.
But the Raikage was already there, pivoting into a roundhouse kick. It connected with Minato's chest before he could blink, the blow sending him crashing into the dirt, ribs rattling, breath gone.
Hiruzen coughed blood, forcing himself upright, staff trembling in his grip. His chest burned, each inhale a jagged knife. He'd saved Minato from the killing strike... taken it himself instead.
The Raikage stood over them, lightning dancing across his limbs, his new stance radiating death.
"This is what happens when you fight half-heartedly," he growled.
--
Minato clawed himself upright, gasping, vision blurred. He could barely hold his kunai. His mind screamed at him to move, to fight, to protect Hiruzen...but his body felt heavy, sluggish.
I'm failing him. I'm failing Kushina. I'm failing everyone.
Hiruzen's voice rasped beside him, low but steady despite the blood at his lips. "Don't… give in. Listen to me, Minato. Even when the wall seems unbreakable… there is always a way. Think. Use your mind."
But the words barely registered. The Raikage was already advancing again, each step booming like a drumbeat of doom. His fists and knees twitched, ready to unleash the art of eight limbs again.
Minato's hand shook around his kunai. He had no plan. No strength. He could only watch as the Hokage raised Enma for another clash, ribs broken, body faltering. Helplessness sank into his chest like lead.
--
Hiruzen's chest ached with every breath, ribs cracked from the Raikage's elbow. His arms shook from holding Enma, but his eyes burned with resolve. He turned to Minato, his voice grave but steady.
"Minato, leave. You are the future of Konoha. I will hold him here."
Minato's head whipped around, panic in his blue eyes. "Hokage-sama—"
Hiruzen cut him off with a raised hand. "I will use the Shiki Fūjin. With it, I can end this. You must live, Minato. You must lead."
The words hit like thunder. Minato hesitated, fists trembling, the weight of uselessness pressing on him harder than any wound. He wanted to argue, but deep down, he knew the truth. He had been nothing but a distraction here. The Raikage's defense was too overwhelming. His kunai were gone. His precision meant nothing against that cloak of lightning and his durability.
Tears burned his eyes as he bit his lip. "Forgive me…"
And then he vanished in a flash of yellow, retreating few kilometers away, out of reach. His heart twisted as he left the Professor behind, but he obeyed.
--
Hiruzen stood alone now, Enma reverting from staff form, growling low at his side.
"You're going to use that jutsu," Enma said, solemn.
"Yes," Hiruzen answered, weaving hand signs. Two shadow clones flickered into existence, their expressions grim, mirroring his own. All three had a unanimous seal on their stomachs, summoning the cursed seal marks of the Shiki Fūjin.
Enma snarled, his voice heavy with sorrow. "Do you understand what this means? Once you summon the Reaper, there's no return."
Hiruzen nodded, his eyes never leaving the silhouette of the Raikage. "I know. But if my life can stop him, then it is worth it. This is my moment. I shall protect konoha till my last breath. It is time for the next generation to take over. Minato will become strong with this burning desire."
--
At that moment on the other side, young Ay appeared at his father's side, skidding to a halt, a scroll clutched in his fist. His chest still heaved from the battle where he had butchered hundreds of Konoha shinobi, his aura fierce with bloodlust.
"Father," Ay said, holding out the scroll. "From the little one. He said the Hokage might try some final ditch attempt."
The Third Raikage tore the scroll open, scanning the lines with sharp eyes. Recognition flashed across his face. A grin followed, grim and satisfied.
"So that's their trump card," he rumbled. "The Shiki Fūjin."
Young Ay frowned. "What is it?"
"A sealing art that bypasses body and chakra alike. It devours the soul and seals. Even this lightning cloak would not protect me from it." The Raikage raised the scroll high for hiruzen to see and he was observing his expressions of hiruzen to verify authenticity of kaien's claims in the scroll as he can't rely on some random information in life and death battle. "But fortune smiles, Professor. Uzushio kept duplicates of their arts. And we looted them."
Hiruzen froze, his blood turning to ice. Seeing his trump card technique in the hands of raikage.
The Raikage smirked, his teeth glinting as if his theory had been proved. "You regret not saving them, don't you? Perhaps if Konoha had moved faster, the Uzumaki's treasures would still be theirs. Uzumaki would have not fallen"
Hiruzen's stomach twisted with guilt. The images of the fallen village flashed before his eyes, proud Uzumaki shinobi cut down, their scrolls looted. Had Konoha stood by too long? Had his hesitation damned them?
If only I had acted…
Now his one chance... the Shiki Fūjin... was spoiled before it even began. No... Not yet... He turned towards someone and his confidence blooming again.
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A/N: Guys... if you are liking the story. Do Review. if it reaches 10 reviews. I will release a bonus chapter. Thank you for Power stones. Thank you silent readers.
A/N: I will be ranking the characters for better understanding of power levels.
Hiruzen - 1000
3rd Raikage Ay - 1050 (1150 after basic muay thai)
Minato (No rasengan) - 900 (700 after losing kunai)
Killer Bee - 750
Young Ay - 700
Kushina - 700