"You know, that's not something I like to hear.
From beginning to end, I only mentioned the shame of Kumogakure once. Other than that, I don't recall saying a single extra word, do I?"
Startled awake from his memories by A's roar, Garp first shrugged helplessly. Then, in the next instant, his tone turned icy cold.
"And even if I did mention it, so what?
Back then, your First Raikage knelt before me, begging me to let the matter go and not pursue Kumogakure while it was still being established. That is an ironclad fact.
Since you dared to do it and dared to kneel, then don't be afraid of people talking about it.
Snarling your teeth and baring your fangs in front of me, trying to lecture me?"
As Garp's voice grew colder, everyone immediately sensed that the temperature of the forest air around Konoha was plummeting at an astonishing speed.
It was supposed to be springlike all year round here, warm and pleasant.
Yet now, even powerhouses like the Third Hokage, the Legendary Sannin of Konoha, and the Yellow Flash could clearly feel a bone-chilling cold creeping across their skin.
"..."
The Fourth Raikage, who bore the brunt of it, staggered back several steps uncontrollably, the fury in his heart instantly extinguished.
"You'd better sort out cause and effect clearly. It's not that I want your life, it's that you must beg me to take your life.
And don't think that just because you're young you can shout at me without manners.
Back then, I could allow Kumogakure to be established. Today, I can just as easily wipe Kumogakure off the face of the world."
Garp's gaze was deep and unfathomable, like a boundless ocean beneath the midday sun, making the Third Raikage and A feel ice-cold to the tips of their limbs.
"..."
The Fourth Raikage's body trembled. The anger that had once filled his face was replaced entirely by shock and regret.
Once the rage faded, clarity returned instantly, and a painfully clear realization formed in his mind.
Indeed, it wasn't Iron Fist who wanted his life. It was he who had to beg Iron Fist to take it.
Just like back then, when the First Raikage personally bound the designated Second Raikage and brought him before Iron Fist, kneeling as he begged Garp to take the life of his own younger brother.
"Lord Garp…"
The Third Raikage's expression changed drastically.
Forcing down the immense humiliation of having Kumogakure's shame exposed in public, he tried to speak on A's behalf.
But the moment he opened his mouth, Garp interrupted him.
"For the sake of the fact that you entered the Land of Fire this time to stop this brat, I won't hold it against you.
Get lost. I have no interest in playing around with you today.
Of course, if you wish, you can accompany this brat and go meet the First Raikage together."
After saying that, Garp turned and walked away.
"Father, you should leave. There's no need to waste any more time on an irredeemable, unfilial son like me."
A pursed his lips, forcibly pulling a bitter smile onto his face.
Then, without giving the Third Raikage any chance to argue, he raised his hand and chopped straight toward his own heart.
Wrapped in Lightning Release chakra, A's fingers became as sharp as blades, easily slicing through the muscles of his chest and stabbing straight toward his heart.
Garp's footsteps paused ever so slightly. Every ninja present suddenly felt a tightness in their chest, as if something heavy were pressing down on them.
"Father!"
A looked up and saw the Third Raikage gripping his wrist tightly.
"Even if you truly are an irredeemable idiot of a son, I simply cannot stand by and watch you kill yourself without reacting.
Perhaps my love for the village will never compare to that of the First Raikage after all."
The Third Raikage clenched A's wrist firmly, preventing his fingers from moving any further.
"But Kumogakure will… "
"Then let it be destroyed!
Counting you and me, the Raikage of Kumogakure have knelt three times already. We've knelt for far too long, long enough. It's time to stand up!
Just as you said earlier, a Raikage burdened with such humiliation is better off not being one at all.
A ninja village that can only cling to survival while carrying endless shame might as well be destroyed.
The shame of the Raikage, once is more than enough. Kumogakure cannot endure a second humiliation like this."
The Third Raikage cut A off directly. Then he turned and fixed his gaze on Garp, as if having thrown everything away, enunciating each word with grim determination:
"Today, no matter what, I will take A and leave here alive.
You either let me take A away, and from this day on, our father and son, and the Cloud ninjas, will never set foot in the Land of Fire again, or Kumogakure will fight you to the death.
Don't doubt my resolve. If A dies, no matter how long the war lasts, even if Kumogakure is reduced to a single genin, I will still fight you in a battle to the death."
As he spoke in that resolute tone, he raised his knee and rose from kneeling to standing.
"I can take that as… you declaring war on me, can't I?"
Garp said without even turning his head.
His voice was calm, devoid of the slightest hint of anger, yet it was precisely that calm, like an ancient, frigid well, that made it deeply unsettling.
"Not just you. To be precise, Konoha as well. The humiliation the First endured here back then, I will reclaim it all in one go. If it can't be reclaimed, then we'll part ways completely."
The Third Raikage's gaze swept across Hiruzen and the others.
"Good. A war of village annihilation, I accept it."
The moment Garp's voice reached the Third Raikage's ears, his figure vanished from where he stood.
"So fast!"
The Third Raikage's pupils shrank. Before he could fully react, a single finger was already pressed against his forehead.
In the next instant, an overwhelming surge of Armament Haki burst forth from Garp's fingertip.
The Lightning Release Armor that had just risen around the Third Raikage's body was crushed like paper.
"Ah!"
With his armor gone, his iron tower-like body was launched straight off the ground, like a cannonball fired from a barrel.
He flew backward hundreds of meters in an instant, smashing through who knew how many trees before finally managing to stop himself.
"I'm not dead?"
Buried among shattered logs, the Third Raikage realized that although his entire body felt as if it were tearing apart in agony, he was still alive.
...
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