READ WEBNOVEL Chapter 66-And so, ends the Prelude!
Chapter 66
UNRULY AY-THE FOURTH RAIKAGE
Ay watched Namikazee standing there, those orange markings underneath his eyes showcasing the mastery of senjustsu, a technique that only a handful of shinobi had ever mastered.
To his senses, that bastard's chakra felt at ease, calm like an ocean, even though his senses screamed at him to run and escape, and yet he could not do that.
He was teh Raikage, the leader of his village, and if they were to break this stalemate they had found themselves in this was the place to make a stand. They had both the Hokage and Konoha's jinchuriki in their sight, hence this was the time to make a stand.
Already, his daimyo, or more specifically, his council, were calling this war a mistake and were ready to capitulate to Konoha and Fire country. He knew that they were just waiting for the first domino to fall, and if reports from Iwa and Earth country were anything to go by, that domino was set to fall anytime.
The scar running down his shoulder ached as he leaned down reminding him of his failure to protect Yugito and he remembered the promise he had made to himself on that day.
"You dare..." and he blurred through the air aiming for the leaf's accursed red-headed jinchurriki, trying to go past the blonde bastard as he tried to free Bee, yet suddenly, as he was a few paces away from her, he found the blonde blur infront of him, blocking his punch once again, making him stop.
"I am your opponent," the blonde uttered, and it unsettled him how his chakra was still not roused, not roaring, but was quiet and at peace.
"Not her," and with that he felt his body blur as he suddenly found himself in an unknown place, alone, before the blonde appeared again.
"Now we can fight at peace," the blonde said, and he realized that he had just used his technique on him, and he snarled.
"You bastard," and with that Ay jumped at him once more. As he blurred behind him and swung his leg at hi, yet he simply ducked, without glancing back, and tried to swing a kunai at him. Still, the blonde was not the only one who had gotten stronger and so he redirected his chakra hardening the cloak at that point as he drummed up a lighting arrow in his hand.
"Ninpo: Kaminari's Spear!" and he threw it down at the kage, yet before he could see his attack connect, he heard a small whisper from the blonde.
"Senpo: Frog Kumite.." and he felt it after years a punch landed on him as he was sent tumbling back, and his feet dragged on the earth before coming to a halt as he coughed up blood.
"It has been quite a few years since anyone has landed a hit on me like this," he said as he wiped away the blood from his face.
"Senjutsu. It really is a scary thing," he commented.
"Give up, Ay. You and I both know that there is no way that you can win this war. Kumo and Iwa's alliance is a farce now, with both your nations and villages distrusting each other. Your morale is down, and you no longer have bodies or resources to throw at us," the blonde uttered, making him grit his teeth for though scathing, it was the truth.
There was no winning here. Not currently. Konoha's forces were simply too powerful. Their Third Hokage was strong enough to tackle two or three S-ranked nin himself, keeping them occupied while their other forces ran amok on the enemy lines. The Uchiha bastard, The Toad Sage, The Senju Princess and so forth, they simply had too many S-rank or near S-rank shinobi in their ranks.
And then there was him. Namikaze Minato.
He had not openly joined the fray in leading any offensive. Still, he was their true hidden weapon, teleporting and providing backup to any location at any time, which instantly made him the biggest nightmare. He alone covered up all their weakness, shored up their defences, and made their offensives just more lethal.
If they were to have a chance at turning things around. Namikaze Minato needed to die.
"You may be right. We may not have a chance to win as of now, but that all can change easily once you are gone from the picture," Ay said as he toned down his chakra, reaching for the newly inscribed seal over his shoulder as he smeared a streak of blood on it.
"But I cannot give up. Not until I have avenged my failure from that day," he said as he felt another chakra invade his own and mix with it. The invasion of this foreign chakra made his chakra coils scream in pain and agony, yet he did not wince as the color of the chakra cloak around him began to shift, getting darker and darker until it became the pitch-black lighting of his own father.
"Then so be it," Namikaze roared as he pulled up his own hand. A blue orb appeared in it, but this time, it did not remain a simple orb. No, he watched as it formed edges like a shuriken, and a whistling sound began to rumble throughout the forest.
The sheer amount of chakra he was pushing into the orb told him that this would be his penultimate attack, and so he would reciprocate as he channelled all that black lighting into his right hand, the skin on his band burned, and he could feel it overwhelm him yet he did not bother as he leaned down and pushed his feet into the ground.
"NINPO:..." he roared as he pushed his chakra into his legs.
"SENPO:..." Namikaze spoke as the ground underneath him cracked, forcing his feet into the ground
"...Black Lightning!"
"...RASENSHURKIEN"
BOOOM!
00000
HIRUZEN SARUTOBI
The land around him lay destroyed; craters, cracks, charred trees, and the blood-soaked ground showed the sheer depravity and scale of the battle that had just taken place.
Even his own body ached from the wounds of this battle, as he stood there huffing, his limp arm beside him as a dozen nin stood around a single body, sweat dripping down their faces as they spent their chakra trying to suppress a shinobi, the likes of which the world may never see again.
"Huh," he heard Ohnoki huff as he lay there, his haori and cap now long gone, his hair dishevelled and burnt as the sealing formula kept him rooted to the ground.
"You Konoha-nin still try and cling to that noble facade of yours," he taunted, yet Hirzuen knew that there was little nobility in keeping Ohnoki alive.
"This is not n..."
"Spare me your lies, Hiruzen!" Ohnoki roared, and even with a dozen nin trying to suppress him, his chakra roared forth, bringing many of the twelve to their knees as Ohnoki glared at him as he lay there chained in a sealing technique.
"You have won. End my life." He asked, and before he could answer, the Mizukage stepped forward.
"Your crimes are many, fence-sitter Ohnoki. You spurned peace and attacked a parlay, breaking all laws and traditions as you and your village plunged this village into another war. A needless war," she challenged sharply, and the old Tsuchikage scoffed.
"And yet you still spare my life?" Ohnoki challenged.
"Because the man who you tried to kill wishes for you to see the peace that you spurned, the peace that your generation could never imagine. And though he maybe wrong, yet he believed that there is a role still left for you to play in the times to come," and with that she brought up her own hand and the seal began to expand.
"Fuiin!" and with that Ohnoki's chakra was fully sealed, as a healer nin began to heal way his injuries.
0000
CHIBA MIYUKI
Her once friend and now lord husband had always cut a striking figure, and yet his face had always contained the hints of youth and naivety. But now, two years later, as she watched him rest with his young son sleeping in his lap, she saw not the boy with the promise of a greater potential.
But a man who was set to unite and rule the whole continent.
"You have something to say," he spoke softly. Though his face was well at ease, and he was smiling, the sense of danger and power he exuded made her shudder. Akihito was always very powerful, but now it was an entirely different thing.
"It is nothing," she said and he opened his eyes as a stray bird came and settled down on his head, and it was what made her feel the serenity around him. It was unnatural, yet she would not use that word to define it.
"It is not. I can feel it, as can your thoughts and intentions. Say it," he asked again softly. Miyuki was asleep. The Empress had spent many a sleepless nights ruling in her lord husband's absence, and though she had helped her as much as she could, Miyuki had carried the brunt of the duties alongside rearing and caring for a child.
"I wished to say that you seem ready to shoulder the very burden you so often shunned a few years ago," she spoke up and saw him smile.
"What do they say? One often finds his destiny on the road he takes to avoid it," he finished, and she frowned.
"I am afraid I have never heard of the saying," she replied, and he shrugged.
"It's something I heard a long time ago," he finished as he closed his eyes, and there was silence for a second before he frowned.
"Kumo and Iwa have fallen," he announced quietly, making her frown as to how he became aware of this news while sitting in his courtyard.
"Ho..."
"The Earth daimyo has been killed in the riots. A council has replaced him and will soon name a successor. However, they had sent directives to Iwagakure to lay down their arms," he finished.
"Will Ohnoki accept?" she asked, knowing full well that, in the Third Tsuchikage, Ohnoki was rather stubborn and bullheaded.
"It seems Iwagakure has a new kage. Han of the Five Tails has been installed as the Fourth Tsuchikage, and he shall accept the order from the Daimyo office," he told her as he opened his eyes.
"And with Iwa falling, Kumo shall follow," she asked, and he nodded.
"They will. Especially now that we have captured the Fourth Raikage. He was defeated by Minato Namikaze in a duel," he finished as he rose up, and the bird resting on his head did not even budge as he stood up and passed his son to a servant nearby.
"With this, we will finally have peace," she said with a sigh and heard him scoff.
"I am afraid you are wrong, Miyuki," he said as he began to walk past her.
"This is just the beginning."
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In another corner of the world, a man with a wild mane of hair smiled as his summoning jutsu failed. He smiled as his eyes glinted an ominous red. A smile blossomed on his face as he whispered into the air.
"Interesting."
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