Chapter 77: The Sun Above the World
Land of Lightning:
The palace of the Land of Lightning had always been tall.
Now it felt taller.
The great throne hall had been remade in subtle ways over the day. Banners bearing the crest of Kumogakure now hung alongside the ancient symbols of the Lightning Lord, though the distinction between the two had quietly disappeared overnight.
Tonight, there was only one authority seated upon the raised dais.
Ay sat on the throne.
Not as Raikage.
But as Lightning Lord.
Below him, the former lord of the land knelt—not in humiliation, but in recognition of a reality that had existed for years.
The man had ruled the civilians.
Ay had ruled everything else.
Now the illusion had simply been removed.
"You understand your duties?" Ay asked.
The former lord bowed his head respectfully.
"Yes, Lord Ay. I will manage the civilian administration as before."
"Good."
The man hesitated, then added carefully, "I will still seek approval for… larger decisions."
Ay gave a short nod.
The man swallowed and continued.
"And for decisions involving the civilian population as well."
Ay allowed a small smile.
"Correct."
The title had changed.
The chain of command had not.
The lord had not truly lost power.
He had simply been placed where he always belonged.
Beneath.
And the transition had been…
Smooth.
Mostly.
Ay leaned back against the throne and allowed his eyes to drift toward the open balcony beyond the chamber.
Lightning flickered across distant mountains.
The capital had not resisted.
A few thousand soldiers had tried.
A few thousand civilians had followed them.
They had been dealt with minimal damage. Bones broken. Pride shattered.
Efficiently.
Quickly.
He had kept it controlled.
He had to.
Naruto was watching.
Ay knew that with bone-deep certainty.
That monster of a boy could feel the world breathe.
Any unnecessary massacre would have given him an excuse.
And Ay would not give him one.
Not yet.
Below the palace walls, the city buzzed with activity.
New banners.
New patrols.
New academies already being planned.
Ay's gaze shifted further—to the training grounds where rows of unfamiliar soldiers moved with stiff discipline.
His new army.
In a single week, their numbers had doubled.
Thanks to Dr. Curtis Connors.
Ay allowed himself a satisfied exhale.
The lizard had delivered.
At first Ay had been skeptical of the outsider. The Lizard had acted like a predator, thinking itself smart enough to control him. But, it had submitted itself for now.
The perfected serum had done exactly what was promised.
Twenty thousand volunteers.
Mercenaries.
Villagers.
Men hungry for power.
They had stepped forward eagerly.
Becoming a shinobi—especially one tied to Kumogakure—was still seen as an honor.
They had taken the serum willingly.
And they had emerged stronger.
Chūnin-level bodies.
Enhanced regeneration.
Lizard instincts sharpened by chakra control.
Better still—
They could return to human form using the transformation jutsu.
Connors had also removed the flaw that had been part of the serum before. The unstable mind that came with it.
Ay appreciated results.
So he had honored the man properly.
"Dr. Connors," he had said earlier that day.
Not lizard.
Not monster.
A man who proved his worth deserved his name.
Ay's fingers drummed lightly on the arm of the throne.
His army was expanding.
His territory would also be secure over the month as the army grew and understood its role. Right now, only the ruling class was directly managed by his shinobi.
And most importantly—
His research could now spread.
Multiple laboratories would soon operate across the Land of Lightning.
Hidden.
Protected.
Compartmentalized.
Kumogakure alone had become too obvious.
Naruto already knew too much about Kumo.
But seals—
Seals were proving effective.
So far, they had hidden his projects from Naruto's senses.
If those seals failed…
Well.
Ay preferred not to think about that outcome.
The night wind shifted.
Ay watched the changes unfolding outside the palace.
New shinobi academies would rise across major cities.
Recruitment would begin immediately.
Children would be trained early.
The Land of Lightning would no longer rely on a single village.
It would become a nation of shinobi.
Balanced.
Strong.
Independent.
The world would return to equilibrium.
Because if one man possessed Immortal like power—
Then balance required others to grow monstrous enough to oppose him.
Ay had once dreamed of dominating that world.
But Naruto had already reached that peak.
So the equation changed.
If Ay could not rule it—
Then no one would.
Footsteps approached quietly behind him.
Killer Bee leaned against a column, arms folded loosely.
"Brother," Bee said.
Ay did not turn.
"You've been quiet."
Bee studied the balcony view.
"You really had to go this far?"
Ay's jaw tightened faintly.
"This far?"
Bee gestured toward the city.
Toward the armies.
Toward the laboratories.
"Seems like a lot of trouble."
Ay finally looked back.
"You disagree with strengthening our land?"
"Nah," Bee said with a shrug. "More shinobi, more strength. That part's cool."
His voice softened slightly.
"But that look on your face."
Ay's brow creased.
"What look?"
"The one you make when you think about Naruto."
The name hung between them.
Bee tilted his head.
"You like gutsy guys like him."
Ay snorted.
"He is gutsy."
"And yet you're building a whole system around beating him."
Ay said nothing.
Bee continued.
"You let the lizard guy experiment on people."
"They volunteered."
"You didn't hesitate though."
Ay's silence hardened.
Bee sighed.
"This was enough. A stronger army, new academies. That's good stuff."
He looked directly at his brother now.
"But you're not stopping here, are you?"
Ay's voice dropped.
"No."
Bee shook his head slowly.
"Thought so."
A long pause settled over the throne hall.
Then Bee spoke again.
"You're becoming obsessed."
The word struck like a spark.
Ay's hand moved instinctively.
For one violent second, he nearly backhanded his brother across the chamber.
Lightning crackled around his fingers.
But he stopped.
Barely.
Because this was Bee.
Because Bee had always been there.
Ay lowered his hand slowly.
"Don't test me."
Bee met his gaze without fear.
"You think humans are weak now?"
Ay looked away toward the storm-lit mountains.
"Humanity cannot fight monsters unless we change."
Bee frowned.
"I didn't think you'd think so little of yourself."
That did it.
Ay's aura flared.
"Enough."
The chamber trembled faintly.
Bee raised his hands slightly.
"Hey, hey. Just talking."
Ay forced the lightning back down.
"We are human," he said quietly. "And humans lose."
Bee tilted his head.
"You could just trust Naruto."
Ay barked a laugh.
"Trust?"
"Work with Konoha."
"That is not a choice."
Ay stood from the throne slowly.
His shadow stretched long across the hall.
"That is the first step toward reliance."
He looked down at the city again.
"And reliance becomes dependency."
His voice hardened.
"And dependency becomes slavery."
Bee sighed softly as he knew Ay wasn't in the mood to listen now. Maybe, he just needed to wait for things to calm down. The forth war was just too recent to just move on.
----------------------------
Land of Earth:
The palace of the Land of Earth listened to silence.
Stone walls thicker than memory surrounded the ancient hall where the Tsuchikage now sat. The throne itself had not changed much over the decades—broad, carved from a single slab of basalt, worn smooth by generations of rulers who had learned to sit still and think long before speaking.
But the man sitting there had changed titles.
Ōnoki was no longer merely Tsuchikage.
Now he was also Lord of the Land of Earth.
The previous lord had stepped down willingly.
In truth, he had never been more than a ceremonial figure. Like many daimyō, his power had depended entirely on the shinobi who protected him.
When those shinobi politely informed him that the arrangement would be… simplified—
He had bowed.
Quietly.
Unlike the Land of Lightning, the transition here had been… restrained.
No streets burning.
No frightened whispers spreading through the capital.
Ōnoki had given very simple orders.
No killing.
If soldiers resisted, bind them.
If citizens protested, detain them.
If they fought—
Subdue them.
Iwagakure shinobi had no difficulty accomplishing this.
Against ordinary men, shinobi were something closer to natural disasters than soldiers.
Thirty thousand active Iwa shinobi had swept through the capital and major cities like a controlled avalanche.
The resistance had lasted hours.
The takeover had lasted a day.
And when it ended—
No mass graves.
Only prisoners.
Ōnoki had made certain of it.
He was not sentimental.
But unnecessary bloodshed was inefficient.
Now the problem had changed.
Taking control had been easy.
Managing the land was not.
The Land of Earth was vast—mountains, cities, valleys filled with civilians who had never needed to understand chakra.
Thirty thousand shinobi could control key locations.
They could not stand on every street.
And that was where Akainu had proven his worth.
The tall shinobi stood before the throne now, hands folded calmly behind his back, posture perfect.
"The cities are secure," he reported.
"Supply chains?" Ōnoki asked.
"Stabilized."
"Civilian unrest?"
"Minimal."
Ōnoki allowed himself a faint nod.
Akainu had always been his best blade.
Steady.
Unbreakable.
Efficient.
Which was why he had rewarded him properly.
"You will serve as Tsuchikage," Ōnoki said quietly.
Akainu inclined his head.
"Until Kurotsuchi is ready."
It was not temporary weakness.
It was preparation.
Kurotsuchi would rule eventually.
But she needed refinement first.
Akainu would hold the village steady until then.
The old Tsuchikage's eyes drifted toward the enormous stone window overlooking the capital.
The city looked peaceful.
Deceptively so.
Because beneath that calm—
The entire system was changing.
Ōnoki had watched Ay's broadcast carefully.
The Lightning Lord.
A bold move.
Typical of the Raikage.
Loud.
Violent.
Effective.
Ōnoki did not disapprove.
But he had chosen a different method.
Fear lasted.
Resentment lasted longer.
But humiliation—
Humiliation could be turned into obedience.
The civilians had been disarmed, detained, and then released under supervision.
Their soldiers had been shown how utterly powerless they were.
And then spared.
A lesson without corpses.
Now they understood their place.
Akainu spoke again.
"What are your orders now?"
Ōnoki turned his attention back to his student.
"The same as before."
Akainu waited.
"Increase numbers."
Recruitment.
Expansion.
The same path Kumo had chosen.
Except Iwagakure lacked the Raikage's new advantage.
No lizard army.
No sudden flood of enhanced soldiers.
Just the thirty thousand shinobi they had always relied upon.
"The Land of Earth is too large for this force," Akainu said.
"Then we expand the force."
"Civilian recruitment?"
"Yes."
"And… talent identification."
Ōnoki's eyes narrowed slightly.
"We need shinobi strong enough to undergo juubification."
The word hung in the air like a curse.
Akainu did not react outwardly.
But the room felt colder.
"The Juubi children are still unstable," he said carefully.
"They will improve."
"Eventually."
Akainu hesitated.
"What about the lizard soldiers?"
Ōnoki leaned back against the throne.
"Ay has proven the serum works."
"But if they undergo juubification—"
"Then we will learn what happens."
Akainu fell silent.
Ōnoki did not care for hesitation.
Progress required testing.
Testing required sacrifices.
His voice hardened slightly.
"Our goal is clear."
Akainu nodded slowly.
He understood.
The Tsuchikage's gaze shifted briefly toward the stone floor beneath them.
Toward something deeper.
Another project.
Older.
More secret.
The Heart of Earth.
A jewel of condensed earth chakra.
Powerful enough to animate a golem capable of battling a tailed beast.
It had been designed decades ago as Iwagakure's ultimate answer to the bijuu.
But that design belonged to an older era.
An era before Naruto Uzumaki.
Before Six Paths power returned to the world.
Now the golem would need to evolve.
Stronger armor.
Greater mobility.
More chakra channels.
The Heart itself was already powerful.
The body needed improvement.
Ōnoki folded his hands.
"Ay focuses on biology," he said slowly.
"Mutations."
"Enhancements."
"Our strength lies elsewhere."
Akainu nodded.
"Earth endures."
"Exactly."
Silence settled in the chamber again.
Ōnoki's thoughts drifted briefly—not to the present, but to the past.
To an era he had survived.
The era of Hashirama Senju.
The era of Madara Uchiha.
When Konoha's founders had stood so far above the other villages that the Five Great Nations might as well have been decorations on a map.
Ōnoki had lived through that humiliation.
He had watched Iwagakure bow its head.
He had watched entire nations adjust their policies to avoid angering Konoha.
He had hated every second of it.
Now—
History threatened to repeat itself.
Naruto Uzumaki stood above the world like a second Hashirama.
Perhaps even worse.
A living god surrounded by loyal allies.
Ōnoki would not allow that era to return.
Not while he still breathed.
He looked back at Akainu.
"We continue."
Akainu bowed.
"As you command."
Ōnoki's eyes hardened like granite.
Balance had been broken.
And the Earth had always been patient.
But once it decided to move—
Mountains fell.
Empires cracked.
And men who thought themselves untouchable learned what it meant to be buried beneath the weight of the world.
-------------------------------------
Konoha:
The Hokage Monument had always been a place of pride.
But today it felt like a place of quiet.
Naruto sat upon the stone head of the Fourth Hokage—his father's likeness carved into the mountain that watched over Konoha like a silent guardian. The village spread below him in gentle layers of rooftops, streets, and drifting smoke from evening kitchens.
Normally the place would have made him smile.
Today it did not.
Naruto sat cross-legged, elbows resting on his knees, his eyes half closed.
To anyone passing below, he looked like he was meditating.
In truth—
He was watching the world.
His senses stretched across continents like invisible threads. Rivers of chakra, storms of movement, tiny sparks of life—all of it flowed through his awareness.
He could feel the armies in the Land of Lightning.
He could feel the shinobi spreading across the Land of Earth.
Thousands of movements.
Thousands of choices.
Naruto exhaled slowly.
He could stop them.
That thought had been sitting in his mind all day.
One step.
One command.
One overwhelming display of force.
And the entire situation would end.
But he hadn't moved.
Instead, he sat here.
Watching.
Thinking.
Talking.
Inside his mind, Kurama lay lazily within the endless golden space of Naruto's inner world, his enormous tails swaying behind him like drifting clouds.
"You've been quiet all day," the fox rumbled.
Naruto rubbed the back of his neck.
"I'm thinking."
"That's dangerous."
Naruto snorted faintly.
"Yeah, yeah."
He looked out toward the horizon again.
"When I was a kid," Naruto said slowly, "I used to wonder something."
Kurama lifted one massive eyebrow ridge.
"Oh?"
Naruto scratched his cheek.
"I always thought it was weird."
"Weird?"
"Yeah."
Naruto's voice softened.
"Why the daimyo ruled the countries."
Kurama's ears twitched.
Naruto continued.
"They had no power."
"No chakra."
"No armies."
"But shinobi villages still followed their orders."
Naruto shrugged slightly.
"It never made sense."
Kurama huffed.
"And yet you never questioned it."
Naruto smiled sheepishly.
"I did question it."
"But… it was just how the world worked."
The wind moved through the valley, carrying distant sounds of the village below.
Naruto's expression slowly became more serious.
"But now I know something."
Kurama waited.
Naruto looked down at the world.
"Half the Kage already controlled their daimyo."
Kurama's tail flicked.
Naruto sighed.
"They've been ruling from the shadows for years."
"Now they've just stepped into the light."
The fox nodded slowly.
"Correct."
Naruto leaned back slightly against the stone forehead of his father's statue.
"So… is it wrong?"
Kurama studied him carefully.
"Wrong?"
Naruto gestured vaguely toward the horizon.
"Taking over the land."
"Becoming the rulers directly."
Naruto frowned slightly.
"I used to think it was."
"But now…"
He hesitated.
"They were already in charge."
"Most things probably won't even change."
Kurama gave a thoughtful rumble.
"You are conflicted."
Naruto nodded.
"Yeah."
His gaze hardened slightly.
"But something did change."
Kurama's golden eyes glowed faintly.
"Yes."
Naruto looked up at the sky.
"They wouldn't have done this unless something pushed them."
Kurama's voice became heavier.
"You."
Naruto did not deny it.
Silence stretched between them.
Finally Naruto asked quietly,
"Kurama… you lived through Hashirama's time."
The fox's ears lowered slightly.
Naruto's voice softened.
"This is the same situation, isn't it?"
Kurama did not answer immediately.
But eventually—
"Yes."
Naruto's fingers curled slightly.
"So I'm Hashirama now."
Kurama's voice was calm.
"In a sense."
Naruto looked troubled.
"And now I have the same choice he had."
Kurama's eyes narrowed.
"Yes."
Naruto looked toward the distant mountains.
"I could put my foot down."
"Force them to obey."
"Do what Madara wanted."
The wind rustled the trees far below.
"Or…"
Naruto continued quietly.
"I could let things develop."
"Like Hashirama did."
Kurama's tails moved slowly behind him.
Naruto frowned.
"But people say Hashirama made a mistake."
Kurama looked at him.
Naruto continued.
"They say if he hadn't given the bijuu away…"
"If he had just conquered the nations…"
"The world might have been more stable."
He sighed.
"He was a good person."
"Maybe the world needed someone like him."
Kurama watched him for a long moment.
"No one knows how that would have ended."
Naruto blinked.
Kurama continued.
"The world would certainly be different."
"But different does not mean better."
Naruto nodded slowly.
Then Kurama leaned forward slightly.
"But do not repeat one mistake."
Naruto looked at him.
Kurama's eyes glowed.
"Do not give them power to fight you."
Naruto's expression hardened slightly.
"That's what Hashirama did."
"Yes."
Kurama's voice deepened.
"You think in terms of morality."
"They do not."
Naruto frowned.
"They think in terms of control."
"Freedom."
"And power."
Kurama's tail lashed once.
"They do not like the idea that their actions now have consequences."
Naruto slowly pieced the thought together.
"So they'll keep developing ways to fight me."
Kurama gave a small, grim nod.
"That is the nature of strong-willed people."
"They will never bow quietly."
"They are not meant to."
Naruto looked toward the distant lands again.
"So what do I do?"
Kurama leaned back.
"What must be done to make them truly fall in line…"
He paused.
"…is something you will never do."
Naruto didn't ask what he meant.
Because he already knew.
Terror.
Subjugation.
Absolute dominance.
That was not Naruto's way.
Kurama's voice softened slightly.
"So instead—"
"Let them struggle."
Naruto looked at him.
"Let them improve."
Kurama's tails swayed gently.
"Let them chase you."
"Let them exhaust themselves trying to reach you."
Naruto remained silent.
Kurama smiled slightly.
"Eventually this situation will become normal."
"Years will pass."
"New generations will grow up beneath your shadow."
He looked directly at Naruto.
"And one day…"
"They will walk in line."
Naruto remembered something then.
Hashirama.
The villages.
The fragile peace that had followed.
Kurama finished quietly.
"Just like they did under Hashirama."
Naruto looked down at the world again.
Villages.
Mountains.
Nations.
People living their lives beneath a sky they never questioned.
Kurama's voice echoed one final time.
"Keep your pace."
"Remain the strongest."
Naruto closed his eyes briefly.
"And let them keep watching."
When he opened them again, the sun was beginning to set over the horizon.
Golden light spread across the world.
Kurama's voice rumbled softly.
"Be the shining sun above their heads."
Naruto sat quietly atop the Hokage Monument—
Watching the world turn beneath him.