The entirety of Konoha was buried under a choking cloud of sand and dust.
All around the village, both Sunagakure and Konoha shinobi froze as the ground rumbled beneath their feet once again. The tremors were heavy, unnatural—like the earth itself was warning them.
"The ground's shaking again! Don't tell me… did Zeldris make a move?!"
"Tch… damn it! He's supposed to be on our side, isn't he?! Why is he always the one causing the biggest mess?!"
"I don't care how destructive he is… if he's fighting, then it means this war might be almost over."
Despite their fear, many of the Sand ninjas felt a sliver of hope. They'd seen what Zeldris was capable of. And if he had taken action, then perhaps victory was finally within reach.
On the other hand, Konoha's shinobi weren't so lucky. Panic spread through their ranks as memories of that white ball of light—an instant death sentence for Hokage Rock—flashed through their minds.
"It's happening again…!"
"Who the hell is doing this?!"
"What kind of ninjutsu could possibly cause this much destruction?!"
Sweat poured down their faces, their eyes scanning the battlefield nervously. If that white light appeared again, the entire village might be wiped out. No walls, no jutsu, no amount of training could protect them from that.
For twelve long seconds, the world trembled—and then… silence.
No light. No explosion.
Just silence.
But to the terrified ninjas of Konoha, those twelve seconds had felt like a lifetime.
When the tremors stopped, they exhaled shakily. The village was still standing. For now.
Elsewhere in the village, Zeldris stood quietly over the lifeless body of the Fourth Kazekage. His eyes were calm, unreadable—emotionless. As if taking the life of a Kage meant nothing to him.
The war, at least in his mind, was over.
His mission was complete.
All that remained was to deliver Rasa's corpse to Orochimaru… and repair the damage to his hands. Everything else was irrelevant.
The political fallout of two Kage deaths? The chaos it would unleash?
Not his concern.
A small smirk tugged at the corners of his lips as he turned to face the shell-shocked Kakashi.
"I never imagined I'd see the famous Sharingan Kakashi look like that," Zeldris said lightly, his tone almost playful. "Returning to Konoha really has been full of surprises."
Kakashi's face darkened beneath his mask. Sweat dripped from his brow, and his muscles tensed involuntarily.
Zeldris… had killed Rasa.
With a single punch.
No genjutsu. No elaborate jutsu.
Just raw, overwhelming power.
Even if Rasa had been off his game, that level of destruction—those cracks in the earth—was absurd.
And somehow… not even the Sharingan could fully follow it.
What was this guy?
What kind of monster had he become?
After a long pause, Kakashi finally found his voice. It came out low and shaking:
"Why…? Why would you kill him?! I thought… I thought you were allies!"
Zeldris gave a faint chuckle. "We were. Until a few minutes ago."
Then his smile faded.
"My final mission… was to kill the Fourth Kazekage."
Without another word, Zeldris crouched beside Rasa's corpse. A soft glow surrounded the body—and then it rose slowly into the air, floating beside him.
Kakashi took a half step back, stunned. He didn't even have the strength to raise a hand.
Zeldris turned his back to him, his voice once again distant and cold.
"I don't have time to waste. This war is over. Until next time, Kakashi."
With that, he rose into the sky, Rasa's lifeless body drifting beside him.
Kakashi dropped to his knees.
There was nothing more he could do.
He could only watch as Zeldris faded into the distance, swallowed by the dust-filled sky.
High above Konoha, two figures soared through the air—one alive, the other lifeless.
From the ground, Sunagakure shinobi stared up, their eyes widening as they recognized the silhouettes.
"That… that's Lord Kazekage?!"
"No way… Is he… is he dead?!"
"Impossible! The Fourth Kazekage is one of the strongest in the world!"
But as they watched his limp body dangle beside Zeldris, panic started to spread.
Their leader—gone?
Why?
Why would Zeldris do this?!
Where was he taking the Kazekage?!
Shouts rang out across the battlefield, confusion and dread rippling through the Sand ninjas.
None of them knew what had just happened.
None of them could comprehend it.
Just as the village fell silent in the wake of Zeldris's departure, a devastating message echoed across the battlefield—
Konoha's Third Hokage and Sunagakure's Fourth Kazekage were both dead.
For a moment, time itself seemed to freeze.
Neither Konoha nor Suna's forces could believe what they had just heard.
The announcement stunned them, turning expressions of shock into disbelief, then dread.
Gasps filled the air. The clash of steel ceased. Shuriken fell from trembling fingers. The will to fight crumbled instantly.
Hiruzen Sarutobi... and Rasa... both gone?
The ninjas of Konoha were shaken to their core. The Third Hokage, the man hailed as the "Professor," who had protected the village for decades—dead.
Their minds reeled in horror, and grief came crashing down like a tidal wave.
No one had expected this battle to end with such a bitter price.
Across the field, the shinobi of Sunagakure were equally devastated. Their Kazekage—Rasa, the wielder of the feared Magnet Release—had fallen too.
The proud pillar of their village… was no more.
Disbelief gave way to silence. Then silence turned to murmurs.
No one moved.
What was the point of continuing now?
The war, once so chaotic and fiery, was now just smoke and rubble.
And with the loss of both leaders… the battlefield felt like a graveyard.
Some ninjas stood stiffly, their eyes hollow with shock. Others clenched their fists in rage and despair, veins bulging with grief. Many simply stared ahead, expressionless, as if trying to wake from a bad dream.
No one had anticipated this.
The Third Hokage—renowned as the strongest in Konoha's history…
The Fourth Kazekage—celebrated for his absolute control over gold dust…
Both, gone in a single day.
And just as people tried to make sense of it all, another boom shattered the air—
BOOM!
A thunderous explosion erupted from the village's outskirts, rattling the earth again.
"What now?!"
Everyone's heads turned toward the source of the blast, faces tightening in renewed panic.
From the smoke, a figure staggered into view—dressed in Konoha's ANBU uniform, his mask cracked and blood running down his limbs.
The wounded ANBU agent stumbled forward, shouting hoarsely:
"It's Orochimaru—he took Uchiha Sasuke!"
"What?!"
Minds already clouded with confusion were now thrown into chaos.
The ANBU coughed violently, barely able to speak. "He forced his way into the village… and… even Uchiha Itachi showed up!"
"Itachi?!" the crowd echoed in disbelief.
"Yes," the ANBU rasped. "He attacked us… helped Orochimaru… it was coordinated. They used the chaos to take Sasuke!"
Kakashi arrived at the ANBU's side, his expression tight with shock.
"Sasuke… Orochimaru took him?!" he asked, voice low.
The ANBU nodded grimly.
Kakashi stood frozen. In that moment, all the pieces started falling into place. His gaze darkened.
"Then… the alliance with Sunagakure… it was a setup from the start," he muttered.
Zeldris had killed the Kazekage because the deal had ended. Orochimaru got what he wanted—Sasuke—and severed all ties.
And Suna... was nothing more than a pawn.
Across the battlefield, the realization dawned on the Sand ninjas too. Murmurs turned to curses. Faces drained of color.
They had been used.
Used by Orochimaru to launch an invasion, to weaken Konoha—only for him to betray both sides and steal the Sharingan he desired all along.
A chill swept through the survivors.
This wasn't just a battle.
It was a masterclass in deception.
The war was over—but the consequences had only just begun.
With their Kazekage gone, the Suna ninjas had no choice but to surrender. There was no leader to rally them, no will left to fight. One after another, weapons were dropped, and hands raised in defeat.
As the sun dipped toward the horizon, the shattered remains of Konoha lay quiet.
Its streets were ruined.
Its buildings scarred.
Its soul—damaged.
Even the legendary Hokage Rock had been reduced to rubble, an eerie symbol of how far the village had fallen in a single day.
Within the village council, power shifted quickly.
With Hiruzen gone, the burden of leadership fell to the two elder advisors—Mitokado Homura and Koharu Utatane. But overwhelmed by sorrow and age, they declined to take the reins directly.
Instead, they handed the reins to someone else.
Shimura Danzo.
And when Danzo stood by the office window—now his office—he stared coldly at the wreckage of the Hokage Rock.
A long-held ambition flickered in his eyes.
"At long last…" he murmured.
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