"Chh! You're still young, right? You've never experienced a great ninja war. You don't understand just how cruel the wars between the Five Great Shinobi Villages really are!"
The Raikage glared at Uchiha Yun. "Throughout this war, except for the very start and now, both Konoha and Kumo have always exercised restraint."
"This restraint, whether to guard against the other three great villages or to manage the village's finances, has always existed!"
"But a true Great Ninja War is a war where all villages stake everything! Iwagakure sacrificed countless ninja lives just to kill my father, the Third Raikage."
"Later, for profit, they could betray Kirigakure in the Green Gorge. All of this was simply to strengthen themselves so that when the next great ninja war comes, they wouldn't be wiped out!"
"You should know the battlefield value of the Byakugan. You also know where that eye in Kirigakure comes from. Isn't that enough reason to gain such power and avoid annihilation in future wars?"
After a long pause, Yun slowly stood.
A thought, long suppressed, had begun to emerge since their last negotiation.
"Decisions made by the higher-ups for profit are ultimately carried out by the middle and lower ranks, at the cost of their lives."
Yun looked at the Raikage. "Unequal distribution of resources… No, even with equal distribution, wars still happen. Only if resources are abundant and properly managed by the upper echelon can this distorted world return to normal."
"But… possessing immense power cannot truly unify all voices politically. Voices cannot be unified through fear alone."
"Unification born of fear never lasts. Shake a tree, and like weeds, it will regrow endlessly."
"In such times, a villain is needed, someone who can unite everyone. In the clash of good and evil, justice will ultimately prevail. The higher-ups will perish, and everything will naturally fall into place."
As his words fell, Yun drove his long blade straight into the Raikage's chest.
The sudden pain made the Raikage frown.
Yun sighed. "From now on, this piercing of the heart, you'll experience it continuously for seventy-two hours."
"Sleep well. When you wake up, you'll find the world has completely changed."
Another blade appeared in Yun's hand, plunging directly into the Raikage's eye.
Splurt!
Blood sprayed. The Raikage gritted his teeth through the pain. "What did you just mean by that?!"
Yun shook his head slightly. "Even the dead can be revived in this world. Though I'll hide your body for now, I still won't be at ease. So, everything will have to wait until you reappear."
Another blade struck.
Splurt!
With both eyes pierced, the Raikage felt a fear he had never known toward this young brat.
Within Yun's ambiguous words, an extraordinary terror seemed to lurk.
'What exactly does he intend to do?!'
'Killer B, Yugito, Darui… Can the future of Kumo withstand this man?'
…
In the real world, Tsukuyomi lasted only an instant. In that moment, the Raikage's Lightning Chakra Armor disappeared, and black flames covered his entire body.
At the same instant, Yun's Susanoo blade fell.
Boom!
Amidst the violent explosion, Yun stored a scroll.
His Mangekyō Sharingan appeared, and the black flames on the ground burned the soil to ash.
Swish, swish…
Amid the dust, several figures appeared beside Yun.
"Yun, how is it?"
Yun looked at the black flames. "Without the other chakra interference illusion, when his Lightning Chakra Armor disappeared, he couldn't hold on any longer."
Everyone turned toward the black flames on the ground, still smoldering.
Jiraiya pulled out a scroll and sealed the black fire with the Fire Sealing Technique. Then he stored the ashes, saying, "This will be handed over to Kumo, after all, it's part of their village."
Minato nodded, looking at the cratered battlefield. He smiled. "The war… is over!"
Yun turned to Shisui. "Killer B and Yugito escaped?"
Shisui scratched his head. "After the Raikage threw Yugito at Killer B, what remained in the field were just tentacle clones. Even my Mangekyō didn't detect them."
'Tentacle clones?'
In memory, this cloning technique had even fooled Sasuke's Mangekyō. No wonder the Raikage didn't worry about their safety in Tsukuyomi.
Still, that meant Naruto would need to visit the village again later.
The blueprint for returning this world from its distorted state was emerging, but careful planning was still needed.
"Yun, slaying the Fourth Raikage of Kumo, your name will certainly spread throughout the ninja world after this."
Shisui patted Yun on the shoulder. "Why do you look so down?"
Yun shook his head slightly. "After all that fighting, I suddenly feel… neither Konoha nor Kumo gained anything from this, just a pile of corpses."
Minato chuckled. "Kumo started the war for the Byakugan and failed. Konoha repelled them, proving their strength once again. That… is Konoha's gain."
Yun nodded calmly and then looked at Shisui, who carried Itachi.
He relaxed his expression and spoke. "Two Amaterasu flames and you were already exhausted… seems like you really took a hit. Young as you are, even with a girlfriend, you need moderation."
Itachi weakly opened his eyes. "Could you not use me to ease your mood? At least we're peers, right?"
Yun shook his head slightly. "Friends are for exactly this moment, aren't they?"
With their expressions restored, Yun and the group returned to the Konoha camp. They would still need to remain vigilant until Kumo's surrender arrived.
Though surrender seemed likely, a few unpredictable elements could force Konoha to annihilate Kumo completely.
…
Back at the camp, after assigning sentries, Minato recounted everything that had happened.
For a moment, all the Konoha families looked at Yun differently.
Originally, Uchiha Yun had no chance to become Hokage. But with the reintegration of the Uchiha coupled with their Support for the Fourth, the situation had shifted over the past few years.
Along with the performance of the Uchiha in battle and Yun's slaying of the Fourth Raikage, the clan's reputation had grown.
In ten or more years, perhaps the Uchiha could indeed produce a Hokage…
.....
If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.
[email protected]/DaoistJinzu