Not long after.
Shikaku carried two people up the city wall, one in each hand.
It was the Fourth Raikage and Killer B, both unconscious.
A Jinchūriki and a Kage.
Everyone watching couldn't help but feel a chill in their hearts.
Arashi said casually, "Hang them both outside the city wall."
This stunned everyone present.
Hang them?
"Daimyo-sama, this…" Shikaku hesitated slightly.
"What?" Arashi glanced at him. "Do we still need to show mercy to enemies?"
"If Konoha had lost, what do you think they would have done?"
"Go do it."
"Yes, sir!"
Minato no longer hesitated and immediately signaled two Anbu to step forward.
Soon, two thick ropes were tied around the Raikage and Killer B, and their bodies were slowly lowered from the hundred-meter-high city wall.
The two figures swayed lightly in the wind, hanging in mid-air.
The scene left a powerful impression.
"Minato." Arashi looked at Minato, whose expression was slightly complicated. "You'll handle the next part."
"Me?" Minato was taken aback.
"You are Konoha's Hokage. You represent Konoha's image." Arashi said, "Go and tell them, surrender… or come collect the corpses of their Raikage and Jinchūriki."
"Remember, we are the victors."
Minato understood immediately.
This was a stage Arashi was giving him.
A chance to stand before the enemy as Hokage and declare victory.
But the one who built this stage was the man beside him.
He took a deep breath and nodded solemnly.
"I understand, Daimyo-sama."
…
Time passed minute by minute.
Everyone stood at the edge of the city wall, watching the western horizon.
Finally.
A black line appeared in the distance.
It rapidly grew thicker, and a sharp killing intent surged toward them even from afar.
"They're here!"
A sensory-nin gave the alert.
Closer.
Even closer.
When the nearly thousand-strong Kumo unit reached the foot of the giant wall, they were shocked by what they saw and halted immediately.
All of them looked up in disbelief.
"What… what is this?"
Mabui, leading the team, was filled with shock beneath her long golden hair.
Their intel had never mentioned Konoha having such a massive wall.
Her heart grew uneasy.
Too quiet.
No sirens.
No shinobi lining up in defense.
Only calm gazes cast down from above, carrying a strange sense of pity.
"Something's wrong!"
"It's way too quiet!"
"Where's Raikage-sama and the others? Did the assault fail?"
The troops began to stir restlessly.
Just then.
Minato stepped forward.
The Fourth Hokage?
His appearance made all the Kumo shinobi tighten their grips on their weapons, their chakra flaring.
Mabui's heart sank.
The Hokage had appeared here rather than commanding a battlefield within the village.
That alone explained far too much.
"People of Kumogakure," Minato's voice rang out across the entire battlefield.
"In the name of Konoha's Hokage, I give you one last chance."
As his words fell.
Two figures bound by rope slowly rose behind him from the city wall.
The moment the Kumo shinobi saw the two figures clearly…
The entire unit erupted into chaos.
"That… that's… Raikage-sama!"
"And B-sama!"
"How could this be?!"
"Impossible! It must be genjutsu! Konoha's using genjutsu!"
Countless Kumo shinobi roared in disbelief, emotions spiraling out of control.
Their symbols of invincibility, the pride of Kumogakure, the AB combo…
Now hung humiliatingly from Konoha's wall.
"This isn't genjutsu."
Mabui's body trembled, but she made a calm assessment.
She stared at the two figures, feeling their familiar chakra and faint vital signs.
It was real.
A and B… had been defeated.
The realization sent a chill down her spine.
Three thousand elites, plus the Raikage and a perfect Jinchūriki, all defeated so quickly?
What in the world happened?
"Drop your weapons and kneel to surrender," Minato's voice rang out again. "Or those two will die now."
A threat.
A naked, brutal threat.
Using the lives of their leaders.
"Bastard!"
"If you've got the guts, then kill us!"
"For the glory of Kumogakure, let's fight them!"
A young shinobi roared and was about to charge forward.
"Stop, all of you!"
Mabui immediately gave the order.
She looked up, locking eyes with Minato. "Hokage, what do you want?"
"I've made myself very clear," Minato said, expressionless. "Surrender, and they won't die."
"You think we'll believe you?" A Kumo shinobi stepped forward, eyes red with rage.
"Yeah, how can we trust them?!"
Minato fell silent, momentarily at a loss in the face of the Kumo shinobi's outcries.
Watching this, Arashi couldn't help but let out a faint laugh.
Naive.
He took a sip from his teacup.
Then flicked a finger lightly in the direction of the hanging Raikage A.
Whoosh.
A sharp wind shot out.
It struck the Raikage's intact left arm in an instant.
"Ah!"
A scream tore from the unconscious Raikage's mouth.
He suddenly jerked awake, the intense pain making him struggle wildly in mid-air.
The scream silenced the entire Kumo unit.
They saw it clearly, A's left arm was now hanging limply.
It was broken.
"Who was that?!"
"Who did it?!"
Mabui demanded, panicked, only to see Minato looking just as shocked.
On the city wall, Arashi slowly put down his teacup and took two steps forward, entering the Kumo shinobi's field of vision.
He looked at Minato, his tone disappointed.
"I gave you a chance. You failed."
Without sparing another glance at the ashamed Minato, he turned his gaze toward the Kumo forces.
"Looks like you didn't like the earlier proposal."
"In that case, I'll change my approach."
"I'll count to three."
"After three, for every person still standing, I'll remove a bone from the Raikage's body."
"Starting from the foot."
"One."
The entire field fell into dead silence.
The Kumo shinobi could only feel surging rage.
Who was this man?
"Two."
Arashi's voice held no emotion.
Time seemed to stretch.
Mabui's heart was in turmoil.
Surrender?
It would be the greatest humiliation to Kumogakure.
But if she didn't…
The Raikage and B would be executed on the spot.
The shinobi behind her were waiting.
Waiting for her decision.
"Three."
The final count was spoken.
"Seems like your Raikage isn't very cherished," Arashi said calmly.
His hand moved once more.
Another gust of wind.
Crack.
The clear sound of bone breaking echoed.
Raikage A, suspended in mid-air, arched his body violently, then screamed in agony again.
"Ahhhhhh!"
His left leg twisted unnaturally.
Clearly broken.
This sight was the final straw that broke them.
(To be continued.)
◇◇◇
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)