[The Kazekage in the footage—Gaara—declared, "I hate this world! I hate humanity!!" His words struck straight at the heart. "I once wanted to destroy everything!!" Every word carried the pain, sorrow, and hatred of being a jinchuriki, of being a village's weapon, of being treated as a monster. Only by tasting the same pain could people become one—understanding each other, hearts connected!!]
["Let the world feel pain! Let everyone understand pain!! Yes—what I once sought is exactly what Akatsuki is trying to do now!!"][
"Bearing the same pain… huh?" Thinking of his own brother, who was also a jinchuriki, the Fourth Raikage couldn't honestly say he felt no guilt. "B—"
He himself wasn't a jinchuriki. He could never truly experience that pain. But Killer B—the current Eight-Tails jinchuriki—and the previous host, Blue B, had once spoken to him about the emptiness inside a jinchuriki's heart.
If that void wasn't filled… His thoughts halted at the memory of how, not long after that conversation, Blue B had died due to a tailed beast rampage.
"Mabui, clear my schedule for everything after this!" If the intelligence in this footage weren't so critical, the Fourth Raikage, A, would've already smashed through the wall and rushed to the deserted island to find his brother.
[Gaara shouted to the eighty thousand shinobi of the Allied Forces below, "Here and now—there are no enemies!!"][
["Because we all carry the pain Akatsuki left behind!!"][
[Commanders from the great nations looked at Gaara, their minds filled with memories of that bone-deep pain.]
["Sand."]
[A rogue ninja from the Hidden Stone—Deidara—dropped massive explosive clay from the sky. Countless living lives, along with the village itself, were swallowed by thunderous explosions and blazing fire… The grin curling on Deidara's lips marked the successful capture of the One-Tail's jinchuriki.]
[To protect the village, to protect his comrades, the young Kazekage raised an overwhelming sea of sand as an absolute defensive shield…]
[The village remained unharmed—yet its Kazekage was seized by the enemy like a trophy.]
Deidara's cruel "art," and the helplessness of the Sand shinobi in the instant before the explosion, pierced everyone watching the massive screen.
Whether Sand shinobi standing in Konoha, or those far away in the Land of Wind's Hidden Sand Village, all stared at the future vision in stunned silence, mouths hanging open.
"I-I'm there… Gaara…" The first to speak was a young boy who had come to Konoha for the Genin Exams. He was in the footage.
Seeing it now, he didn't know what he was supposed to say.
Gaara didn't respond. He didn't even look at him.
From much earlier on, his eyes had been fixed on that orange figure standing protected behind two Hokage—Naruto Uzumaki…
["Stone."]
[Land of Earth—Hidden Stone Village—]
[A black-haired Stone kunoichi watched as her village collapsed in an instant. Tears fell from her dark eyes without her noticing. She couldn't believe it—her village, her family, gone before her eyes. If this was a nightmare, why did it hurt so much she couldn't wake up?]
["Leaf."]
[Land of Fire—Hidden Leaf Village—]
[An orange-haired man floated thousands of meters above the ground, wearing Akatsuki's black cloak with red clouds. Beneath his feet lay the full view of the Hidden Leaf Village. The Hokage Rock, carved with the faces of past Hokage, still seemed to guard the village's prosperity and peace, carrying on the Will of Fire…]
["Shinra Tensei—"][
[In a close-up of the man's face, the legendary Rinnegan—said to belong only to the Sage of Six Paths—was clearly visible. As the jutsu activated from a single point, Konoha's buildings were shoved outward like trash. In an instant, the entire village became a vast ruin…]
["Mist."]
[Land of Water—Hidden Mist Village—]
[The Fourth Mizukage, Yagura Karatachi, appeared—his lifeless eyes clearly showing he was under genjutsu.]
[Behind him, a pitch-black shadow stepped forward. The shadow opened its left eye, revealing a crimson pupil marked with black tomoe—the Sharingan.]
["Cloud."]
[Land of Lightning—Hidden Cloud Village—]
[In a pitch-dark sewer, the Two-Tails jinchuriki, Yugito Nii, was pinned high against a wall with long rods, her hair hanging loose—dead or alive, unknown…]
[The Eight-Tails jinchuriki, Killer B, transformed into a half-ox, half-octopus beast, was engulfed in black flames that could not be extinguished. The monster's agonized howls were also Killer B's own screams as a jinchuriki…]
"B!!!!" Raikage A howled, tears streaming as the veins on his forehead bulged and burst, blood spraying.
How dare they… How dare they hurt his brother like this!! Hurt his family—his Hidden Cloud!!
"Unforgivable! Unforgivable!!" A smashed his fist into the wall, but even that couldn't ease the pain crushing his chest. Only stopping this future could.
Yes—he had to stop it!!
"Give me all the information on Akatsuki! Right now! Immediately!"
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Every 60 Powerstones = 1 bonus Chapter