Chapter 479: A Resounding Victory for Konoha
Dust settled over the shattered landscape, carrying the faint scent of scorched earth and ozone. Not far from the epicenter of the destruction, Gaara stood in silence. His gaze shifted from the towering, imposing figure of Uchiha Akira to the unconscious form of Uchiha Sasuke sprawled in the dirt.
"Teacher..." Gaara lowered his head, his usually stoic expression tight with guilt. "I apologize. I failed to protect Sasuke."
"It does not matter." Akira waved a hand, his tone entirely devoid of concern.
He stepped forward, his boots crunching over the broken terrain until he loomed over Sasuke. He stared down at the boy. Sasuke lay rigid, his eyes clamped shut, his brow furrowed so deeply it looked as though he were trapped in an endless nightmare. Sweat beaded along his jawline.
"He truly believed himself invincible simply because he unlocked the Mangekyo Sharingan," Akira noted, his voice flat and unforgiving. "It is good for him to suffer a little. Only through absolute agony will he finally learn his place."
Akira reached down, pressing two fingers firmly against Sasuke's forehead.
"Wake up."
The command left his lips as a low, authoritative bark. A terrifying surge of Visual Prowess erupted from Akira, invisible but heavy enough to make the surrounding air warp and hum.
Sasuke's body convulsed. He jolted violently off the ground, his eyes snapping open to reveal bloodshot sclera. He gasped frantically for air, his chest heaving as if he had been drowning. Raw, unadulterated terror swam in his dark pupils, the lingering phantom of the genjutsu still tearing at his mind.
"You are awake."
The icy, measured voice cut through his panic like a blade. Sasuke froze. He turned his head, his breath hitching as he registered the familiar, domineering face looking down at him.
"Hokage-sama!" Sasuke choked out, his throat raw and raspy.
He scrambled upright, his hands trembling as he frantically scanned the desolate surroundings. He saw nothing but pulverized rock and uprooted trees.
"Itachi... where is Itachi?"
"I have dealt with him," Akira replied, his tone as casual as if he were discussing the weather.
"Dealt... dealt with him?" Sasuke repeated, his mind struggling to process the words. He stared at Akira in a complete daze. The man who had just subjected him to absolute, suffocating despair... the monster who had crushed him before he could even weave a single hand seal... was simply taken care of? Just like that?
"Sasuke." Akira's eyes narrowed, the crimson glow of his own dojutsu flashing with dangerous intensity. "Right now, you are pathetic. The Mangekyo Sharingan is not an automatic victory. If I had not arrived today, your corpse would already be cooling in this dirt."
Sasuke flinched, lowering his head. His fists clenched so tightly his fingernails bit into his palms, drawing thin lines of blood. Shame burned hot in his chest, quickly followed by a bitter, suffocating unwillingness to accept reality. He had trained until his bones cracked. He had suffered. He had finally awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan. Why was the chasm between him and the true monsters of this world still so impossibly vast?
"Let us go." Akira turned his back on the trembling youth, the hem of his dark cloak snapping in the wind. "This battle is over. We return to the Konoha main camp."
Miles away, the Konoha main camp was a hive of organized chaos. The sharp tang of medical alcohol and the metallic scent of blood hung heavy in the air. Medics rushed back and forth, carrying wounded shinobi into the triage tents. On the opposite side of the compound, the prisoner-of-war holding area was packed to the brim. Hundreds of Kumogakure ninjas sat slumped in the dirt, their expressions hollow, their pride utterly shattered.
Yet, the true spectacle lay in the very center of the encampment.
A massive, thick wooden stake had been driven deep into the earth. Bound to it by layers upon layers of chakra-suppressing ropes was a mountain of a man. It was none other than the Fourth Raikage, Ay.
Stripped of his Lightning Release Chakra Mode, the Raikage looked battered and wretched. Dirt and dried blood caked his dark skin, and his usually explosive muscles strained uselessly against the heavy bindings. Despite his pathetic state, his eyes burned with unyielding fury. He thrashed against the wood, his booming voice echoing across the clearing as he spewed venom at the surrounding guards.
"Konoha bastards! If you have the guts, then cut my head off right now! Kill me!!"
The Konoha shinobi forming a perimeter around him merely pointed and scoffed, their whispers carrying clearly on the wind.
"So that loudmouth is the Raikage? He does not look like much without his lightning armor."
"I heard he got kicked totally unconscious by Jonin Guy. Out cold in a single hit."
"Heh. The so-called 'Fastest in the Ninja World'. What a joke. In front of Konoha's might, he is nothing but a stray dog."
Suddenly, the murmurs died. A heavy, suffocating silence swept over the camp, rippling outward from the main gate. The dense crowd of shinobi parted automatically, stepping back with synchronized precision to clear a wide path.
Uchiha Akira walked forward at a measured, unhurried pace, leading Naruto, Gaara, and the rest of his retinue.
The moment Akira's figure came into view, every single Konoha ninja snapped to attention. Backs straightened like steel rods. Their eyes locked onto him, burning with absolute, fanatical devotion.
"Hokage-sama!!"
"Hokage-sama!!"
The unified roar shook the very ground, a tidal wave of absolute loyalty.
Akira offered a slight, acknowledging nod. He walked straight through the parted sea of his subordinates, stopping only when he stood directly in front of the massive wooden stake. He tilted his head, his dark eyes sweeping over Ay's heavily bound form.
"So this is the Raikage," Akira mused, his voice calm but carrying effortlessly across the silent camp. "Tied up like a slaughtered pig. Though, his voice is certainly loud enough."
Ay ceased his thrashing. He locked his furious gaze onto the man standing before him. He had never met this Uchiha in person, but the sheer, crushing gravity of his presence—and the terrifying reverence of the Konoha forces—made his identity obvious.
"Uchiha... Akira!" Ay ground his teeth so hard a sickening crack echoed from his jaw. "It is you! You are the bastard who started this war!!"
"Started the war?" A faint, mocking smile touched the corner of Akira's lips. "Get your facts straight, Ay. It was your Kumogakure, conspiring like cowards in the dark with Iwagakure, who attempted to breach the borders of my Land of Fire. I am merely... acting in self-defense."
"Bullshit!!" Ay roared, spittle flying from his lips. "You annexed Sunagakure! You swallowed the Hidden Mist! You are the one who shattered the sacred balance of the Ninja World!!"
"Balance?" The faint smile vanished from Akira's face, replaced by an expression of absolute, glacial cold. "Is your so-called 'balance' simply allowing the Five Great Nations to sit on their thrones, keeping each other in check while the smaller nations are butchered as your buffer zones? Is it sparking a Great Ninja War every decade for the sake of your ridiculous, petty interests, leaving millions to starve in the mud?"
Akira took a single, deliberate step forward.
In an instant, his aura erupted. It did not manifest as visible chakra, but as a terrifying, physical weight that slammed down on the clearing like a collapsing mountain. Ay's breathing hitched violently. The air was suddenly sucked from his lungs, and his dark face flushed a deep, suffocating red as the sheer pressure threatened to crush his internal organs.
"This kind of hypocritical, rotting balance is better off utterly destroyed," Akira's voice echoed, cold and absolute, striking the hearts of everyone present. "Since you wanted a war, I will give you a war. However..."
He leaned in slightly, his dark eyes piercing straight through the Raikage's bravado. He spoke slowly, carving each word into the silence.
"The outcome of this war will be written by me alone. As of today, the Hidden Cloud Village is abolished."
"You..." Ay's eyes bulged. He opened his mouth to roar, to curse this arrogant Uchiha to the deepest pits of hell, but the crushing weight of Akira's killing intent locked his throat. Not a single sound escaped his lips.
Akira straightened up, the oppressive aura vanishing as quickly as it had appeared. He waved a hand in dismissal.
"Take him away. Since he enjoys shouting so much, gag him. Transport him back to Konoha and throw him in the deepest cell with the rest of his Kumogakure strays. I will let him rot there, so he can witness for himself what true... peace actually looks like."
Four Anbu operatives materialized from the shadows instantly. Without a word, they clamped heavy iron shackles over Ay's bound limbs, shoved a thick cloth into his mouth, and roughly dragged the struggling giant away from the stake.
A short while later, the heavy canvas flaps of the Konoha command tent were drawn shut. Inside, the air was thick with the scent of burning wax and lingering adrenaline. High-ranking officials and the elite commanders of the various combat divisions stood gathered on both sides of a massive tactical map.
Akira sat at the head of the table, his posture relaxed but commanding. "Let us begin," he stated, his tone flat and businesslike.
Nara Shikaku took a long, deep breath and rose from his seat. As the tactical brain of Konoha, he was renowned for his lazy, unflappable demeanor. Yet, as he unfolded the thick battle report in his hands, his fingers trembled ever so slightly. He cleared his throat, attempting to maintain his usual steady cadence, but the raw, electric excitement bleeding into his voice betrayed him.
"Everyone." Shikaku looked around the tent, meeting the eyes of the gathered elite. "In this battle, our forces... have achieved an absolute, total victory!!"
Even though every commander present already knew the outcome of their respective fronts, hearing the words 'total victory' officially declared by the Chief of Staff ignited the tent. A fierce murmur of triumph swept through the room. Shikaku raised a hand, signaling for quiet. The room instantly settled, allowing him to detail the staggering results of the bloodbath.
"First, regarding the enemy's supreme commander, the Fourth Raikage, Ay." Shikaku shifted his gaze toward Might Guy, who sat directly opposite him. A deep glint of admiration flashed in the strategist's dark eyes. "He was crushed in direct, head-on combat by Jonin Might Guy, and subsequently captured alive by the Sealing Squad!"
"Currently, the Raikage has been escorted to a maximum-security holding cell in the rear echelon. He is being guarded by the Barrier Squad in rotating twelve-hour shifts, and his chakra network remains completely suppressed."
Every eye in the tent shifted toward Guy. The hot-blooded taijutsu master, who usually spent his days preaching about the springtime of youth, did not disappoint. He flashed a blindingly bright, white-toothed grin and shot a vigorous thumbs-up toward the ceiling.
"This is exactly what the burning passion of youth is all about!!" Guy declared, his voice booming with infectious energy.
Shikaku allowed a rare, genuine smile to cross his face before consulting his notes again. "In addition to neutralizing the Raikage, Jonin Guy also intercepted the reincarnated Hyuga Hizashi earlier in the engagement. After a fierce exchange, Guy successfully suppressed and sealed the Edo Tensei pawn using pure taijutsu, completely resolving the crisis on our right flank."
At this point, Shikaku paused. The excitement in his voice dimmed, replaced by a heavy, respectful solemnity. He turned his gaze toward the far side of the table, where Kakashi Hatake sat quietly, his upper body heavily wrapped in fresh white bandages.
"Captain Kakashi Hatake," Shikaku read, his voice dropping an octave. "Led the Third Division to directly confront the reincarnated 'Konoha's White Fang'... Sakumo Hatake."
The celebratory atmosphere in the tent instantly froze. The temperature seemed to drop as the commanders exchanged heavy glances. Father and son, forced to cross blades on the battlefield. It was the cruelest, most tragic drama war could offer.
Kakashi kept his visible eye lowered, staring at the grain of the wooden table. He gave a slow, gentle nod.
"I did not fail my mission," Kakashi said softly, his voice muffled slightly by his mask. "My father... has been personally sealed by me."
It was a quiet, heavy statement. A final, definitive farewell to the ghosts of the past, born from a reconciliation that had transcended the boundaries of life and death itself.
Shikaku nodded in deep respect. He gave the room a moment to breathe before raising his voice, injecting the energy back into the briefing.
"Next... Uzumaki Naruto!"
Instantly, every gaze in the command tent pivoted to the far corner. Naruto, who had been slouching in his chair and staring blankly at a map pin, jerked his head up. He blinked, looking completely dazed by the sudden attention.
"Ah? It's my turn already?" Naruto blurted out, scratching the back of his blonde head.
Shikaku looked at the boy, making absolutely no effort to conceal the immense pride and praise in his eyes. "Naruto, operating in conjunction with Gaara and Uchiha Sasuke, successfully intercepted and sealed the legendary Gold and Silver Brothers."
"But far more critically..." Shikaku took another deep breath. He gripped the edges of the battle report, his tone shifting into one of absolute, staggering awe. "Uzumaki Naruto, fighting entirely alone, defeated and sealed the enemy's most devastating high-end combat asset—the reincarnated Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze!"
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