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The atmosphere was thick with tension. The Kages of all Shinobi Villages stood opposite to Mirai as she protected the shinobi and people of Akihara Village from the monstrous chakra radiating from them. A dead silence enveloped the crowd. Only the sound of the wind and insects could be heard in the coliseum filled with tens of thousands of people, a feat in itself.
Finally, the silence was broken by the Third Hokage as he stepped forward.
"Lady Mirai, share the serum with us. We are already allies," he said, his calculating eyes roaming over each of the major players in the room. He looked back at Mirai and continued with unshakable confidence. "Konoha will protect you."
Hiruzen's words immediately darkened the faces of the other Kage. They understood the underlying meaning: Don't worry Konoha will fend off the other villages as long as you hand over the formula.
Most Kages said nothing, knowing better than to mess with Konoha and its interests. But the Kages of the Four Great Villages were not like most.
They immediately reacted, their chakra clashing with Hiruzen's, making him wince slightly.
But despite that, Hiruzen held on, his gaze unwavering from Mirai.
"Typical tree-fucker, always trying to hog all the good things," the crude voice of the Third Kazekage rang out in the tense silence. He glared at Hiruzen as blades of wind condensed around him an involuntary action, as all the Kage knew, due to his monstrous wind affinity.
Hiruzen looked at the Kazekage, his eyes darkening a shade as coldness seeped into them. He opened his mouth to retort, but before he could, Mirai's amused voice rang out, redirecting the tension back to her.
"It's funny you to assume you can protect us from something we ourselves can't. Haven't your spies informed how many Kages we have on our side?" Mirai's question lingered. No one answered her as she innocently inspected her nail polish.
"Cute, isn't it?" Mirai asked, looking back at Hiruzen.
Hiruzen's face darkened, feeling the mockery in her words. Anger and humiliation flared within him at being mocked in front of the other Kage. It reminded him a little too much of Senju Ryoichi, being humiliated in front of his council by that teen, again and again.
Yet, despite the lava-like rage coursing through his veins, Hiruzen controlled himself.
"Are you sure of your decision, Lady Mirai? It could dissolve our alliance."
"Fine by me. At least now we won't have to waste billions of ryō on your useless genin." Mirai's mockery-laced tone didn't waver.
Finally, Hiruzen stopped restraining his anger, letting it cloud him.
"Fine. Have it your way." Saying that, he prepared to attack her, but before he could, Mirai dropped to her knees and raised her arms in devotion, as if embracing a divine presence.
The people behind her followed her action, falling to their knees and bowing.
"His Excellency!!!" they all chanted.
The Kages turned hearing the chant to see a masked figure levitating or rather, standing in the air. With their excellent chakra senses, the Kages could see minute amounts of chakra condensing the air beneath his feet, forming a platform.
The achievement alone made them reconsider everything they knew about chakra, before their focus locked on the masked man.
Donned in a black and gold yukata, he stood unbothered, his wild mane-like hair flowing down his back. The mask he wore revealed only golden slits that gleamed with indifference, as if he were observing insects.
The look troubled them all no more so than the Third Tsuchikage. It reminded him too much of one Uchiha Madara, the same unbothered stance, the same eyes filled with indifference and disdain toward the world.
Unable to control his rising emotions, Ōnoki attacked without warning. A cube of white light appeared in his open palm before he hurled it at the masked man.
The cube expanded the moment it left his hand, growing large enough to engulf the masked man. But as soon as it reached full size, it began shrinking. By the time it reached the masked figure, it had returned to its original size and hovered harmlessly above his palm.
The masked man studied the cube in his hand before clenching his fist, shattering it into small particles that faded away.
"Spacetime Jutsu…" Hiruzen whispered, feeling a familiar Chakra reminiscent of his sensei. His voice, though quiet, was clearly heard by everyone in the silent arena.
"Monkey, you know something?" the Third Raikage asked, his eyes never leaving the masked man, watching him form a blue spiral.
"He's using Spacetime Jutsu similar to my sensei, the Second Hoka—" Hiruzen stopped mid-sentence as his instincts screamed like never before. He watched as the blue spiral exploded into a blinding light. When his vision returned, he found himself in an unfamiliar location alongside the other Kages.
Everyone looked confused, even more so than Hiruzen. The concept of teleportation was too foreign for some a small village Kages. But their confusion didn't last long.
A tremendous chakra pressure descended upon them, making half the group collapse to their knees. Even the rest struggled to stay upright; only the five great Kage fared better
"Who are you?" the Third Mizukage, the calmest among them, finally asked. His question drew the attention of the other Kage. They halted whatever plans were running through their minds and waited for the answer.
And the answer came one that left them stunned.
"I…? I am the sky of Akihara, the pillar of its existence, the one true ruler of its creation… I am the Heavenly Demon." His voice was calm and quiet and yet it thundered through their very being. An even more terrifying chakra burst from his body, gripping their souls. Their instincts screamed that they would die if they opposed him.
A single thought rang through their minds. 'This is not the power of a mortal!' Despair crept into their trained psyches. Their bodies refused to move.
Just as they accepted death, the Third Tsuchikage roared, "Do not give up! It's not over as long as our lips draw air! Don't- never give up without trying. Move! Do whatever it takes to survive!"
With that, his body surged forward as he flew toward the masked man.
"Spoken like a true shinobi," the Third Raikage chuckled as lightning crackled around him.
-Lightning Release Jutsu: Lightning Cloak-
He uttered it in a calm, deep voice before vanishing, reappearing beside Ōnoki. His hand was outstretched, his strongest attack already in motion.
-Lightning Release Jutsu: Hell Stab-
A drove his index finger toward the being's heart. Ōnoki did not fall behind. A long cylindrical construct of Dust particles materialized between his hands, which he drove straight toward the masked being's windpipe.
Both attacks were swift and brutal, no man in Elemental nations could claim to survive under the combined might of these two attacks, in this era or any past.
But this was no ordinary man. Both Kages were certain of that after sensing his chakra. Hell, Ōnoki even believed that Madara's chakra paled in comparison.
With that in mind, they didn't hold back, they poured an overwhelming amount of chakra into their attacks.
The space around them trembled. The energy was so immense it disrupted its very structure and almost made it collapse. Yet despite all that, the masked man's eyes remained indifferent. And just as the attacks touched him, a green wave flowed through the very fabric of reality as a calm voice followed.
-Spacetime Jutsu: Reverse Flow-
What followed left every Kage speechless.
They watched as A returned to his original place, his lightning cloak retreating in perfect reverse—each lightning arc appearing and vanishing like a video played backward. Ōnoki, too, flew backward to his original spot.
Confusion filled their faces as a powerful sense of déjà vu overwhelmed them.
"Time reversal…?" Hiruzen was the first to understand. He was too familiar with his sensei's spacetime jutsu not to recognize it.
But… 'Sensei was never able to crack the time aspect of spacetime…!' His thoughts turned chaotic as the other Kages realized what had happened.
None of them were fools, some were simply less informed to come to conclusion faster.
They looked at the masked being with grim expressions, their minds already accepting their fate as if it were divine decree.
"Is this the end…?" one of the lesser village Kages muttered, his question directed to no one. "Can time also be at the mercy of a man? Or are we standing before not a man… but a god?"
His words echoed in the minds of all. Most had seen the man many called the God of Shinobi but even he could not compare to this being. Maybe only the legendary Sage of Six Paths could.
"What do you want?" the Third Kazekage asked through gritted teeth, his bloodshot eyes burning with unwillingness.
"What I desire…? Nothing. It is your desire, your greed that made me move," the masked man said. His unbothered gaze passed from one Kage to another, then settled on the Third Kazekage. He spoke again, his voice like a divine verdict.
"I will spare your meagre lives today so you could spread my words… From this day forward, Akihara Village stands as neutral ground. Its channels and trade are open to all villages. Any village may come, stay in Akihara, trade, and offer services. But remember if any of your people cause trouble or break its rules, the world won't miss one or two fewer shinobi villages."
With that, the masked being vanished from the Kages' view, leaving them irreversibly shaken.
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