The Raikage never believed in fate—but at this very moment, he found himself unable to deny it.
Everyone is human, all born from their mothers into this world. So why is it that from that mysterious land called Konohagakure, countless geniuses just keep emerging?
Hashirama Senju, Madara Uchiha, Tobirama Senju, Hiruzen Sarutobi, Minato Namikaze, Sakumo Hatake, the Legendary Sannin...
And now, standing before him was a girl not even thirteen years old—who had just defeated him, a man who had trained for over forty years.
His temper had always been fiery, but in the face of death, he found an unexpected calm.
In this world, power is the ultimate truth.
That was what his father had taught him.
The Third Raikage.
But his father had died, fallen in battle against ten thousand Iwagakure shinobi.
To the Raikage, that meant one thing: his father's power hadn't been strong enough.
So he had trained relentlessly, again and again, chasing strength.
He became unparalleled in speed. And then, he encountered someone.
Minato Namikaze of Konoha.
That man was powerful. Even when he and B fought together, they couldn't touch him.
Later, he heard Minato had died—taken by the Nine-Tails.
That only reinforced the Raikage's belief: power is truth.
But now...
The Raikage could feel the numbness in his chest.
Was he... going to die too?
Was his power not enough?
If power is truth, then what did it mean that all he wanted was to ensure the people of the Land of Lightning didn't starve?
And yet, here he was—about to die.
If power is the truth... does that mean everything he did was wrong?
The boundary between life and death was fleeting and eternal. In what should have been a single moment, countless thoughts flashed through the Raikage's mind.
Things he would never have reflected on in life.
The weight of being a Kage had nearly crushed him lately. But now, it felt like he could finally let go, entrusting everything to Dodai and his younger brother...
B... I'm leaving Kumogakure in your hands...
With the last of his strength, his bloodstained hand slowly rose and formed a hand sign—
Retreat!
The blast of blood and air mingled with snowflakes, splattering across Sakura's face. Her emerald eyes stared emotionlessly at the man collapsed before her.
The Raikage's chest had caved in from her full-powered punch. The ground beneath him shattered outward like a spiderweb of destruction.
Yet what surprised Sakura was that in his final moments, the Raikage had actually raised his arm and made a hand sign she couldn't quite understand.
"Big Brother!!!"
A thunderous roar erupted from the distance.
The Eight-Tails charged toward Sakura, rage and sorrow boiling from its massive form as it tore through the ground, completely ignoring attacks from both Kakashi and Mei Terumi.
Sakura calmly stood up, unfazed, flipping her wrist to point a kunai directly at the fallen Raikage's corpse.
That single motion brought the Eight-Tails to a screeching halt.
Everyone present—even Uchiha Obito—felt a jolt of alarm.
The Raikage was already dead, and Sakura was using his corpse as a hostage? Such a brazen, merciless tactic was beyond what anyone expected.
Orochimaru, however, was impressed.
Exploiting something as insignificant as sentiment to maximize gain... It reminded him of himself. She truly was his little junior.
"You..."
Killer Bee, eyes bloodshot with fury, glared at the ice-cold girl before him, his chest heaving with rage.
How could someone...
How could someone be so shameless? Not only did she kill his brother—now she was using his corpse to threaten him?
The sudden death of the Raikage brought both sides of the battlefield to an unexpected halt. Each faction instinctively regrouped on their respective sides.
Sakura, Jiraiya, Kakashi, Mei Terumi.
Killer Bee, Orochimaru, Uchiha Obito.
Sakura couldn't help but feel a headache coming on.
What the hell—did they plan this in advance?
Jiraiya, you passed right by Orochimaru earlier! Why didn't you and Kakashi jump him then?!
Sakura felt completely out of place in this world. Weren't ninja supposed to be the ones who fought dirty and used any means necessary? How come everyone else seemed more honorable than she was?
She should have felt guilty for using the Raikage's body to threaten Killer Bee...
But she didn't.
Not one bit.
"Say it—what'll it take for you to hand over my brother?"
Killer Bee's voice came from the Eight-Tails' mouth, thick with fury and a grief so raw it could bring anyone to tears.
"Right now, take your people and return to the Land of Lightning."
"You're forbidden from ever leaving it again."
"Then submit a formal surrender to Konohagakure."
"And finally—your nation must apologize and pay reparations for starting this war."
Sakura toyed with the kunai in her hand, her emerald gaze utterly indifferent.
It wasn't that she didn't want to take down the Eight-Tails right now—
But it would be difficult.
Even if Uchiha Obito was foolish, he wouldn't just sit by and let Konoha capture the Eight-Tails.
And no one on her side knew the Four Symbols Seal.
Plus, aside from herself—thanks to the Strength of a Hundred Seal—Jiraiya, Kakashi, and Mei Terumi's chakra reserves had all dropped significantly.
They still had some fight left in them, but defeating Killer Bee while Orochimaru and Obito were backing him? Unlikely.
"Fine!"
"No way!"
Two completely opposite responses came at once—one from Killer Bee, the other from Uchiha Obito.
Sakura narrowed her eyes. "Who's in charge? Answer me. Now."
"I am," Killer Bee growled, glaring at Obito. "I agree to her terms."
"Eight-Tails," Obito snapped, frowning. "If we join forces, we can take them down and reclaim the Raikage's body. We can avenge him!"
He had miscalculated. Never imagined Sakura would be so shameless as to use the Raikage's corpse for leverage.
The Eight-Tails' massive chest heaved with fury, but it ignored Obito, its gaze locked on the Raikage beneath Sakura's kunai.
That hand sign... Retreat.
It was a standard signal used within Kumogakure.
"Fine. We accept your terms."
A figure emerged from the swirling snow, drawing everyone's attention.
The man wore Kumogakure's shinobi gear, his face worn and weary, bloodshot eyes heavy with grief.
"Uncle Dodai!"
Killer Bee lit up as if he'd found his anchor.
This man wasn't just a high-ranking adviser in Kumogakure—he'd watched the Raikage grow up. He was the most respected figure in the village.
With the Raikage dead, Dodai held the most authority now.
"You!"
Obito's expression twisted with rage.
Others might not understand what was happening, but he did.
Zetsu... you traitor.
But Obito could only suppress his fury, waiting to see what Zetsu—disguised as Dodai—intended to do.
Dodai ignored Obito's murderous glare and stepped forward, gently patting one of the Eight-Tails' tentacles.
That small gesture nearly broke Killer Bee's last shred of composure.
With his brother dead, Dodai was now the only one he trusted.
Dodai looked up at the Eight-Tails with grief, but deep behind his sorrow was clarity. He then turned to face the Konoha group.
The sadness in his eyes vanished in an instant, replaced by the sharp calculation of a seasoned politician.
"We'll retreat. And we'll pay."
"But Konohagakure must open its resource channels to us."
"The people of the Land of Lightning cannot continue to suffer like this."
Sakura raised an eyebrow at that.
This guy didn't get much screen time in the original timeline, but from what she remembered, he had a solid grasp of the bigger picture. Still, after what happened with Cee, she didn't dare underestimate anyone.
His proposal wasn't entirely unreasonable. After all—this was a negotiation.
It wasn't like they couldn't give them food. One loaf of bread—maybe not for five hundred thousand ryo anymore, but how about fifty thousand? Sounds fair.
I'm such a philanthropist~
Just as Sakura was about to respond, Jiraiya stepped forward and called out loudly:
"Agreed!"
Sakura's mouth twitched slightly, then added:
"Three days from now. We'll reconvene here to finalize the agreement. Once that's done, the Raikage's body will be returned immediately."
Killer Bee trembled with unease.
Three days. Three days!
Who knows what Konoha will do to his brother's body during that time?!
But despite his churning rage and anxiety—he had no choice.
The Two-Tails had been captured. The Raikage was dead. Whether in frontal combat or guerrilla tactics, Kumogakure had been utterly suppressed by Konoha.
In this situation, they no longer had the power to resist.
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