"My apologies, Lord Daimyō. I'm late."
The voice belonged to Sarutobi Asuma. Earlier, he had been caught in the aftermath of an immense blast—one that mimicked the destructive force of the Daytime Tiger. His body had been shredded by the shockwave and subsequent explosion.
But as a user of smoke-style techniques—his own unique blend of Fire and Wind Release chakra—Asuma reformed from the residual smoke, seemingly unharmed, though clearly drained.
"Damn it, who the hell are you?" Hidan snarled, his tone laced with frustration.
Just as he was about to complete his ritual, a figure wreathed in smoke had appeared and disrupted his ceremony. Of course he was furious.
Asuma narrowed his eyes. "Akatsuki... you've been making quite the name for yourselves lately. You're just the kind of scum we need to interrogate."
Asuma flexed his fingers, and the smoke binding Hidan began to shift—darkening in hue and sparking with embers.
"Ahhh! It burns! You bastard, what the hell are you doing to Lord Hidan? I'll offer your soul to Jashin-sama!"
Hidan thrashed violently, but the smoke held firm.
Asuma's expression turned grim. For all his screams, Hidan's body showed no signs of damage—no burns, no charring. In fact, he seemed unnervingly energetic.
He's not normal, Asuma thought. Is he even feeling this?
Asuma didn't know that Hidan was a true sadomasochist, one who welcomed pain—and had, through the dark rituals of Jashinism, achieved a form of immortality.
That's why Asuma had chosen to incinerate him rather than cut him. A blade would only amuse him. Fire, though—it might just do something.
Still, seeing Hidan powerless apart from his mouth, Asuma dragged the immortal aside with smoke tendrils and turned his attention to the main battlefield. Though his eyes burned with the desire to help, he stayed near the trembling Daimyō.
Suddenly, a foul stench reached his nose.
Asuma frowned.
Did... the Daimyō wet himself? When did that happen?
He shook his head. Not my problem. He turned back toward the fight.
---
"Third Raikage, your plot has failed. Surrender now," came the voice of Sarutobi Hiruzen, standing firm amidst the chaos.
He and Minato had entered the fray shortly after Asuma subdued Hidan.
"Hah! Sarutobi Hiruzen, is this your idea of a joke?" the Third Raikage scoffed. "Look around. Who's really losing here? Even with inside information, you've been pushed to the brink."
"If our leaders had come, you wouldn't even be standing now."
His words struck a nerve.
Namikaze Minato's heart skipped a beat.
Rin... is she safe? The thought stabbed through his mind.
The Raikage noticed. "Worried about little Rin, are you, Fourth Hokage?" he mocked. "Relax. She didn't pass that intel to you without our approval. Everything went exactly as our leader planned."
"You're outmatched. You don't have what it takes to oppose him."
He turned toward Hiruzen. "And you, old man—think about what I told you. The Daimyō and his kind? Parasites. Wouldn't it be better to take their wealth and rule with strength?"
"Shut up! As Hokage of Konoha, I won't betray my principles. You're nothing but a madman!"
Hiruzen's voice cracked slightly—more than even he realized.
"Mad? No. I'm just practical."
He raised one hand, revealing a glowing seal on his palm.
"But you're right about one thing. This fight is over. Go check on your precious Daimyō. I'm done here."
A teleportation array lit up beneath his feet, swirling with blue light.
"Running away, Raikage?" Minato asked coldly.
"Don't twist it. I'm leaving, proudly and openly. If you disagree, step in. I'd be happy to bring both Hokage to our stronghold."
He crossed his arms, his smirk full of contempt.
But neither Hokage moved.
"Tch. Thought so."
Then, as the light intensified, the Raikage gave one last message.
"Oh—and tell the Hyūga clan we're taking a few of their branch members. If they don't want to lose all of them, I suggest they don't trigger the Caged Bird Seal. Otherwise, don't blame us when it backfires."
With that, the Third Raikage vanished into the light, leaving silence—and tension—in his wake.
Minato clenched his fists. Hiruzen stood still, eyes shadowed.
"The Caged Bird Seal… they've learned how it works." Hiruzen's voice trembled.
"Third Hokage," Minato said, placing a hand on his shoulder, "we need to check on Lord Daimyō and the others. Now."
"…Yes," Hiruzen nodded, his tone subdued.
Afterwards, the two arrived at the Fire Daimyō's temporary quarters to assess the situation.
When Sarutobi Hiruzen saw the Fire Daimyō's soiled garments, he fell silent. Though he tried to suppress any disrespectful thoughts, the rebellious words spoken earlier by the Third Raikage echoed in his mind.
Are these so-called noble leaders truly just powerless figureheads?
If even the Fire Daimyō behaved like this in crisis, what of the other nobles?
Hiruzen quickly suppressed the complex emotions stirring within him and said evenly, "Lord Daimyō, you're safe now. The Fire Capital requires your leadership to restore order."
Unintentionally, his tone was far less deferential than usual—but the Daimyō, still in shock after narrowly escaping death, didn't notice.
"Yes, yes, I must… I must regain my composure first," the Daimyō stammered. "Lord Hokage, could you arrange a room for me to change clothes?"
"Of course," Hiruzen replied, then led him out in search of a suitable place. The official residence had been mostly destroyed in the earlier attack.
Meanwhile, Namikaze Minato was surveying the casualties.
There was no need to mention the Twelve Guardian Ninja who had been assigned to protect the Daimyō. Aside from Asuma Sarutobi, none had survived. Among the fallen was Hiashi Hyūga, who tragically died when the residence collapsed—his ability to resist suppressed by the Caged Bird Seal placed on all branch members of the Hyūga clan. His death was both tragic and avoidable.
The casualties among the ANBU and the Ino-Shika-Chō trio, however, were fewer than expected. Although most were injured or temporarily incapacitated, only a handful had died. This unexpectedly low fatality rate made Minato deeply suspicious.
Something is wrong with Might Guy, he thought as he watched Hiruzen walk away. There was no conclusive proof, but the circumstances were too strange to ignore.
Minato proceeded to inspect the rest of the Fire Capital.
Strangely, while many Hyūga clan members—especially from the branch family—had been captured, the rest of the Konoha-nin assigned to protect other nobles were unharmed. According to their reports, the three rogue ninja from Kirigakure had ignored Konoha shinobi entirely, targeting only nobles. Once confronted, they'd flee immediately, never engaging in battle.
Because of this, shinobi couldn't give chase without abandoning their posts. Consequently, many nobles without ninja protection had been slaughtered. Statistics soon confirmed it—more than a fifth of the Fire Capital's aristocracy had perished.
And these weren't minor landowners—these were powerful feudal lords with political influence.
Minato felt numb. This may have been the worst internal disaster the Land of Fire had suffered since its founding. Though the Fire Daimyō survived, the mission was, in strategic terms, a failure.
Worse still, several Hyūga branch members had fallen into the hands of the Akatsuki.
"The village is going to face a serious bloodline breach," Minato muttered. He pinched his forehead, feeling a migraine coming on. "Has there been a final count? How many Hyūga clan members are missing?"
---
Meanwhile, inside the Akatsuki's aerial stronghold, a man known only as Susanoo stood before a heap of unconscious Hyūga clan members.
"Twenty-seven," he counted aloud. "Fewer than expected, but quality outweighs quantity. A few more or less doesn't change our plans."
He turned to the Third Raikage, who had been brooding in silence since their return.
"What's with the long face, A?" Susanoo asked mockingly. "Feeling guilty about not killing the Fire Daimyō when you had the chance?"
The Third Raikage's eye twitched. He clenched his fists, trembling with anger—not at Susanoo's taunt, but at the humiliation.
That bastard controlled my body… used my mouth to say those traitorous words. How am I supposed to return to Kumogakure after this?
He glared at Susanoo, his eyes filled with seething hatred.
"Haha! Don't give me that look," Susanoo said, smiling casually. "You think I didn't consider your village's needs? I even set aside some spoils for you."
He pointed at the pile of Hyūga branch members. "Look—Byakugan users. Ready-made kekkei genkai. Take a few back with you. In ten or twenty years, Kumogakure could have its own Byakugan clan."
The Third Raikage flinched, but didn't speak.
"Don't worry about the Caged Bird Seal," Susanoo added. "Our leader has methods to override it. As long as the main family doesn't want all branch members to die, they won't act rashly."
His voice was like a devil's whisper, coaxing, tempting, wrapping around the Third Raikage's will.
Byakugan… the strongest reconnaissance dōjutsu… something Kumo has coveted for years. And now it's within reach.
"What are the terms?" the Raikage asked finally.
"Not expensive. One billion ryō per Hyūga. Villages must buy at least five."
The Raikage's eyes widened. "One billion each!? That's five billion total. Are you insane? Even if I drain Kumo's coffers, we don't have that kind of money!"
Susanoo laughed. "Think about it. A future Byakugan bloodline—five billion for that is cheap. There are ways to raise funds… creative ways."
The Raikage knew what those "ways" were. Dark, morally gray methods that could permanently stain Kumo's reputation. But after what had already been done while he was under manipulation, could he even recover his honor?
And now, a devil in human form was dangling the future of his village in front of him, whispering:
"It's already too late to turn back."
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