Chapter 401 – A Fight to the Death (III)
"Kei-kun, you're here?"
Inside the Hokage's office, Uchiha Kei pushed open the door. At this early hour, only Minato Namikaze was present.
Minato looked up with a gentle smile and nodded, gesturing for him to come closer.
Kei had risen early as usual and reported to the Police Force headquarters on schedule. By now, the situation inside Konoha had largely stabilized.
Under the combined efforts of multiple factions, the remaining Kumogakure spies within the village had either been completely eradicated—or forced so far underground that they no longer dared to stir trouble.
"Captain Minato, what's the matter?" Kei greeted him briefly before stepping up to the desk. "It's early. Something important?"
"Very," Minato replied with a soft chuckle. "To be precise—good news."
He slid a document across the desk.
"Although… there were a few complications. Still, overall—it's good."
Good news?
Kei raised an eyebrow and picked up the report.
As his eyes scanned the contents, his expression gradually turned serious.
Indeed.
This was very good news.
Both the favorable outcome—and even the so-called "minor issues"—worked in their favor.
After a moment, Kei placed the document back on the desk.
He already understood why Minato had called him here.
The timing had finally arrived.
"That's quite the development," Kei said with a faint smile. "I have to admit… this makes things much easier for us."
"We've waited long enough," Minato nodded, his tone turning solemn. "Kei-kun… do you think we—"
"It'll be fine," Kei interrupted calmly.
His own expression had grown firm.
"We've prepared for this for a long time. We've accounted for every foreseeable scenario. There won't be any problems."
He paused briefly, then added with quiet certainty:
"And besides—you're not alone in this. Fugaku and I stand with you, Captain."
Kei understood Minato's state of mind.
At moments like this—when the situation was on the verge of decisive change—even the Hokage would feel pressure.
The closer one came to a turning point, the heavier the weight became.
It was only natural.
Outside the office, the village remained peaceful.
But far beyond Konoha's walls, lightning and fire still clashed.
And soon—
The political battlefield would become just as fierce.
Kei himself felt a flicker of uncertainty.
He couldn't help wondering whether the political framework he had carefully envisioned would truly work in this world.
But things had already progressed this far.
There was no reason—no possibility—for him to stop now.
Of course, that lingering hesitation was only a faint shadow in his heart. Deep down, he believed this would succeed.
Most importantly—
He still had a fallback.
"I know," Minato said softly, exhaling. "I'm just… a little nervous."
But soon his usual bright smile returned.
"I believe in this. I truly do. We're doing this for Konoha."
"Yes," Kei nodded. "There will be controversy. And you'll bear enormous pressure, Captain. But—"
He stood up slowly.
"But time will smooth those things out. After all…"
He paused, then finished quietly:
"Right now, everyone's eyes are on the front lines."
---
Battlefield
"What a terrifying man… Fourth Raikage."
Uchiha Fugaku watched as the Fourth Raikage calmly stepped out from the black flames of Amaterasu. Even he couldn't suppress his surprise.
The Raikage had found a way to counter Amaterasu?
No—
He had always possessed the means.
Through his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, Fugaku clearly saw the method.
Simple.
Yet nearly impossible to replicate.
Lightning Release: Chakra Mode.
The Raikage had deliberately layered his chakra armor extremely thick, covering his entire body with dense lightning chakra.
Fugaku had noticed it earlier—but hadn't paid much attention.
Now he understood.
The Raikage had intentionally fed Amaterasu with that outer layer of chakra.
He let the black flames burn the excess chakra armor—then severed the burning layer, like shedding a garment.
Crude.
Inefficient.
But effective.
The chakra cost meant nothing to someone like the Raikage.
Fugaku exhaled slowly.
His earlier trick—his "ambush advantage"—was gone.
Very well.
Then they would fight head-on.
His battle spirit surged.
He locked eyes with the Raikage—and suddenly smiled.
The Raikage felt the danger instantly.
He vanished.
At that very moment, the Amaterasu flames he had split earlier erupted violently.
The once-dormant black fire flared to life, expanding outward in a frenzy.
Kumogakure shinobi nearby were caught before they could react. The flames latched onto them.
They screamed.
They clawed at their bodies.
But nothing extinguished the black inferno.
They themselves became its fuel.
Fugaku scanned the field.
He had lost sight of the Raikage.
And because of that devastating eruption, no shinobi dared approach their battleground anymore.
Then—
He felt it.
A monstrous surge of chakra above him.
"Lightning Release: Righteous Thunder Axe!"
The Fourth Raikage descended from the sky, chakra concentrated into his leg, striking downward toward Susanoo.
That kick—
Anyone hit by it would die instantly.
"Humph."
Fugaku's Susanoo raised its arm.
BOOM!
The collision shattered the air itself.
A visible shockwave rippled outward. For a split second, the space between them became a vacuum.
The Raikage was blasted backward like artillery—but he regained his footing instantly, the ground beneath him fracturing.
Fugaku, protected by Susanoo, was also forced back.
Cracks spread across the golden construct.
One arm—
Shattered.
The Raikage smirked.
But his eyes briefly flickered downward to his right leg.
He had poured immense chakra into that strike.
It worked.
But it cost him.
A tearing pain pulsed through his leg—bone damage, most likely.
He showed none of it.
Grinding his teeth, he leapt again, lightning gathering into a blade at his remaining arm.
"Lightning Release: Guillotine Drop!"
---
Meanwhile – Behind Enemy Lines
"Have the orders been delivered?"
The Third Hokage glanced at the Sarutobi shinobi who had returned.
A nod.
All captains informed.
Hiruzen exhaled quietly.
Then—
The ground trembled violently.
Chakra surged in waves.
Hiruzen leapt to the treetops and gazed into the distance.
Flames lit the horizon.
Lightning tore the sky.
Even from over ten kilometers away, the clash was visible.
"So it's begun…"
That location—
Undoubtedly Fugaku and the Raikage.
Last time, the Raikage had fallen.
But this scale—
This was different.
Was he fighting at full power now?
Hiruzen clenched his pipe.
Truthfully—
He wasn't confident.
Fugaku had won once.
But this battlefield was far more intense.
And Hiruzen knew too well the legacy of the Third Raikage.
If only he were decades younger—
But he was not.
"Third Hokage-sama," the Sarutobi shinobi said quietly, "everyone is waiting."
Hiruzen steadied himself.
The flames continued to roar in the distance.
He nodded decisively.
"All units—advance!"
---
Kumogakure Camp
"So boring…"
Killer B lounged inside the Kumogakure camp, watching distant flashes of lightning and fire.
To him, battle was play.
He didn't fully understand the politics behind this war.
But both he—and the Eight-Tails within him—were born for combat.
Being ordered to remain as support irritated him.
Still.
An order from his brother was absolute.
Then—
The Eight-Tails stirred within him.
B turned.
Countless fireballs were raining down from behind their camp.
The defensive barrier activated instantly.
Flames collided with it, ripples spreading across its surface—cracks forming.
B grinned.
"Ahh, now this is more like it, fool, ya fool!"
But he didn't forget his orders.
He fired a signal flare into the sky.
Reinforcements were already racing back.
Drawing his blades, B dropped down to join the assembled forces.
His chakra flared.
Excitement surged through his veins.
In his mind, only one opponent mattered—
The Third Hokage.
"Don't disappoint me, old man… fool, ya fool."
---
The stage was set.
Two battlefields.
Two clashes of legends.
And neither side intended to retreat.