"Th-This…?!"
Watching the human puppet—the Third Kazekage—get blown into dust before it could even make a move, Deidara and Sasori were completely stunned. Kisame Hoshigaki's body went stiff.
Only Jiraiya, Tsunade, and the Eight-Tails—who had been happily spectating—looked excited.
To destroy the Third Kazekage puppet so cleanly, there was only one possible explanation.
The Fifth Hokage—Uchiha Ren—had arrived.
And sure enough—
Whoosh!!
A few seconds later, Ren, clad in the Hokage cloak, appeared beside Tsunade and Jiraiya. He looked at Deidara and Sasori with a half-smile that wasn't quite a smile.
"Hah…"
Tsunade was the first to let out a long breath of relief. With her fear of blood, holding out this long had already pushed her to the limit.
Of course, after this incident, Tsunade secretly made a decision—
Once things settled down, she would definitely ask the Fifth Hokage to find a way to cure her fear of blood.
"Fifth Hokage-sama, you finally made it…"
Beside her, Jiraiya lowered the kunai in his hand, his face filled with unmistakable relief.
"Fifth Hokage-sama, I've been keeping an eye on those three the whole time!"
The Eight-Tails—who had been eating snacks the whole time—straightened up the moment it saw Ren, putting on an unusually serious expression.
Ren shot it a sharp look.
"Uh…"
The Eight-Tails immediately shrank back, awkwardly, and fell silent.
"I'll take it from here."
Ren nodded lightly at Tsunade and Jiraiya, then stepped forward. His gaze shifted to Kisame, Deidara, and Sasori.
"Now then," he said calmly, "are you surrendering… or do you want to keep fighting?"
"Surrender? Impossible…"
From within Hiruko, Sasori suppressed his shock and growled through clenched teeth. "You destroyed my masterpiece. That's an unforgivable sin."
Deidara took a deep breath, forcibly steadying his fear. "Fifth Hokage, you really are strong. But we're not weak either."
"And you?"
Ren glanced at Kisame.
At the same time, without any conscious effort, Ren's eyes slipped into Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan mode, releasing a suffocating wave of ocular pressure.
Facing that Mangekyō—
Kisame, who had always feared nothing under heaven, felt a rare flicker of genuine fear.
He wanted to be stubborn like Deidara and Sasori.
But when he thought of Kakuzu, Hidan, Itachi, and Jūzō—all already dead—panic crept into his heart. His usual composure shattered.
And none of them noticed—
An invisible wave of ocular pressure had already settled over Kisame.
Under normal circumstances, Sasori or Deidara might have sensed something was wrong.
But right now, standing before the so-called God of the Shinobi World, their minds were in complete disarray.
"I… I surrender."
Kisame's eyes hardened as he suddenly spoke those shocking words.
"What?!"
"Kisame—you're surrendering?!"
Deidara and Sasori both froze, staring at him in disbelief.
They never imagined Kisame would be the first to give in.
"That's right."
Having made up his mind, Kisame knew there was no turning back. He removed the ring engraved with the character 'Nan', tossed it aside, and grinned.
"A wise man submits to the times. From today on, I'm a shinobi of Konoha."
Deidara and Sasori were struck speechless.
"And you two?"
Ren's cold gaze shifted to Deidara and Sasori.
Just that look alone made both of them shudder.
"I surrender…"
After barely a moment's hesitation, Deidara clenched his fists, his shoulders slumping as he spoke.
"You—!"
Inside Hiruko, Sasori was furious.
To him, Kisame and Deidara were outright traitors—betraying Akatsuki at the drop of a hat. It was unforgivable.
But under these circumstances, even Sasori's pride cracked.
"…Fifth Hokage-sama," he said stiffly, "I surrender as well."
So—
Was surrender really that good?
"Uh…"
"That's it?"
Watching Kisame, Deidara, and Sasori surrender one after another, both Jiraiya and Tsunade were left dumbfounded.
What happened to fighting to the death?
What happened to resisting to the end?
They folded immediately—so fast it was almost dizzying.
"Settled."
Ren glanced at the three of them, a satisfied curve appearing at the corner of his mouth.
Truthfully, he had planned to kill Kisame, Deidara, and Sasori as well.
But then he remembered—
These three were missing-nin from Kirigakure, Iwagakure, and Sunagakure.
And so, a different idea formed.
If Konoha was to unify the shinobi world someday, then people like Kisame, Deidara, and Sasori—who knew their former villages inside and out—would be extremely useful.
"Wait…"
"Is the Fifth Hokage planning to use them for…?"
At that moment, Tsunade and Jiraiya both realized something.
Their hearts skipped a beat, and their expressions grew heavy.
If what they were thinking was right—
Then the shinobi world… was truly about to change.
◇ BONUS & SUPPORT ◇
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 10 reviews — drop a comment!
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ Read 60 chapters ahead on P@treon → patreon.com/StrawHatStudios