The gap in their power was simply too vast to measure.
Beyond the physical defeat, the Third Raikage knew he was only drawing breath because the golden haired shinobi had decided to let him live.
The most chilling part of the entire encounter was how young the boy was.
He could not even begin to fathom what kind of monster Minato would become once he reached his peak.
Let's not speak of this matter anymore.
The Third Raikage shook his head slowly. Send someone to find Blue Bee and the others and tell them to return to the village immediately.
His subordinate looked at him with clear worry. But Raikage-sama, are we really going to surrender the Tailed Beasts? If we lose that power, then—
Without the Tailed Beasts, we are still one of the Five Great Villages. When Kumogakure was first built, we didn't have their power either. However, if we refuse to hand them over now, Kumogakure will be wiped off the map today.
The Third Raikage narrowed his eyes. Besides, if no one else has Tailed Beasts, then the balance of power won't actually change that much.
He had watched Minato closely. Aside from the Tailed Beasts, the boy seemed to have no interest in land or politics.
It was clear the boy had come specifically for the ultimate weapons and had only fought the Raikage as a side note.
Furthermore, tell the Daimyos Mansion to stop the pressure on the Land of Fire. Keep a very close eye on everyone in the village for the next few days. Do not let anyone provoke that man.
Understood!
Even though he had just been beaten by Minato, the Raikage's authority remained absolute. This was simply how Kumogakure worked.
If you wanted to be the Raikage, you had to prove it.
You could challenge the current leader, and if you won, the seat was yours.
Unlike Konoha, which was split between different political factions, Kumogakure was made of nothing but pure warriors.
Because of this, no one questioned the Raikage's strength just because he had lost to a freak of nature like Minato.
The Raikage had taken a direct hit from a laser, but he had mostly lost due to the difference in speed and mechanics. As a man who could fight ten thousand ninjas for days on end, his endurance was legendary. He still had more than $50\%$ of his health remaining.
If anyone tried to cause trouble now, he was still strong enough to crush them with a single strike.
Three days passed by in total silence.
The news that Minato had defeated the Third Mizukage and the Third Raikage back to back traveled through the world like wildfire.
Inside the Tsuchikage's office in Iwagakure.
Onoki leaned his head against his only remaining hand, his expression darkened by deep anxiety.
So that fool of a Raikage lost too? Hmph.
To be honest, a part of him felt smug seeing his rival humbled.
But he was mostly disappointed. The Raikage was still alive, and out of all the Kage who had faced Minato, he had gotten off the easiest.
The Kazekage and Mizukage were dead, and Onoki himself had lost an arm, yet the Raikage had only been hit by one laser.
To a normal person, that beam would be certain death, but for a tank like the Raikage, it was barely a scratch.
Hmph, that old man must have begged the brat for mercy like a dog.
Onoki thought these bitter thoughts, but he couldn't help but let out a long sigh.
The reports said that after the fight, Minato demanded the Two-Tails and Eight-Tails, and the Raikage had simply folded.
What a spineless coward.
Why didn't you just die instead?
Knowing how hot-headed the hidden cloud ninjas were, if the Raikage had died, they would have fought Minato to the last man.
In that scenario, Minato might have won, but Kumogakure would have been destroyed in the process.
That would have been much better for the rest of the world.
There was no doubt about it. Once Minato collected those two Tailed Beasts, Iwagakure would be his next stop since they were the closest neighbors left.
Onoki considered sending assassins to kill the Cloud Jinchuriki before they reached Minato, but he was terrified that if they died, Minato would blame him and burn his village down.
Besides, those Jinchuriki were not easy targets to kill.
He even thought about killing his own village's Jinchuriki so the Tailed Beasts would have to wait years to respawn. It was a high price, but better than letting Minato have them.
While Onoki was stuck in his dark thoughts, the situation in Sunagakure was just as grim.
Bunpuku, the Jinchuriki of the One-Tailed Shukaku, looked at the kunai that had been placed in his cell. He looked at the nervous guards and put his hands together in prayer.
It seems my journey ends here.
Puchi.
The metal slid into his skin. As the Shukaku roared and cursed from inside the seal, Bunpuku slowly stopped breathing.
Chiyo stood outside the cell, her face full of complicated emotions.
She and Bunpuku had been friends for a very long time. He had held the Shukaku since the very beginning of the village.
After knowing him for decades, it pained her to see him die in a dark hole like this.
This is the only way to make sure the Shukaku isn't taken.
Ebizo spoke with a heavy voice. However, this means Sunagakure will be without its greatest power for a long time. If we have already made him angry—
Chiyo shook her head. The village could lose many things, but they could not let Shukaku fall into his hands.
Sunagakure was already struggling with a weak military and a dying economy. If they lost their Tailed Beast, the village might never recover.
She knew from her family that Minato had shown mercy to them once before out of pity.
Personally, she felt like she owed Minato a debt, but as the acting leader, she had to put the village first.
While Sunagakure was drowning in gloom, Konoha felt like it was having a massive party.
Did you hear the news? About what happened in the Land of Lightning?
Of course! Minato-sama is incredible!
He beat the Kazekage, the Tsuchikage, the Mizukage, and the Raikage one after another. Is the Hokage next on his list?
Hahaha, what are you talking about?
Wait, didn't they say that he was a traitor who left the village?
I heard he only left because other countries were bullying us. He didn't want to bring trouble to the village, so he went out to settle the score by himself.
He is so cool. I heard he is already the top choice to become the next Hokage.
Everywhere you went in Konoha, people were talking about how Minato was crushing the other villages.
This wasn't some hidden mission or a sneaky ambush. He was walking right up to their front doors and beating their leaders into the dirt.
The people of the leaf felt a massive surge of pride. Their "Golden Boy" was proving to the world that Konoha was the strongest.
Kushina and Mikoto were out shopping together. Listening to the happy crowds, they couldn't stop smiling. They were so proud of the man Minato appeared to be.
That is just like Minato!
Kushina's face was red with excitement. I've decided. I'm going to learn how to be a great cook. When he gets back, I'm going to make him a huge dinner to say thank you.
Mikoto laughed softly. Then you have to let me help you.
The two women walked down the street, laughing and making plans for the future.
Suddenly, Kushina spotted a familiar face and waved her hand. Oh? Isn't that Nonou?
Kushina!
Nonou turned around, a look of perfect surprise on her face.
Standing right next to her was a young girl with blue hair.
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