Hiruzen persuaded me to die

Outside Cloud Shinobi Village – 10 Kilometers Away

A sea of displaced villagers, hastily evacuated from Kumogakure, huddled together in a makeshift camp. Anxiety and unease buzzed through the air.

"Why are we even fighting Konoha?" a young villager grumbled. "We had to evacuate our whole village!"

"I heard Lord Raikage has a secret weapon," another whispered. "He'll wipe out the Konoha shinobi in one blow."

"And what if it fails?" someone interjected. "That terrifying Konoha shinobi—what if he brings the mountain down on us again?"

"I don't want to live through that nightmare again," another voice murmured.

Just then, a blinding light erupted from the distant Kumogakure skyline.

"Is that... the weapon?!"

"They're dead! Those damn Konoha shinobi must be dead now!"

"So, can we go back?"

But the celebration turned to horror. Moments later, all the mountains surrounding Cloud Village buckled and collapsed under a formless, titanic storm.

"What's going on?! Are they still fighting?!"

"The village... the village is gone!"

"I told you we shouldn't provoke Konoha! That shinobi... he's not human!"

Then it happened.

The earth split.

A golden sword, stretching for tens of kilometers, sliced into the heavens like divine retribution—dividing the very landscape in two.

Inside Cloud Shinobi Village

A massive rift scarred the earth, stretching endlessly. At its center, a bottomless chasm tore Kumogakure in half.

Boom!

A dull crash echoed as Killer Bee's figure appeared, thrown aside like a broken doll. Near him, the colossal body of Eight Tails—Gyūki—lay in two grotesque halves.

"Still not dead, huh?" Naraku remarked calmly. "You really do live up to the name, Gyūki. Your vitality is monstrous."

In the past, Uchiha Sasuke had tried to kill Eight Tails with Amaterasu, and Bee escaped with only a tentacle. Even Uchiha Madara couldn't secure Gyūki completely. And when Ōtsutsuki Momoshiki came for the tailed beasts, Gyūki managed to escape again.

But now?

Now, only a handful of Cloud ninjas had survived, shielded by Gyūki's final act of protection.

The Fourth Raikage stood frozen, eyes locked on the cleaved village. That golden sword had not just leveled mountains—it had bisected the world.

No one here... could possibly defeat this man.

Fourth Raikage gave a subtle signal to the survivors behind him, then stepped forward and said:

"We... the Cloud Village... are willing to sign the peace treaty. We accept all your conditions."

Naraku didn't respond.

Instead, he lifted a hand, and from behind Raikage, an earth-yellow gourd-shaped artifact flew into his grasp.

With a click, he shut its lid.

"So this was your plan? You were hoping to seal me using the Six Paths artifact—the Amber Purifying Pot?" Naraku's voice was calm, even amused.

The Amber Purifying Pot, a treasured relic from the Sage of Six Paths, was their last, desperate trump card. If the target responds to their own name, they're sealed instantly.

But Naraku had seized the pot before it could even be activated.

Fourth Raikage's face turned a sickly green. That had been their final resort. If even a Six Paths relic couldn't stop Naraku... what hope remained?

Naraku turned back toward Killer Bee, still unconscious.

"Come out," he said coldly.

A glowing, pale-blue Chakra sphere formed in his palm. With a single pull, he ripped the Eight Tails—Gyūki—out of Killer Bee's body.

Bee's skin lost its color. His breath weakened. His life began slipping away.

"You bastard!" Fourth Raikage roared. "Give Bee back!"

Naraku glanced at the unconscious Jinchūriki. "Fine. Take him."

He tossed Bee like a ragdoll. The heavy body crashed into Raikage, sending them both tumbling.

Then Naraku uncapped the Amber Purifying Pot and aimed it at Gyūki.

"Come in."

Gyūki, mangled and weak, still refused to speak.

"Stubborn? You think silence can save you?"

Naraku smirked.

Another glowing blue sphere shimmered in his hand—a technique of the Tenseigan. It pulsed with subtle light and pierced Gyūki's flesh.

Mind Control.

"Eight Tails. Come in."

"Yes," Gyūki responded blankly, eyes glazed over.

Like a sea of ink, his massive form melted and flowed into the gourd-shaped pot.

"Damn you!" Fourth Raikage howled. "Let Gyūki go!"

He charged, but before he could reach him—

Naraku caught him by the throat.

His grip was like iron.

"Tell me," Naraku said softly. "When you tried to steal the Byakugan under the pretense of peace talks… what were you thinking?"

"When your plan failed and you demanded Konoha surrender me as the 'murderer'... did you think you were righteous?"

"If someone had demanded your brother... would you be so noble?"

He glanced at the lifeless Bee, then at the pot holding Gyūki.

"Why was it always someone else's brother? Why couldn't it be your brother, A?"

Naraku's right hand raised.

From the swirling Truth-Seeking Balls, a single golden blade emerged—compressed light and truth itself.

"You wanted power. You wanted war. You tried to destroy me, twice."

He stared into the eyes of the Fourth Raikage.

"Now you can follow your brother... into death."

With godlike calm, Naraku thrust the golden blade forward.

It pierced Raikage's chest without resistance—his legendary Lightning Armor offering no protection against the celestial edge of the Golden Wheel Reincarnation Explosion.

Raikage's eyes locked onto Naraku's. Not in fear. Not in guilt.

But in resentment.

Even now, even at the end...

He didn't regret a thing.