Naruto: Binding Uchiha Sasuke, Hundredfold Return

The terrifying chakra blew through Mei Terumi and the others' hair, leaving them in stunned silence.

"Not even my grandfather had such terrifying chakra..." Kazuki's power reminded Tsunade of Hashirama Senju, the man whose sheer strength once subdued the entire ninja world. Could Kazuki really conquer the entire Hidden Cloud Village single-handedly?

After witnessing Kazuki's strength, Mei Terumi fell silent, then turned to leave. The disparity in power left her without any leverage in negotiations. Besides, Kirigakure had long since fallen, it was a relief not to be expelled from Konoha by Kazuki. Of course, she could leave Konoha, but with most of the Ninja World under the control of the Land of Lightning, Konoha was her only refuge. Better to remain here and bide her time to avenge her village.

"Kazuki-sama, thank goodness you're back! If you'd taken any longer, I'd be left in pieces by these two!" said Gekko Himan, seizing the moment to voice his grievances the instant Kazuki steadied the room. Tsunade shot him a sharp glare; she had never seen a Hokage so lacking in backbone.

"Well, I'll leave the situation to you," she said sternly. "But don't get reckless just because of your strength. Make sure to resolve it before the Hidden Cloud invades, or the Land of Fire will suffer terribly." With that, Tsunade departed without waiting for a response.

Kazuki shrugged, unaffected by the idea of annihilation—it was a mere trifle to him.

"Patriarch, is the only reason you called me back because of these two?" Kazuki said, casually taking the Hokage's seat and lighting a cigarette. "I know exactly how I got this position as Hokage," Himan chuckled. "Without your support, I'd never have kept it, and these people wouldn't respect me."

"The Fifth Hokage, yet you're always getting put down," Kazuki said, exasperated. "Well, since you're my clan patriarch, I'll handle the Hidden Cloud. Once that's done, whether you unify the Ninja World or let things be is up to you."

Himan's eyes lit up. Unifying the Ninja World! Such an honor! If he could achieve this, he'd leave an indelible mark on history, far beyond that of the First Hokage. Even Hashirama didn't accomplish that, but he, Himan, would.

Half a month later, while the Hidden Cloud was occupied with divvying up the spoils of the Land of Water, their own village was attacked. No one knew exactly what had happened. One day, a black dot appeared in the direction of the sun, and soon the entire Hidden Cloud Village was engulfed in flames. The black fire, like the whispered words of a demon, consumed everything, reducing the village to ash.

On September 1st, Konoha Year 72, the Hidden Cloud Village was destroyed, and the Fourth Raikage fell. Though there were thousands of Hidden Cloud shinobi scattered across territories they had conquered, these leaderless ninjas were soon hunted down by Konoha shinobi under Himan's orders. The former lands of the Hidden Cloud fell under Konoha's control.

Ten years later, after tireless efforts, Himan managed to consolidate the entire Ninja World under the Land of Fire. Gone were the Five Great Nations and the many smaller ones—only the Land of Fire remained. Although some nobles from former nations resented the Land of Fire's dominance, they had no choice but to accept, given its overwhelming power.

Himan established a unified administrative body to oversee the various small ninja villages, requiring all ninja villages to register with Konoha for recognition. Thus began a new era of ninja unity… and Kazuki, now 31, had already withdrawn from the ninja world, leaving behind three disciples: Kawano, Rika, and Soryu.

For the next few decades, Kazuki lived a peaceful life, and the Ninja World saw no large-scale wars, nor any invasions from the Ōtsutsuki clan. Even Black Zetsu was nowhere to be found. Time passed like a dream.

One day, Himan passed away in a manner befitting his bold personality. After his death, Tsunade, fulfilling a long-promised duty, became the Sixth Hokage. Under her leadership, Konoha flourished, largely due to the political landscape. No other village could rival Konoha's might.

Ten years into her tenure, Tsunade, feeling her age, decided to retire, endorsing Naruto as the Seventh Hokage. Naruto took on his duties with unparalleled dedication, though Konoha was already so powerful that even without his efforts, it would not falter.

In Konoha Year 100, Tsunade passed away, her once-youthful face now aged and creased. Kazuki attended her funeral, expressionless, yet her memory lived on in his mind.

In Konoha Year 101, Jiraiya passed, but Kazuki didn't attend. After decades of witnessing life and death, he felt no need. Despite his still-strong physique and unwavering skills, his time was nearing an end.

Even Orochimaru, with his successful experiments, offered Kazuki the option to transfer into a younger body, but he declined, following his wife Yūgao's advice: "A true life includes both birth and death."

In Konoha Year 150, Yūgao Uzuki passed away. Kazuki sat by her grave in silence, now truly alone. Seven days later, he visited Naruto, who had retired as Hokage. The Eighth Hokage, Kawano Gekko, had taken his place.

They spoke at length about their lives, and Kazuki shared his secrets, including how he had stolen Naruto's spot in the academy.

Naruto listened with amusement, brushing it off as the ramblings of an old man. He jokingly asked,

"Did you steal Sakura away from me, too?"

Kazuki laughed, "No, you two weren't meant to be."

Several months later, Sasuke passed away. In Konoha Year 151, on September 1st, Kazuki lay in his self-dug grave, using Earth Release to cover himself, a simple tombstone marking his resting place. Feeling his end near, he sensed a shadow over his grave one month later.

"You finally died…" whispered a dark figure above the grave.

Suddenly, a hand shot out of the ground, grasping the intruder tightly, crushing it to dust.

"Finally caught you!"

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The end

(T/N: Thank you all for following this journey to its end. It's been a long time. Like all stories, this one too must come to a close. I hope you've enjoyed reading it. Thank you for being a part of this adventure.)