Chapter 70
He was the Fourth Raikage. But it wasn't easy to handle the responsibilities left behind by the strongest shinobi in the history of his village. Everyone looked at him the same way, wishing that the Third was still alive. And he was no different from them, thinking the same.
He knew that no matter what he did, nothing would change. The fact that he wasn't the greatest shinobi in his village's history wouldn't change. The Daimyo of his country would look for the Third Raikage every time he saw him. His people would always say that he wasn't the Third and that he was lacking in every way.
This was his only chance. For his village to move on, to live on, he couldn't fail. No matter what, Kumo needed to put Konoha down, to show that they could still fight the strongest village even without their strongest shinobi.
And this was it. As Darui's blade cut thin lines into the Uchiha brat's flesh, Kumo would realize that they were still strong. That their future generation would rise above other villages, and they could move away from their past.
It didn't matter if it was done with the opponent having a handicap. Darui's victory here would be a foundation for their future. And it didn't matter what it took to come to this. All that mattered was his village's future.
From the moment he entered this village, he was in a battle, or at least that's what he thought at the beginning. He felt that with his unreasonable request, he would set up his battlefield and set the pace for the rest of the war that would come with the Third Hokage.
And yet, he was stuck. With the Third Hokage agreeing to his unreasonable request so easily, he became doubtful and afraid. That quick decision made the Raikage regret it. And he couldn't just accept it that easily.
So, he pushed forward, but he got nowhere. And now, his only chance to get something good from this visit to Konoha was riding on the shoulders of Darui. And just as he was about to celebrate his trust in his genin, he knew he had fucked up.
Darui was faster; he had the upper hand. His sword slashed and cut Shisui Uchiha, but as time passed, Darui's chances of victory decreased. Shisui Uchiha was able to avoid the sword far better with each swing directed at him.
He was learning and adapting, and before long, not only was he able to block and avoid it, but he was counterattacking. At first, it was nothing but an attempt to make distance, but Darui was relentless, as he probably felt what was going on and tried to finish his onslaught as soon as possible.
But as fast as Darui got, Shisui learned and adapted twice as fast. The sword, even though it was longer and heavier, was still faster than Shisui's kunai, so why couldn't it hit the Uchiha anymore?
Because Shisui has learned it. After some time of observing Darui's technique, Shisui had learned it. And now not only could Shisui use it, but he also saw through the flaws of this technique that led him to claim an upper hand.
"It's over," the Third Hokage decided on the spot, probably predicting this result a long time ago.
"Nothing is over." But he couldn't accept it.
Darui had to win. No matter what. It wasn't about the money. If need be, he would give it out of his own pocket. He couldn't care less about ten million. Darui needed to win for the future of his village to be bright. If he couldn't, that meant not only was Konoha stronger now, but it would be stronger in the future too.
Darui had the same thought. The moment Shisui started to weave through Darui's previously perfect swordsmanship, he had to give up on it. He had to use his ninjutsu to destroy Shisui before it was too late.
"That's why you can't move forward," the Third Hokage, sitting next to him, said, even if it felt like he was speaking to himself.
"I refuse to move forward to a future that makes us weaker."
He could never accept it. Konoha was Kumo's enemy. If they couldn't be stronger than Konoha, then they couldn't exist in peace. The peace treaty was useless; at any moment, it could be broken. And that false hope of protection they would cling to after signing it would be their downfall.
He would never trust anyone from Konoha. The only person he believed in was the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze. That man was the same as him, someone who fought for the same reason. But now, he was dead, and there would never be any ties with Konoha without him.
It was Minato he was supposed to have faced, not this deceitful Third Hokage. As a Raikage, he wanted to tell him that he had figured out what made Bee and him so strong, and that they could have peace, but Minato was dead, and so were any hopes for him to trust Konoha.
The fight was over when Shisui jumped over a torrent of lightning that would have immobilized anyone else and threw his kunai straight at Darui's hands, making him unable to make hand signs.
Shisui's quick and powerful punches broke through Darui's defenses. A knee to the chin knocked Darui out for a second, making him go limp, enough time for Shisui to finish the fight with a kunai at Darui's neck.
Darui was one of the best of the next generation. Smart, calculating, and calm in every situation. But he was just a bit slower, a bit weaker than his opponent, and it was all that mattered at this moment. He was defeated, and so was his dream to put down Konoha for once.
He looked over at the Third Hokage. But rather than finding glee in his victory, rather than boasting about it, he just looked at his genin as he was proclaimed the winner, without saying a word. Emotionless and uncaring. And he wanted peace? What a joke.
He might fool others with his acting, but he will never fool Kumo. What Konoha wanted was to be on top. They saw themselves as better than others. They saw themselves always being in the right. But one only needed to look through the surface to see what kind of village it was.
A deceitful place full of monsters that was ready to devour anything and everyone just to gain a bit more power over those weaker. And then they presented themselves like they were the example other villages should follow.
Kumo won't fall like Kusa. As the Third Raikage, he saw right through the meaning of Konoha's peace. It was control. Now, Kusa only existed in name as all their affairs were handled by Konoha. And now Konoha grew too arrogant to think others wouldn't be able to find it out.
"Forget about the bet," the Third Hokage suddenly said as the next match was about to begin. "Your genin did a great job. He knew what he had to do the moment the fight began, and he did his best to accomplish it. In a few years, he will be an excellent shinobi any village would be envious of."
This bastard had completely written him off. A was read like a book. The thing that he thought he could use to push the Third Hokage was now used against him. He broke his word first; nothing he could say would change that, and the Hokage was using it against him.
The Hokage didn't think for a second that he would even pay the money. So, he once again used that fact to push him, completely cornering him. If he accepted the Hokage's words and laughed it off, he would have nowhere to retreat. Trapped between a wall and a deceitful and manipulative man who wouldn't let him go.
"He wasn't as good as Shisui Uchiha, and I don't think a few years will change that." No, he couldn't allow himself to be held in the Hokage's palm; he would pay for his mistake. It was just money in the end. "Money isn't an issue for me. Give it to the boy if you must, but don't try to reject it."
"If you are insisting, I won't refuse then." The Hokage didn't seem happy, though it was barely noticeable. At least he managed a small victory.
Hopefully, no one would find out about the bet; otherwise, the council and the others would use it against him. Looking down on him, his genin would feel guilty for not being able to live up to his expectations.
"I will make it as a donation to the village's orphanages and hospitals in your name then."
Fucking bastard. He just wouldn't let go of him, dragging him down deeper into the pit of the abyss with every word he spoke. And not only that, he even made it so that once he returned to his village, he would be questioned about it. So, he would have to make at least twice as big a donation to his village's needs, too. Not only was he in the Hokage's palm, he was squeezed to death by him, too.
From the very moment the subject of betting was suggested by the Hokage, he should have realized the true implications of it. A nail after a nail was hammered into his coffin, and this bet might be just what he needed to bury him.
Damn him. The Hokage was playing him like a fiddle. If he knew it would be so difficult to get the upper hand, he should have just been happy to get the Hokage's word promising the retirement of the legendary and strongest shinobi right now. Even if that promise wasn't kept, it could have been used against him in other ways, but now he had nothing and had put himself in a corner with no way out.
He was so caught up in his mind that he didn't even realize that the next fight with Yamato and Samui had already begun. Neither he nor the Hokage said a word as, once again, the difference between the two villages was shown.
The silent treatment was unbearable. It was even worse because he never boasted about his genin. His silence was loud and clear enough: this was Konoha, and he had no right to say anything about it. He was just the fool who refused to sign a peace treaty with them.
But he couldn't accept it either. That useless piece of paper was nothing but a trap. Just like those bets were, the peace treaty was even more so. To trust Konoha was like putting a kunai to their neck. At any moment, it would cut them like it did Kusa.
"Winner, Yamato of Konoha." Before he could snap back to reality, the fight was already over; he couldn't even focus on it for a second.
Now, only Yugito was left to represent his village. What should he do? He couldn't simply return home empty-handed. All of the doubters of his ability would only flock together once more. He needed to accomplish something, or he was doomed to be looked down on for the rest of his life.
"Maki of Suna and Yugito Nii, please step down to the arena."
In the end, he could only watch over his shinobi. He lost he had to accept it. Played and now thrown to the ground before being trampled, he had nothing to say. And he couldn't even complain about it.
Hiruzen Sarutobi was out of his league. He thought that with his two jinhuriki, he could somehow pressure the Third Hokage, but to him, they probably were nothing but bugs. He could just step on them or over them; it was up to him to decide.
And what has he done? His actions not only didn't bring anything good out of it, but now it only pressured Yugito, too. Didn't that girl suffer enough? And now she looked so desperately at him, realizing that all hopes of their village sat on her slender shoulders.
He wanted to scream and to tell her it wasn't like that. That she didn't need to prove anything. But that would be a lie; they needed her to win and to defeat Konoha's shinobi. So, he didn't let Bee move or do anything, from stopping Yugito from letting her go wild.
He could only let Yugito tear apart Suna's kunoichi's scrolls and even go for a kill without holding anything back. Yugito Nii had to play the role of a monster; she had to destroy her opponents to show Kumo's power. And it was he who put her into his situation.
Minato's words once again entered his mind. Minato had warned him that if he didn't realize what is that they fought for, they would be neither jinchuriki nor humans. And now, he could only watch as he made his kunoichi a monster as she was about to tear Maki's throat after burning her scrolls and everything else in the way.
Until the explosion rang through their ears. His head whipped as he saw smoke rise just outside the arena. Before he could comprehend what had happened, and turned to look at the Third Hokage, and he was gone.
In a split second, his attention was turned away, the Third went for Yugito, who was bound by her feet and arms without unable to move. The Third Raikage saw that his kunoichi was held behind the Third Hokage as blood gathered under their feet.
"Don't move." Even without Jiraiya, one of the Sannin, having his hand on his shoulders, the Third Raikage wouldn't have been able to move.
He just couldn't understand why the Third Hokage had protected his genin with his own life against Suna's Jonin. The sword sticking through the Third Hokage's torso was meant for Yugito. Nothing made any sense.
A.N. Hopefully, you all got better holidays than I did. Somehow, my whole family got the flu after Christmas. And since my health wasn't good to begin with, I still have it. Only yesterday did I finally get better enough to get up from bed and not feel like I was dying. Good start to the new year.
As always. Thanks for reading and supporting me. If you want 7 more chapters of this story and 42 chapters in total with all my current stories, please consider supporting me on pa treon ironworlf852. Thanks in advance.