If these five men were to die here, the entire shinobi world would descend into chaos.
"Hyūga Shigeo, what do you want?" shouted the Fourth Raikage, fury and dread mixing in his voice.
"I want the Five Great Ninja Villages to submit to me," Shigeo said calmly.
The words struck like thunder. Even the five daimyos inside the hut froze in shock. Submit to him? That meant surrendering all military power—their villages, their armies, their sovereignty.
"Impossible!" barked the Third Hokage. "We would rather die in war than hand our villages to you! You're insane if you think we'll agree!"
Shigeo's faint smile didn't waver. "You sure? You might regret that. Under Nanmo, you'd avoid much future disaster. I take care of my people, after all."
In truth, his demand was mostly a bluff to rattle them. He had no interest in ruling the world. Running one village was already enough trouble. Managing five was absurd. The conquest of three nations days earlier had been an act of fury, not long-term ambition.
"Since you refuse," he continued, "I'll lower my price. You slandered and attacked us, invaded a small nation for greed and pride. That can't go unpunished. So here's my offer: I'll drop the claim of control, and you each pay me reparations worth two Nanmo Nations. Then we're even."
"Two Nanmo Nations?" Ao from the Mist asked. "What kind of number is that?"
"Calculate it yourself," Shigeo said with a shrug. "How many buildings in a village, how many towns, how many citizens, how much land? Add it all up."
Ao frowned. "Based on your old borders, or your new expanded ones?"
"If it's now, you couldn't afford it," Shigeo said, lips curving slightly. "Our territory's nearly as large as the Land of Water. So let's say the original size. That's fair."
"That's absurd! I refuse!" the Third Hokage snapped.
Shigeo's gaze chilled. "Then it's triple."
"That's not a negotiation!" roared the Fourth Raikage. "You're just extorting us!"
"You go too far!" Ōnoki shouted, anger flaring. "If that's the case, let's settle this with battle!"
He thrust his hands forward. "Jinton: Genkai Hakuri no Jutsu! (Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique!)"
A glowing cube enveloped Shigeo, ready to erase him from existence. But the moment it detonated, Shigeo's form vanished—nothing inside.
He reappeared behind Ōnoki in an instant, palm slamming into his back.
Ōnoki coughed blood, staggering forward as the three Tailed Beasts surged toward him. The One-Tail's tail swept down like a hammer—if it hit, the Tsuchikage would die on the spot.
But the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, leapt forward, his golden sand forming a shield of Jiton (Magnet Release) that deflected the blow.
Rasa countered with waves of shimmering gold sand, driving them toward the One-Tail. But the Nine-Tails lunged from the side, claws descending like thunder.
Rasa barely dodged as the One-Tail unleashed a chakra shockwave in unison. The explosion rocked the mountainside.
"Raiton: Jūryū Bō! (Lightning Release: Heavy Flow Violent Strike!)" roared the Raikage, charging the beasts, his body cloaked in lightning.
The clash sent a tremor through the entire hillside. The shockwave blew away the ninja stationed outside—and even shattered the small hut on the slope.
Inside, the daimyos screamed. If not for Honglin and Jinshi grabbing them, they'd have been hurled into the air.
The Raikage's attack struck the Nine-Tails directly—but it didn't even flinch. One casual swipe sent him flying dozens of meters.
The Five Kage regrouped, standing shoulder to shoulder. They had no choice now but to attack Shigeo directly. Defeating the Tailed Beasts was impossible without sealing teams, and time was against them. Killing their master was their only chance.
"Jiton! (Magnet Release)" Shigeo murmured. Golden chakra radiated from him as he raised one hand.
The earth rumbled. Waves of black iron sand erupted, covering the entire mountain like a storm cloud.
The world dimmed, swallowed by darkness.
The Kage charged—Rasa's golden spears, A's lightning fist, Hiruzen's fire-style shuriken, Ōnoki's Dust Release, and Ao's blazing chakra blade—five attacks converging on Shigeo from all directions.
"Boom!" The explosion of power tore the air apart. The glare swallowed everything within the iron-sand dome.
For a second, silence. Then Hiruzen's heart sank. No way...
Their attacks had passed through Shigeo harmlessly. He was untouched. The iron-sand sphere now enclosed them all—like an inverted steel cauldron sealing the world away.
Darkness devoured the light. Hiruzen conjured a small Katon (Fire Release) flame to illuminate the interior.
Across the barrier, the five daimyos huddled together, trembling. They were trapped too.
"The magnet field… it's changing," Ao muttered, activating his Byakugan.
Inside the iron dome, thousands of magnetic spikes began forming—growing, twisting, converging inward like fangs of metal.
The Tailed Beasts were gone. Shigeo's two subordinates had vanished too.
The Kage unleashed a barrage of techniques, detonations lighting the shadows as Rasa's golden sand wrapped protectively around the daimyos.
But chaos ruled. The spikes pressed closer; even the strongest chakra walls began to crack.
"Five times, then," came Shigeo's calm voice from the darkness.
Even now, he was negotiating.
"I agree! I agree!" shouted the Water Daimyo in terror.
(End of Chapter)
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