"Four?"
Tsunade, Shikaku Nara, and Choza Akamichi exchanged heavy, complicated glances. A profound silence settled over the Konoha observers.
The Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki, had lost his son Kitsuchi and immediately issued an unconditional surrender. The Third Raikage, A, had his ultimate spear and shield effortlessly shattered, resulting in the entire Cloud Village being permanently banished from the Land of Fire. And now, the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, had been force-fed his own gold dust and sent to the afterlife to meet the First Kazekage.
Who was the fourth Kage Inoichi was referring to? No one said his name, but they all instantly knew.
It wasn't the Mizukage of the distant Hidden Mist. It was their own leader: the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Although Hiruzen was currently living a comfortable life in Konoha and hadn't directly provoked Ikki like the other three, they knew their Hokage's temperament intimately. Hiruzen simply didn't possess the sheer, suicidal courage required to initiate a conflict with the Iron Fist. Especially now, with the horrific examples set by the Stone, the Cloud, and the Sand, Hiruzen would undoubtedly bow his head to preserve the Leaf.
Down in the crater, the struggle finally ceased.
After being forcefully fed a mound of gold dust half the height of a grown man, Rasa's violent convulsions slowed, then stopped entirely. Without Chiyo or Ebizō halting their feed, and with Ikki standing by in complete apathy, the Fourth Kazekage asphyxiated. He choked to death on the very gold dust he had summoned, a victim of his own jutsu and his own bottomless arrogance.
"Do not blame us for our cruelty, Lord Rasa." Chiyo stared down at his lifeless body, refusing to look away from the Kazekage's wide, bloodshot, resentful dead eyes. Her own gaze was a maelstrom of sorrow and grim necessity. "The title of Kazekage is not merely a seat of absolute power. It is a sacrifice. A mantle meant to shoulder the entire burden of the village's survival and its future."
Beside her, Ebizō brushed the remaining gold dust from his palms, painstakingly smoothing out his bloodstained robes to restore whatever meager dignity he had left.
He turned toward Ikki, who stood quietly at the crater's edge, and offered a deep, pleading bow. "Lord Ikki, Rasa has paid the ultimate price for his insolence. I beg of you... spare our vanguard. They did not truly participate in this battle. From beginning to end, it was only Rasa and the two of us who dared to reject your mercy and wage this war."
"If our lives are not enough to balance the scales," Chiyo added, stepping up beside her brother, "then before we die, we will issue a final, binding edict in the name of the Hidden Sand's elders. A decree to this army and to the future Kazekage: The Hidden Sand shall avoid you, Lord Ikki, for the rest of time."
Ikki stared down at the two elderly shinobi who were actively bargaining for their own executions. He remained silent for a long moment, the wind howling across the jagged rim of the abyss.
"You two are relics of the transitional era," Ikki finally spoke, his voice slow and heavy. "You know my temperament better than most. I do not enjoy bullying the weak, nor do I revel in slaughtering the young. But make no mistake—I am not entirely opposed to doing so if provoked."
"We understand," Ebizō nodded solemnly.
As veterans who had survived the tail-end of the Warring States period, they knew the truth of Ikki's character. In that blood-soaked epoch, even Hashirama Senju—a man revered across the globe for his gentle, pacifistic nature—was forced to march into battle and slaughter teenagers, children, and infants of rival clans.
Yet, ironically, it was Ikki "The Iron Fist," the most brutal and terrifying monster of the era, who was the exception. Beneath his apocalyptic fists, the world had bled, but in his entire lifetime, he had never once killed a child.
In fact, it was precisely because of Ikki's unspoken mercy that several prominent figures of the modern era were alive today. Men like Ōnoki. Women like Chiyo. Decades ago, their respective Kage had dragged them onto the battlefield against the Iron Fist. And because they were young, because they were non-combatants, or perhaps simply because Ikki had been in a merciful mood, they had been spared.
But everyone from that era knew an unwritten rule: The Iron Fist only spares you once.
That was exactly why Ōnoki had instantly capitulated after losing his son. And it was exactly why Chiyo and Ebizō never once harbored the delusion that they would leave this desert alive. They had already used their "first time." By actively attacking Ikki today, they had thrown his past mercy back in his face.
"Thank you, Lord Ikki. Thank you for your final grace."
Elder Chiyo bowed deeply, her posture reflecting complete sincerity and absolute surrender. If she had been in Ikki's shoes—staring down an enemy force of two thousand—she would have slaughtered them all without a second thought, even if they were children. Shinobi possessed no true bottom line; they knew nothing of absolute good and evil. For a man born in the Warring States to still strictly adhere to his own moral code was a miracle she could not help but revere.
Suppressing her swirling emotions, Chiyo forced her battered body to scale the steep incline of the crater. Reaching the rim, she stood before the two thousand pale, trembling Sand shinobi.
"Hidden Sand! Hear my final command!" she roared, her raspy voice echoing across the dunes with the full weight of her chakra. "For the rest of your lives, no matter the reason, no matter the provocation, you must stay far, far away from the Iron Fist!"
Ebizō climbed up to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with his sister.
"To the future Fifth Kazekage, whoever they may be..." Ebizō bellowed, his voice cracking with absolute finality. "Do not seek revenge for the three of us!"
Taking a unified breath, the two elders looked out over the army they had dedicated their lives to protecting, and shouted in unison:
"In the name of the elders of the Hidden Sand... we declare our involvement in the Third Shinobi World War... officially OVER!"
A/N: For this week, every 100 Powerstones will get ya'll an extra chapter! Thank you!