"Darui, you must protect this village… and everyone in it."
"You must also raise a new generation worthy of the title."
"Starting tomorrow, you are the Raikage."
With his final words spoken, the Fourth Raikage turned back alone toward the battlefield.
Darui, Killer Bee, and the remaining Cloud shinobi stood frozen. How could they flee while their commander stayed behind?
Without turning back, Ay raised a hand and shouted, "This is the final order of the Fourth Raikage. Get moving!"
The last surge of lightning roared into the sky.
Like a falling star, the Raikage hurled himself into the heart of the enemy. He would burn the last of his chakra if it meant taking the head of that silver-haired menace from Konoha.
The Cloud ninja watched the lightning fade into the distance, their eyes brimming with tears.
In that moment, the image of the Third Raikage sacrificing himself to protect his men overlapped with the unwavering back of the Fourth.
The Raikage's clan truly lived and died with honor.
Killer Bee wiped away his tears, tossed his broken sunglasses into the air, and rapped one final verse:
"Lightning streaks like a shooting star, yo!
Pops' silhouette's carved in my heart, yo!
My big bro's last rap was dope, fool!
Now Bee's got the mic, keepin' it cool!"
"Listen up, White Hair from the Leaf!
The Eight-Tails is comin' for revenge, you thief!"
Darui, his eyes red from grief, wiped his face and bellowed, "We move!"
Kakashi raised his hand, and the Konoha shinobi came to a halt instantly.
He tilted his head, listening. "There's movement ahead. Crane, activate your Byakugan."
At once, a masked ANBU wearing a crane mask adjusted his chakra flow. His eyes gleamed the mark of a Hyuga from the branch family.
"Captain Kakashi, the Raikage is approaching us. Alone!" Crane reported in shock.
Kakashi stroked his chin, piecing the truth together.
The Raikage had chosen to cover their retreat alone.
Under different circumstances, Kakashi might have respected the man. But there was no room for sentiment now.
"This place is called Thunderfall Slope," he said coldly. "It'll be the Raikage's grave."
He turned to issue orders. "Set traps here. Oboro, notify Guy's unit to close in. We're ending him."
An ANBU with a longsword strapped to his back, not unlike Hayate Gekkō's, nodded and vanished.
"Cat," Kakashi added, "alert Yamato's unit up ahead. Tell them to ignore the fight here. Focus on intercepting the remaining Cloud forces."
He wasn't about to let any of them escape.
Another masked ANBU with a cat face flickered away into the trees.
Moments later, Crane gasped, "Captain! He's accelerating!"
Even before the words left his mouth, thunder cracked through the sky.
"Two thousand meters… one thousand meters… it's too fast!" Crane shouted. "He's collided with Cat! No he sought Cat out!"
Smoke rose from a shattered forest. The fight ended so quickly that Kakashi hadn't even had time to respond.
The ANBU known as Cat was dead.
There was no need for the Byakugan anymore.
Not far ahead, a hulking figure dark as a thunder beast hurled Cat's lifeless body aside.
"You Konoha rats! Who dares fight me?!"
Another comrade had fallen.
Kakashi showed no expression. He raised his forehead protector, revealing the crimson Sharingan. The tomoe spun rapidly, merging into a deadly three-bladed pinwheel.
"Engage," he ordered.
Lightning crackled around him as the Konoha forces surged forward.
Elsewhere, Yamato's unit remained the final net. They had set up an ambush along the only road leading back to the Land of Lightning.
At last, they detected the Cloud survivors.
They only needed to step into the trap before Yamato struck.
But just then, a scout in a bug mask returned. "Captain Yamato, Kakashi and Guy's squads are locked in intense combat with the Raikage."
Yamato narrowed his eyes toward the advancing Cloud shinobi.
"No Raikage," he murmured. His brow tightened.
So the battle was with Ay himself. Had the Cloud forces split up?
Should he engage the survivors or return to support Kakashi? The value of eliminating the Raikage, of securing the Eight-Tails, the risk of splitting or uniting forces he weighed it all carefully.
After a second's reflection, Yamato gave his order. "Shift course. Full speed. Reinforce Kakashi."
Taking the Raikage's head was the higher priority.
Kakashi and Guy had already converged. Together, they were encircling the Raikage.
Despite his wounds, the Fourth Raikage fought like a man possessed. He had ignited his chakra with his very life, every attack carrying the weight of mutual destruction.
The battle was at its peak. Kakashi, Guy, and Ay clashed with earth-shaking fury. There was no need to sacrifice more ANBU now.
All escape routes were sealed by Konoha operatives. Specialists from the Nara and Yamanaka clans launched sneak attacks, trying to lock Ay down.
He tried to strike them first but was intercepted every time by Kakashi or Guy.
Meanwhile, sealing specialists raised a shimmering barrier strong enough to shift the tide of battle.
Even a fully powered Raikage couldn't break through, and Ay was already at his limit.
This was Xiapi. This was Gaixia. His end was written here.
"This will be your grave, Raikage," Kakashi taunted mid-battle. "History will remember you as a fool who died to foreign hands."
His words were meant to provoke Kakashi respected Ay's sacrifice, but psychological warfare was part of the game.
"If you think stopping us means your people will make it home, you're dead wrong."
He ducked a chakra-charged chop and thrust his Lightning Blade toward Ay's side.
"Yamato's forces are waiting in the Forest of Hot Springs. Your men won't escape."
Ay's eyes narrowed in shock.
"Not one of your shinobi will make it back alive. And it's your fault."
For a moment, Ay faltered.
That was all Guy needed. With a shout, he drove a flying kick into Ay's back like a war axe.
"This is the price of ambition!"
The Raikage, already running on fumes, couldn't dodge. He stumbled forward under the blow.
"History will say the Raikage died for greed…"
The lightning flickering around him began to fade.
Perfect opportunity! x2
Wood Style: Silent Binding Technique!
From the ground, thorned vines erupted like vipers, wrapping around the Raikage's limbs.
Yamato, who had been hiding and waiting for the right moment, finally struck.
Chakra surged in Kakashi's left eye. Space distorted as he aimed the deadly jutsu at Ay's head.
The Raikage twisted his neck at the last instant. His arm was sucked into the void, torn off with a spray of blood.
But instead of despair, he laughed.
"So this is the last Konoha unit?"
Not fear, but hope lit his dying eyes.
Darui and Killer Bee would make it back. He had bought them the time they needed.
His own death was certain.
He would spend his final chakra on himself.
The Raikage gathered lightning chakra in his brain. In a flash, it scorched his mind from within.
With that, the secrets of Kumogakure died with him.
The Fourth Raikage Ay was dead.
Silence fell over the battlefield. The last arc of lightning flickered over his charred corpse.
The three Konoha commanders looked at one another.
No one spoke for a moment.
Finally, Kakashi gave a weary nod.
Guy gave a solemn nod. Yamato deactivated his Wood Style and began sealing the body.
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