XXXXX-SAKURA HARUNO POV
The Leaf hadn't felt like home in years.
As Sakura walked past the stadium that had once hosted the Chunin Exams—the exams that had changed everything—she felt an old, familiar ache settle in her chest. Sometimes, she wished she had done what she truly wanted to that morning: stayed home, feigning illness so Team 7 couldn't join the chunin exams. Naruto and Sasuke would have been furious, but maybe then... maybe she'd still have her team.
But things hadn't turned out that way.
Kakashi-sensei was dead, killed in Deidara's Final Explosion. Naruto was gone—taken, the Hokage Danzo had claimed, by Jiraiya when he betrayed the village to join his former teammate, Orochimaru. The same man who had marked Sasuke, who had killed the Third Hokage.
And Sasuke? He was still a shinobi of Konoha, technically. But between his ANBU training and his secret missions, she might as well have lost him too. He and Neji had been recruited for special ANBU operations under Danzo, leaving her without a team, without a purpose.
For a while, she had drifted. Then Kurenai-sensei had pulled her into her own squad.
Akamaru's death during the Chunin Exams atttack had left Kiba broken—he had retired to care for his clan's kennel and hospital. That left Kurenai needing a third, and Sakura had stepped in. It had been different from Team 7 in every way. In some ways, it was better. Training with Kurenai-sensei wasn't just being thrown into endless missions and given scraps of guidance whenever their sensei remembered to teach. No, Kurenai planned. She tailored their training, ensuring they grew stronger, not just survived.
For Hinata and Shino, training focused on refining their existing clan techniques. But Sakura? She had no clan to guide her. Neither did Kurenai-sensei, which meant she understood. And for the first time, Sakura felt like she was the priority.
Every genjutsu Kurenai taught her came naturally—too naturally. She mastered them faster than expected, often pushing beyond what was required. Kurenai-sensei even joked that she was running out of things to teach her.
But Sakura didn't let herself feel pride.
Not when she walked this path every day and saw it.
To her left stood the massive sand pyramid. A monument—not to the Leaf, but to the Kazekage. Proof that Gaara could scar their village and Konoha still wouldn't remove it, even two years later.
That was real power.
She wasn't even a Jonin yet. Meanwhile, Gaara had been killing Jonin since he was eight.
Her thoughts were shattered by the deafening roar of an explosion.
Sakura turned sharply, searching for the source. She spotted the rising smoke almost instantly—black clouds billowed from the top floors of the Hokage Tower. The upper two levels had been completely obliterated.
A moment later, a different sound shook the air—louder than the explosion itself. A pop, deep and unnatural. The air split as massive shapes reared over the village walls.
Snakes.
Giant, monstrous snakes.
Her knees buckled. No. No. Not again.
Then, a voice cut through the chaos.
"Stand up, Sakura. Let's go. You remember the protocol, don't you?"
Her mind struggled to place it. She focused on the words instead. Protocol. Right. As a Chunin, she had orders—respond to the most immediate threat. That meant the gates.
She forced herself up, pushing against the ground for support.
Finally, she saw him. Iruka-sensei?
She barely recognized him. He looked... older. The past years had not been kind to him. He had survived the bombing of the Academy during the chunin exams, but his newer students hadn't. His entire class—gone.
"Let's go, Sakura," he urged, offering her a small, brittle smile.
She nodded, swallowing the lump in her throat.
My name is Sakura Haruno. Last of Team 7, student of Hatake Kakashi. Chunin of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. I will not fail.
She leapt onto the rooftops after him, pushing herself forward. But out of the corner of her eye, something flickered—something wrong.
A shimmer, like a heat mirage.
Her breath hitched.
"What...?" she whispered.
"Come along, Sakura."
She blinked. Had she imagined it? She hesitated but forced herself forward, chalking it up to her blurred vision.
"Yes, Iruka-sensei," she said, voice steadier than she felt.
They moved fast—faster than she ever had through the village. When they finally reached the wall, she landed beside Iruka and looked over the edge.
Her stomach dropped.
"Oh Gods…" Iruka breathed.
Beyond the gates stretched an army.
Not of shinobi.
Monsters.
Lead by Orochimaru
Sakura barely registered the voice calling her name.
"Iruka-sensei! Sakura-chan! Over here!"
She turned.
Choji.
He was waving them over.
And behind him, the battle was just beginning.
XXXXX-GAARA OF THE DESERT - POV
My blood boiled. That was the best way to describe the fury coursing through me as I stood before the four men. Danzo Shimura was ignored—he was a nonentity. What mattered was that, somehow, all four of my predecessors had been reanimated, their dead eyes locked onto me.
I had torn through the genjutsu concealing my left eye, and now I saw them with vision tinted in crimson. Danzo Shimura was a dead man. An impossibility standing before me, for this should not have been possible. The crypts had been locked. Guards had watched over them round the clock. Perhaps the Third Kazekage—his body had never been in our custody, as Sasori had stolen it long ago. But the others? No. This should not have happened.
Which meant something had gone terribly wrong in Suna.
"How?" I asked, already knowing he would gloat, as all villains do.
"How not?" Danzo sneered. "You think yourself clever? So wise with your tricks and precautions? But did you ever stop to question whether the only non-family member in your inner circle was worthy of your trust? Gaara of the Desert. A monster in all but name. Did you never once wonder why a random girl with no visible motivation became so close to you so quickly?"
Mebuki.
I barely registered the name slipping from my lips. It was obvious in hindsight. Of course, she was one of his.
"Oh? Is that the name she used?" Danzo chuckled, his voice dripping with arrogance. "I know her as Operative-Desert 47."
I barely restrained the urge to crush him where he stood.
"Find the caster of this jutsu and make them stop," I ordered the three figures behind me, "along with your efforts to rally the ANBU. I've got this."
"We don't take orders from you," Jiraiya scoffed. Ever the fool.
But the only working brain in their dysfunctional trio—Tsunade—pulled him along, with Naruto at her side, and they turned to leave the Hokage building.
"Like I'd let you," Danzo hissed as iron sand surged forward, reaching toward them. But it never got close. A massive tendril of sand from my gourd smashed it aside with ease.
"I am to be your opponent," I stated, sparing the four Kazekage a single glance before fixing my gaze on Danzo.
"Run, Gaara!" Rasa, my father, called out.
But I barely heard him. The First Kazekage moved first, releasing a barrage of wind bullets. I dodged, twisting midair, my sand forming a dense shield that absorbed the impact. My Sharingan traced the flow of chakra in his jutsu, dissecting its mechanics within moments.
Fine.
"For those who do not know me," I said, my voice carrying across the battlefield. "I am Gaara of the Desert, your successor. Fifth Kazekage of Sunagakure. And I will return you to rest."
The First scoffed. "Lord Fifth, you are powerful, but to defeat all four of us? Preposterous."
I smiled. He had no idea.
My gaze flicked to Danzo. My Sharingan spun.
"Kamui."
In an instant, his head twisted unnaturally before vanishing into the Kamui dimension in a gory mess. Unlike Hatake Kakashi, I did not need prolonged focus to gather chakra—I had refined the technique to be near-instantaneous.
Danzo was gone.
"Now that the interloper is dealt with—let's dance."
All four Kazekage charged at once.
I led them through the collapsing tower, my sand shattering walls as I maneuvered through the wreckage. Fighting them in an enclosed space would be suicide. Upon reaching the bottom floor, I skidded to a stop.
The First was the fastest. He closed the gap in seconds, wind chakra crackling around his fists.
I sent a wave of sand at him. He tore through it effortlessly, thrusting a palm toward me. A near-invisible force rippled outward.
Wind Release: Pressure Palm.
My sand barely absorbed the shockwave, the impact sending me skidding backward.
I rushed him. He met my charge, trading blows with practiced precision. His fist swung at my face—I ducked, countering with a slash from Dark Sister. The blade hissed through the air, igniting with fire as I angled for his throat.
A wall of iron sand intercepted my strike. The Third had intervened.
But he had made a mistake.
I pumped chakra through my arm, neutralizing the iron sand's magnetic properties. The defense crumbled in an instant.
Then pain.
A kick slammed into my crossed arms, launching me through the building's outer wall. Midair, golden sand surged toward me—Rasa's technique.
I tore through it with my own.
The Second Kazekage appeared next, his movements precise. I did not hesitate.
"Kamui."
His body flickered, distortion warping his form. He struggled, but his sealing techniques alone were not enough to counter my space-time ninjutsu.
An iron lance pierced my shoulder. A wind blade carved a deep gash along my side but it was not blood that leaked out but instead Sand.
The Second Kazekage fully vanished into the void.
I released a guttural scream, red chakra flaring to life. The remaining three kage were sent flying from the force of my transformation.
A full Bijū transformation.
Shukaku stirred, his crushed mind brushing against my own. But I did not let him take control. This time, I was the master.
Unlike the last time the "Ichibi" graced Konoha, the sand came from within me and not the outside. Sand with black markings that resembled seals as I transformed into the One-Tailed Demon Raccoon with a roar.
A giant wind bullet tore through my newly formed arm. I stared at it for a second—it was almost comical. I could tell something was missing, yet I felt nothing. My arm was gone… and yet, it wasn't. With a simple flex, the limb reformed, reconstructing itself effortlessly.
I tilted my head—it was so much larger now—as I regarded the approaching trio.
"I had my suspicions when I saw the sand you wielded, but I refused to believe it. To think a beast like this has been allowed to reign as Kazekage… Lord Fourth, what were you thinking, appointing this abomination as your successor?"
I decided in that moment—I did not like the First Kazekage.
The sand moved at my will, faster than ever before. It surged toward my enemies from all directions, enclosing them. The First responded with a single hand seal—Bird. The encroaching sand scattered into the wind.
But it was still within my control.
I lacerated their bodies with razor-thin sand tendrils, slicing through flesh with ease. Not all of them. The First's wind armor shielded him from harm, leaving him unscathed. He scowled in my direction before weaving another seal.
I reached out to the wind bullet rushing toward me—and willed it to dissolve.
Shukaku was the desert. Not just the sand beneath, but the winds that stirred the grains as well. The look on the First's face was priceless.
"That is my son, Lord First," Rasa said, his voice thick with something resembling… pride? "A jinchūriki who dominates the Ichibi's power. To think you have attained such strength, Gaara... I was right in the end."
If I were more naive, I might have thought the pride was directed at me. That my achievements had earned it. But I knew Rasa better than that.
Still, he lifted his hands, summoning a massive quantity of gold dust. Not nearly as much as he had used to defeat Shukaku, but still impressive. It made sense—his Edo Tensei body likely had limits.
The gold dust sank into my body, weighing me down. Even with his reduced supply, Rasa could still be problematic. Or rather, he would have been—if I didn't already know every technique in his arsenal.
I wove my chakra through his, strangling his control over the gold. Disrupting it.
Destroying it.
The Sharingan was a marvelous thing.
Golden veins ran through my sandy form, adding to my already imposing appearance.
"You all left behind journals," I said, my voice calm. "Did you really think there was a technique you knew… that would work against me?"
The First tried another wind jutsu. I ignored it. I shredded the chakra before the attack could even form.
The Second? I had already sent him into Kamui's dimension. He was the most dangerous of the three. Perhaps he'd entertain Obito for a while in there.
A heavy mass of iron sand slammed into my side.
"Do you learn nothing?" I sneered, my transformed face twisting into something feral.
The iron merged with the gold. I had Magnet Release, just as they did. But mine was superior.
I had more chakra.
The Sharingan.
The advantage of experience.
I commanded my sand arms to lash out again. This time, only the First and Third managed to dodge. Rasa?
Too slow.
I caught him in my grip. He inhaled sharply, expelling a highly compressed blade of water toward my head.
What head?
The attack struck empty air. I reformed in an instant, grinning as I tossed him into my mouth.
I chewed. Swallowed. Sealed.
A simple fūinjutsu, inscribed deep within Shukaku's body.
The other two attempted a pincer attack.
I ignored the First completely, disassembling every technique he threw my way without looking.
The Third's Iron Sand came next. I overpowered it.Crushed it. Overwhelmed it with my own sand—denser, heavier, infused with gold and iron.
I won.
My arms lashed out, wrapping around the Third. Another seal. Another meal.
Then, only one remained.
"The First Kazekage," I mused, turning toward him. "Your greatest claim to fame was defeating the Ichibi. You are nothing before me."
His wind armor shattered with a mere flex of my will. His awestruck expression barely had time to register before—
Gulp.
Three down.
I brought them back up, vomiting their sealed bodies onto the battlefield. This time, I wove permanent seals onto them.
And then?
I raised another Grand Sand Mausoleum, directly over the ruins of the Hokage Tower.
Tsunade would pay dearly if she ever wanted me to remove this epic pyramid in the future.
I took a moment to admire my transformed state before I released the form. The sand flowed back into its seal, while the gold and iron fell away, clattering to the ground.
The transition was seamless.
For a fleeting moment, I relished being at a normal size again.
And then—
I froze.
Fascinating.
I could not move.
Not because of physical restraint—something was interfering with the connection between my mind and body.
The Nara's Shadow Possession Jutsu.
"Well done, Shikamaru."
That voice.
A voice I had hoped to never hear again.
Shimura Danzo stepped out from the shadows, his calculating eyes locking onto me.
"Gaara of the Desert," he said, approaching with absolute certainty. "Such a powerful jinchūriki… You will make an excellent addition to Konoha's strength."
In his hand, he held a seal brush, the ink glistening ominously as he reached for my skin.
Fool.
I felt the jutsu's Yin energy, its delicate web of control.
I began to cycle my chakra, destabilizing the technique—
And then, suddenly—
The jutsu released.
Danzo's eyes widened in shock.
He was vulnerable.
I did not hesitate.
With a single swing, I separated Danzo's head from his body.
Heh.
You weren't the only one with traitorous subordinates, Danzo.
I turned my gaze to the pineapple-haired boy.
Shikamaru.
There was a strange intelligence in his eyes.
"Good job, Shikamaru. You really timed that well."
XXXXXX - AY'S POV
Ay ran for his brother's life.
Faster than he ever had before. Faster than even his father in his prime. His Lightning Armor surged into its Second Stage, then beyond, into the Third Stage—a refinement he and Bee had perfected together recently. The wind howled around him, his sheer speed tearing the air apart. His shinobi were nowhere to be seen; he had long since outpaced them. He knew how this must have looked. Their Kage, abandoning them in the heat of battle.
But Bee wasn't just his brother.
He was Kumogakure's greatest weapon.
Only three villages still possessed Jinchūriki. Of them, Bee was the strongest, the most experienced. He was the pillar that would ensure Kumo's dominance in the years to come. His survival was absolute. His life outweighed all others—including Ay's own.
And yet, another thought slithered into his mind. Bee was stronger than him. Faster, deadlier. If Bee was in danger… what could Ay even do? He crushed the doubt before it could fully form, his scowl deepening.
There were nine Akatsuki members.
Each of them S-rank.
That was enough power to crush an entire nation. If they all descended upon Bee, not even the Hachibi's might would be enough. Clankiller Itachi. The Tailless Tailed Beast, Kisame. And worst of all—their leader. The unseen figure who had bound these monsters under one banner.
That was the one Ay truly feared.
A distant boom echoed behind him, like a cannon firing. He ignored it. His focus remained singular, unwavering. He had to reach Bee.
The familiar mountains of Kumogakure came into view, but there was no relief in seeing them. His destination was clear. Unraikyō.
Ay arrived with a clap of thunder. Lightning flickered across his skin as he took in the battlefield in an instant—four shinobi surrounding Bee.
No hesitation.
He moved.
His fist hurtled toward the masked figure, but passed through nothing but air. His eyes widened. Genjutsu? No. His chakra network remained undisturbed, and his Lightning Armor should have made illusions impossible in the first place.
Then how?
No matter. There was no shortage of targets.
His gaze landed on one in particular.
"Die!" he roared, too fast for ordinary ears to even register the words.
A traitor. A disgrace. A mockery dressed in Kumo's lightning.
Noel.
The fool thought himself Ay's equal. Thought he could wear that bastard Darui's teachings like armor and stand against the Raikage.
Insulting.
Ay's first punch shattered his guard instantly.
The impact sent Noel skidding, but Ay did not let him retreat. His massive hand grabbed the traitor's cloak, pulling him forward. His other arm stretched outward, his entire body blurring into motion.
"Lariat."
Noel crumpled. Wounded, but not dead. Ay would fix that.
Another enemy—Sasori.
The puppet master moved, but too slowly. A volley of poisoned needles clinked uselessly against Ay's armor. He barely acknowledged them.
Instead, he took his time. He picked up the fallen traitor by the throat, his grip unrelenting. Lightning crackled at his fingertips. Then—he let it surge.
The screams were beautiful.
When Noel's skin blackened, charred beyond recognition, Ay smirked and flung him away like garbage.
Bee, freed from his previous predicament, struck with ruthless efficiency. Two of Gyūki's tails smashed into Sasori, crushing the Akatsuki member instantly.
Ay turned to the masked figure, his glare burning with rage.
A single red eye met his own.
Sharingan.
His breath hitched.
Uchiha Itachi? Since when did he wear a mask?
A rift in space appeared before him. Two figures emerged.
Ay's heart stopped.
One of them—his father.
But no. That wasn't his father. It couldn't be.
His father was dead. Ay had seen the body with his own eyes. He had paid the greedy Rock bastards to retrieve it.
And yet…
The figure moved.
Lightning Armor.
Ay answered the challenge instinctively. Their bodies collided, the force shaking the ground. Ay flew backward.
Impossible.
Gyūki's tails lashed out, but the imposter dodged—fast.
Too fast.
The fight blurred. Fists clashed. Thunder crackled. Ay's punches landed but did nothing.
The imposter was just as sturdy as the real thing.
Then—
A flash of movement.
Ay was thrown back, slamming into the stone steps of the temple.
He looked up.
And saw it.
That pose.
A flat palm, fingers folding inward—until only one remained extended.
One-Fingered Hell Stab.
His breath caught in his throat.
Who the hell dared to copy his father's technique?
Rage exploded within him.
His Lightning Armor surged past its peak, beyond anything he had ever achieved. His body disappeared.
He struck first.
His hand tore through the imposter's chest.
He felt it give way.
For a moment, victory.
Then—
Nothing.
A searing pain erupted through his back. His vision blurred. His body went cold.
He looked down.
A hand—piercing his chest.
His own blood dripped from the imposter's fingers.
How?
That was the last question Ay ever asked.
His strength faded. His knees buckled.
He took a step backward.
Then another.
When his body hit the ground, he did not feel it.
The last sound he ever heard—
Bee's scream.
And so, Ay, the Fourth Raikage of Kumogakure, fell.
His brother soon followed.
The Eight-Tails was captured by the Akatsuki.
A/N; That's the End of the Chapter. Was tempted to drag out the Kumo fight a bit but couldn't contemplate a situation where Ay and Bee put up more of a realistic fight with Kabuto going all Edo Tensei legends on Obito's side.