Chapter 49: The Fall of a Kage
Looking at the sealed pyramid containing Fū, Akatsurugi felt a pang of conflicting emotions. The seal had neutralized the Jinchūriki, but it also protected him. Breaking it would release Fū and restart the battle. Leaving it meant the intelligence on his abilities was sealed away with his enemy—for now. He hadn't anticipated Fū being so formidable, forcing him to reveal his hand and nearly being sealed himself. No matter how strong you are, he mused, carelessness in the shinobi world is a fatal flaw.
But he had bought Konoha the time it needed. He could now decisively influence the main battle and end this war.
Turning his back on the pyramid, he flew toward the clashing armies.
When he arrived, the scene was one of stalemate. Though Konoha had numbers, the wounded Second Kazekage, Shamon, was still on the field, single-handedly holding back Mitokado Homura and his team, preventing a Konoha breakthrough.
"Akatsurugi!" Shamon's voice was a ragged gasp as he spotted the new arrival. His face paled. If Akatsurugi was here, it could only mean disaster for Fū.
Without hesitation, Akatsurugi swung Ryūjin Jakka. "Jōkakō Enjō (Scorching Flaming Prison)!"
A roaring tornado of fire instantly engulfed Shamon. "Elder Homura, I'll handle him!" Akatsurugi called out.
Homura gave a sharp nod and disengaged, leading Koharu to reinforce another part of the line.
Akatsurugi glanced across the battlefield, a cold smile touching his lips. He thrust his flaming zanpakutō into the air. "Enjō (Blaze)!"
A massive ring of black-red fire erupted from the ground, forming a towering wall that trapped the immediate combatants—both Konoha and Sand—inside with him and the Kazekage. A few shinobi who failed to escape in time watched in horror. It was a ruthless move, but necessary. He could not let Shamon escape. Fū might have been sealed, but the Kazekage had to die.
As the fire tornado died down, Shamon rose unsteadily from the ground, his body covered in fresh burns, his face ashen.
"Second Kazekage," Akatsurugi's voice was flat and final. "Today, you fall."
"To think even Fū could not stop you... You are formidable. But if you want my life," Shamon rasped, dragging his injured body into a fighting stance, "then come and take it!"
He had no choice. Already grievously wounded, he had been forced to join the fray to prevent a rout. His plan had been to hold Homura while Fū dealt with Akatsurugi. With Akatsurugi here, that plan was ash.
"Then I will see you off, Lord Second." Akatsurugi shot forward, Ryūjin Jakka held high.
Shamon drew a kunai, but seeing the flaming sword, he discarded it. His hands flew through seals. "Wind Release: Vacuum Bullets!" He exhaled, and several orbs of compressed air shot out, hovering around him.
Akatsurugi ignored them, his body dissolving into flame. The vacuum bullets passed harmlessly through his elemental form.
A phasing ability, like the Hoshigaki's Hydrification! Shamon's mind raced, even as he began tracing sealing formulae with his fingers. Against such an opponent, sealing was the only sure counter.
But Akatsurugi was already upon him, his blade swinging down.
Shamon took a deep, resigned breath. "I'll grab him! Everyone, fire on my position!"
He stood his ground, not dodging, the black sealing marks spreading across his own body. He intended to be the anchor, sacrificing himself to hold Akatsurugi in place for a killing blow from his remaining forces.
Akatsurugi's eyes narrowed. The figure lunging forward abruptly altered its trajectory, shooting vertically into the air. Shamon's desperate grab closed on empty space.
Too clever, Shamon thought with a sinking heart. His final gambit had failed.
"Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!" From above, Akatsurugi exhaled a tsunami of flame, crashing down upon the Kazekage.
The remaining Sand-nin, loyal to the end, gathered around their leader, some attempting futile Water Release walls. Konoha shinobi at the edges of the inferno scrambled back from the blistering heat.
It was no use. The black-red sea of fire consumed them all.
Hovering above the conflagration, Akatsurugi clenched his fist. It erupted into a limb of pure fire. "Fire Fist!"
A colossal fist of flame descended from the sky and slammed into the heart of the sea of fire below.
The screams that followed were short-lived, choked off into an abrupt, terrible silence.
Akatsurugi watched as numerous white spiritual ribbons flowed into Ryūjin Jakka. One was exceptionally thick and vibrant. He knew the Second Kazekage was dead.
It's always better to fight at a distance against these Kage-level opponents, he reflected. I didn't even recognize that sealing jutsu. Getting caught would have been... problematic.
Dispersing the flames, he landed calmly amidst the scorched earth. "Eliminate the remaining resistance."
"Yes, Lord Akatsurugi!" the surrounding Konoha shinobi roared, their morale skyrocketing. The awe at his power was palpable. He had killed a Kage.
In truth, had Shamon not been already mortally wounded, it would not have ended so cleanly. But he had chosen to return to the field, and that choice had cost him everything.
Akatsurugi joined the mopping-up operations. Wherever his zanpakutō pointed, explosions of flame erupted, consuming Sand-nin with ruthless efficiency. Low and mid-ranked shinobi were utterly powerless against him.
"Retreat! Everyone, retreat!" The desperate cry went up from the crumbling Sand lines. It was the admission of total defeat.
They broke, fleeing in panic back into the vast, protective expanse of the desert.
Mitokado Homura watched them go and raised a hand, signaling his forces to halt. There was no pursuit. Sunagakure was broken. It would take them a generation, perhaps two, to recover from the losses of this day. The war on the southern front was over.