Even if the enemy got past him, what was the point of dragging things out any longer?
There was nothing left worth protecting.
The Fourth Raikage, A, who had believed in absolute power his entire life, had long since lost the spirit he once carried. The vigor that used to define him was gone, and a dead gray weariness now clung to his whole being. The will to die had already taken root inside him.
Even the urge to resist had disappeared.
His younger brother was gone, and Kumogakure had been reduced to this state. In the end, it could all be traced back to his own choices.
Regret no longer meant anything. What had been lost could never be brought back.
Since that was the case, why say anything more?
A clean death would be easier.
"Namikaze Kirito… why are you trying to unify the ninja world?"
Ōnoki had no intention of giving up like A. It was not that he feared death.
He simply wanted to understand.
Logically speaking, Namikaze Kirito already possessed strength so overwhelming that the question of whether the ninja world was unified or not should have meant nothing to him.
Even without unification, who in the world could still stop him?
After fighting him this far, Ōnoki understood better than anyone that Namikaze Kirito's power had already exceeded the limits of humanity.
Calling him a god walking among men would not have been an exaggeration.
He had never seen the Sage of Six Paths with his own eyes, so he could not compare them directly. But Ōnoki had known Uchiha Madara, and because of that, he understood one thing clearly.
Namikaze Kirito had already stepped beyond the realm of human power.
Even if Madara were still alive, he likely would not be a match for him.
So why would someone like that still seek to unify the ninja world?
Was it merely a passing whim?
Faced with Ōnoki's question, Namikaze Kirito only smiled faintly before answering.
"I want to see what he will do... If I change the future so much."
As he said that, he raised a finger and pointed toward the sky.
"He? What, are you saying you've done something terrible and want to see what kind of punishment comes for you?"
Ōnoki's voice carried open sarcasm, but Namikaze Kirito paid it no mind.
"It's not something as simple as punishment," he said calmly. "None of you understand the truth of this ninja world."
He paused for a moment before continuing.
"For example… the power I have now, the power that fills all of you with despair—you don't understand what lies beyond even that."
"Even I only know a fraction of it."
"You can think of it this way: there are higher existences above us. Compared to them, your strength and mine don't even belong to the same dimension."
Ōnoki's eyes narrowed.
Namikaze Kirito's gaze remained fixed on the sky above them.
"Do you really think the history of the ninja world was created by human hands alone?"
"No."
"It was merely the byproduct of an unintentional act from something far above us."
"If I want to know how he will react, then I have to make him notice me."
"Only by uncovering the truth can I protect everything I want to protect."
He answered Ōnoki's question with unexpected patience.
Until now, only the core members of Gensōkyō knew that a higher-dimensional existence had been lurking behind the scenes of the ninja world… watching it from afar because this world contained something important to the Ōtsutsuki Clan.
By revealing even this much, Namikaze Kirito had already placed Ōnoki in a position where there was no real room left to choose.
Either he would vanish from this world along with the truth, ensuring that the one behind everything remained undisturbed…
Or he would stand with him.
If Ōnoki refused, then even in the Pure Land, Namikaze Kirito would never allow someone who knew the truth to remain beyond his reach.
In other words, there were only two paths left.
Submit… or be erased.
Ōnoki frowned deeply.
Namikaze Kirito's words were vague, but Ōnoki was no fool. From just a few sentences, he had already pieced together part of the truth.
And that fragment alone sent a chill straight through his heart.
If what the man before him said was true… then what exactly were they?
What was this ninja world?
After a long silence, Ōnoki slowly lifted his head.
A trace of resolve had returned to his eyes.
"Namikaze Kirito… I'm with you."
Namikaze Kirito was not surprised by his answer. Instead, he turned his gaze toward the Fourth Raikage, whose face still looked like that of a man ready to die.
"And you?"
A shook his head and slowly closed his eyes.
"Give me a proper death."
"You want to protect everything precious to you…"
"But I've already lost everything I wanted to protect."
"So what's the point of going on?"
Silence followed.
But even after several moments passed, Namikaze Kirito still did not move.
A opened his eyes again and looked at him, confusion written clearly across his face.
It was as if he were asking why the killing blow had not come yet.
Namikaze Kirito looked at him calmly.
"Kumogakure may have been mostly destroyed by your weapon, but there are still survivors."
"There are still people waiting for their Raikage."
He paused, then asked quietly,
"What? Are you going to abandon them too?"
A's eyes trembled.
The dead ash in them wavered, and for the first time, a spark of life returned.
"What you said… is it true?!"
Namikaze Kirito did not answer directly.
But A already understood.
There was no need for a man like this to lie.
He fell silent for a while, struggling inwardly.
Then, at last, he forced the words out.
"Kumogakure… will join Konoha."
It took nearly all of his strength just to say that much.
But after the words left his mouth, he let out a long breath, as though something inside him had finally given way.
When a man has already decided to die, all it takes is one small thread of hope for him to cling to life with everything he has left.
That was simply human nature.
"Welcome."
Namikaze Kirito stepped forward and extended both hands, helping both Ōnoki and A to their feet.
Then he glanced at the ruined battlefield around them, and a faint smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
"As a gesture of goodwill… allow me to offer you a gift."
He brought his hands together.
At once, a strange and solemn power surged out from his Rinnegan.
"Outer Path: "Rinne Rebirth Technique."
A curtain of light spread across the entire battlefield.
And then, all around them, the Kumogakure shinobi stared in stunned disbelief as the comrades who had fallen moments earlier began to breathe again.
Some rubbed their eyes frantically, convinced they had been caught in a genjutsu.
A and Ōnoki could only stare at Namikaze Kirito in complete shock.
What kind of ninjutsu was this?
Resurrection?
And not just one person—but all of them at once?
How could something like this even exist?
But in Namikaze Kirito's hands, the Outer Path: Rinne Rebirth Technique no longer required the usual sacrifice of his own life. All it demanded was chakra and enough vitality to sustain it.
And those were the very things he possessed in abundance.
His Sage Body granted him an endless stream of life force, and when combined with the monstrous vitality provided by the Blackbeard Template, using this technique became almost effortless.
As the reality of the resurrection sank in, A's eyes began to burn with a fierce light.
If Namikaze Kirito could revive the dead on such a scale…
Then perhaps Kumogakure itself could be rebuilt.
At that moment, A could not help but feel that joining Namikaze Kirito might not be the worst outcome after all.
Not long afterward, Konoha received Namikaze Kirito's orders and dispatched shinobi to take custody of Kumogakure's forces.
Although both villages had now formally submitted to him, caution was still necessary.
Trust would take time to build, and if control became necessary, Orochimaru had countless ways to ensure obedience.
Thus, under A's command, the Kumo shinobi laid down their weapons one by one and followed Konoha's forces back toward the village.
With both Iwagakure and Kumogakure announcing their submission, Namikaze Kirito had, at last, truly unified the ninja world.
As for the remaining smaller nations, there was no need for force.
A few envoys would be enough.
After all, minor countries that had managed to survive in the shadow of the Five Great Nations had always understood one thing better than anyone else—
how to stay alive.
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