A Slap

Boom!

The sound of the explosion was deafening, followed by a sepulchral silence that lasted only an instant.

Where Han's head had been before, now there was only a smoking stump, flesh and bone vaporized by Luo Lei's thermal vision.

"ROOOAAR!" The roar of the Five-Tails shook the earth. "IMPOSSIBLE! HAN!"

The beast, in a final desperate act, channeled all its remaining chakra through Han's decapitated body.

A wave of Chakra burst towards Luo Lei in a final attempt at revenge.

But it was in vain.

With each passing second, Han's body disintegrated, particles of chakra dispersing in the air like dying fireflies. The Bijū's energy was now rapidly fading.

The Five-Tails, caught in a whirlwind of thoughts, couldn't comprehend Luo Lei's cruelty.

"Why?" its voice resonated, laden with desperation. "I surrendered... promised obedience... I said I would be Konoha's Five-Tails!"

But Luo Lei remained impassive, his face a mask of indifference to the beast's suffering.

Aware of its inevitable "reset," the Five-Tails fixed its gaze on Luo Lei, etching every detail of his appearance into its memory.

"I'll remember you," it growled with a promise of future vengeance.

With a final heart-rending cry, the Five-Tails vanished completely, leaving only Han's mutilated body.

Luo Lei coldly shrugged. "Remember me? Who do you think you are?" he muttered, throwing Han's body to the ground as if it were trash.

Everything had happened in a matter of seconds. From the Five-Tails' desperate plea to Han's execution, time seemed to stand still.

Many of the witnesses still struggled to process the magnitude of what they had just witnessed.

An oppressive silence fell over the battlefield. Both the Konoha camp and the Iwagakure army were paralyzed.

On Konoha's side, even the most hardened ninjas felt a wave of nausea.

Yes, Han was an enemy, but the brutality defied all comprehension.

Among the ranks of Iwagakure, shock quickly gave way to fear. If Luo Lei could eliminate a Jinchūriki so easily, what hope did they have?

"ROOOAAR!" Rōshi's roar sounded. His voice, distorted by the bestial form but still charged with emotion, resonated with disbelief and pain. "You... you killed Han and the Five-Tails! Even after they surrendered?"

The huge red gorilla beat its chest furiously, each impact sounding like thunder.

The ground beneath its feet cracked with each blow.

Among the ranks of Iwagakure, the news spread like wildfire.

"....Han-sama is dead?" A jōnin's voice cracked.

"H-How is it possible that even the Bijū died?" asked another.

"This has to be a joke!" shouted a chūnin, refusing to believe what his eyes had witnessed.

Panic and disbelief spread.

Even the leaders, Shibito, Gari, and Sumashi, were momentarily stunned. The idea that a Jinchūriki, their village's secret weapon, could be eliminated so easily, and after surrendering, defied all logic.

"Has Konoha gone so far as to consider the Bijū as mere waste?" The question, though not voiced aloud, hung in the air.

In the Konoha camp, the reaction was no less intense. The shinobi observed the scene with amazement and horror.

"Even a Jinchūriki can be killed like that?" muttered a Jōnin.

Luo Lei was not only powerful, he was ruthless beyond comprehension. Before their eyes, even the feared tailed beasts seemed insignificant.

Some couldn't help but feel a twinge of regret. "Wasn't it too impulsive?" whispered a chūnin to his companion.

"A surrendered tailed beast could have been an invaluable asset for Konoha."

But those thoughts were quickly silenced by fear. Because if Luo Lei could do this to a Bijū, what would he do to them if they questioned his actions?

"Luo Lei," Jiraiya's voice broke the tense silence. "You could have shown some mercy. Capturing the Five-Tails Jinchūriki after his surrender and bringing him back to Konoha would have been more... prudent."

The legendary Sannin paused, carefully measuring his next words. "Jinchūriki are invaluable assets to any village. And the Five-Tails' willingness to surrender... that was a unique opportunity."

Jiraiya couldn't hide the regret in his voice: "You've lost the chance to gain the Five-Tails' loyalty..."

"Oh?" Luo Lei's voice cut through his thoughts.

He turned slowly, his narrowed eyes fixed on Jiraiya. "Jiraiya, the Toad Sage, one of Konoha's legendary Sannin... are you telling me how to do my job?"

His tone was soft, but charged with a threat that made everyone present hold their breath.

Sensing the danger but unable to back down, Jiraiya took a deep breath. "I'm just pointing out the obvious," he said with cold sweat running down his back.

"It's not always necessary to kill. We must consider the long-term consequences, maximize the benefits for Konoha. We're all here for the village, after all. With the Jinchūriki alive, it would have been a valuable asset..."

Luo Lei's eyes narrowed even further, a dangerous gleam flashing in them. "So you don't like how I do things, huh?" His voice was soft, but charged with cold fury.

"I can do whatever I want. But you... you're trying to tell me what to do? Is it to gain prestige? I gave you a chance that you didn't know how to value."

Suddenly, without warning, Luo Lei disappeared in a blur of movement.

"Danger!" Minato's warning cry came too late.

Jiraiya, his senses sharpened by decades of battle, felt every cell in his body scream. But even with his reflexes, he wasn't fast enough.

Crack!

The sound of the slap resonated like thunder. Jiraiya was sent flying, his body soaring through the air before crashing to the ground tens of meters away.

________

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