Premature Death

The future Third Kazekage, Shōmei, used his Magnet Release to manipulate iron sand into a series of large, straight lines, dividing the battlefield into sections. Sunagakure ninjas rushed into these areas, relentlessly unleashing their techniques on the enemies before them.

At the outset of the battle, the forces of the Land of Fire were pushed back, leaving a trail of corpses. However, after the intervention of Konoha's ninja commanders, the situation began to stabilize. Though still at a disadvantage, they were no longer being routed as before.

After handing Monzaemon over to his two comrades, Masaki rushed to the gap in the camp wall. There, he saw his other two teammates organizing the defense, and among the enemy forces, he recognized familiar faces from Sunagakure. It was clear to him that the Sand ninjas were throwing everything they had into this attack.

"If we can stop this assault, the war's outcome will be decided," Masaki thought. His eyes gleamed as he crouched slightly. "Defeating the future Third Kazekage is essential."

As he unleashed his full power and charged from the city like a gust of wind, others felt a strong breeze sweep by but could not catch sight of the figure responsible.

Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura also felt the wind. Unlike the Sunagakure ninjas, their intuition told them who had caused it. They could guess where Masaki was headed, only he was capable of ending the battle so swiftly.

"Good luck, Masaki. We'll handle the rest!" they silently cheered, exchanging a glance of mutual understanding. Their techniques became more fluid, forcing their opponents, Chiyo and Ebizō, onto the defensive.

Chiyo sensed something was amiss. The woman in front of her seemed to have suddenly gained a burst of energy. Recalling the wind from earlier, Chiyo's instincts told her it felt familiar—similar to the man she had fought before—but she couldn't be sure.

Still, she pushed the thought aside. The priority was to wreak as much havoc as possible. No matter how fierce Konoha's resistance, she believed Sunagakure would emerge victorious, especially with Shōmei's Magnet Release. As long as he remained, Konoha would fall.

Meanwhile, Fumori Masaki was speeding toward Shōmei's location. His eyes tracked the rippling iron sand in the distance, marking the presence of the Magnet Release user. Fortunately, the Third Kazekage was also moving closer. Although it would have been safer to maintain a distance, controlling Magnet Release over long distances would require an enormous amount of chakra, even for someone as powerful as the future Kazekage. Masaki knew this meant Shōmei had no choice but to approach the battlefield.

For Masaki, this was good news. Although his opponent was cautious, he hadn't gotten too close to the battlefield where Tobirama and the Second Kazekage were fighting. Masaki had to pass through their battleground to reach Shōmei, and this was the quickest route.

Though the Third Kazekage was famed as Sunagakure's strongest, the Second Kazekage was no weakling. A veteran of the Warring States period, his abilities were formidable, and even legends like Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara would have to fight half seriously to defeat him. Masaki knew that dealing with these ninja required utmost care.

The Second Kazekage's secret techniques allowed him to use the terrain to his advantage, creating a battlefield that few could approach. However, for Masaki, empowered by Sage Mode, this posed little trouble. He moved through the battlefield like a blur, dodging every powerful attack with seemingly perfect foresight, always in the right place at the right time.

Despite the frantic pace of the battle between Tobirama and the Second Kazekage, each step was carefully calculated. Tobirama noticed Masaki passing through the battlefield and quickly deduced his target. Though in the heat of battle, he couldn't help but mentally applaud Masaki's judgment and swift action.

"I hope you can take down the man who controls the iron sand," Tobirama thought. "If not, this war will tilt in the Wind Country's favor."

With this in mind, Masaki emerged from the battlefield unscathed, continuing his rapid approach toward Shōmei. All that remained behind him was a faint black streak in the dirt.

Meanwhile, Shōmei had spread iron sand around him as a form of detection. Anything that passed through the sand would send him an alert. Suddenly, he felt a slight disturbance—a tiny impact that most would have dismissed, but Shōmei knew better. His instincts told him something was wrong.

As he moved to investigate, a shadow materialized in front of him, accompanied by a gust of wind. His eyes widened in surprise as his body reacted instinctively. Manipulating the iron sand, he quickly formed a barrier in front of him while covering his flanks.

But it was too late.

A cold flash of light pierced through the barrier, and though Shōmei managed to repair the breach with his Magnet Release, the attack had already come too fast. Even though cold weapons were typically ineffective against his iron sand, Masaki's speed had made it impossible to react in time.

The tear in the barrier wasn't large enough for a person to slip through, but Masaki didn't need to. In the blink of an eye, another flash of light struck Shōmei's right shoulder. He didn't feel pain at first, but his arm was suddenly severed.

Pain flooded through him as he pressed his hand to the wound. He managed to manipulate the iron sand to cover the injury, preventing the complete severing of his chakra meridians and allowing him to maintain control of the iron sand. Even so, the situation was dire. If the attack had landed elsewhere, he would already be dead.

Though Shōmei tried to maintain distance, Masaki didn't give him the chance. The strength of the Third Kazekage was undeniable—his Magnet Release was powerful enough to destroy armies and cities—but at close range, Masaki was in his element. The Third Kazekage couldn't capitalize on his techniques, and to Masaki, Shōmei wasn't even as threatening as Chiyo.

Masaki believed that if given more time, Chiyo would have fallen to him. And this time, no one would interfere in his battle with the Third Kazekage. There was only one possible outcome.

The Third Kazekage's response was impressive, his iron sand powerful and fast, even capable of chasing enemies. But in the face of Masaki's speed and close combat skills, it wasn't enough.

Shōmei's body froze mid-movement as Masaki's wind-infused blade sliced through him. His heart was destroyed, and he crumpled to the ground. Blood spilled from his wound, and as his life faded, he chuckled bitterly.

"Heh... I didn't expect it to end this way." Shōmei smiled weakly at Masaki, seeing him clearly for the first time. "You're Fumori Masaki, aren't you?"

Masaki nodded.

With a look of acceptance, Shōmei gave a final smile before falling backward. As his life left him, the iron sand collapsed, covering him like a magnetic tombstone.