The Fall of Ei, The Fourth Raikage

In the vast expanse of the sky, Yuki greeted the person inside with a wave as he scattered the vines from the tree.

"Long time no see, Lord Raikage," he said.

"Cough..."

At the words, the Fourth Raikage, Ei, who seemed as fragile as a sheet of gold, struggled to open his eyes wide and was about to say something when a series of weak coughs interrupted him.

Seeing this, Yuki patiently waited.

A little later, after Ei had somewhat recovered, he looked at the person above him with complex eyes. Then, he withdrew his gaze, examined his own condition, and, without hesitation, propped himself up with great effort, using his ten fingers to push himself up from the ground.

Finally, he used his feet to exert force.

At the moment when the numerous wounds on his body burst open, fresh blood flowed out again.

Gritting his teeth and making no sound of pain, Ei spent more than a minute in great effort before finally standing up.

Yuki, who was watching, did not go to assist him midway.

Not because the two sides were now in an antagonistic relationship.

But out of respect for the person in front of him.

Even though he knew that his actions would further burden him, and even though he would still be unsteady on his feet after standing up, with a gust of wind able to blow him down, Ei still had to do it.

Because he was the Raikage.

In front of the Hokage, the leader of the same village, how could the Raikage kneel on the ground?

Even in death, he had to uphold the dignity of the Raikage.

At this moment, Ei, who could finally look Yuki in the eye, forcefully suppressed the blood surging into his mouth and formally responded, "Lord Hokage."

And so, after five years, the Hokage and the Raikage met again.

But Yuki and Ei looked more battered compared to the last time.

...

"It seems that Satori has been dealt with by Lord Hokage."

The piercing cold wind howled through the now-ruined Hidden Cloud Village. A clenched his fists, his eyes filled with sadness and self-blame as he looked at the once-familiar village, now turned into a strange ruin.

Yuki nodded and said, "It was done as a side effect. The Box of Bliss has been sealed again. With me around, it won't rampage again."

"I have to hand it to you, Lord Hokage," Ei sighed deeply.

Thinking back to everything that had happened, he had naively considered the Box of Bliss the ultimate trump card. Little did he know that when he played that card, not only did he harm his own side unexpectedly, but he also suffered heavy injuries.

In the end, it was Yuki who cleaned up the mess.

So, everything he had done from the beginning was in vain.

What a joke!

"Cough! Cough!"

At this thought, Ei couldn't help but cough again.

His palm was covered in blood when he moved his hand away from his mouth.

At this moment, Mui, who had been under Yuki's illusion, finally woke up.

He didn't even look at Yuki and Ei in front of him, just hung his head, lost in thought, repeating, "Why did it turn out like this? Why did the Box of Bliss change like this?"

"Haha! Another poor soul just like myself," Ei, who had taken control of the Box of Bliss in place of Mui, self-mockingly remarked upon seeing this scene.

At this moment, Yuki, after retracting his gaze from Mui, looked at Ei, who now resembled a blood gourd, and said calmly, "Indeed, a pitiful soul. Putting one's hopes in a so-called box was always foolish. Fulfilling various wishes? Even the Sage of the Six Paths, who created the Box of Bliss, couldn't do that. Let alone the box itself."

Ei fell silent at these words for a moment, then sighed slightly and said, "When a person is in a desperate situation, if a lifeline is thrown to them, they will grab onto it with all their might, regardless of whether the other end of the rope is good or bad."

Yuki shook his head.

Having never experienced such a situation, he couldn't fully empathize and had no interest in continuing the conversation.

Looking around, it was time to get back to the point.

When the three thousand Konoha Village ninjas who were waiting outside entered again, and Yuki looked at A, his gaze became stern.

"We've caught up on old times enough, Lord Raikage. You should know the purpose of my visit now. While Satori helped me accomplish a lot, it's still not enough."

"Even though the Hidden Cloud Village has been destroyed, the core members are still alive. Finding them is only a matter of time."

"So, Lord Raikage, what is your response now? Is it war, or cooperation?"

Looking at Yuki, who could easily suppress even the Box of Bliss, and then at the three thousand Konoha Village ninjas with powerful auras marching behind him, A shook his head. In his current condition after the heavy injuries, there was no way he could fight.

"Hidden Cloud Village is willing to offer reparations and territory and apologize unconditionally," A proposed.

"Not enough," Yuki replied.

"Hidden Cloud Village is willing to acknowledge Konoha Village as the superior power, and the Land of Lightning will declare war on the other four nations on behalf of Konoha Village?"

"Not enough."

"...The Land of Fire can absorb the Land of Lightning, and Hidden Cloud Village's strength can be reduced to the minimum, with a pledge of loyalty to Konoha Village, but please allow the existence of Hidden Cloud ninja."

In the end, Ei's conditions had been reduced to the point where only the name "Hidden Cloud Village" remained.

But Yuki's response was still, "Not enough."

In Yuki's plan to attack the Hidden Cloud Village, his initial goal had been to eliminate all the living forces and high-ranking personnel within the village, making the remaining Hidden Cloud ninja powerless to threaten Konoha Village in the upcoming war. To completely wipe out all the power of the Hidden Cloud ninja and even absorb the entire Land of Lightning in one fell swoop was beyond his capability with the forces he had.

He couldn't stay long, especially now that they were facing threats from the other four nations.

However, many times, plans couldn't keep up with changes.

Yuki had not expected that the Hidden Cloud ninja would voluntarily concentrate most of their strength within the village and then, in an even more unexpected move, have Satori directly inflict severe injuries on themselves.

This had undoubtedly handed Konoha Village a tremendous advantage.

So, since there was no other choice, Yuki naturally wanted more than what was initially planned. He wanted to swallow up the entire Hidden Cloud ninja in one go.

This was war, and there was no room for sympathy or kindness.

If A did not agree at this point, Yuki would not hesitate to chase after the Hidden Cloud ninja, who had already left the main camp and was now leaderless, just like he did with Satori. He would achieve even greater gains than initially planned.

By then, even if the Hidden Cloud ninja did not surrender, their losses would be so great that destruction would be no different.

After defeating the other four nations, sending a diversionary force would be enough to wipe out the remaining Hidden Cloud ninja.

For Yuki, the eventual demise of the Hidden Cloud ninja was only a matter of time, so his attitude was very firm.

And Ei understood this very well.

But he still held a glimmer of hope that he could negotiate the best possible terms for the Hidden Cloud ninja.

It was clear now that he was deluding himself.

"I didn't expect that I would have to make this decision in the end."

Ei, who had originally entrusted the Hidden Cloud Village matter to Toshiro with the expectation of facing Satori with the determination to die, had given hints about Konoha Village's attitude at the end.

But in the end, it was he who became the ultimate decision-maker, saved from Satori's hands by Yuki.

Well, it's better this way.

Let the most useless Raikage, me, bear this infamous reputation.

Ei thought with a melancholic expression on his face.

He was unwilling, but what could he do?

For Konoha Village, the destruction of the Hidden Cloud ninja was only a matter of time.

But for the Hidden Cloud ninja, this was the result of how many lives would be lost.

Having witnessed the deaths of more than two thousand Hidden Cloud ninjas, the destruction of the Hidden Cloud Village, and even more deaths five years ago, Ei could not forgive himself.

After a deep sigh and a complex look in his eyes, Ei looked around at the Hidden Cloud Village, which had been destroyed because of his mistakes, and then turned to Yuki, finally entrusting him with the words:

"I'll leave it to you from now on."

"Rest assured," Yuki replied.

Ei nodded.

In the next moment, with renewed determination and a face that suddenly became rosy, he stopped coughing.

Yuki understood that he was now activating his body's last reserves of strength, a final burst of vitality.

"My mission is complete. Now it's time for me to atone."

At this moment, Ei, who had regained his composure, stood tall, indifferent to the fact that his death was imminent.

He could not forgive himself as the culprit behind the destruction of the Hidden Cloud Village, the deaths of more than two thousand Hidden Cloud ninjas, and even more deaths five years ago.

But he had no choice.

The Hidden Cloud ninja's demise was only a matter of time for Konoha Village.

But for the Hidden Cloud ninja, this was the result of how many lives would be lost.

He had seen too many Hidden Cloud ninjas die, and after shedding so much blood, the final outcome was still the same.

As for the possibility of the Allied Forces, led by Obito, defeating Konoha Village, the result was almost the same.

The ninja world had always operated on the law of the jungle.

The so-called allies and close bonds would be torn apart in the face of interests.

Anyone who saw the severely weakened Hidden Cloud ninja after the war would most likely not hesitate to wipe them out mercilessly.

In this regard, the Box of Bliss, which Ei had in his possession after it backfired, had sealed their fate.

Of course, there were some differences between Konoha Village and the other forces.

The former aimed to unify the ninja world. Acting in this way, since they were all citizens of the same nation in the future, their actions would not be too unsightly.

But the latter, in pursuit of maximizing their own interests, would completely swallow up the Hidden Cloud ninja.

So, since there was no other way, the only option was to surrender to Konoha Village.

The name of the Hidden Cloud Village was gone.

But at least the people of the Hidden Cloud Village were still alive.

"The Hidden Cloud ninja... are willing to surrender unconditionally. I hope that Lord Hokage will treat them kindly in the future."

Finally, the Fourth Raikage, Ei, chose people over the village and buried "Hidden Cloud Village" underground.

"Wise choice," Yuki said with a bright smile. "Lord Raikage, you know my ambitions. As long as the surrendered Hidden Cloud ninja remain loyal and do not have ulterior motives, my attitude towards them will be the same as towards Konoha Village ninja."

"So... that's for the best!" Ei's face was filled with complex emotions.

Then, he injected the remaining chakra in his body into a Raikage ring with a short-range communication function on his finger.

His final decision was immediately transmitted to the hidden valley behind the Hidden Cloud Village.

Soon, inside a hidden valley, Toshiro, who had received the transmission, opened the message, and his face turned pale.

"What's wrong?" asked Yugito Nii, who was next to him.

Toshiro remained silent for a long time before announcing heavily, "Hidden Cloud Village is no more!"

Meanwhile, inside the Hidden Cloud Village.

Having completed all of this, Ei let go of his last reserves of strength, and while enduring excruciating coughs, he no longer had the strength to suppress them. On one hand, he was coughing violently. On the other hand, he was repeatedly sending messages that Toshiro would return with the people.

Noticing Ei's condition at this moment, Yuki first nodded, then furrowed his brows slightly and said, "Your situation is very precarious now. Don't push yourself any further, perhaps you can still save your life with treatment."

But Ei firmly refused.

"No need."

At this moment, Ei's complexion suddenly became rosy again, and he stopped coughing.

Yuki sighed slightly, knowing that Ei was activating his body's final reserves of strength, a last-ditch effort to return to the light.

"My mission is already complete. What comes next is my time to atone."

At this moment, Ei, with a resolute expression, no longer cared about the impending end of his life.

As the Fourth Raikage of the Hidden Cloud Village, Ei passed away.