After Sasori gave up on using the Fourth Raikage as material for a prototype puppet, he stood beside Hyuga Mirai, occasionally commenting on the only fight inside the barrier.
A, the Raikage, Terumi Mei, and Hiruzen Sarutobi had long noticed the situation of the Allied Shinobi Forces during the pauses in battle. But as village leaders, surrender was impossible. Combined with the fury of betrayal, all three had already steeled themselves to fight to the death rather than yield.
Tsunade glanced at Hyuga Mirai and Sasori watching idly from the side, making no move to help, and her anger spiked.
Why bother holding back to avoid hurting them?
"Raikage, Mizukage, I've already given you your chance!"
With a shout, Tsunade entered Sage Mode. Her control over natural energy was now extremely refined—faster even than Senju Hashirama, who needed to form seals to gather energy. And she could now enter a perfect Sage Mode.
It wasn't the Sage Mode of Shikotsu Forest, but the same blue face markings as Hyuga Mirai's.
Mirai's Sage Mode had a consumption pattern similar to the Strength of a Hundred Seal, increasing speed, power, stamina, and more. After transforming, Tsunade's speed even surpassed the Raikage.
Next, Tsunade activated a Mangekyo Sharingan technique—Ame-no-Ohabari—which allowed her to see a few seconds into the future, dozens of times more perceptive than a Three Tomoe Sharingan.
Activating the Mangekyo Sharingan, Tsunade saw several seconds ahead, then used Body Flicker to appear exactly where the Raikage would be next, and drove a monstrous punch toward him.
Boom!
Tsunade wanted to end this quickly. She used eighty percent of her strength, and knowing the Raikage's exact next move, her punch sent him flying nearly a hundred meters. When he hit the ground, he rolled seven or eight times.
Even Sasori, watching from afar, frowned slightly at the impact and asked quietly, "Is he alive?"
"For now. In a bit, maybe not," Mirai replied. The Raikage's heart was still beating, but the right side of his body was nearly destroyed. If this dragged on, he'd be ready for burial.
"Mirai-kun."
After the entire Allied Force was captured, Uchiha Mikoto approached Mirai. She used an Shadow Clone to maintain her Susanoo—something she never imagined possible before. But Mirai's serum had given her overwhelming strength.
"Tsunade-sama is using a Mangekyo Sharingan?"
That pattern was deeply familiar to her.
"It's not just the Mangekyo. The Rinnegan is her true power. Shame she hides even that from me," Mirai muttered. He still didn't know what abilities her Rinnegan had or whether she'd use them today.
But using Rinnegan abilities on opponents like this would be a bit embarrassing.
"Bansho Ten'in!"
Right after sending the Raikage flying, Tsunade used a Rinnegan technique. Hiruzen was stunned—when did she gain the Rinnegan?
He had no time to think. His body was pulled toward Tsunade. He jammed the Enma staff into the ground, but it was useless. The pull was nearly comparable to Chibaku Tensei. Even the ground beneath him ripped upward.
"Wood Release: Wood Bindings."
As Hiruzen hung helplessly in midair, Tsunade cast Wood Release to restrain him.
"Be careful, Hiruzen!"
Enma sprouted two arms from the staff, grabbed Hiruzen, and hurled him out of the pull's range with the strength of a monkey king.
"Useless."
Tsunade body-flickered into midair, intercepted Hiruzen, and axe-kicked him into the ground.
Hiruzen, like Onoki, was in his seventies. The only reason he could still fight was chakra. But after taking Tsunade's full blow, he lost all ability to resist and was easily bound by Wood Release.
On the other side, Enma's single eye appeared on the staff, sighed at Hiruzen's defeat, and dismissed the Summoning, returning to its realm.
With Hiruzen subdued, only Terumi Mei and a few bodyguards could still fight.
Tsunade stepped forward. "Mizukage, do you still want to continue?"
The three Kage together couldn't defeat her. Alone, her chances were practically zero. Wood Release and Rinnegan—the despair was overwhelming.
But she was the Mizukage. Even with no hope, she couldn't surrender.
Determination returned to Terumi Mei's eyes as she formed seals.
"Lava Release: Melting—"
Before she finished, she felt a hand grab her neck from behind. Hyuga Mirai pulled her through the Yomi-no-Hirasaka and slammed her into the ground.
Her vision blurred. She found herself pinned on the ground, chakra chain cuffs locking onto her wrists, draining her chakra until she couldn't gather any.
Nara Shikaku watched, chilled. Mirai's space-time ninjutsu was absurd. That black void seemed to connect anywhere, and he didn't even need marks—just reaching into it was enough to drag the Mizukage out of her position and slam her down.
After Terumi Mei was subdued, Tsunade used a massive Wood Release forest to bind the remaining enemies. The Allied Shinobi Forces were completely handled.
"You finally stepped in after watching the show long enough," Tsunade muttered beside Mirai. Then she noticed the chakra lock cuffs on Shikaku and Yamanaka Inoichi.
"Shikaku, you're wearing those too?"
Shikaku smiled awkwardly. "Safer this way…"
Tsunade turned to Mirai. "He's my aide."
"He is. And if they refuse to join the Federation, this ensures everything ends cleanly."
Mirai stopped there, but Shikaku understood well enough to imagine several bloody possibilities.
Among the Konoha shinobi present, the Nara, Yamanaka, and Akimichi clans alone numbered over a hundred. Shikaku wasn't sure whether Mirai was bluffing, but even a slight chance of such an outcome was unacceptable.
"As a Konoha shinobi, I follow the Hokage's command," Shikaku said immediately, glancing at Mirai in the corner of his eye.
"Good. Shikaku, after today, you should clearly see the direction the shinobi world must take. I worried you'd be as blinded as the old man," Tsunade said, patting his shoulder.
With Shikaku assisting her, things would become much easier. Until now, she only dared entrust sensitive tasks to Kabuto, but the coming workload was enormous. Merging the Land of Fire into the Federation wasn't a matter of one sentence. The country's countless nobles—hundreds of them—had to be dealt with first.
And then came the village reforms. Thinking about it gave Tsunade a headache. Leaving everything to Kabuto might kill him.
"So what next?" she asked.
"The handlers will arrive soon. These prisoners will be held for a while, then sent to the Federation's southwest mining sector. As for the Konoha shinobi—"
Mirai issued an order to Unit 18. Release the Nara, Yamanaka, and Akimichi cuffs. Moments later, every member of those clans heard a click as their chakra locks opened.
After years of data collection, Unit 18's puppet armor could scan almost everything—identity, background, medical history. Nearly everyone had been treated by Federation medical machines.
"…Thank you, Tsunade-sama. And Mirai-san," Shikaku said stiffly. Having the locks removed in front of everyone meant they had no path but loyalty. Even though he hadn't intended to betray anyone, Mirai had publicly declared their allegiance. They had barely put the cuffs on before being freed again.
Follow Tsunade—Shikaku understood. With Konoha and the Sand Federation's strength, plus today's victory, unifying the shinobi world wouldn't take long.
And if only this group was here, the Kazekage and other upper-level Federation shinobi must already be at another battlefield.
Soon, the Federation shinobi arrived to take custody of the prisoners. Kushina and Ayaka released the Four Red Yang Formation. If they hadn't encased the Alliance early on, the sight of the tailed beasts would've caused immediate panic.
Shikaku quickly coordinated with Inoichi and the Akimichi, assisting the Federation shinobi. Some Federation shinobi were confused—if not for the leaf forehead protectors, they'd assume these men were fellow Federation soldiers.
"Mirai-sama…"
Ayaka Uzumaki released the barrier and approached Mirai with a bright smile, though she held back from hugging him since so many people were watching.
"Tsunade-neesan, it's been a while," Kushina said as she walked up. "We'll finally be living together again."
"Yeah… it's finally ending. Kushina… Konoha still owes you," Tsunade murmured, touching her red hair. If she had been in Konoha at the time, Kushina wouldn't have suffered under Root.
"It's alright. Things are good now."
Kushina was more than satisfied. She was grateful she'd escaped Konoha's pit; otherwise Naruto would have grown up in hatred and misery. In the Federation, he became cheerful, made friends, and lived freely.
"Yeah… it's almost over."
Tsunade sighed. Then, seeing Mirai and Ayaka standing not far away, she quietly asked Kushina:
"Kushina… is that the other Uzumaki girl who's going to marry him?"
Kushina exhaled inwardly. "Yes… Tsunade-neesan. That's Ayaka Uzumaki."
Tsunade gritted her teeth. "That brat Mirai is such a menace—attracting so many women."
Kushina instantly felt a pang of jealousy and nodded stiffly. "You're not wrong…"
The two exchanged a glance, both guilty, both avoiding the topic immediately after.
(End of Chapter)