Chapter 358: Destroy the Sand First, Then the Cloud
Konoha, Hokage's Office.
"Report!"
"Enter."
Scanning the latest intelligence report handed to him, Kyosuke let out a soft breath. He turned to Minato Namikaze. "I leave Konoha in your hands for now."
"Rest assured. As long as I am here, I won't let anyone disturb the peace of the village," Minato declared solemnly. Then, he hesitated for a moment before asking, "If... you cannot bring yourself to do it, I can take your place."
Kyosuke knew exactly what "it" Minato was referring to. Unfortunately, given his personality, he wasn't one to pass such a heavy burden onto others. Besides, evasion was never the solution.
Shaking his head to decline Minato's offer, Kyosuke gave a few brief instructions before activating the Flying Thunder God Technique. In an instant, he vanished, reappearing outside the main gates of the Sand Village in the Land of Wind.
"Hm?" Uchiha Cho, possessing powerful sensory abilities, detected the spatial fluctuation immediately. Her expression brightened as she saw Kyosuke materialize. "My Lord, you've arrived."
Kyosuke gazed at the battle raging outside the Sand Village gates. Without turning his head, he commanded, "Order a full retreat. I am going to completely eliminate the Sand's resistance."
"As you command." Cho signaled her subordinates. A moment later, a flare exploded high in the sky.
Although reluctant, the ninja of the Southwestern Army Corps began to pull back, putting distance between themselves and the Sand forces.
"Commander, why are we retreating? If we just pressed on a little longer, the Sand would..." A Jonin, suppressing his anger, was about to question Cho's orders. But the moment he saw Kyosuke standing there, he froze. Realization dawned on him, and he silently retreated to the lines, preparing to watch the events unfold.
On the Sand Village walls, Ebizo and Rasa watched the retreating Konoha forces with grave expressions. They racked their brains trying to understand the enemy's intent.
As the Jonin had noted, if the Southwestern Army had continued their assault, they would likely have breached the gates soon. While that wouldn't guarantee victory, it would have dealt a massive blow to the Sand's morale.
Yet, at such a critical moment, the enemy stopped. It was no wonder Rasa and the others were suspicious.
Suddenly, everyone noticed the sky above darkening. Pitch-black storm clouds gathered, and arcs of lightning danced violently within them.
The moment the anomaly appeared, a sense of extreme dread rose in Ebizo's heart. But before he could issue any orders, the phenomenon in the sky drew everyone's attention.
Surrounded by a massive amount of lightning, a beast resembling a god emerged. It had the head of a lion, antlers of a deer, eyes of a tiger, body of a moose, scales of a dragon, and the tail of an ox.
The moment it appeared, a terrifying, lethal threat washed over the entire battlefield. Not just the Sand ninja, but even the Konoha ninja who knew what was happening felt their hearts pound in fear.
"Heh. Fade away into history, Sand Village," Kyosuke whispered, recalling the Sand's numerous betrayals since his arrival in this world.
Lightning flashed in his hand. His eyes cold and filled with killing intent, he swung his palm downward. The lightning Kirin descended from the heavens.
"Sage Art: Thunderous Kirin!"
"BOOM!!!"
A blinding white light flashed, followed immediately by an earth-shattering explosion. The main gate of the Sand Village and the surrounding walls were instantly swallowed by the blast.
A long time passed before the smoke cleared. When the Southwestern Army looked toward the Sand Village again, they found that not only had the thousands of defending troops vanished, but the interior buildings of the village were now clearly visible through the gaping hole in its defenses.
The battlefield was silent for a moment, then erupted in wild cheers.
"We did it! We finally defeated the Sand!"
"Long live Commander Cho! Long live Lord Kyosuke!"
"Sob... Honey, I avenged you! Hahaha! I destroyed the Sand with my own hands!"
"Charge! Take the village!"
Watching a clone slowly walk toward him carrying an unconscious child, Kyosuke thought for a moment and said to Uchiha Cho, who stood silently nearby, "Secure the Sand Village. Eliminate any force that attempts to resist or has the capacity to resist. The same goes for any civilians who incite unrest. Show no mercy."
"Understood," Cho replied with a light smile. She then looked curiously at the child in the clone's hand. "My Lord, is he..."
"Yes. That is the One-Tail Jinchuriki."
After a brief explanation, Kyosuke performed a one-handed seal. Leaving behind the words, "I leave this place to you," he used the Flying Thunder God to depart.
"Phew... All units, listen up!" Cho's voice echoed in everyone's ears.
Moon Palace, Secret Laboratory.
Kyosuke handed the unconscious Gaara to Kabuto, ordering him to extract Shukaku and place it into a "container" as soon as possible, before leaving once again.
"So this is... a Jinchuriki? Sensei's plan is finally beginning." Yakushi Kabuto, his face flushed with excitement, briefly checked Gaara's condition before leading several assistants to begin the extraction of the Tailed Beast chakra.
Meanwhile, on the Cloud Battlefield.
Looking at the Cloud forces pouring out of their canyon stronghold, Kyosuke didn't bother greeting Hiruzen Sarutobi. He launched his jutsu immediately.
The Thunderous Kirin descended once more. Its terrifying power was something no one below Kage level could withstand. Even a Kage-level powerhouse, if they lacked strong defensive techniques like Ebizo of the Sand, would meet a miserable end amidst the endless lightning.
Staring at Kyosuke, who had suddenly appeared, Hiruzen finally understood who had unleashed that terrifying ninjutsu earlier. He looked at the nearly annihilated Cloud army and hesitated. "Do we... really need to destroy the Cloud completely?"
"Lord Third, have you forgotten how the Cloud coerced Konoha? How the Four Great Nations besieged us?" Kyosuke asked coldly.
"If we spare them today, and Konoha becomes weak in the future, they will show us no mercy."
"...I understand." Taking a deep breath, Hiruzen went down to issue orders. Kyosuke trusted him completely.
With Hiruzen's political acumen and skills, the remnants of the Cloud wouldn't be able to make any waves. Now, Kyosuke's task was to "transport" the heavily injured Killer B and Yugito Nii to the Moon Palace laboratory.
And so, the Sand and the Cloud—two once-powerful ninja villages—were declared destroyed the moment Kyosuke got serious.
As long as Konoha could survive this war, the ninja world would likely never again see such a chaotic mess of factions.