My Techniques are a bit off

The Tailed Beast's arm flew off under the force of inertia, and Shukaku's golden eyes showed a flicker of shock.

It wasn't the pain of being attacked; rather, when the blade made contact, the chakra-formed exterior instantly lost all sensation.

"Tap!"

Link landed lightly, glanced at the unconscious Rock Lee, and then looked up at the partially transformed Gaara. Without hesitation, he pushed off the ground and charged forward.

The destructive power of a tailed beast transformation was too great. An unconscious comrade like Rock Lee couldn't survive in the radius of any large-scale attack. The simplest solution was to take out the core directly.

"So fast!"

The thought flashed through Gaara's mind as he instinctively tried to control his body to evade. But he was a step too slow—Link had already reached him.

"Whoosh!"

Gaara swiped at him with a clawed hand, but with a flash of the blade, he lost another arm.

"This isn't working... he's too strong. I have to—"

Gaara's thoughts were cut short as the head of his partially transformed Tailed Beast form was split open. The attack was as effortless as slicing through a melon.

The chakra construct, supposedly of immense density and durability, seemed non-existent before that blade.

Gaara's true body gazed up at Link, who descended from above. His hands moved to form seals, preparing to unleash his Feigning Sleep Technique.

"Boom!"

Before he could react, Link delivered a crushing kick, sending him flying backward into the ground, creating a massive crater.

"Clatter!"

The protective sand shield shattered and fell to the ground. Embedded in the pit, Gaara's sand armor flaked off piece by piece as he stared at the towering and imposing figure of Link. His voice carried an endless confusion.

"Why—?"

"Rustle~"

As Gaara's consciousness wavered from the heavy blow, the tailed beast transformation dissolved into a pile of sand.

Gaara plummeted toward the ground, unresponsive, but before he could crash, Link grabbed him mid-air. The sand instinctively gathering to protect Gaara dissipated silently.

"Why—?" Gaara asked in a hollow voice, his eyes empty.

There were too many things he couldn't understand. Ever since graduating earlier this year, events had continuously unfolded in ways that confounded him. His mind could no longer process it all.

He had believed that killing those he couldn't understand, resolving everything through hatred and violence, would end his inner turmoil.

But when brute force failed, it felt as if everything had hit a dead end.

Why were they fighting? What was causing him so much pain?

"Let go of Gaara!" Temari and Kankuro arrived, the tension in the air escalating.

"Both of you, come at me," Link said, casting a glance at Rock Lee. His condition was worsening; his breathing was faint. He couldn't let it get to the point where he'd need to summon Guy-sensei to collect his unconscious student.

"I'm in a hurry."

Kankuro's face twisted in anger. "You bastard! How dare you look down on me!" He waved his hand, sending the puppet Crow forward.

They had no choice. Both knew that if Link got close, it would be over. Even someone like Orochimaru had been overpowered by this guy.

And as puppet users, they had no other options.

"Swish!"

"He disappeared!"

Temari unfolded her fan, keeping a wary eye for a potential close-range attack. She also kept alert for her own shadow and any sudden long-range strikes.

"This guy has too many methods... he's too dangerous. Where is—?!"

"Checkmate."

Link stood behind them, holding Gaara in one hand and Rock Lee in the other. His shadow clone, imbued with the power of Sethan, had successfully captured them.

"Clatter~"

With its chakra threads severed, Kankuro's puppet, Karasu, collapsed in pieces.

"What is this?!"

The moment Temari and Kankuro's shadows were touched by Link's, their bodies regressed, shrinking to the size of two-year-olds. Their cognitive abilities dulled, memories faded, and they could no longer function.

The power of Sethan's shadow ability was absurd. Once his shadow connected with an enemy's, it bypassed all conditions, causing regression in its target. Even against chakra-based constructs, it consumed only minimal chakra to trigger.

If only this ability could be stored long-term... Link thought with a hint of regret as he gently laid Rock Lee flat and used chakra to examine his condition.

The prognosis was grim.

Rock Lee's body was severely overexerted, with multiple fractures and muscle damage. His condition was critical.

Link first stabilized Lee's failing heart and lungs with a burst of healing chakra, then concentrated a significant amount of chakra to perform Delicate Illness Extraction Technique. Even when used with raw, brute chakra, it still achieved miraculous results.

"The shadow clone still has a few seconds left. Third Hokage, I hope you've wrapped things up by now—"

"Thwack!"

The sound of the Third Hokage's staff breaking through a sand gold barrier echoed. The Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, wore a slightly dazed expression.

The rejuvenated Third Hokage had taken only forty seconds to deal with the reanimated Hokage summoned by Orochimaru. Using advanced ninjutsu suppression, close-range combat, and near-incomprehensible sealing techniques, he had removed the talismans controlling their heads. Once freed, the sacrifices fell lifelessly to the ground.

It was likely that Orochimaru had dispelled the technique himself at that point.

The problem was that the Third Hokage had accomplished all this while fending off Rasa's continuous attacks.

"What even is this Konoha Crush Plan I agreed to join?"

Rasa felt utterly lost. It was as if, despite all of them being Kage, the Third Hokage could effortlessly defeat three others while ignoring his own attacks.

"Maybe dying here wouldn't be so bad..."

For Rasa, being the Kazekage was a burden far heavier than it was an honor. His declining village, propped up by his personal sacrifices and economic strategies, faced distrust from daimyo and nobles alike.

Despite giving everything for his village, he couldn't stop its descent into ruin.

He was tired. The weight of carrying everyone forward had brought him nothing but pain. So when Orochimaru proposed the Konoha Crush, he should have, as a Kage, opposed such a desperate gamble.

But in the end, he did nothing.

Orochimaru's defeat at the hands of Konoha's young ninja had awakened him to reality. Before departing, he had resolved to shoulder the responsibility of being Kazekage one last time. Death, he felt, was his best escape.

So, as the staff came toward him with overwhelming force, Rasa did not resist or evade. He simply closed his eyes quietly.

"If I die here, everything will end, right?"

…

"What are you waiting for?"

A familiar, somewhat weary voice broke the silence.

Rasa slowly opened his eyes to see the once-again aged Third Hokage standing before him. The staff was pressed against his chest, but it had stopped short of striking.

"Why... why didn't you kill me?"

~~~

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