Chapter 111: The Fall of the Iron Sand Tyrant

The Third Kazekage, consumed by rage, soared into the stormy skies, cloaked in his formidable Iron Sand, and bellowed:

"Uchiha Gin! Come out! I'll kill you!"

Though buying time was part of his plan, his fury was genuine. Why was Gin here? Wasn't he supposed to be part of Konoha's main assault on Amegakure? Was there a leak in their intelligence? Or had he overlooked something crucial?

What the Kazekage didn't realize was the staggering range of perception possessed by both Gin and Kushina — they could sense everything within tens of kilometers.

"THE LAMB!"

Suddenly, thousands of lightning bolts rained down from the stormclouds above.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

Two strikes came in the span of mere seconds — too fast for mid- and low-level shinobi to react.

"Unbelievable! Does Gin-sama really command such terrifying Lightning Release jutsu? In moments, he's wiped out over a thousand Sunagakure shinobi!"

"Such power! He wasn't boasting after all!"

"Glory to Gin-sama! Gin-sama is invincible!"

From a hillside a kilometer away, thousands of Konoha shinobi watched in awe as Gin unleashed divine wrath upon the battlefield. Their previous doubts were gone — only reverence remained. His prestige soared, and with it, his ability to form contracts with them. Yet Gin had no time to check how many had reached the threshold.

Meanwhile, in the ranks of the retreating Suna forces:

The Third Kazekage, his face contorted with hatred, raised his Iron Sand in fury to strike the thunderclouds, but stopped. He knew it was futile.

"Retreat!" he barked. With a wave of his hand, a massive Iron Sand barrier rose, shielding the 2,000 remaining Sunagakure shinobi.

Just then, lightning crackled again — but this time, it didn't strike from the sky. It materialized on the hillside, only a hundred meters from the Kazekage.

Uchiha Gin appeared from the crackling lightning, grinning.

"Already retreating, Kazekage? So cautious now? You dared stand against Konoha's might, and now you're clinging to your life?"

"Hmph!"

The Kazekage turned sharply, meeting Gin's eyes. Though rage burned in him, he restrained himself. He continued managing the retreat, Iron Sand forming a canopy overhead.

Was this a trap?

Would Gin strike with another lightning attack?

Was he stalling for Konoha's main force?

The Kazekage had already noticed the Konoha army approaching from the opposite slope, making no effort to hide. Perhaps they couldn't hide in this terrain — or maybe they didn't want to.

Foolish of him to bring troops into the Rain Country under such skies. His goal had been to crush Konoha's forces. But now, survival took precedence.

"If we escape the thunderstorms and cross back into Wind Country, we'll be safer from his jutsu. There will be another chance to kill him," he resolved.

He ignored Gin, focusing on retreat. But Gin remained locked onto him.

A moment later, Tsunade arrived with Hatake Sakumo and Jiraiya, using her own unique space-time jutsu — though she claimed it was Flying Thunder God. Only those bound by contract would know the difference.

"What's going on?" Tsunade asked, eyes narrowing. "The Suna forces are retreating?"

"Obviously," Gin said, shrugging. "The Kazekage knows he can't win here. He's retreating to avoid annihilation. But we can't let them go that easily. Tsunade, take the army and pursue. Once they're twenty kilometers out — we strike."

"That's the edge of the Rain and Wind border," Tsunade frowned. "Your lightning jutsu won't work as well there."

"Correct. I've already depleted the natural charges in these stormclouds. It will take time to replenish them. The enemy won't wait — so we pursue."

Tsunade nodded. "We'll delay their escape. You get your backup ready." And with that, she vanished.

Gin turned to Sakumo and Jiraiya.

"Let's begin, senpai!"

He hurled dozens of kunai marked with Flying Thunder God seals near the retreating Suna forces. Then, placing his hands on his allies' shoulders:

"Let's go!"

They vanished.

The Kazekage, watching intently, immediately sensed the kunai and manipulated the magnetic field to intercept them — but he was a moment too late.

Gin, Sakumo, and Jiraiya materialized ten meters away.

"There!"

Thousands of iron needles launched toward them — but Gin, prepared, activated Susanoo. The spectral warrior deflected the barrage with ease. Susanoo grew in size, gaining armored limbs and twin chakra blades.

With a roar, one blade descended toward the Kazekage.

"Tch!"

The Kazekage conjured a massive Iron Sand cube to block the strike. The sword cleaved halfway through before halting. He grinned.

"So it can be blocked! Now take my attack!"

Iron Sand shifted into countless spears and needles, launching at Gin. Deactivating Susanoo, Gin vanished using Soru, avoiding the slower form and reappearing meters away.

Kazekage intensified his assault. Iron Sand surrounded Gin from all directions.

"Die!" he yelled.

Cubes collapsed inward — but Gin disappeared.

The Kazekage wasn't surprised. He expected Gin to teleport to one of his kunai ahead of the formation.

He scanned the field—

"Chak!"

Suddenly, cold steel kissed his neck. His body froze.

"How...?"

He turned, wide-eyed.

Blood sprayed into the air as his head separated cleanly from his shoulders. In his final moment, he saw Gin sheathing his blade, eyes calm and unreadable.

"You… didn't have a mark behind me… how…?"

Though his mouth formed the question, no voice followed. Gin smirked.

"Who knows?"

He wouldn't admit he'd used his space-time gate talent, bypassing the mark-based limitation of the Flying Thunder God. It wasn't cheating — it was innate. And until he transcended the technique's limits completely, combining it with perception-based movement was his best option.

The battlefield froze.

"Kazekage-sama?!"

Several Suna jonin turned, stunned by what they'd witnessed. But in their shock, Sakumo and Jiraiya acted.

"Don't get distracted mid-battle!" Sakumo shouted, cutting down the stunned jonin.

Jiraiya followed up with the Wild Lion's Mane Technique, finishing off the rest.

Silence fell as they turned to Gin and the fallen Kazekage.

"Whoa, Gin! You really killed the Third Kazekage like it was nothing?!" Jiraiya gasped.

"Heh, he was strong… but still weaker than Hanzo," Gin said modestly.

Sakumo eyed Gin carefully.

"You must have surpassed the Second Hokage's Flying Thunder God. To mark the Kazekage mid-battle and remain unnoticed? That's not something even Tobirama-sama could do."

Then his gaze dropped to Gin's sword.

"That blade… where did you get it?"

"This?" Gin said, smiling as he sheathed it. "A custom piece, forged by a master. Mikoto, Minato, and my mother each have one too."

He deliberately baited Sakumo's curiosity. Gin planned to deepen their bond through shared swordsmanship, even offering Sakumo rare pirate-world techniques he'd acquired.

"A sword of this level… and you say the smith made four?" Sakumo was stunned.

"If you want one, I can introduce you. He might forge one for you too!"

Sakumo's eyes lit up, then dimmed.

"I doubt I can afford the materials or cost…"

"I'll help," Gin grinned. "Train Mikoto, Minato, and me in your sword style, and I'll pay you. Also, you can train members of the Uchiha, Senju, and Uzumaki clans who walk the sword's path. In return, you'll earn enough for any blade you want."

Sakumo thought it over. The balance seemed fair — he'd gain rare techniques from Gin's world in exchange for teaching his own. They agreed to the deal.

Gin quickly checked Sakumo's favor level — 78 points. Not far from contract level.

"Once we start exchanging techniques, it'll be enough," he thought with satisfaction.

Just then, Tsunade arrived with reinforcements and caught the last glimpse of Gin beheading the Kazekage.

"Gin! You actually killed the Third Kazekage?!"

"Yeah. The key was surprise," Gin replied with a wink.

Tsunade gave him a knowing look. She likely suspected he had used his innate teleportation talent, not the Flying Thunder God.

But in the end, it didn't matter.

The Third Kazekage — Suna's strongest in history — had fallen.

And with him, Sunagakure's hopes in this war collapsed.

The battle belonged to Konoha.