The Fourth Kazekage's Fate

"Yamato, you go first."

Hatake Kakashi turned around and spoke to his junior, who was still standing there, his gaze shifting back and forth between Naruto and Satsuki.

"It seems Naruto has something to discuss with his teacher."

Yamato paused for a moment, then nodded. "Oh, alright then." He nodded slightly to Kakashi, then politely nodded towards Naruto and Satsuki.

See you tomorrow, Kakashi- senpai.

After saying that, he turned and walked into the depths of Konoha's night streets. His figure quickly blended into the night and disappeared into the shadows around the street corner.

Kakashi turned around again to face Naruto. The glow of the nightlight fell on his silver hair, casting a flickering light on his face, which was always half-hidden behind a mask.

He spoke in his usual lazy tone, "Alright. So what do you want? I don't believe newlyweds would simply come to chat with their teacher."

"It's nothing serious."

Naruto still wore that sunny smile. But there was now an indescribable meaning in that smile—like some kind of expectation.

"It's just that some things that were impossible back then can now be done, so I came to ask Kakashi-sensei for his opinion."

"Things that couldn't be done back then?"

"Um."

Naruto nodded.

"The Sage of Six Paths entrusted the afterlife to me."

His tone was as calm as if he were saying the Tenten.

"So, Kakashi-sensei, is there anyone you wish to see... or anyone you wish to resurrect?"

"... ah?"

Kakashi was stunned. He blinked, then blinked again.

... What?

The afterlife? A request? The Sage of Six Paths? A desire to see? The resurrected dead?

These words swirled in his mind, but he couldn't piece them together into a complete, understandable sentence.

He discovered he could understand each word individually, but when they were put together, he couldn't understand them. Why was that?

In that brief instant, his brain processed several possibilities: Was Naruto joking? Was Naruto testing him? Was Naruto some strange Genjutsu? Or—was he himself under some strange Genjutsu?

But if his understanding is correct, Naruto is telling him that he can go to the afterlife.

I can see Obito, I can see Rin, I can see... my father.

"Naruto..."

Kakashi spoke, his voice a few decibels lower than usual. His one exposed eye narrowed slightly, his gaze fixed on the blond youth opposite him.

"This kind of joke isn't funny at all."

His voice was soft, but it carried a tremor he himself didn't even realize.

Naruto almost never joked with him.

From their first meeting to the mission in the Land of Waves, to the Chunin Ninja Exams, and their subsequent interactions— Naruto was never the type to joke about such things.

but.

An afterlife? Resurrecting the dead? That's too...

"That's true." Naruto's voice broke through his chaotic thoughts. "It doesn't seem like it's true at all to suddenly bring this up."

"Let's just see for ourselves."

The moment he finished speaking, Naruto casually raised his hand and waved it lightly.

The air split open, and a black portal appeared out of thin air between the three of them.

The door was an irregular oval shape, with a dim halo flowing around its edges, and its interior was pure, endless darkness.

[Yomotsu Hirasaka]

"Let's go, Kakashi-sensei."

Naruto turned around. "You'll see when we get there. Don't worry, I've already restored the Pure Land; it's not scary at all."

After saying that, he didn't wait for Kakashi's response, turned around decisively, and stepped into the portal.

The black aura swallowed his figure, Uchiha Satsuki followed closely behind. She didn't speak; she generally maintained this attitude towards everyone except Naruto and her parents.

On the street, only Hatake Kakashi remained. The night wind blew, swirling up a few fallen leaves that rolled past his feet.

He stared at the black portal still suspended in the air, listening to the thumping of his own heart.

Each sound was so clear it felt like it was hitting my eardrums.

He slowly raised his hand and placed it on his left chest. There, through his clothes, through his skin, through his ribs, his heart, which had been beating for decades, was now pumping hot blood into his brain at an unprecedented speed.

Kakashi took a deep breath. Then, he took a step. As he got closer and closer to the black portal, he closed his eyes and finally stepped inside.

In a desolate patch of Pure Land, golden gold Gold Dust dances wildly.

"Gold Dust Waterfall!"

With a deep, angry shout, the Gold Dust that appeared out of nowhere gathered in the air into countless sharp spikes, like suddenly blooming metal flowers, and exploded in all directions!

One of the Velociraptor was unable to dodge in time and was struck hard by one of the Gold Dust spikes. Its body flew backward and crashed heavily onto the ground several feet away with a dull thud.

However, more Velociraptor are approaching.

They surrounded them from all directions, lowering their bodies and letting out low growls, their amber vertical pupils fixed on the figure in the center of the encirclement.

There was no anger in his eyes, only the cold ruthlessness of carrying out orders.

In the center of the encirclement, the man who had used the Gold Dust was now panting heavily.

He had short brown hair and an unremarkable face, the kind of ordinary appearance that would be hard to spot in a crowd.

But at this moment, what burned in those eyes made this ordinary face appear exceptionally ferocious—resentment and anger.

And, an unfathomable fear.

His name is Rasa.

During his lifetime, he was the Fourth Kazekage—the highest leader of Sunagakure, a figure revered by countless Sunagakure ninja.

And now, he is a ghost trapped in the middle of a wilderness, being eyed by a group of prehistoric creatures...

Why...!

The thought kept churning in Rasa's mind.

He never expected to be treated this way after death. The "common sense" that flooded his consciousness was like a bucket of ice water, waking him from the illusion that "death does not mean the end."

Sin Index.

The critical point of 2.0.

Those who exceed this limit are not worthy to remain in the Pure Land, nor are they worthy to be reborn as humans; they can only be reborn as animals.

The scarlet number above his head was now clearly visible, hovering there.

[5.5]

I am the Kazekage! The supreme leader of Sand Village! Why?!

He couldn't accept it.

He couldn't accept being judged after death. He couldn't accept that inexplicable number defined his life. He couldn't accept that in his next life, he might be a fish, a rat, or a pig!

So when those guardians of the Pure Land, known as "Velociraptor," came into view and began to approach him, he barely thought about it—why would the guardians of the Pure Land be dinosaurs?

This question lingered in his mind, consumed by fear and resentment, for not even a second.

All he wanted was to rebel, to escape, to prove that he, Rasa, should not have this ending!

"Roar--!!!"

The roar of the Velociraptor rang out again, and several larger individuals flanked him from the flank, sealing off his last escape route. Rasa gritted his teeth, his hands Hand Seals once more, his chakra surging wildly within him—

Sudden.

"Bang--!"

Several heavy thuds came from not far behind him without warning.

Rasa suddenly turned around.

Several figures descended from the sky.

They landed on a dirt slope several dozen feet away from him, each in a different posture—some stood steadily, some stumbled before regaining their balance, and one seemed to have been pulled by another person to avoid falling.

Moreover, they seem to be arguing.

"We've arrived, big brother."

A man with short silver hair and a cold expression glanced at the light screen that had appeared out of thin air in his hand, which looked like an electronic screen, and spoke in a tone devoid of any emotion.

"This seems to be the guy."

Several lines of text were clearly displayed on the screen.

[The person on trial: Rasa]

[Identity confirmed: Fourth Kazekage, supreme leader of Sand Village, father of Gaara, Temari, Kankuro, holder of Magnet Release: Gold Dust, killed by Orochimaru]

[Main causal chain]

Becoming the Fourth Kazekage → Taking over the beleaguered Sand Village

Using Gold Dust to alleviate fiscal pressure → Laying the foundation for governance but failing to resolve structural contradictions

Responding to pressure from Konoha → Signing a humiliating treaty (after the Third Shinobi World War)

Managing the One-Tail Jinchuriki → Viewing his own son Gaara as a "failure" and a weapon

Sending Yashamaru to Gaara → Completely destroying the Bonds parent and child, strengthening the Jinchuriki's hateful personality.

Tensions with Konoha → Ultimately agrees to Orochimaru's feigned alliance (Konoha Crush Plan) → Ultimately killed by Orochimaru.

[Crime Assessment]

Directly initiating war/non-mission killings: clear acts of war criminality

Psychological abuse and assassination attempts within the family: Yes

Total Pain Level (Including Components): Moderate to High (Concentrated on Gaara as a parent-child relationship, resulting in extremely high psychological trauma).

Sin Index: 5.5

The dark-haired man with a gentle, natural face carefully read every line of text, and then his eyes widened.

"Really...?" Hashirama Senju looked up at the figure surrounded by Velociraptor in the distance, his face filled with disbelief.

"She actually did that to her own son?!"

"Um."

Tobirama Senju nodded, shifting his gaze from the screen to the figure struggling desperately. A slight, mocking smile played on his lips.

"It seems that the Sand Village of later generations made a very wrong decision, actually allowing such a guy to become the Kazekage."

His tone carried a hint of schadenfreude.

Because of the First Kazekage Kazekage's behavior at the first Five Kage Summit, Tobirama Senju had absolutely no goodwill towards Sunagakure.

And now—he looked at the line on the screen that read, "Regarding the Gaara as a failed product and a weapon," and then at the disheveled figure surrounded by dinosaurs in the distance.

Is it retribution?

He thought to himself.

"Um--!"

Hashirama Senju suddenly nodded vigorously, his incredulous expression replaced by a serious "it's time to get to work" look.

"Let's go then!"

He whirled around and waved his hand forcefully towards something behind him, "Ban-! Let's all come at him-!"

"...

In the distance, the figure standing in the shadows remained motionless. After a moment, a cold voice came from that direction.

"Don't order me Hashirama!"

(Because I didn't know how to write about Kakashi and Obito's meeting... I delayed the plot a bit and wrote about the endings of all the sources of Gaara's tragedies first.)