Nobunaga did not look back.
He simply walked forward.
Then he stopped.
He stood there, his back to Temari.
The wind and sand blew over, causing Nobunaga's black Kazekage robes to billow and snap loudly.
The robes fluttered in the wind like a flag.
Then he turned his head and gave Temari a backward glance.
His eyes were closed; he could not see her.
But the direction he looked was exactly where she was standing.
It was brief and light.
Then Nobunaga turned his head back and continued forward.
Walking into the battlefield.
...
In the center of the battlefield, Nobunaga came to a halt.
His eyes could not see, but his Chakra could feel it.
There were many people ahead.
The Sannin: Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Tsunade—their Chakra was powerful and familiar.
Uchiha Shisui, his Chakra was as sharp as a blade.
Uchiha Itachi, slightly weaker than Shisui, but equally dangerous.
Even Minato Namikaze, who had lost an arm, had come.
He was waiting for them.
Jiraiya looked at him. His eyes held complex emotions:
Regret, admiration, and helplessness.
"Your eyes can no longer see. Do you still intend to fight?"
Nobunaga said calmly, "The hatred brought by this war has already run too deep. Konoha could never let the Hidden Sand Village go."
Jiraiya did not speak again.
He had neither the right nor the ability to forgive any enemy on behalf of those who had died in battle.
The Toad Sage never makes promises he cannot keep.
Nobunaga stood there.
Purple Chakra surged from his body. That Chakra was like flames, like smoke, and like a living thing.
It condensed and took shape, forming a skeleton, then muscles, and finally armor.
A complete giant appeared on the battlefield.
A purple Susanoo, wielding a giant sword with wings growing from its back.
The massive wings unfurled from behind, blotting out the sun and sky.
This was his final Susanoo. He had summoned it using the last of his Chakra, his blinded eyes, and his very life.
Jiraiya let out a sigh.
"Do it."
The Sannin moved first.
Jiraiya's hair turned into long white tresses, countless strands surging from his head to coil toward Nobunaga.
Orochimaru's kusanagi sword pierced from the side. The sword could extend and retract, bend, and appear from any angle.
Tsunade's fist slammed into the ground, causing the earth to split and rubble to fly. The cracks spread toward Nobunaga like a spiderweb.
Nobunaga's Susanoo swung its sword.
One strike cut through Jiraiya's hair; the white strands were sliced in two and fell to the ground.
One strike blocked Orochimaru's kusanagi sword, the collision of blades producing a piercing metallic screech.
One strike forced Tsunade back, the blade energy carving a deep trench into the ground.
But Minato Namikaze moved.
His figure vanished from the spot, reappearing behind the Susanoo in the next second. A Kunai stabbed toward the nape of Nobunaga's neck, right at a gap in the Susanoo.
The Susanoo's arm swept across. But Minato was faster; he vanished again and appeared from another direction.
The Kunai stabbed out once more.
The Uchiha brothers also moved.
Shisui's blade and Itachi's Fire Release attacked simultaneously from two directions.
Shisui's swordsmanship was as fast as lightning, every strike aimed at a vital point.
Itachi's Fire Release dyed half the sky crimson.
Nobunaga stood alone against them all.
He could not see, but he could feel.
Everyone's Chakra, the trajectory of every attack, every flaw and opening.
His Chakra was burning, his body was collapsing, and the Susanoo was shattering bit by bit.
Purple fragments peeled away from the giant and dissipated into the air.
But Nobunaga did not retreat.
In his ears, the eternal wind and sand brought gentle whispers; he seemed to hear Rasa kneeling on the sand, saying, "I leave my children to you."
Back then, Rasa's blood had pooled on the ground, and his eyes had begun to lose focus, yet he still gripped Nobunaga's hand, refusing to let go.
He seemed to hear Sasori kneeling beside Kankuro, saying, "Didn't you say you wanted to protect people?"
Back then, Sasori's eyes were filled with an emptiness so deep there was nothing there, yet he still said those words.
He seemed to hear Gaara kneeling there, looking toward Temari and saying, "I've stepped forward."
Back then, he was already near death, yet he still said those words.
A full hour.
Nobunaga held out for a full hour.
When the Susanoo shattered, he did not dodge.
The purple giant collapsed with a roar, like a mountain crumbling. Fragments flew and dissipated, leaving nothing behind.
Minato Namikaze's Kunai pierced into his chest. The Kunai was cold; he could feel the chill of the metal as it entered.
Orochimaru's kusanagi sword transfixed his abdomen. The blade emerged from his back, slick with blood.
Tsunade's fist smashed his ribs. He heard the sound of his own bones breaking, snap after snap, like dry branches snapping.
Jiraiya's hair wrapped around his neck. The white strands tightened, choking the breath out of him.
Nobunaga sank to his knees.
Kneeling on the sand.
Blood surged from his body, flowing into the sand and seeping down. There was so much blood that it dyed a vast patch of sand red.
"Come again!!!"
Nobunaga knelt there, struggling to keep his head raised.
He remembered many things.
He remembered the first time he met those three children—
Temari had scraped her knee and looked at him while crying. She was crying hard, tears and snot flowing together, but when he knelt down to bandage her, she stopped.
Kankuro had been clutching a piece of wood, chasing after him to ask, "How do you make a puppet?" He had asked all day long until Nobunaga's head ached, but he still answered every question.
Gaara had sat in the sand with nothing in his eyes. He had walked over and sat beside him, saying nothing, just sitting there. After a long time, Gaara gave him a glance.
He remembered them growing up bit by bit—
The day Temari learned the Rasengan, she jumped for joy. She jumped high, shouting, "Teacher, teacher, look!" then the Rasengan went out of control and sent her flying.
Kankuro had made his first complete puppet and ran to show him. The puppet was ugly and lopsided, but he looked at it for a long time and said, "Not bad."
The first time Gaara smiled, he was stunned. The smile was very slight, his lips just twitched, but he was stunned because he had never seen Gaara smile before.
He remembered the year they celebrated their birthdays together—
Kankuro ate with his cheeks bulging like a hamster.
Gaara ate slowly, taking tiny bites.
Temari watched them with a smile, wiping their mouths. He stood by the window, watching them.
Now, only Temari was left.
He hoped that in the future, she could find a peaceful place to start a new life.
Because she was the gentlest girl he had ever seen in his life.
She deserved to be surrounded by love.
"It turns out... the hardest part isn't becoming the Kazekage..."
Nobunaga knelt there, his raised head slowly drooping.
The blood was still flowing.
The wind and sand blew over, striking his face and entering his mouth with a bitter taste.
In his ears, he seemed to hear a four-year-old Temari asking him:
"Teacher, will you always be here?"
Nobunaga could no longer answer.
Because he had done it.
Until the final moment of his life, he had stood before them.
Sunlight shone down from above, illuminating the fine dust in the air into pale golden beams of light.
Those beams shone on the sand and on the ruins.
They shone on Nobunaga's body.
The Hidden Sand Village seemed to always be shrouded in this hue.
Today was no different.
(Volume 2: Bitter Sand - End)