Chapter 219: The Fall of Amegakure

Enemies are not something effort alone can defeat. It was not a village. It was not even a country. Amegakure stood against the Five Great Nations, military powers ranked at the very top of the world.

Death spread everywhere. Innocent children. Weak elderly. Fighting shinobi. It did not matter whether they belonged to Amegakure or the Allied Shinobi Forces. When the gap in strength became too great, resistance became meaningless.

Kakashi could not bring himself to strike down his former comrades. He could save one person, but not everyone. He saw Karin ready to die. He saw the old man at the village gate ready to die. And what came to his mind was only one thing: a mantis trying to stop a chariot. A crushing wheel rolling forward, leaving nothing but corpses behind.

BOOM. The "enemy" advanced. They reached the inner defenses. They reached the highest point of the village's perimeter. They reached the place where no further retreat was possible.

Behind them stood the tower everyone had sworn to protect. Inside it were the elderly, the wounded, and children rescued from the chaos of war. Kakashi's heart tightened painfully.

Across from him stood familiar faces. Former comrades, some he knew well, some he did not. Some he could share a drink with in another life. And among them, his students. Uzumaki Naruto. Uchiha Sasuke.

There was almost no resistance left. Amegakure shinobi were surrounded completely. Those who were not here were already dead.

Naruto stood with a crimson cloak draped over him. Golden-red eye markings framed his face, and his chakra pressure had become so vast it was almost impossible to sense anymore. The boy known as the "Golden Sage" now stood as something far beyond what he once was.

He looked directly at Kakashi. His sage-like eyes trembled with pain. "Kakashi-sensei! Why did you lie to us about being dead?! Why did you leave the village?!"

Lie? Perhaps to Naruto, his resurrection felt like a lie. And leaving the village. Kakashi looked down at himself. Ninja attire. Kunai in hand. How many people had I killed with this blade just moments ago? He could no longer count.

He could not strike down Leaf shinobi, but he could protect this village in his own way. And then, everyone learned the truth. Hatake Kakashi was alive. Not just Amegakure. Not just former comrades. Everyone knew.

But the first to speak was not supposed to be Naruto. Yet at a time like this, only Naruto could express shock so directly. Karin, however, had no patience for confusion. She silently formed a hand sign toward Kakashi. It meant, I will hold them off as much as I can. Escape through the hidden passage with the villagers.

Escape? Where? There was nowhere left to run. Outside this village was nothing but war. No matter where they went, death awaited. Perhaps only Karin did not fully understand that truth.

The Sixth Hokage raised his hand. ANBU forces raised their kunai. Karin tightened her grip. Amegakure shinobi shifted subtly, preparing to shield Kakashi's retreat toward the tower. Kakashi saw everything. And his heart twisted.

"Wait." He spoke. Both sides froze. Kakashi stepped forward and dropped his kunai. Every weapon instantly turned toward him. He raised his hands. He tried to smile, a crescent moon of comfort. But nothing came out.

"I surrender." A pause. Then, "No. We surrender."

Karin could not believe her ears. "You bastard, Kakashi, what are you saying?!"

And then, the one response that broke everything came. Danzo spoke calmly. "You were never qualified to say this." "But since you did not leak our invasion plans, I will spare your life." "Leave."

Everything became clear in that instant. Too clear. Kakashi did not turn around. He could feel the stares like blades on his back. Karin's hatred. The librarian's disbelief. Fuyuto's shattered trust. He could not bear to imagine their faces. So he did not. There was no time for it anyway.

"I am Hatake Kakashi." "The overseer of this village." As he spoke, a red-and-black cloak appeared in his hands. He turned slowly.

Karin. The librarian. Fuyuto. One pair of eyes after another. All filled with disgust. All filled with rejection. In this village, there was no such thing as surrender.

That was what Obito had once said. When Pain ruled here, the village was given peace. And in return, they gave him devotion. Faith. Worship. Akatsuki had become something close to religion here. That was why the red cloud cloak had once symbolized trust.

And now, Kakashi wore it. Not as honor. But as humiliation.

"Karin, you are the acting leader of this village." "But I am the overseer."

Naruto's voice broke again. "Sensei! Why are you with Akatsuki?! They destroyed Konoha! Don't you understand what they are?! I don't accept this!!"

Kakashi did not answer. He already knew what Karin's expression looked like without turning. Disgust. Hate. Rejection.

"We don't have cowards in this village!" "Kakashi, you are not worthy of that cloak!"

He agreed. He truly did. Akatsuki was feared by the Five Great Nations. Called monsters. Terrorists. Criminals. But for this village, they were salvation. They brought an end to war. They brought peace. And this cloak was faith itself. Kakashi had no right to wear it. And yet, he had to.

"Karin, do you intend to defy Konan-sama's orders?"

Silence fell. A fist clenched. Released. Clenched again. A kunai dropped. Then another. Until all weapons fell to the ground one by one. Grudging silence. Resentful stares. And acceptance not of peace, but of defeat.

Kakashi had chosen surrender and with that the war ended. What came next was only the division of spoils.

……

The complete fanfic (Chapter 261) is already available on P@treon(.)com/Crimson_Lore