It had been three weeks since Darui's return. When he left Iwa, his mind was awash in ideas on how to proceed. A part of him wanted to travel to Konoha, somehow convince Kirabi to stand up to Ay and get the Leaf to back the transition. Darui quickly rejected the plan, Kirabi would not unseat his brother until evidence of Ay's incompetence revealed itself in hundreds or thousands of dead ninja. The jinchuuriki was simply too loyal to his brother to be preemptive.
Another plan Darui considered was telling Ay what Onoki was trying. Darui had no doubt Onoki would betray him just as easily as he was willing to leave Ay without an ally in the first place. Darui knew Onoki had to subcontract to the Akatsuki because Ay refused to demilitarize and may hold some resentment for it. The former student of Ei also declined that option. Ay would either add Iwa to the list if he believed Darui or turn on the messenger as there was no trust between the two men.
He thought and he thought about what he could do and eventually settled on a course of action. That decision was why he was being ushered into the Raikage's office by a team of ANBU. If he'd made a mistake, this meeting was to be the death of him but he'd rather risk it all than sit passively as Ay single-handedly ruined the Hidden Village.
When he entered the office he saw a tumbler on Ay's desk, a quarter full of a brown liquid. 'Of course,' the shinobi thought. It was rare to not see Ay deep into a bottle. He felt bad for Mabui, as she had to absorb most of Ay's abuse. The ANBU scattered when the door closed behind Darui. He was alone with Ay, the muscled man looking furious behind his glassy eyes.
"I thought if you were going to attempt to depose me you'd come at me straight up. Instead, you write notes like a little girl," Ay barked, slamming down a copy of Darui's work. In the booklet, all of Ay's faults and failures were detailed. Even the Hyuuga incident. Darui argued that Ay had brought them to the precipice of war and done so for his own ego. He asked any who would read his words to consider if they'd be willing and proud to die for that. Not for Kumo but for an arrogant manchild that wanted to upend everything to feel better about himself.
Darui closed his work with a simple belief, as goes the Kage goes the village. If the Kage is powerful, honorable, and admirable the village would be. If the Kage were vain, brutish and vapid so would the ninja. The copies, freely distributed, caused a stir. If Ay had been on his game he would have repressed the works immediately but he was slow to act, a signal to all senior ninja that Darui had a point.
"Well, do you have anything to say?" Ay yelled.
"You made this necessary. Your pride, your arrogance has led us astray and now we risk war with two major villages without any significant allies nor our two jinchuuriki. You need to step down, Ay."
Ay ripped through his desk and clotheslined Darui, the younger man unprepared for the blitz. The speed and power of the move sent both men through the office door and wall, Mabui shouting in shock. Ay didn't stop his charge until Darui's back met another wall. As he backed off, he looked at the once trusted shinobi in disdain.
"If you want to replace me, boy, you're going to have to do better than th-" he attempted to boast but was speared by Darui. Not mirroring Ay's mistake, as soon as he secured the takedown, Darui started punching Ay in the face with controlled aggression. He landed three clean blows before Ay could begin to defend himself. The Raikage grabbed both of Darui's arms and then, in a feat of raw strength, flung the younger man off him.
Enraged as he returned to his feet, Ay closes the distance and traps Darui in a bear hug, finishing with a belly to belly suplex. Not hearing the satisfying crunch of broken ribs, Ay was instead splashed with water. The realization he grabbed a clone coming too slow as he struck with a flying knee. The impact was enough to lift the Raikage off the ground and Darui had no intention of letting up. Darui clasped Ay's arm and pulled him closer, hitting him flush in the jaw. The attack continued as fist, feet, and knees assaulted the drunken village leader. However, Darui had become too predictable in his assault and Ay launched his counter.
Slapping both his ears, Ay left Darui stunned. The Yondaime palmed Darui's skull and slammed him down on the ground with enough force to fracture the floor. He did it twice more before lifting the man up and throwing him out the window. Ay wanted the entire village to see the fall of the usurper. He peered down at his former second-in-command with disappointment. Defeating him wouldn't be enough, he needed to break him and any future thought of resistance. Ay with but a thought activated his lightning armor, the symbol of Kumo's might and appeared beside his downed opponent.
A kick to the ribs started his renewed assault. Light, though. Not enough to fully crack Darui's ribs but enough to fling him across several roofs. Ay, let Darui attempt to get to his feet. When the man was nearly there, he got lifted with a knee, the force almost enough to cause whiplash. Before Darui could be carried away from the impact he was grabbed, midair, and pulled into a punch to the abdomen. The Raikage let the younger man fall, watching as he coughed up blood.
By now, much of the village had taken to the streets to see the fight. None were more surprised than Samui, Kamui, and Omoi, the students of Kirabi. Like most of the village's ninja, they'd read Darui's treatise. Omoi had wondered if he'd lead to a coup but both his teammates dismissed it. Now, they fear the man had been right and the instability caused by a successful or failed overthrow would cause Kirabi's and Yugito's return to be further delayed. But like everyone else, they could only watch as if they were stuck to the ground.
Ay was getting bored with batting Darui around, with his lightning armor active the traitor posed no threat. He was bloodied but not yet broken. Ay walked toward his victim, knowing exactly how he wanted to end this. He lifted Darui up, preparing for a liger bomb when the inexplicable happened. That sense of invincibility left him. His strength decreased. His lightning armor deactivated. He had no time to ponder why to understand what was happening to his chakra system as Darui ruthlessly eye gouged him.
On instinct Ay dropped Darui, raising his hands to cover his eyes. He was blinded and in blinding pain. Darui took advantage of the distraction, performing his first ninjutsu of the fight. All witnessed as the famed [Lightning Style: Black Panthers] was unleashed on a near defenseless Ay. The Raikage let out a primal scream as the raiton entered his system, leaving smoke behind as it ended.
"You're so arrogant you haven't even wondered why no ANBU, no Jounin has stepped in to stop this," Darui said and he was right, Ay hadn't considered why his elite ninja hadn't detained his opponent. "We can all see it Ay, see how your war ends. We have no allies, we have no jinchuuriki and this war has no point. I tried to show you but your dull ass wouldn't listen."
"I," Ay stopped, still in great pain, "don't have to-" Ay's declaration he didn't have to listen stopped by Darui delivering his killing blow. The [Storm Style: Laser Circus] beams pierced each of Ay's major organs and his brain. Darui knew there could be no doubt, no chance of Ay's survival. He turned to the assembled masses, attempting to appear stronger than he currently felt. Times would be tough but they needed to know, ultimately, they would be alright.
"Ay's war likely cannot be avoided. In his attempt to ambush Konoha, we lost a hundred senior ninja and look weak in the eyes of the other villages. This is no longer a war of conquest but one to save face, to show all that Kumo is more than one man's ambition. That we are strong. That we are enduring. That we are the storm!" Darui shouted. The crowd cheered. When it petered out Darui continued.
"I cannot promise you times will be easy, they will not. But every decision I make will be for the betterment of Kumo. We will get through these dark times. We will get our guardians back and we will come out of this stronger than ever before. Kumo's best days are ahead of us, not behind us. As your Godaime, that is my vow to each of you." As the crowds chanted his name, Darui walked toward the recently arrived Shi, leaning on his friend for support.
"I'm glad your chakra suppression poison worked. It would have been dull otherwise."
"You'd be dead," Shi observed.
"What sounds duller than death?" Darui asked.
"I don't know but we are in for interesting times. You ready?"
"I have no choice but to be," was Darui's answer.