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It's not surprising that Ōnoki had such a thought—anyone would be shocked by the lineup in front of him.
There was Kokuo, the Five-Tails under control, and a giant toad the size of a small mountain.
If this force were to rampage through Iwagakure, even he wouldn't be able to stop it!
He couldn't just unleash Dust Release inside the village either—how many of his people would die by his hand?
"What the hell are those Konoha bastards trying to pull?" Ōnoki cursed inwardly.
He couldn't afford any rash moves, but his sharp eyes suddenly caught sight of members of the Akatsuki nearby.
"Is that... them? Wait, that's Orochimaru?" Ōnoki stared, and it started to make sense why these people had shown up.
Still, he couldn't take the risk—not even teaming up with Akatsuki to take down these intruders. Some things were easier said than done. This was Iwagakure, after all.
Just like he couldn't recklessly use Dust Release here, if this were happening elsewhere, he'd have acted with Akatsuki already!
"You…" Ōnoki forced himself to stay calm, pointing a trembling finger at the group below. "You've got some nerve, causing trouble in Iwagakure! You—"
"Um…" Jiraiya began, trying to explain, but Kakuzu suddenly interrupted with a loud shout.
"Ōnoki's stalling them—let's move!" As soon as he spoke, he used Earth Release to sink into the ground and vanish.
The other Akatsuki members hesitated for only a moment. They'd already wanted to leave—after being thoroughly beaten by Shuuzawa, they had no fight left in them.
"Hmph." Konan didn't stop for a second. With a flap of her wings, she vanished into the night sky.
"Konan!" Jiraiya called out instinctively, but she didn't look back. He couldn't afford to act recklessly either.
Ōnoki was still eyeing them warily, and Iwa-nin reinforcements were already surrounding the area.
Cold sweat began to bead on Jiraiya's forehead. "Um, Lord Tsuchikage, I believe there's been some sort of misunderstanding—"
"Oh?" Ōnoki replied coldly, but inside, he was relieved.
This Jiraiya seemed easier to deal with than he expected. He honestly feared a bigger misunderstanding—things could have escalated fast.
"Sigh… Captain Jiraiya, I don't think that's quite how it happened." At that moment, a boy standing atop Kokuo's head spoke.
"Those people just now were Akatsuki members. You've read the basic intel on them, right, Captain?"
"What you might not know is that Lord Third Tsuchikage has deep ties with that organisation."
"He's often used Akatsuki to wipe out anti-Iwa resistance groups in neighbouring countries—no survivors."
"Lord Kitsuchi himself admitted as much when he visited Konoha."
"..." Jiraiya turned to Shuuzawa with a blank stare, finally understanding what the kid meant by calling him "Captain."
In the distance, Kitsuchi, who had been rushing over, heard this and visibly flinched. Damn it, like Konoha hasn't done worse?
Especially you, you little bastard—working with Danzō, you've done worse than us!
To make it worse, Shuuzawa enhanced his voice with chakra, which echoed loudly and clearly. Not only did Kurotsuchi hear it, but so did all the nearby Iwa-nin.
"Kitsuchi…" Ōnoki's face darkened. What the hell are you saying? Even if it's true, you don't go spilling it—especially not to the enemy!
Still, Ōnoki figured his son couldn't be that stupid—most likely, he'd been tricked into saying it. "Nonsense! Iwagakure has always acted with honour! There's no way—"
He was abruptly cut off by Shuuzawa. "Lord Tsuchikage, we understand. After all, which village hasn't had to make tough decisions? It's painful, but sometimes it's necessary for the sake of the village."
"…What the hell are you up to?" Ōnoki's eye twitched. Is he trying to clean up my name now? No—he's trying to clean up his own. He's Danzō's pawn!
The realisation hit him hard, and his gaze turned cold. Shimura Danzō, what kind of monster have you raised?
"I don't know what you're trying to say, and I'm not interested in listening!" Ōnoki raged inwardly, though outwardly he kept his composure.
He had no desire to hear anything from Shuuzawa—he was sure Danzō had a plan behind all this.
"What the hell have you people done in Iwagakure? You captured and controlled the Five-Tails and even set the Tsuchikage Tower on fire! You're all despicable!"
As Ōnoki roared, the flames around them multiplied, forming a semicircle to trap them.
It was clear that the light was from reinforcements—Jiraiya and his group could feel the anger even from afar.
"What…" Jiraiya turned to Shuuzawa, unable to process the situation.
Shuuzawa's visible eye was filled with disbelief, too—even he hadn't expected things to spiral this far.
He admitted to capturing the Five-Tails—after all, that was Shisui's final act in the Anbu, and they could always return it later.
But setting fire to the Tsuchikage Tower? That wasn't the plan. Shuuzawa only ordered a diversion, not a full-on assault on a Kage's office!
"I think... there's been some misunderstanding." After a moment of silence, Shuuzawa lowered his voice and addressed Ōnoki.
"Lord Tsuchikage, please understand—our mission is to investigate Orochimaru. Based on solid intel, he appeared in Iwagakure, and it seems likely that you hired him."
"We came to confirm that—we would never let things escalate like this." With no other options, Shuuzawa had to deny everything.
Sure, he'd subtly thrown Danzō under the bus, but he wasn't about to fully admit anything.
"Bullshit! Who the hell would hire Orochimaru?" Ōnoki exploded. Orochimaru snuck in, Akatsuki sneaked in, and now even Konoha's wildcards had invaded.
What kind of defence did Iwagakure even have anymore? And even if he did hire Akatsuki, he'd never recruit a rogue ninja like Orochimaru!
"Then why is he here?" Shuuzawa tilted his head, gradually taking over the conversation.
"Right, Captain Jiraiya? And we even have intel that suggests the Tsuchikage has a history of working with groups like this—so naturally, we made the connection."
"Exactly! Exactly!" Jiraiya nodded frantically. He was in way over his head. This was nothing like anything he'd dealt with in his entire career.
Shuuzawa's arguments were logical and well-presented—there was no reason to interrupt.
"Lord Tsuchikage, we're just here to gather evidence. Why is Orochimaru in your village?"
"How the hell should I know?!" Ōnoki barked. He genuinely had no idea—but then something clicked.
"Wait—forget Orochimaru! The real issue is your crimes! Those need punishment first!"
"But… we haven't actually done anything." Shuuzawa spread his hands in exasperation, clearly trying to appear innocent.
"And as I've said, we're just here under Captain Jiraiya's orders to investigate Orochimaru. The rest has nothing to do with us."
"Then what about Han?" Ōnoki narrowed his eyes, preparing for a fight. "And the Wood Release used at the Tsuchikage Tower—how do you explain that?"
That was the clincher—Wood Release was proof. If not for the strength of his opponents, Ōnoki would've already attacked.
But he still wanted to hear what excuse they'd give, and realistically, evacuating civilians was more important now.
After the chaos of the "Night of the Nine-Tails" in Konoha, every village had emergency protocols for tailed beasts.
This situation might be worse than a Tailed Beast attack, but it still had to be handled.
The enemy could teleport—if needed, he'd make a tactical decision to avoid unnecessary casualties.
"Wood Release…" Jiraiya's mouth twitched. This was a disaster.
The only two people from Konoha capable of using Wood Release were right here—what excuse could he possibly give now?
"Wood Release?" Compared to Jiraiya's growing anxiety, Shuuzawa remained calm.
After a brief pause, he said gravely, "It seems… that guy is here too."
"No wonder we didn't run into him earlier—he must've been setting us up from the shadows."
"That guy?" Ōnoki didn't know whether Shuuzawa was bluffing or hiding something, so he said nothing.
But Shisui instantly understood. "Shuuzawa, do you mean Uchiha Obito?" Uchiha Obito? Ōnoki blinked at the name—half familiar, half unknown.
Information on the man was sparse, but his reputation preceded him.
The "Hero of Kannabi Bridge," a presumed dead Uchiha, is now a listed traitor in Konoha's records. It was hard not to be curious.
"It must be him. He's the only one who could've done it." Shuuzawa nodded with conviction. Kakashi, nearby, was stunned.
He glanced at Yamato, who seemed oddly calm, then at Shisui, who was fully cooperating, and finally at the silent Yuugao. His mind was spinning. They're really blaming this all on Obito?
"You little brat, what kind of scheme are you playing now?" Ōnoki narrowed his eyes at Shuuzawa. He still didn't understand what was going on.
Shuuzawa sighed. "Lord Tsuchikage, this matter is a top-level Konoha secret. I'm sorry—I don't have the clearance to tell you. However—"
As they spoke, Shuuzawa turned his gaze to Jiraiya. Ōnoki followed, staring coldly at him.
"Jiraiya, you're the one who should speak up! If you don't explain this clearly, we won't let it go!"
"Captain Jiraiya, it's all up to you now." Shuuzawa added calmly from the side, then shifted into a battle stance.
Yuugao moved slightly, and in that instant, it felt like the very ground trembled.
Shisui immediately turned the Five-Tails around, its eyes flashing with hostility as it scanned the surroundings.
"..." Jiraiya swallowed nervously. He suddenly realised the last thing he wanted to hear right now was the word "Captain."
Because whenever he became "Captain," it usually meant he had to take the blame. And this time, he had no choice but to do just that.
"The intel on Uchiha Obito... is without a doubt the most important—and also the most troubling—information Konoha currently has."
Jiraiya sighed and paused for a moment in thought before finally speaking.
He lowered his voice significantly.
"That guy… I don't know how, but not only does he possess eyes like Shisui's, he also has abilities similar to Shuuzawa's!"
"Whether it's something resembling the Flying Raijin, or the jutsu he's using now—"
Jiraiya tried to be as vague as possible, knowing how critical and unbelievable this information was.
Still, he realised it might've sounded like nonsense, because Ōnoki immediately caught on.
"What rubbish are you spouting? A resurrected Uchiha with the powers of both Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha and you're saying he also has Tobirama Senju's powers?"
Ōnoki's face darkened, his expression filled with mockery. "Can't you say something more realistic? Do you really expect me to believe any of that?"
"I—" Jiraiya opened his mouth, but before he could speak, Shuuzawa cut in.
"Lord Tsuchikage, I know it's difficult to believe Captain Jiraiya's words. But I believe you should trust in the integrity of the Legendary Sannin of Konoha."
"If the situation weren't truly this severe, Konoha would not issue repeated wanted notices for him, and certainly not on this massive scale, solely to track his whereabouts."
"Clearly, we don't believe any ordinary person can handle that man either.
And more importantly, his corpse must be brought back to Konoha."
Ōnoki frowned. That was an explanation. Indeed, if it weren't for such a troublesome threat, Konoha wouldn't have gone to such lengths to issue a large-scale warrant.
Come to think of it, Akatsuki had always been recruiting rogue ninja. Uchiha Obito was a missing-nin from Konoha. Could it be true?
Was Obito really with the Akatsuki, and had they come to Iwagakure for Orochimaru?
"Lord Tsuchikage, what do you think of our team? Captain Jiraiya is leading it. There's me, Uchiha Shisui, and Kakashi. What do you think our mission is?"
"It's simple. We're here to investigate Uchiha Obito, and we've long believed that the traitor is now part of the Akatsuki."
"The reason we came to Iwagakure is because we tracked signs of the Akatsuki attempting to contact Orochimaru, and this entire incident just confirms our suspicions."
"Nonsense. I haven't seen any of that!" Ōnoki snorted coldly. But deep down, he was beginning to believe it, though he'd never admit that outright.
"Lord Tsuchikage, I understand this is hard to accept. But may I ask you something?" Shuuzawa sighed helplessly.
He looked up and locked eyes with Ōnoki, then spoke with quiet gravity.
"Konoha has no intention of going to war with Iwagakure. But, Tsuchikage-sama, I advise you not to push us too far either.
"If this team of ours were to cause chaos inside Iwagakure…What kind of consequences do you think would follow?"
"You—!" Ōnoki's face changed drastically, and it wasn't just him—Jiraiya's face paled too.
What was going on here? They were having a proper discussion— How did it suddenly turn into a threat?
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