Ōnoki lowered his voice. "Now, what do you think?"
Kitsuchi scratched his head and asked Ōnoki in return, "Father, what do you think?"
Ōnoki furrowed his brow, then unceremoniously gave Kitsuchi a sharp rap on the head, producing a crisp 'thunk'.
"Observe first, then we'll talk."
Kitsuchi clutched his head, nodding frantically. "Righ. That's what I was thinking too! Observe, we must observe carefully."
"..."
Before he could finish, another, heavier 'thunk' sounded. Kitsuchi saw stars and felt the ground beneath him sway.
"Father, please go easy on me. Can an ordinary person withstand one of your punches?"
Ōnoki, however, stroked his beard and sneered, "That Dodai fellow didn't tell the truth."
"What sneak attack by ten thousand ninjas, poisoning and ganging up on them."
"If your Kumogakure was so easily deceived, we, Iwagakure, would have breached it long ago."
Ōnoki coughed a few times. "Divide into two groups. One group will secretly infiltrate the Land of Lightning to uncover the true current situation of Kumogakure for me."
"The other group will contact Ebizo and Chiyo of Sunagakure. No matter what our next step is, we must drag them into this."
Kitsuchi nodded vigorously. "Understood."
Despite Kitsuchi's outwardly simple demeanor, he had inherited Ōnoki's wisdom. The moment his head was rapped, his mind had already begun to quickly calculate.
The former Three Village Alliance against the Two Village Alliance had now become a two-on-two.
There was no need to mention Kirigakure. Although its strength wasn't great, it had picked up scraps from Konoha over the years. It probably treats fighting Sunagakure like a game.
Now it was Iwagakure against Konoha in a one-on-one.
One-on-one my foot!
Konoha had deep foundations and countless experts.
One Hokage died, and an even stronger successor emerged.
And there were those formidable men among the higher-ups.
If they were to foolishly charge in head-on, that would be a path to self-destruction.
"Go."
After sending Kitsuchi away, Ōnoki returned to the infirmary.
He stated that Iwagakure and Kumogakure had been allies for generations and were now part of the Three Village Alliance.
"Your troubles are our troubles. Now that Kumogakure is in trouble, we will certainly not stand idly by."
Iwagakure had already sent people to contact Sunagakure. As soon as their troops arrived, they would launch a pincer attack, annihilating Konoha completely.
If it were the usual Dodai, he would have detected the false sincerity in Ōnoki's words. But at this moment, physically and mentally exhausted, his mind was already a blur, and his thinking was no longer sharp enough.
He just kept thanking Ōnoki for being willing to help, saying that if Konoha could be defeated, they would give Iwagakure more money and resources, and so on.
"Alright, you rest. If anything comes up, contact my guards."
"Thank you, Tsuchikage-sama."
"Don't mention it."
After a few pleasantries, Ōnoki went to his office alone. He sat back at his desk, and remained there all night.
The next morning, Kurotsuchi came to deliver intel and found her grandfather writing something.
"Grandpa, please go back and rest."
"I know, I'll go once I'm finished writing."
Kurotsuchi curiously glanced at the open scroll, and a few words at the beginning immediately caught her eye.
"To Hokage-sama?"
Her heart skipped a beat, but seeing her grandfather's solemn expression, she ultimately didn't dare to ask further, and quietly withdrew after placing the intel down.
After Kurotsuchi left, Ōnoki reread the scroll. After a long while, he let out an almost inaudible sigh.
He carefully folded the scroll and tucked it into a pocket on the inside of his robe.
"I hope it won't be necessary..."
—
Meanwhile, in the heart of the Land of Lightning, on a ravaged battlefield.
Kumogakure had fallen internally, but there were still pockets of resistance within the Land of Lightning.
Fortunately, with the Byakugan of the Hyuga clan, the insects of the Aburame clan, the ninja dogs of the Inuzuka clan, and Satoshi's super sensory abilities, these ninjas had almost nowhere to hide.
Amaterasu!
Space seemed to ignite instantly, and eerie black flames appeared out of nowhere, silently coiling around the few ninjas at the very front.
"Ah!"
A piercing scream tore through the air.
No matter how the enemy rolled or thrashed, the black flames could not be extinguished. The black flames spread greedily, leaving behind patches of scorched, twisted marks of death.
"Hoo... Hoo..."
After unleashing that destructive blow, Sasuke clutched his throbbing left eye. His body swayed uncontrollably, and he gasped for breath, fine cold sweat appearing on his forehead.
"Hey, you idiot Sasuke!" Naruto dashed to his side, steadying his tottering body.
"Didn't sensei say not to endlessly use Mangekyo ocular jutsu?"
"Shut up, I know."
Sasuke shook off Naruto's hand, forcing himself to stand steady. He vigorously shook his head, trying to clear the persistent blur from his vision.
Not long ago, stimulated by Naruto's "death," Sasuke awakened his Mangekyo Sharingan, gaining a massive boost in power. This was a good thing, and Sasuke was very excited.
So, three days ago, he once again challenged that man. He was still mercilessly crushed, utterly unable to retaliate.
Sasuke's proud Amaterasu couldn't even break through the Water Vortex's defense. This was a huge blow to his inner self.
The distance between him and that man seemed not to have shrunk at all.
Not only that...
Sasuke's gaze subconsciously drifted to Naruto beside him.
He was pulling out a greaseproof paper package, taking out a steaming hot bun. He took a big bite, his cheeks stuffed full.
Naruto noticed his gaze, blinked, and tore off half. "Do you want some?"
"No."
"Oh."
Not only that, Naruto had also gone to Mount Myōboku with Jiraiya a few days ago.
According to Naruto, he met the toads and began learning Sage Mode from Mount Myōboku.
Originally, Naruto could unleash powerful combat strength due to the monster inside him. If he were to learn Sage Mode as well, wouldn't the gap between the two of them become smaller and smaller?
In fact, could he actually be defeated by this idiot?
"What a joke!"
He couldn't defeat that white-haired guy, and he couldn't defeat this blond guy either.
"What good are you to me, Mangekyo Sharingan?!"
As Sasuke fumed, he suddenly heard Kuro's barking.
It had discovered Iwagakure's reconnaissance squad.
"Good timing. I'm full of rage."
Amaterasu!
The Mangekyo pattern spun wildly.
Even more violent black flames than before roared forth from his line of sight.
The Iwa ninjas couldn't even fully scream before being instantly engulfed.
Screams, the crackling of burning flames, and desperate curses intertwined.
When the last trace of black flames extinguished, only a few charred remains and a patch of dead, scorched earth remained on the battlefield.
Sasuke stood his ground, his body trembling violently, excruciating pain piercing his eyes.
"Ugh..."
He grunted, his legs gave out, and he fell straight backward.
"Sigh, I can't do anything with you."
Naruto, quick as a flash, darted behind Sasuke and steadily lifted him onto his back. His movements were so smooth it was as if he had done it countless times.
He still had the remaining half of the bun in his mouth as he sped towards the Konoha front-line command post.
Not long after, Naruto brought Sasuke back. He skillfully tossed him onto the bed and asked a medical ninja to treat him.