"You're moving to attack Iwagakure this quickly? Wouldn't it be better to wait until Kumogakure breaks through first—"
Halfway through the sentence, Kakuzu abruptly stopped.
With someone as shrewd as Hanzō, how could he not have considered that?
"Whatever you're planning," Kakuzu said slowly, "Iwagakure is about to take a devastating hit."
"Leave the rest to me," Hanzō replied calmly. "When the time comes, you just blend in and retrieve your original body."
He continued, his voice edged with cold amusement:
"Iwagakure—are you going to fight Amegakure to the death… or deal with Sunagakure and Kumogakure striking you at the same time?"
---
"What did you say? Kumogakure actually had the nerve to come knocking?"
Upon hearing the news, Rōshi slammed his desk in fury. The movement tugged at his still-healing wounds, forcing him to grimace and rein himself in.
"Think carefully, Rōshi. You're the Tsuchikage now—you can't afford to be played without realizing it," Ōnoki said beside him.
"The intelligence was clear: Kumogakure stole our tailed beast. Then that same beast was unsealed on their Hot Water front and ended up crippling their own forces."
Rōshi snorted. "That's their own fault. Our seal was never complete. The fact it held that long without reinforcement was luck in itself."
"You still don't see it," Ōnoki said, shaking his head. "Think harder."
"What are you getting at?" Rōshi asked, irritation flashing in his eyes. Even dead, this old rival loved speaking in riddles.
"I suspect the entire incident was an act by Kumogakure," Ōnoki said gravely. "Do you really think they didn't know how fragile a tailed-beast seal is? Yet they never reinforced it—and it just happened to fail the moment it reached their front lines."
"If they could steal our tailed beast in the first place, then this outcome was likely part of their plan from the beginning."
Ōnoki fixed Rōshi with a steady gaze.
"At that critical moment, Kumogakure's front collapses, wiping out all their prior efforts. But if this was a trap… how would it look?"
Rōshi followed his reasoning, eyes narrowing.
"Konoha wouldn't miss such an opportunity—and they didn't. They forced Kumogakure back into the Land of Lightning."
"But if it was a trap," Ōnoki continued, "then Kumogakure must have prepared long in advance for the Five-Tails. They would have secretly withdrawn most of their elites, leaving expendable troops behind to mislead Konoha."
"Konoha is fighting on multiple fronts. Once Kumogakure seemed stabilized, they would naturally redeploy their main forces elsewhere."
"And if their vigilance against Kumogakure dropped at that moment…"
"They'd be wiped out in a single stroke," Rōshi finished.
Ōnoki nodded. "And the best way to make Konoha lower its guard is to redirect the spear toward another Great Nation—us."
"Conveniently, Kumogakure also suffered losses against Konoha and desperately needs resources. Attacking us becomes perfectly reasonable. Konoha wouldn't suspect a thing."
"One move, two gains."
Rōshi stared at him for a long moment.
"I never got along with you," he admitted, "but since becoming Tsuchikage, I've tried to see beyond myself—to look at Iwagakure and the Land of Earth as a whole."
"And after reexamining everything… I realized I could never match you."
"Iwagakure's problems run deeper than even Kirigakure's."
"Still," Rōshi added bitterly, "you were too ruthless back then. This mess is the consequence of what you left behind—centralizing power, suppressing the rise of talent and strength."
"You probably never imagined you'd be the first to die once the war began."
Ōnoki snorted. "That was my own carelessness."
"Even so," Rōshi said quietly, "I never thought I'd see the day we worked together."
He hesitated, then spoke again.
"Why don't you take the Tsuchikage seat back? I know you have a way to keep yourself alive. I can't handle this anymore."
"These past days have exhausted me. I'd rather be on the battlefield than sit in this chair."
"What?!" Ōnoki shouted, stunned. "What did you just say?!"
He exploded in fury.
"You idiot! Do you have any idea what the title of Tsuchikage means?!"
Once, he had slaughtered half of Iwagakure's top combat power just to claim that position.
Grabbing Rōshi by the collar, Ōnoki roared:
"Wake up! The will of the Tsuchikage must never be defiled! We are called Iwagakure because our will is as unyielding as stone!"
"The Tsuchikage embodies that will! The villagers place their hopes in you—so you must answer them with everything you have!"
"Only those who understand past pain can make the right choices!"
"There are no alliances—only submission to Konoha's power…"
His voice faltered as old memories resurfaced, his expression darkening.
"Even in defeat, we continue to fight. Endure. Never give up. That is the Will of Stone."
"You must never betray the hopes entrusted to you."
Rōshi stood there, dazed. This wasn't how he'd imagined things unfolding.
"…Are you really Ōnoki?" he muttered. "After being revived, shouldn't you be reclaiming power?"
Ōnoki answered calmly:
"If this were before, perhaps. But after you summoned us to deal with Takigakure, the First Tsuchikage said something to us."
"All things are tempered by trials. What matters is one's will—anyone can see a person's true value at a glance."
"Rōshi carries within him a will capable of changing the world. But if it isn't maintained, that precious will can vanish without a trace."
"I trusted the First Tsuchikage. To me, Iwagakure is everything. For it, I was willing to use any means."
"If I hadn't seized the Tsuchikage position back then, and you had taken it under those clans' manipulation, you'd have been nothing more than their puppet."
"They would have drained Iwagakure dry. Do you think they'd care what happened afterward?"
"I already eliminated that problem. Now, even with you as Tsuchikage, no one can control you. You truly represent Iwagakure's interests and future."
"You've earned the recognition of both past Tsuchikage and the current generation. Of course I'll support you."
"As for staying alive… there was a chance. But you used it."
"The two Heart Stones were the only way to replenish this reincarnated body's chakra. Without them, I can only wait until this body runs dry and return to the Pure Land."
So that's why you won't fight me for the seat, Rōshi thought bitterly. Because I used up the Heart Stones.
His momentary emotion vanished instantly.
"…Ahem. In any case, Iwagakure will depend on you now. I'll enter a sealed state like our teacher to minimize chakra consumption. Summon us again only when you face a true crisis."
Ōnoki added softly:
"Perhaps the First Tsuchikage was right. You're the one with the best chance of saving Iwagakure."
"If it were me, I'd never revive my old enemies just to win a single battle."
He gazed out the window at the village, unease lingering in his eyes.
Rōshi wasn't wrong—this situation was largely Ōnoki's doing.
Iwagakure had only one Kage-level powerhouse to begin with, and he had risked everything trying to assassinate Hanzō of the Salamander.
Once he died, the village was left leaderless—at the very start of the war.
Half of today's disaster lay squarely on his shoulders.
It wasn't that he didn't want to be Tsuchikage.
He simply couldn't face Iwagakure with a clear conscience.
"One person doesn't truly die when their body falls," he thought. "They die when their will is lost."
Watching Ōnoki seal himself away, Rōshi and his aide exchanged looks.
"…This turned out differently than we expected."
"It seems the Third Tsuchikage changed in the end. Was it because of the first two Tsuchikage?"
They shook their heads. That no longer mattered.
What mattered now was Kumogakure.
"Lord Tsuchikage! Bad news! Outside—Hanzō of the Salamander has arrived with Amegakure's forces!"
"And—and…" the messenger hesitated. "You should see it for yourself."
"What? Amegakure should still be at least two days away! It's only been half a day—how could they possibly be here?! They were crawling before!"
Before reaching the village gates, Rōshi looked up—and froze.
In the distant sky, a colossal sphere of water blotted out the sun.
Within it, thousands of Ame shinobi were packed together.
Disguised as an Ame ninja, Kakuzu followed behind Hanzō, his mouth twitching uncontrollably.
He would never forget the sight.
A few hours earlier, Amegakure had been advancing at full speed. Hanzō decided it was too slow.
He gathered all the Ame forces together, clasped his hands, and—
"Water Style: Giant Vortex Jutsu!"
A massive water sphere several kilometers wide enveloped the entire army. Hanzō lifted it into the air and propelled it forward at an absurd speed.
That was the first time Kakuzu realized Water Style could be used like that.
The Ame shinobi were fine—they all wore breathing apparatuses.
He wasn't so lucky.
Like Hanzō, he had to stand atop the water sphere, battered by roaring winds.
Watching Hanzō's cloak snap violently in the air, Kakuzu finally understood the truth of one principle:
With enough chakra, you really can do whatever you want.
Now, the water sphere hovered over Iwagakure, rendering all ground defenses meaningless.
Arms crossed, Hanzō lowered his gaze, looking down at the village with naked contempt.
Using a sound-propagation technique, his voice echoed across all of Iwagakure:
"Bugs—are you ready?"
"This is divine punishment… from a demigod that is."
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