News of Kumogakure's defeat spread through the Ninja World overnight.
After Iwagakure lowered its head, every village had already been watching Shinichi closely.
Some still thought Ōnoki had lost because he was caught unprepared, or because Iwagakure had misjudged Shinichi's strength at the start.
Kumogakure changed the meaning of that defeat.
The Hidden Cloud knew what had happened to Iwagakure and still chose to fight.
Yet by the time the report reached the other countries, the Fourth Raikage had submitted, and Kumogakure had become the second Great Hidden Village to lower its head.
From that moment on, the way the other villages looked at Shinichi changed again.
Before this, some people had still been waiting to see whether another village could stop him with better preparation. After Kumogakure's defeat, that hope became much harder to hold onto.
The messages passed between villages also became more cautious.
Earlier reports had still talked about countermeasures and possible alliances, but the new ones asked where Shinichi might go next, what he wanted from the defeated villages, and how much time the others had left.
Land of Earth, Iwagakure.
Inside the Tsuchikage's office, Ōnoki sat behind his desk with a report in his hand.
He had only returned from Konoha not long ago after signing the agreement. His body was still tired, but after reading the news from Kumogakure, that exhaustion no longer mattered.
The report was not long, but Ōnoki still read it twice.
Beside it lay the agreement he had signed in Konoha, the ink already dry. Ōnoki glanced at it once, then looked back at the report from Kumogakure.
A few days ago, signing that paper had felt like the heaviest humiliation of his life. Now, the humiliation was still there, but it no longer felt like the worst possible outcome.
Kumogakure had kept its forces on alert, gathered its jinchuriki, and even hidden a weapon strong enough to damage Shinichi's giant Buddha.
But they still failed in the end.
Ōnoki's fingers tightened around the paper when he saw the words "chakra cannon."
Kumogakure had hidden such a weapon from the rest of the Ninja World, and if it had ever been aimed at Iwagakure, even he did not know what it would have cost them.
Further down, his eyes stopped on the size recorded in the report.
Seven hundred meters.
At Iwagakure, Shinichi's giant Buddha had already been beyond anything they could resist. Yet in only a few days, it had grown even larger.
Ōnoki slowly lowered the report and looked out the window.
Outside, Iwagakure looked the same as always. Stone buildings stood between the cliffs, ninja moved through the streets, and villagers went about their day under the pale yellow light of the Land of Earth.
But Ōnoki could no longer look at the village the same way.
Far in the northwest, a giant Buddha still stood outside Iwagakure. It did not move, and no one spoke about it too much in the streets, but everyone in the village knew it was there.
"Grandfather."
Kurotsuchi's voice came from the other side of the desk.
Ōnoki turned back from the window and looked at her. Kitsuchi was also there, standing silently beside her.
Kurotsuchi hesitated for a moment before asking, "What happens to Iwagakure now?"
Her voice was quieter than before.
"Are we really going to remain under Konoha like this? Are we supposed to submit to Tejima Shinichi forever?"
Ōnoki did not answer right away. He looked at Kurotsuchi and suddenly remembered how she used to be.
In the past, she would speak to him without much restraint, tease him about being old, and even joke that he should hurry up and hand over the Tsuchikage seat.
She had been fearless then, but after Shinichi came to Iwagakure, that fearlessness had faded. She still stood straight, and her eyes were still sharp, but the old ease in her voice was gone.
Kitsuchi also remained silent. As Iwagakure's commander, he understood their situation even more clearly than Kurotsuchi did.
Since returning from Konoha, Kitsuchi had already begun reorganizing patrols and damage reports, but every order felt temporary.
They could repair walls, replace lost weapons, and count the wounded, but none of that changed the giant figure standing outside the village.
The office stayed quiet for a long time before Ōnoki finally spoke.
"We wait."
Kurotsuchi was stunned. "Wait?"
Ōnoki looked back out the window, toward the village he had protected for most of his life.
"Wait until he grows old. Wait until his era passes."
His voice was calm, but there was a tiredness in it that neither Kurotsuchi nor Kitsuchi had heard before.
"If Iwagakure wants another chance, then that may be the only thing we can do."
Kurotsuchi stood there for a while, unable to answer.
She had imagined many possibilities. Iwagakure might secretly rebuild its strength, wait for other villages to resist, or look for some weakness in Shinichi's rule.
But she had not expected her grandfather to say that their only choice was to wait for time itself.
Kitsuchi's expression also changed. He looked at Ōnoki, at the old man who had once carried Iwagakure's pride on his back, and for a moment he did not know what to say.
Ōnoki seemed to know what they were thinking, but he did not explain further.
"Go," he said quietly. "I want to be alone."
Kitsuchi hesitated, but in the end, he only lowered his head and left with Kurotsuchi.
The door closed, leaving Ōnoki alone beneath the Tsuchikage hat hanging on the wall behind him.
For a while, he did not move. Then a bitter smile slowly appeared on his face.
Wait.
He had said it to Kurotsuchi, but even he did not know whether Iwagakure truly had that chance.
Even if Shinichi grew old one day, would he really allow the villages he suppressed to gather strength in the shadows? Would he leave them enough freedom to count the years, wait for his death, and rise again afterward?
Ōnoki had no proof, but deep down, he already understood.
Waiting sounded like patience.
But perhaps it was only another kind of surrender.
Up to 30 chapters ahead on patreon :-
patreon.com/Viki2