Meanwhile, in Iwagakure...
A covert battle over a Tailed Beast had erupted without warning.
Ōnoki floated in the air, with the unconscious Four-Tails Jinchūriki, Rōshi, suspended beside him.
He had arrived just in time to save Rōshi.
Gazing down from high above, Ōnoki looked coldly at the group on the ground.
"You lost your own Tailed Beast, and now you're after ours? That's... quite the sense of humor."
The men below offered no response. The one leading them stared up at Ōnoki without emotion, his expression unwavering.
By all rights, both Ōnoki and Shimura Danzō should have been attending the Five Kage Summit in the Land of Iron.
And yet, here they were—face to face in Iwagakure.
"Hmph!"
Ōnoki snorted sharply, wasting no more words. He clapped his hands together, forming seals.
A translucent, crystalline cone of energy formed in front of him.
"Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique!"
Several members of Konoha's Root moved to retreat with Danzō in tow, but there was no way Ōnoki would give them the chance.
"Earth Release: Moving Earth Core!"
Without anyone noticing, one of his earth clones had already pressed its palm to the ground. The earth beneath Danzō and his men suddenly surged upward, trapping them in a raised dome of solid rock.
The Dust Release beam cut through it, disintegrating everything into fine particles.
—This was the technique that defined the Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki—Dust Release, a Kekkei Tōta.
When the blinding dust and light cleared, a neat, conical slice remained in the earth where the raised dome had been. Danzō and his Root operatives had been vaporized—nothing left but dust and stone.
No matter how many times one saw it, the old man's Dust Release was terrifying. Really terrifying.
Deidara had accompanied Ōnoki on this mission. Now, riding high above on his C2 clay dragon, he patted his chest in relief.
Every time he saw Ōnoki unleash his fury, he felt a chill in his DNA.
Was this what they called "bloodline suppression" in the manga? But I'm not even related to the old man... hmm...
Satisfied that the mission was done, Deidara was eager to return to the village and resume his hermit lifestyle. He shouted down,
"Old man! Let's get outta—"
Fwoosh!
Deidara instantly ducked to evade an attack from behind.
There was no time to think—no time to wonder who the enemy was or how they'd gotten behind him, especially at this altitude.
He was over a hundred meters in the air!
His hand darted to the pouch strapped to his thigh. He whipped out a kunai and struck back behind him!
But the kunai passed cleanly through the attacker's body.
What?!
The bizarre sight froze Deidara in shock, costing him precious seconds.
In that instant, Uchiha Obito's leg snapped out like a whip and caught Deidara in the side, sending him flying!
He twisted midair and shielded his body with his arms, barely avoiding a direct hit.
Damn, that strength...!
The jolt of pain snapped Deidara back to his senses. As he plummeted, he quickly formed a hand sign.
"Katsu!"
The flying dragon above him exploded in a deafening blast that shook the sky.
A parting gift for the enemy.
But the image of that masked man—of the kunai slipping right through him—replayed in Deidara's mind.
It probably didn't work. Hmm...
On reflex, Deidara reached for his clay pouch to craft a bird and escape...
His hand grabbed empty air.
His pouch was gone.
He rewound the clash in his mind, piecing it together. His expression darkened instantly.
Tch. That masked bastard had swiped his art clay during the skirmish!
As he neared Ōnoki's altitude, Deidara shouted desperately,
"Old man! A little help! A little help—HEL—"
Ōnoki made no move to catch him. In fact, he actually smiled as if to say, "Figure it out yourself."
Deidara: Furious. Hmph!
Now level with Ōnoki, Deidara swung a fist and glared at the old man, who smoothly dodged both attacks without effort.
Neither punch connected.
The ground was closing in fast.
No choice now. As much as he hated to use this musty old technique that the fossil loved so much...
"Light-Weight Rock Technique."
Hmm.
Just before his butt could kiss the earth, Deidara's descent slowed, and he came to a gentle stop on the ground.
From above came Ōnoki's mocking voice: "Hmph. Pathetic."
"Shut up, old man. Hmph."
Not wasting a second, Deidara released the jutsu, letting his feet plant solidly on the ground. He scowled up at the spot where his C2 dragon had just exploded.
The thick smoke, tinged with firelight, hadn't yet cleared.
Deidara glanced at Ōnoki, face grim.
He didn't need to explain. Ōnoki already understood.
Whoever Deidara had just faced wasn't some no-name ninja.
As much as he hated to admit it, Ōnoki acknowledged—at least a little—that his "beloved" student had some real ability.
Still, he wouldn't hold back on the verbal jabs. "Getting sloppy lately, aren't you? And where's your precious art clay?"
A master's precision—he'd stabbed straight into Deidara's biggest frustration.
Oh look, it's the great Artist Deidara—what kind of artist loses his own artwork? What happened, step away for five minutes and suddenly you're this weak?
Deidara's expression turned from black to red in an instant.
"Shut the hell up! I was caught off guard, alright?!"
Ōnoki smirked, his mouth tugged into a smug grin, saying nothing.
Caught off guard? That was no excuse. On the battlefield, those who let their guard down were already dead.
Deidara realized his rebuttal made him sound even dumber. He turned away, sulking.
That was when Uchiha Obito reappeared right in front of them.
Deidara, still shaken, blinked and asked uncertainly,
"Old man... was that... some kind of space-time ninjutsu?"
But Ōnoki didn't answer.
His silence was strange.
Deidara frowned and turned his head.
Release.
The illusion shattered in an instant. Deidara didn't even realize he'd been caught in a genjutsu.
Ōnoki lifted his hand from Deidara's shoulder, eyeing his disciple's colorful and utterly ridiculous expression with a hint of amusement. Then he looked up at Tobi.
"Space-time ninjutsu... and Sharingan genjutsu."
Uchiha Obito narrowed his eyes.
Ōnoki's combat instincts were razor-sharp. Despite having zero intel on Obito, he'd avoided every possible genjutsu trigger—eyes included—from the very beginning. And he'd immediately noticed Deidara had been caught and promptly rescued his doting student.
Remembering his earlier battles against Kirigakure and Namikaze Minato, Obito felt a flicker of irritation.
What was it with these people? Did his abilities look like they were designed just to test detection skills?
Ōnoki's voice cut in, sharp and pointed.
"Who are you? The Uchiha clan should've been wiped out by Shimura Danzō and Sarutobi Hiruzen."
Realization dawned on Deidara. He'd actually fallen to a basic Uchiha genjutsu?! From behind Ōnoki, he shouted,
"Wearing a mask like that, hiding your face... must be too ashamed to meet the ghosts of your Uchiha clan, huh. Yeah."
"Just another pathetic Uchiha speck," he sneered. "Their deaths were no loss."
Obito didn't bother pulling out the "Uchiha Madara" act.
Ōnoki was different from the rest. He had truly seen and fought Uchiha Madara.
"Big talk, kid," Ōnoki muttered, already getting a good sense of Obito's identity.
This wasn't just any Uchiha. The way he talked about their death, like it didn't matter, said enough. He was not from Root—more like a rogue Uchiha, aiming for the village's Tailed Beasts alongside Danzō.
Casting a glance at the unconscious Rōshi and the ever-troublesome Deidara, Ōnoki groaned, rubbing his lower back.
"Hah... even these old bones don't get to rest."
Deidara jumped on the comment.
"Then retire already, old man! Hand over the Tsuchikage title, yeah!"
Not that he actually wanted to be Tsuchikage. He just figured if Ōnoki stepped down, maybe he'd be less terrifying.
What he failed to consider was that if Ōnoki retired, he'd have even more time to keep a close eye on him.
Of course, Ōnoki saw right through Deidara's little scheme.
But… pass it to who, exactly?
Ōnoki gave Deidara an annoyed glare. If this brat had matured even a little faster, he could've retired ages ago! How old was he now and still playing with clay?
Tired of looking at the kid, he raised a foot and kicked Deidara straight in the gut.
"Scram!"
At the same time, he tossed a small pouch that landed perfectly in Deidara's arms.
The explosion artist went flying toward Obito, ready to spit some insults back at Ōnoki—until he felt that familiar soft, squishy weight in his hands.
Detonation clay.
Suddenly, Deidara's eyes were sparkling with clarity.
I'm sorry, I admit I was being too loud just now!
In a flash, he unleashed several four-winged birds, sending them darting toward Obito at high speed.
Holding a serious grudge, Deidara attacked without restraint. "Hmph!"
Obito didn't budge. He let the clay birds explode just before reaching him.
There was no point in fighting a kid like Deidara.
He'd always liked something Uchiha Madara once said: "Since when do adults get serious with children?"
After all, he was a few years older than Deidara.
He kept his gaze locked on Ōnoki.
The Tsuchikage was the textbook definition of an old shinobi fox—calm and immovable as a mountain. He stood guard over Rōshi, throwing a mocking smile Obito's way.
Danzō, who had already used Izanagi to revive himself, never even got a chance to make a move.
...
Ōnoki glanced sideways at Danzō, who had now revealed himself.
"Good thing you didn't die~ Lord Hokage."
He'd expected as much. Danzō was never easy to kill. Ōnoki trusted his battle instincts, honed over decades.
But Danzō wasn't feeling so confident.
Before Ōnoki arrived, his plan to swiftly extract the Four-Tails had failed.
After Ōnoki arrived, his Plan B—launching a surprise attack with Kamui and Izanagi—also failed.
High-tier enemies like these were a pain to deal with.
Why was Sarutobi Hiruzen always dragging him down?
Why was it that the Tsuchikage understood how to guard the home base, but the Raikage was foolish enough to actually go to the Land of Iron?!
Things were critical now. Danzō got straight to the point.
"Tsuchikage, I have bad news. I think you'll understand why I'm here once you hear it."
Ōnoki casually began forming Dust Release signs. "I'm all ears."
Unfazed, Danzō dropped the bombshell.
"The Mizukage attacked Kumogakure. He took both the Two-Tails and the Eight-Tails."
The intel came from the strange being always lingering around the masked man.
Ōnoki's hands stilled.
That bit of news was... a little too exciting for an old man.
His brows furrowed deeply.
And then, he laughed, suddenly seeing through Danzō's motives.
Now he wasn't in such a hurry.
"So now you want to ally with Iwagakure, and even ask us to hand over a Tailed Beast? What kind of logic is that?"
Danzō wasn't here to bicker. Unlike Hiruzen, he wasn't about wasting words.
Konoha had no Tailed Beasts left. To protect itself, it had to acquire one, even if it meant offending Iwagakure. That was Danzō's stance.
He glanced at Deidara, who was still bombarding Obito.
"That prized disciple of yours... can't beat him."
A clear threat.
Even if Danzō couldn't defeat Ōnoki, he could stall him long enough. He'd already survived a Dust Release attack—clearly had some unknown survival jutsu.
That window of time would be more than enough for Obito to capture Deidara.
One genius versus one Tailed Beast. Even a fool would know which to choose.
"You're threatening me... to hand over a Tailed Beast?"
Ōnoki's gaze toward Danzō grew more mocking. His hands flew through seals.
Let's be real.
If he gave up the beast now, could Deidara just go and take one back later?
And besides, what made Danzō think he could actually take a beast from him?
"Dust Release!"
Danzō cursed inwardly and yanked off his sleeve.
He couldn't beat Ōnoki head-on. He'd need Izanagi again.
Ōnoki caught sight of Danzō's grotesque arm covered in Sharingan and thrust out a glowing cube of energy.
"Detachment of the Primitive World Technique!"
The cube expanded rapidly. Danzō couldn't dodge in time—his lower half was disintegrated in a beam of pure white.
The Dust Release faded. Danzō's upper half vanished into smoke.
The sound of Deidara's clay bombs faded into the background, muted.
Ōnoki's white beard fluttered in the wind as he scanned the area for any trace of Danzō.
Then he looked up, toward the seven o'clock position. Danzō was perched atop a hill of earth.
Daring bastard.
Back when Sarutobi Hiruzen was Hokage, Shimura Danzō had kept to the shadows. No one outside of Root knew what he was truly capable of.
Now he'd wiped out the Uchiha and somehow implanted their Sharingan. The forbidden technique he used to come back to life had to be tied to them.
Ōnoki merely raised a brow and gave a crooked smile.
"Lord Hokage, your style's even more avant-garde than my disciple's 'art.'"
Deidara, hearing the word "art" from afar, glanced over.
Obito took advantage of the opening. He emerged from Kamui space behind Deidara.
"What are you staring at, brat?"
He grabbed Deidara's arm, attempting to suck them both into Kamui.
Wait... something was off.
'Deidara' suddenly ignited with flame-like light.
"Hmph!"
A chain of explosions burst forth!
Tiny clay bombs planted on the 'Deidara' clone detonated simultaneously. Mushroom clouds rose and stacked upon each other.
"Art... is an EXPLOSION!!"
Deidara's voice boomed from directly above Danzō.
By the time Danzō realized, a dozen clay spiders had already landed at his feet.
—BOOM!—
He shut his eyes. In his mind's eye, the grotesque hand of his still replayed like a horror film.
Deidara shivered and hugged himself before yelling down, "Hey! Old man! Time to retreat, yeah!"
All that effort molding clay and blowing things up—only to hit nothing. This opponent had zero artistic taste!
That guy down there was the so-called Hokage, right?
Compared to the stone-headed Iwagakure shinobi, Konoha's people were practically anti-art... anti-human, even!
One couldn't be hit, the other couldn't be killed. What a headache.
He still had Rōshi under control, but if they delayed any longer, something might go wrong.
Ōnoki felt the same. Floating higher, he scolded Deidara,
"Hmph. If you want to run, run. No need to shout so loud."
A clay bird swooped down in a circle and picked Ōnoki up.
"Geez, old man! Yeah!"
...
Neither Danzō nor Obito gave chase to the fleeing master and disciple.
Obito remarked coldly, "Flying ninjutsu... how convenient."
Danzō pulled his sleeve back down to cover his arm. A few Sharingan lost... but nothing Konoha couldn't replace.
He had no way to pursue the Tsuchikage, but this masked Uchiha could.
"The Five-Tails' Jinchūriki?"
"Captured by Hidan," Obito replied before Danzō could finish.
"I'm sure the Tsuchikage will hear about it once he returns to the village."
Danzō didn't show much emotion. "Good."
They were supposed to capture both beasts.
But Ōnoki's strategic foresight had kept one in Iwagakure. Just one had slipped through.
Neither of them bothered bringing up the issue of how to divide the Five-Tails.
No point arguing before they took care of their common enemies. If Karatachi Yagura caught wind of internal strife, he'd laugh himself to death.
Obito asked, "What's your next move?"
Danzō stuck to the original plan. "The Land of Iron."
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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