Uchiha Kai's lips twitched.
He had been just about to strike again, but when he saw Onoki's face full of "sincerity," he couldn't help but sigh.
Truly worthy of being called an old fox.
Before the fight, he could find an excuse for a gang ambush.
Now that he didn't want to keep fighting, he could just as easily come up with an excuse for peace.
Uchiha Kai had to admit—no wonder this man had become Tsuchikage.
So… should he talk?
Kai checked himself.
His "Kaido Absolute Defense" had less than five minutes of duration left.
Forget it.
Killing Onoki in five minutes was too difficult.
Sure, Onoki couldn't hurt him, but finishing off a flying opponent was nearly impossible in such a short window.
After all—Onoki could fly.
He could ignore Onoki and raze Hidden Stone's forward base.
But that too couldn't be done in just five minutes. And once Onoki went berserk, he would never let Kai go.
If Onoki kept pressing him, his true limits might be exposed.
And if word spread that his body's defense could only last half an hour at most… that would be disastrous.
Right now, Kaido's body and his teleportation ability were his trump cards.
The less they were exposed, the safer he was.
Otherwise, enemies would start crafting counters.
As for his Mangekyo—
utterly unreliable.
The techniques were powerful, yes, but the chakra drain was absurd.
Just now, when he used Mangekyo on the Fourth Raikage, in just a dozen seconds his right eye's power was already half gone.
Then controlling Gyūki drained even more.
In short—
just those two moves had left his right eye with barely one-third of its energy.
Against small fry, Mangekyo looked unstoppable.
But against true monsters, the consumption made him question life.
And that was single-eye techniques!
If he used the dual-eye fusion ability Kotoamatsukami, he would probably go blind instantly.
Sigh.
He had to find a way to upgrade to Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan soon.
And besides—
Even if he really destroyed Hidden Stone's frontline base, unless he killed Onoki, what benefit was there?
Onoki would just retreat, bide his time, and still remain Tsuchikage.
What about him?
At best, he'd just be handing Sarutobi Hiruzen a free advantage.
Right now, his "invincible powerhouse" act worked because he struck sparingly, forcing others to stay wary.
But if the truth got out, who knew what kind of countermeasures the ninja world's schemers might invent?
So—forget it.
He had come for the mission.
The Konoha elders' deadly trap had already been broken, and he had already pocketed his reward.
The rest? Go step by step.
He still had to lie low.
Until he reached Pain-level power, it was best not to flaunt too much.
With that thought, he smiled and spoke:
"Tsuchikage, isn't it?
First, hand over Hidden Stone's defensive and offensive plans. That's my mission target, after all.
Then—we can talk.
As long as you bring real benefits to the table, today's battle can end here."
Onoki, of course, wasn't stupid.
Hearing Kai agree so readily, he understood at once that this kid was far from the "invincible monster" he appeared to be.
Otherwise—why bother negotiating?
But he also knew that continuing to fight might not actually force Kai to reveal his limits.
And the truth was—
Hidden Stone had already suffered devastating losses for this ambush.
This war was effectively over for them.
Sigh.
Onoki let out a helpless breath, gave Kai a long look, then tossed him a sealed scroll.
"Here. Take it."
He said simply, "That thing is useless now anyway. Hidden Stone has no intention of continuing the war.
Even if we did, we wouldn't follow those plans anymore.
What use could it possibly be to you?"
Yes—Onoki truly didn't get it.
Missions like Kai's were supposed to be silent, unnoticed, about stealing information without alerting anyone.
But after such a battle, what was the point of this plan?
Hidden Stone wasn't stupid—since the plan was leaked, of course they wouldn't follow it anymore.
"What's that got to do with me?" Kai shrugged.
"My mission's done.
Alright, let's continue.
What else is Tsuchikage-sama willing to offer, to end this fight here?"
Onoki's eyes narrowed.
"You Uchiha… don't get along with Konoha's leadership, do you?
Yes, you're strong. But unless you reach the level of Hashirama Senju or Uchiha Madara—
you're useless.
Because ruling a village isn't just about power.
Each clan, each civilian ninja, has different needs.
Even if you seized leadership by force, once your strength declined, your entire faction would collapse.
That's why, in Konoha's founding, it was Hashirama on top—not Madara."
He paused, then continued slowly:
"So consider this.
If the Uchiha can't stay in Konoha, Hidden Stone Village is willing to take you in.
I could give you a high position—anything short of Tsuchikage itself.
And don't say I'm stingy—because even if I did give you the Tsuchikage title, you couldn't hold it.
The highest leader isn't just about force—it's about gathering the hearts of the people.
How's that? Not a bad deal, right?"
Onoki's tone was heavy, but honest.
If Kai truly agreed, he would follow through.
Uchiha bloodlines are strong—worth recruiting at all costs.
And so, this time, Onoki wasn't bluffing.
Every word he said was genuine.
But Kai's lips only twitched.
Good grief.
This old fox was no less shameless than Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Didn't want to pay a thing—yet still wanted to recruit the Uchiha?
Yes, Kai did have the ability to lead his clan out of Konoha.
But he had never considered abandoning it.
Not out of sentiment—
but pure pragmatism.
His plan was already advancing step by step.
If nothing major went wrong, the whole of Konoha would belong to the Uchiha eventually.
So why would he abandon the rich Land of Fire for the barren Land of Earth?
What a joke.
He wasn't stupid.
Without hesitation, he shook his head.
"Forget it.
The Uchiha, as Konoha's founding clan, will never abandon the village.
Let's not waste time. Be direct.
I want this—"
"Earth Style: Super Light-Weight Rock Jutsu!"
"Give it to me, and we're done talking."
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