A massive white Dust Release light pillar shot towards Madara Uchiha. Madara manipulated his Susanoo to dodge with a swift movement. However, this attack was not over yet.
Onoki poured out chakra with all his might, maintaining the Dust Release for an extended period. He roared, "Haa!" His hands moved, and the Dust Release moved along with them.
Wherever the Dust Release reached, rocks were disintegrated. Occasionally, beams aimed at Konoha were blocked by Ryun Uchiha using his Rinnegan's spatial cutting ability.
Madara Uchiha also disdained the idea of positioning himself in front of the Iwagakure shinobi just so Onoki could use Dust Release to eliminate them. He was a proper warrior.
He would simply dodge the Dust Release. Once Onoki's chakra was exhausted, what else could he do? As for Onoki's life, Madara would request Ryun to spare him. After all, such a man was a talent.
Onoki's chakra was being consumed rapidly. His originally straight back was now beginning to bend. He understood he could not stop. If he stopped, Madara Uchiha would need only one move to defeat him. Then, Iwagakure would cease to exist.
It would become the Konoha Rock Department, serving Konoha like a dog. This was unacceptable to him. Even if he burned through every last drop of his chakra here, even if he exhausted his life force.
He must protect Iwagakure, the village guarded with their lives by all the previous Tsuchikage.
Thinking of this, he roared again, "Ha!" The range of the Dust Release expanded once more. This time, it grazed the leg of Madara Uchiha's Susanoo. Instantly, the Susanoo's leg was disintegrated.
Madara Uchiha snorted coldly and accelerated again, moving out of the Dust Release's range.
Onoki was overjoyed. But before his smile could fully form, he saw Madara Uchiha's Susanoo regenerate its legs, as if completely unharmed. Madara Uchiha still stood with his arms crossed, his cold eyes looking down at Onoki with a sidelong glance, as if mocking his overestimation of his own strength.
Now, without chakra to sustain it, Onoki's Dust Release beam began to thin, shorten, and finally vanish.
Onoki was drenched in sweat. His back was now twisted, sending waves of intense pain. Combined with the emptiness of his depleted chakra, he bit the tip of his tongue to concentrate his mental energy.
He looked at Madara, his eyes filled with fighting spirit. "I, I can still fight." He forced his back straight, but in reality, he was strong only in appearance.
"Old man."
"Tsuchikage-sama."
The current Onoki could be killed even by a six-year-old child with a knife. Everyone present could see this. Madara Uchiha slowly landed. The intense tremor caused everyone to shudder.
"Onoki, you can be proud. After all, you are the first to have broken half of my Susanoo." Madara Uchiha dispelled his Susanoo and slowly walked to stand before Onoki, looking down at him from above.
The mockery in his eyes was gone, replaced by respect. How many in the shinobi world could persist to that extent? Onoki had now earned a place among the strong in Madara Uchiha's eyes.
The strong naturally appreciate each other. Moreover, Onoki was also protecting his village, which deserved even more respect.
"Madara Uchiha, I, I can still, still fight." Onoki's vision was blurry, on the verge of fainting. Yet, he still threw a weak, soft punch towards Madara Uchiha.
Madara Uchiha did not dodge this punch. It landed on him with less force than a tickle. Immediately after throwing the punch, Onoki collapsed. Tears streamed from his eyes. He knew he was defeated.
"I wonder if the First and the Second will blame me." This was his last thought before losing consciousness.
Madara Uchiha caught him, preventing him from kneeling. Then, with a serious look in his eyes, he turned to Ryun Uchiha.
Ryun nodded, stepped forward, and activated his Mangekyō ocular technique, Samsara. Streams of green light flowed into Onoki's body. His chakra and physical fatigue slowly began to recover.
The villagers of Iwagakure saw this and immediately shouted, "Release the Tsuchikage-sama."
"Konoha scum. If anything happens to Tsuchikage-sama, we will tear Konoha to pieces."
Deidara and Kitsuchi remained relatively calm because they knew Konoha was treating the old man. However, they did not know what Konoha would do next. Therefore, they neither stopped nor supported the villagers' actions.
Everything would wait until the old man woke up.
Shortly after, Onoki opened his eyes. He murmured, "Am I in the Pure Land now? So, Madara Uchiha is truly unbeatable."
Ryun Uchiha rolled his eyes. "You're not dead yet. Why are you so eager to die."
He was all too familiar with Ryun's voice. Hearing it, he immediately sat up and scanned his surroundings. He needed to see how the villagers of Iwagakure were.
Suddenly, he saw the villagers of Iwagakure watching from not far away, never having left. He was about to stand up and say something when he remembered the battle and the previous agreement. Finally, he lowered his head.
"A bet is a bet." Onoki sighed. The injuries on his body had been healed by Ryun Uchiha. If Ryun Uchiha truly wanted to kill him or exterminate Iwagakure, there would have been no need to wake him.
He probably wanted Onoki to pacify the Iwagakure shinobi. He did not want an empty village. He wanted an Iwagakure with all its strength intact.
"The Tsuchikage is indeed straightforward. In that case, let Madara Uchiha serve as the head of your village's department. This way, he can protect your village on one hand, and on the other, you can be free from the suffering of war. How about it?" Ryun Uchiha said with a smile.
Madara Uchiha had anticipated this and nodded, looking at Onoki. Onoki quickly widened his eyes. "You mean to have Madara Uchiha become the head of my Iwagakure, no, the Rock Department. And he will also protect Iwagakure."
"That's correct. However, the prerequisite is that Madara Uchiha accepts Konoha's leadership. He is the highest leader of the Rock Department. The tasks he assigns must be completed diligently," Ryun Uchiha explained with a smile.
Onoki was stunned. Damn, why didn't you say so earlier? Madara Uchiha protecting Iwagakure was a good thing. Although Iwagakure would be renamed the Rock Department, having such a powerful figure stationed there meant Iwagakure would be safe for at least three generations.
"Furthermore, Onoki will serve as deputy head, assisting Madara Uchiha in handling administrative affairs. You must be diligent. If issues like negligence or power occur, next time it won't be a simple duel. It will be an extermination mission," Ryun Uchiha reminded.
Onoki quickly nodded. "Yes, yes, yes. From now on, Iwagakure, no, the Rock Department, will follow Konoha's lead." Wasn't this equivalent to them gaining a bodyguard.
As for administrative affairs, whoever wanted to handle them could handle them. Who liked those tedious and long administrative tasks anyway. Ah, Onoki suddenly felt that losing was good. He had initially thought they would be annihilated, which was why he suddenly went all out.
But what he didn't know was that precisely because of his all-out effort, Ryun Uchiha changed his mind, allowing them to retain their original personnel, only changing the top leader to Madara Uchiha.
Ryun Uchiha also believed Madara Uchiha could manage the Rock Department well. This would also better prepare for the future attacks of the Ōtsutsuki.
Madara Uchiha nodded, indicating to Ryun Uchiha that he understood. Ryun Uchiha smiled, then selected two thousand shinobi and handed them over to Madara Uchiha for him to lead.
After all, having no military power was absolutely not acceptable. The two thousand Konoha shinobi were still very strong. Paired with Madara Uchiha, if Iwagakure reneged and a fight broke out, Madara could hold his own.
Thus, after reaching a consensus, Madara Uchiha walked ahead, with Onoki closely following, chatting and laughing with him. This was a peerless powerhouse. Iwagakure was stable.
Onoki suddenly found himself hoping that A would lead troops to attack, just to see his expression upon encountering Madara Uchiha. That would surely be thrilling.
Upon arriving at Iwagakure, Madara Uchiha immediately spoke. "Immediately announce to the shinobi world that Iwagakure surrenders to Konoha."
"Yes. Department Head-sama." Onoki smiled. Not a single soldier was lost, and they gained a super powerhouse to station here. This was simply fantastic.
Madara Uchiha nodded, then suddenly thought of something. "From now on, you will still be responsible for administrative affairs. Everything remains as before. Additionally, if I have matters to discuss with you, you cannot refuse. Because if I seek you out, it will be due to orders from Konoha. You must complete them seriously."
Madara Uchiha's words made Onoki twitch. He had been thinking of teaching Madara the ropes and then retiring. Now it seemed that wasn't possible. Meanwhile, Deidara and Kitsuchi's eyes lit up. Madara Uchiha was not here to seize power. Then life for the Iwa-nin should still be quite good.
Seeing the looks in his disciple and son's eyes, Onoki trembled with anger, but he also understood their thoughts. Perhaps most people hoped he would continue governing, not Madara Uchiha.
Onoki had already guessed some things. A great catastrophe might befall the shinobi world. Ryun Uchiha was unifying the shinobi world.
And with Madara Uchiha in Iwagakure, the village would not fall into chaos. Iwagakure would be Konoha's vassal, a part of Konoha.
Actually, this might be for the best. If the shinobi world were unified without war, everyone could live peacefully and survive together.
This was what many desired but could not attain. Onoki's ability to accept things was strong. In this short while, he had already accepted this outcome.
He had someone arrange a room for Madara Uchiha, then went to handle administrative affairs and announced to the shinobi world that Iwagakure was officially renamed the Konoha Rock Department.
Ryun Uchiha led the remaining eight thousand troops towards Kumogakure. The current Kumogakure was already at the end of its strength. The sooner it was pacified, the better.
Now
Izuna Uchiha had already led his troops to a location a hundred li outside Kumogakure and set up camp. He was in no hurry to attack. Sometimes, attacking the city was the inferior strategy, attacking the heart was superior. This way, they could take Kumogakure without bloodshed or with minimal casualties.
The Fourth Raikage, A, was currently pacing back and forth, grabbing his hair. "Darui, what should I do. The people from Konoha have already set up camp not far away. Can the current Kumogakure truly stop Konoha's shinobi."
Seeing the Fourth Raikage's current state, Darui also felt helpless. "Fighting, we definitely cannot win. But if we just defend Kumogakure, it won't be easy for them to break in either."
"You mean defend. But currently, the village's reserves are only enough for half a year. Can we just stay home without moving for half a year. What if the battles in other places end and they gather to attack us together." A said with a serious expression.
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