*Crack...*
At first, Onoki could hear his own bones creaking. Then, nothing. The pain had finally given way to a merciful numbness. His face was slack, all the strength to scream having left him long ago.
"Meow~ Keep pulling like that and you're going to tear your Tsuchikage in half."
The black cat floated in the air, its voice dripping with amusement.
'If Han really did manage to kill Onoki in this tug-of-war, it would be a welcome development,' Takeshi thought. 'Konoha wouldn't even be to blame, it would just be another case of an Iwagakure jinchuriki having a few screws loose.'
Of course, he would never admit that kidnapping the old man had been his idea to begin with.
"Damn it!"
Han gritted his teeth, but one look at the gloating black cat and Minato's awkwardly apologetic expression made him dig in his heels. He couldn't just let go. If he did, the old man would be gone for good.
'What can I do?' he thought, scrambling for a plan, but his mind came up empty. How was he supposed to deal with a band of thieves like this?
It wasn't just Han, Onoki himself was at a loss. Who would have thought a Konoha ninja knew the Earth Release: Lightened Boulder Jutsu? It was absurd.
And another thing.
Who in their right mind would have guessed Konoha would stoop so low as to team up with Sunagakure to sell them fake intelligence? Thinking of it made his blood boil. Once Iwagakure was back on its feet, he would teach those Suna cowards a lesson they'd never forget. Especially that cunning little brat, Rasa. It wasn't enough for him to surrender, he had to twist the knife with lies.
"Tsuchikage, surrender," Minato said, his voice gentle but firm. "If you do, our Tsunade-sama can still treat that back of yours. Any longer..."
'...and it won't be attached to you anymore,' he finished silently.
The whole situation was just pitiful. Kicked by a cat, now used as a rope in a tug-of-war between a taijutsu-specialist jinchuriki and a cat with monstrous strength. It was like watching Tsunade arm-wrestle the Raikage. There was only one way that could end: the rope would snap. In this case, Onoki would be torn in two.
"Onoki-sama..." Han strained, steam beginning to rise from his body as the power of Boil Release stirred within him, waiting for the command to unleash it.
But Onoki just hung there, limp. It was too humiliating. The great Tsuchikage, yanked back and forth like a rope, his back screaming in protest. What a disgrace. He wished the earth would open up and swallow him whole.
Meanwhile, Roshi was creeping along the perimeter, clearly preparing to make a move.
Takeshi caught the movement out of the corner of his eye and decided he couldn't let this drag on. Kura was single-handedly holding back a squad of Iwa jonin trying to reach their Kage, but even she couldn't hold them off forever.
'Time to end this.'
He considered his options. 'Han is out of the question. He's still holding Onoki. One Gate of the Great God and the old man really would be pulled apart. That would force Iwa's hand, and they'd fight to the last man. Konoha's goal is to cripple Iwagakure, not annihilate them.'
'So... it has to be you, Roshi. Serves you right for being so sneaky. You don't exactly scream trustworthy.'
Takeshi gave Minato a light tap with his paw, a signal that he was about to make a big move. Minato gave a subtle nod in return. While he couldn't join the tug-of-war, he could still raise the stakes.
With a Rasengan swirling in his left palm and a kunai in his right hand, Minato's voice was steady. "Pull any harder, and I can't guarantee the Tsuchikage's safety."
He hated resorting to such tactics, but the situation left him little choice. If Onoki wanted to be stubborn, they would have to kill him and find a new Tsuchikage to negotiate with. The Iwa ninja wouldn't all throw their lives away for a dead leader, they would surrender eventually. The only difference was how many bodies would litter the battlefield by then, on both sides.
Han eased up on his grip, tails drooping slightly.
Onoki's breathing hitched. He had no idea what the Konoha ninja were capable of, but he was certain that cat was planning something. If Han let go completely, he might be in danger himself. His heart pounded in his chest.
Thankfully, Han wasn't a complete fool. He didn't let go entirely, just lessened the force.
Onoki let out a quiet sigh of relief. But as the tension on his body eased, a fresh wave of agony shot through his waist.
"Ufff-" He bit back a cry of pain as the numbness wore off.
Just as he was weighing the merits of surrender, he felt a violent surge of chakra. He turned his head just in time to see Takeshi launch himself forward, his body swelling to an enormous size mid-air.
A moment later, *Boom!* The cat's paw slammed down, and Roshi's body dissolved into lava. But at that same instant, Takeshi spewed a torrent of water from his mouth, forming a prison around the molten form. The prison instantly boiled, but instead of evaporating, the water began to crystallize into ice. From the outside, it was a strange spectacle of fire and frost locked together.
Roshi roared, drawing on his Tailed Beast's chakra to fight back. Just as the ice began to melt, a series of massive torii gates materialized in the air above him and crashed down.
*Bang! Bang! Bang!*
The thunderous impacts drew everyone's attention. Ninja from both Iwa and Konoha stared at the familiar, yet utterly strange, torii gates. They were familiar because their elders had told stories of Hashirama Senju using his Sage Art: Gate of the Great God to subdue his foes. This was clearly the same technique.
What was strange was the appearance.
Were the First Hokage's gates like this? These were black and white, and carved into the crossbeam were the words: 'Tomb of the Four-Tails Jinchuriki.'
A tombstone, just for him.
Below, Roshi howled as he began his Tailed Beast transformation, but Takeshi simply slapped a paw down, and another gate fell, sealing his head. Sage Art was no small matter. A power of this magnitude could restrain even a fully transformed Shukaku, Roshi, caught mid-transformation, stood no chance.
He collapsed, his consciousness fading.
"Sage Art: Gate of the Great God..." Onoki whispered, taking a ragged breath.
That jutsu crushed the last of his hope. He had planned to use his jinchuriki to turn the tables. Since Konoha hadn't deployed theirs, he could launch a counterattack before truly considering surrender.
It was Rasa's intelligence that had fooled him. He had assumed the information about Tsunade was a lie, so the Sage Art must have been a lie too. It was a Sage Art, after all, and no one from Konoha had shown any mastery of Sage Mode. Besides, it wasn't a technique just anyone could learn, let alone a cat.
But there it was.
'A mix of truth and lies,' Onoki thought bitterly. 'That dog, Rasa. Had Iwagakure ever wronged them? Those bastards!' He wished he could fly to Sunagakure right now and have a long "chat" with their Kazekage. But this wasn't the time. Iwagakure had suffered heavy losses, and as for himself...
This back... could Tsunade really heal it? He wasn't sure, but he knew Iwa's medical ninja couldn't. That kick, followed by the tug-of-war, had done serious damage. He could only pray it wasn't permanent, or he might spend the rest of his days on his back.
"Onoki, have you made up your mind? You don't have many chances left, meow!"
"I surrender."
The words felt like ash in his mouth. He had no choice. To keep fighting was impossible, and now the safety of his remaining jinchuriki was at risk. It was better to cut his losses and preserve what strength Iwagakure had left.
He knew what was coming, though. Given Konoha's attitude, surrender wouldn't be the end of it. They'd be extorted, just like Sunagakure must have been. Sunagakure was already poor, this would leave them half-dead, never again able to challenge Konoha.
'May Rasa never find another gold mine,' Onoki cursed silently. 'May Sunagakure wither on the vine, and may those two old fossils, Chiyo and Ebizo, die in their sleep and meet their ancestors sooner rather than later...' Ebizo had to be involved. The man was rotten to the core, always scheming in the shadows whenever Suna was deciding whether to backstab or ally with someone.
This time, however, it had nothing to do with Ebizo.
"Alright," Onoki sighed. "Han, you can let go. Minato Namikaze, take me to Tsunade. I need to speak with her."
"Meow~ Tsunade-sama has hemophobia," Takeshi chirped. "The sight of all this blood... she's already collapsed."
'What in the hell are you talking about?' Onoki thought, stunned. 'The woman just kicked dozens of my best jonin around like balls, and now you're telling me she's afraid of blood? Do all Konoha ninja lie through their teeth? Is every cat this black-hearted?!'
He coughed, and a jolt of agony shot up his spine, so sharp he almost wished he were back in the tug-of-war. That had been uncomfortable, but this was pure misery.
"Meow~ It's her intermittent hemophobia flaring up."
Takeshi could keep this up all day. Tsunade was already healing the wounded, and Konoha ninja were getting back on their feet and rejoining the fight. The longer this dragged on, the worse it would be for Iwagakure. The advantage was all Konoha's.
Minato felt a flush of secondhand embarrassment. He just wasn't built for this kind of blatant deception. Thank goodness for Takeshi.
Onoki was too angry to speak. He looked around, then lowered his gaze to Han, who was still holding his feet.
"Han, go," he ordered. "Tell everyone to stand down."
"This... Yes, sir." Han hesitated, but seeing the reality of their situation, he could only grit his teeth and obey. What else could they do? With Tsunade on the field, Konoha's ability to recover was simply on another level. That was her terrifying power in a war.
After Han left, Onoki tried to activate his Lightened Boulder Jutsu to float more comfortably, only to remember his chakra was sealed.
Infuriating.
He sighed, wondering what would happen next. In the blink of an eye, the world dissolved around him, reforming in an instant into a field of rubble.
What now?
"Meow~ Weren't you asking for medical treatment? I'll go see if Tsunade-sama is having an episode."
Tsunade wasn't far. As Onoki landed, he saw her huddled on the ground, trembling and looking terrified.
'Are they putting on a show? A full performance?'
"Tsunade-sama may have been frightened," Minato said gravely.
"Meow! The casualties Konoha suffered were just too much for her," the black cat added, nodding with complete seriousness. "I think some... compensation... might help her feel a little better."
He and Tsunade had run this scam before, the extortion came naturally. As if on cue, Tsunade's trembling intensified.
'Blatant extortion.' The corner of Onoki's mouth twitched. Still, this was better than dealing with Rasa. That man was an animal. Konoha had at least beaten them fair and square. Rasa lost his own war and then came crawling to Iwagakure with fake intelligence to fleece them. What kind of person does that?
"Thirty million ryo," Onoki said, holding up three fingers. "Will that be enough?"
Tsunade instantly stood up and walked over. "Oh my, Tsuchikage! How did you get hurt so badly? And Takeshi, you really should be more careful. You've injured the Tsuchikage's foot."
"My foot isn't the serious part..."
Before he could finish, she placed a hand on his foot, and with a glow of green chakra from her Mystical Palm Jutsu, the injury was healed.
Something felt off.
"Tsuchikage, let's consider this injury a testament to our friendship," Tsunade said with a smile. "No charge."
'No charge? Wait, she hasn't treated my back yet!'
He got it. What a scam. She fixed the easy injury on the spot and called it a 'testament to their friendship.' The back would have its own price tag, wouldn't it? These Konoha ninja were absolutely shameless.
He took a deep breath to quell his rising anger. "My back is injured as well," he said in a low voice. "Heal it, and money won't be an issue."
"Your back too? Here, let me check."
Tsunade began her examination with practiced ease. Takeshi watched, impressed in spite of himself. Her medical skills were undeniable.
She pressed a few spots on his back, then shook her head with a sigh. "This is troublesome. Not easy to fix."
"What's wrong?" Onoki's heart sank. Was it really that bad?
"The kick from Takeshi didn't cause any permanent damage," she explained. "The real problem started when Minato appeared, that was the initial injury. The jinchuriki pulling on you afterward caused a secondary one. I could treat that, but..." She paused, sighing again.
"Is it that serious?" Onoki asked, a sense of dread growing in him.
"Your own ninjutsu has caused problems to accumulate over the years. You already had lumbar muscle strain. With these new injuries on top of it... even for me, this will be very difficult to cure completely." She wore a helpless expression.
"Tsunade," Onoki said, his eyes narrowing with distrust. "We can negotiate a price. Don't play games with me just because I'm the Tsuchikage. If there's a 'but,' just say it."
After being swindled so many times, he knew this was all just a prelude to blackmail.
'Money?' he thought. 'If my back can be fixed, I don't care about the money. The Land of Earth isn't poor like the Land of Wind. We have money. And if cash isn't enough, we have ninja tools and other resources to trade. Those are the things that truly matter.'
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