Tobirama froze beside Hashirama, completely dumbstruck, unable to say another word.
Even Hashirama could now tell that Ōnoki had no designs on Konoha; what he truly cared about was currying favor with Uchiha Yu.
After a long silence, Tobirama muttered in disarray:
"Where is your dignity as Tsuchikage? Where is the unyielding Will of Stone?"
Ōnoki of course couldn't hear Tobirama's words. At that moment, he was stroking his beard, smiling kindly, and waiting patiently for Uchiha Yu's reply.
Even Tsunade was struck speechless by his behavior. Just by standing there, Yu made the lofty Tsuchikage willingly step forward with all kinds of flattery?
This overturned her understanding of the world.
Had Yu saved Ōnoki's father or mother for him to act like this?
When Yu stayed silent too long, Ōnoki grew anxious and urged: "Uchiha Yu, you must let me fulfill our agreement!"
Yu finally snapped back from his amusement—he had been enjoying Tobirama's reactions to being repeatedly slapped in the face, like watching a virtual pet back in his previous life.
"Payment…" Yu said calmly.
Before he could finish, Ōnoki looked exasperated, beating his chest and stomping his feet:
"Payment? What payment? This was an agreement between men, Uchiha Yu! How could vulgar money ever measure its worth?"
After hearing this, Tobirama's face returned to icy coldness. He growled:
"Shut it down—cut off my sight and hearing, this is pointless!"
"Hahaha!"
That actually made Hashirama laugh aloud. In life, he had always felt Tobirama's obstinate character needed someone to put him in his place.
He never thought it would only happen after death—that someone could finally handle his brother.
At this point, Ōnoki practically radiated the air of "if you don't let me rebuild Konoha for free today, you're insulting me as Tsuchikage!"
Even Yu felt a little unsettled facing such overenthusiasm from the old man.
Beside him, Tsunade's expression kept shifting beneath her mask—she felt the whole situation was absurdly surreal.
"I don't like owing anyone, especially favors," Yu said seriously. "If there's something you need help with from the Uchiha, just come to Konoha and have someone find me."
"Good, good, good!"
Ōnoki beamed with joy. He had been waiting for Yu to say exactly this!
The two locked eyes—Ōnoki's murky old gaze meeting Yu's clear, pitch-black pupils—each seemingly able to see through the other's thoughts.
Yu had no intention of taking advantage of the old man.
Ōnoki's humility was for the sake of the shinobi and civilians of the Land of Earth.
The moment Yu declared war, his campaign to sweep through the shinobi world had already begun.
War was his chosen means of reshaping it, and Ōnoki understood that all too well.
All the Tsuchikage wanted was that, when Yu's reforms reached the Land of Earth, they would at least spare some lives. If today's groveling could achieve that, then it was worth it.
"Uchiha Yu, assign me some people familiar with Konoha's architecture!" Ōnoki pounded his chest as he vowed: "Some structures require specific building materials, but give me just one week—one week, and I'll return you a miracle!"
Yu turned his right hand, space quivered, and several bundles of scrolls appeared in his palm.
He handed the scrolls to Ōnoki and explained:
"These scrolls are compilations of Konoha's maps. They contain the layouts of every major district. As for interior design, just follow reasonable structural principles."
Ōnoki froze for a moment after receiving them, surprised at how thorough Yu was.
It made him wonder—had Yu already anticipated Konoha would face this day?
"No problem!" Ōnoki laughed. "I'll see the work assigned at once!"
Yu gave a slight nod.
Ōnoki's figure flickered, and hugging the bundle of scrolls, he flew off toward the Iwa-nin forces.
Only after he left did Uchiha Izumi curiously sidle up, batting her big bright eyes, and ask:
"Captain… why do you have so many maps of Konoha? Don't tell me they were part of the elders' preparations back when the Uchiha planned rebellion?"
"Mm, those are detailed maps of Konoha used by the Uchiha elders when rehearsing raid and retreat routes," Yu admitted calmly.
Izumi could only smile wryly.
After a long pause, Tobirama sneered inside the prison space: "Heh, no wonder your Uchiha were wiped out—it wasn't undeserved!"
Yu replied firmly within the prison space:
"You're right. The politics of the shinobi world are a filthy game. I may not be able to play it well, but as long as I have this strength, the final outcome of the game will be decided by me alone."
Tobirama: "…"
Before Tobirama could say more, the earth suddenly quaked violently again.
Everyone's attention was immediately drawn toward the source of the tremors—beneath the Hokage Rock, at the ruins of the Hokage Building.
Dust billowed through the air.
The ground rumbled.
A group of Iwa-nin performed Earth Release techniques: walls of stone rose from the ruins, filling in the collapsed structure of the Hokage Building and then sealing it with a roof.
In less than a single minute—
A brand new, unpainted Hokage Building stood among the wreckage, starkly out of place against the shattered streets around it.
On top of the Hokage Rock, Tsunade and the others were dumbfounded.
Even Hashirama, trapped in the prison space, felt a surge of joy. If not for being only a soul, he would have already joined in with Wood Release to contribute to the village's reconstruction.
Only Yu remained impassive. Having lived two lives, he knew very well—because of chakra and their techniques, ninja possessed extraordinary productivity.
A few hand signs could raise countless houses—that was basic. With someone like Ōnoki around, rebuilding Konoha wouldn't take the decades Tsunade feared.
At that moment, around the Hokage Building in the political district, one building after another began rising like bamboo shoots after rain.
In the shelter—
The civilians who chose to stay in Konoha rushed to the edges, and when some saw their homes restored by Iwa-nin with near-perfect Earth Release replicas, they shouted with joy.
Among the crowd—
Ayame's reddened eyes suddenly widened. She pointed toward the heart of the village, crying out in excitement:
"Father, our ramen shop… it's back!!"
Teuchi froze, then looked where his daughter was pointing.
When he saw the familiar outline of Ichiraku Ramen rising from the ground, his listless spirit instantly revived.
The image of the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path stomping his shop flat just half an hour ago still replayed in his mind.
Years earlier, when Teuchi had chosen the site to build Ichiraku, a passing monk told him it was an auspicious spot—that his ramen stand might one day be the safest place in Konoha.
Teuchi had even treated the monk to his most expensive miso char siu ramen in thanks.
And yet…
Half an hour ago, he had watched the Demonic Statue crush it into nothing but dust.
Now, as hope returned before his eyes, Konoha's civilians began to feel that staying behind might truly have been the right decision.
Ten minutes later, the streets of Konoha finally regained a trace of their pre-war appearance.
At the front of the Iwa-nin ranks—
"Lord Tsuchikage, is it really worth doing all this for the Uchiha?" The lead jonin asked, hands forming seals as he reconstructed a residential block, sweat beading on his forehead.
Ōnoki patted him on the shoulder and said with heartfelt conviction: "Believe me—it's worth it."
°°°
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