"Hey! Onoki, getting tired from fighting?"
Shimoku patted the backpack behind him, which held seventy million ryo.
He grinned and shouted toward Onoki, who was about to depart into the distance.
It must be admitted—ignoring its combat uses entirely, the [Flying Thunder God Technique] is still insanely useful for getting around in a flash!
A journey spanning over ten kilometers—covered in the blink of an eye.
This saved a huge amount of time!
Though it did consume quite a lot of chakra. By his current reserves, two or three round trips would completely drain him.
Looks like he really needed to improve his chakra limit soon.
Meanwhile.
Hearing the mocking voice from behind,
Onoki abruptly turned around.
Only then did he notice—the enemy's real body, who had been fighting with him earlier, had suddenly appeared here!
"What is this? A Shifting Body Technique?"
"No, there was clearly nobody around just now."
"Even the fastest Shifting Body Technique couldn't instantly cross over a thousand meters and arrive here instantaneously!"
"Wait… what's that under his feet? A kunai?!"
"H-Hard to believe..."
"D-Does he really possess the [Flying Thunder God Technique]?!!"
Onoki gasped in shock.
Even though almost ten years had passed, he still could never forget
that Leaf ninja known as the 'Yellow Flash' rising into power, dominating an entire era.
With only the incredible speed granted by the [Flying Thunder God Technique], almost no one could rival him!
During The Third Great Ninja World War alone, more than a hundred Iwagakure shinobi had died by that man's hand.
Among them were elite Iwa-nin such as "East Corpse" and "Magic Leech."
Precisely because of that war, the unresolved hatred between Iwagakure and Konoha has never been reconciled to this day.
What's more, with the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, around...
he himself had been forced to personally guard Iwagakure Village instead of joining the battlefield,
fearing the opponent would use 'Flying Thunder God' to sneak straight into his own base.
That showed how dangerous a ninja possessing such powerful S-rank space-time jutsu truly was!
Undoubtedly every enemy's nightmare!
And now, eight years later...
Could Konoha have produced another terrifying ninja who mastered the [Flying Thunder God Technique]?!!
Onoki dared not think further.
However, seeing that kunai, witnessing that speed—
Nine out of ten chances—it really was the [Flying Thunder God Technique]!
"If this person is truly a Konoha ninja, he might very well become the next Fifth Hokage!"
"At that point, the entire ninja world will again be crushed beneath his heel..."
"This kind of great enemy must be eliminated early!"
"If I launch a surprise attack using [Dust Release], I might still have a chance to kill him with one strike..."
In an instant,
the many wrinkles on Onoki's aged face twitched repeatedly,
his expression changing rapidly as he struggled internally, weighing his options.
No matter what, he definitely didn't want to witness another 'Yellow Flash' rise again in the ninja world—especially if it turns out to be from Konoha yet again.
"Who... Who exactly are you?"
Onoki roared furiously while secretly preparing his ultimate killing move.
"Old man, you're already thinking about how to kill me right now, aren't you?"
"Don't waste your energy."
"I'm leaving. See you if we have fate!"
"Oh right, I almost forgot! Your granddaughter? She's a juicy one! And your village's vault? Even sweeter!"
"Hahaha..."
Shimoku let out a loud laugh.
Without hesitation, he shook his body and activated the [Flying Thunder God Technique] once again, instantly vanishing from the spot.
He had done everything he needed.
He definitely didn't want to stick around and face Onoki's [Dust Release].
Although, there was a ninety percent chance that thing wouldn't even hit him...
...
As the enemy disappeared in an instant,
Onoki was powerless to stop it.
Feeling even more frustrated, Onoki had no choice but to stop the ninjutsu in his hands.
At the same time, he recalled the words the enemy had said before leaving.
"Did something happen to Kurotsuchi and the vault?! They couldn't have been hit too, right?!!!"
Onoki's expression changed instantly.
Immediately, he carried Kitsuchi and flew back toward the village without delay.
Whether it was his beloved granddaughter Kurotsuchi or the village vault, both meant the world to him. He couldn't afford to lose either!
...
Thus,
twenty minutes later.
The Tsuchikage's personal guards followed Onoki's trail, searching around outside the village in circles before finally returning inside.
And at the entrance of the treasury's attic,
they discovered Onoki...
At this moment, the Third Tsuchikage was hugging his granddaughter Kurotsuchi with one arm while pressing on his sore waist with the other.
His eyes were vacant, his expression dazed as he leaned against the doorway.
Before him stood their own treasury—a place nearly emptied entirely.
Fortunately, only the treasury had been robbed.
Kurotsuchi seemed fine, apparently unharmed.
Otherwise, tonight would've literally enraged this Third Tsuchikage to death...
Still,
even so,
tonight's losses for the [Iwagakure Village] were significant!
Especially with the treasury being broken into and most of its silver stolen.
If word of this got out, the village's already fragile economy might plummet even further!
So,
exerting his last ounce of strength, Onoki quickly ordered the guards to seal off the treasury and suppress any related information before rushing away with Kitsuchi, Kurotsuchi, Deidara, and others to seek medical treatment.
...
The night grew darker.
Thankfully, most of the fighting had occurred outside the village.
There were few casualties within the [Iwagakure Village].
The entire village remained relatively peaceful.
Of course, many high-level ninja who knew what happened began a night of intense work.
So,
an hour later, after a brief rest, Onoki once again summoned the village leaders.
He quickly summarized everything that had happened tonight.
"What's the condition of Kitsuchi and little Kurotsuchi?"
Onoki's expression darkened.
"Kitsuchi is in critical condition—multiple fractures and severe muscle damage. Fortunately, there's no danger to his life, though he'll require at least a month or two to recover..."
"As for the two little Kurotsuchis, they weren't seriously injured—they just fainted."
"Did the attacker show mercy?"
One advisor asked urgently.
Onoki nodded, "It seems like that. Though we can't rule out the possibility it was intentional. After all, killing them would only enrage our [Iwagakure Village] even further."
"I didn't expect that not only did the spy escape, but the village vault was robbed too!"
"Lord Third, this loss is no small matter!"
Onoki: "I know! Our top priority must be to suppress the news and swiftly deal with the damage caused by the Vault robbery..."
"Shouldn't we immediately dispatch troops to pursue and recover the stolen funds?"
Onoki shot an annoyed glance at the Daimyo's messenger, coldly replying, "That person mastered the space-time ninjutsu [Flying Thunder God Technique]! Do you actually believe someone can catch him?"
"What?! [Flying Thunder God Technique]?!! That... that's impossible?"
"Isn't the Yellow Flash of Konoha already dead?"
"Could there possibly be another one?"
Onoki: "We're still unsure. The person wore clothing belonging to the Rogue Ninja Organization [Akatsuki], possessed a Sharingan, and was extremely powerful..."
Upon hearing this, the other Iwagakure elites also became shocked, quickly arguing amongst themselves.
"Could it really be the work of [Akatsuki]?"
"No way! A mere insignificant rogue organization like them wouldn't dare attack one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages!"
"What's more, right after that spy escaped, someone just 'conveniently' rescued him."
"A simple rogue organization would never maintain such a sophisticated spy intelligence network!"
"There must be other major hidden villages behind this."
"The so-called [Akatsuki] is nothing more than a smokescreen!"
"It's even possible that [Konoha] commissioned [Akatsuki] to extract that spy!"
"After all, besides [Konoha], none of the other shinobi villages possess the [Flying Thunder God Technique]!"
"Don't forget, this [Akatsuki] member had the Sharingan—a Kekkei Genkai!"
"Looking across the ninja world, the prime suspect remains [Konoha]!"
"If that's the case, what about the recent Uchiha Clan defectors from [Konoha]? Shouldn't they be primary suspects too?"
"Hmph! Nonsense! Those guys defected from Konoha and have been fugitives in the ninja world; they're probably struggling to survive themselves."
"How could they possibly scheme against our [Iwagakure Village]?"
"So you're saying it truly was [Konoha] who did this?"
...
Onoki silently watched their argument unfold, enduring his back pain while feeling helpless.
Yet, he couldn't bring himself to deny it either.
From any angle, [Konoha] remained by far the most suspicious!
The spy, the Sharingan, the [Flying Thunder God Technique]... everything connected back to Konoha.
To say Konoha had nothing to do with this—well, not even a dog would buy that!
After quite some time, Onoki finally stepped in with a firm declaration:
"Enough already!"
"Even if it is related to Konoha, without direct evidence, we shouldn't act rashly."
"This matter must continue being investigated. Let's wait until decisive evidence emerges before discussing further..."
"In any case, whoever dares plot against old me directly is simply looking for death!"
Stroking his beard while puffing out his mustache indignantly, Onoki hammered down the final decision.
"As for the plan to launch a surprise attack on Konoha..."
"With the spy having already escaped and the operation exposed, we'll have to temporarily abandon it."
"Does anyone here have objections?"
Onoki swept his gaze around the room, questioning them all.
"Iwagakure Village is nothing like Konoha. Onoki, who has all the power, status, seniority, and prestige anyone could want, holds absolute authority. That's way better than Konoha's messy split leadership."
"N-No… n-no…"
"Then that's settled. Meeting adjourned…"
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