???
Hearing Shinji's words, Ōnoki instantly remembered that his son seemed to have been killed by this brat in front of him.
"You brat!"
"Han! Let me go! I'm going to kill this brat!"
This time, Ōnoki was the one who was bear-hugged by the arriving Five-Tails Jinchuriki Han, his legs kicking in the air.
"Tsuchikage-sama! You already surrendered!" Han said in a muffled voice, not even thinking about fighting Jiraiya again.
He had been so disgusted by Jiraiya and those few toads earlier that he nearly vomited. Moreover, there was now that monstrous brat, a 'Tailed Beast Terminator,' right beside him.
"Surrender what?! This old man is going to kill him!" Ōnoki shouted, completely unfazed, desperate to break free and fight another great battle with Shinji.
Seeing Ōnoki so enraged, Jiraiya couldn't help but twitch his lips.
He glanced at Shinji beside him, it seemed this junior's mouth was poisoned.
Did he really think Ōnoki had forgotten? He had only surrendered for the sake of Iwagakure.
Now, Shinji had thrown Ōnoki's face on the ground and stomped on it. If Ōnoki didn't react, he would surely be laughed to death.
"Come on! You old geezer who's about to enter the grave! Do you really think I can't deal with you?!"
Shinji didn't care if Ōnoki wanted to start another war, this old man was a sly old fox.
If he could be dealt with on the battlefield, then Iwagakure could declare its withdrawal from the Five Great Nations.
Crack—
Ōnoki, who was still struggling, instantly turned pale, gasping for air.
"Let—let me go—, I twisted—my back!"
Han, who was holding Ōnoki by the waist with both hands, quickly let go upon hearing this.
Bang—
"Ahhh!"
Ōnoki let out a tragic cry, his wide-open throat seemingly showing grayish-white gas floating out.
Shinji looked at Ōnoki with cold eyes.
This guy—
The timing of his back injury was perfect.
Jiraiya, seeing this scene, secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Thank goodness.
Swoosh—
Several sounds rang out, and several Jonin dressed in Iwagakure ninja attire appeared behind Ōnoki, rushing forward when they saw his state.
One of them reached out, emitting a faint green light, and began to heal Ōnoki's back.
Shinji frowned.
Medical Ninjutsu.
Nono had died years ago and Iwagakure's medical system had always been arguably the worst among the Five Great Nations.
This Jonin immediately used Mystical Palm Technique, which meant Nono might have left behind Medical Ninjutsu scrolls in Iwagakure?
"Tsuchikage-sama, please don't get angry again."
After a while, the medical ninja performing Mystical Palm Technique retracted her hands and said to Ōnoki.
"Your back had already suffered significant damage just now. If you get angry again, I'm afraid your back won't be able to take it."
"Hiss—!"
Ōnoki, upon hearing this, initially wanted to get up, but the next second he couldn't help but make a sound.
"Has Kitsuchi's body been found?" Ōnoki glanced at Shinji, then asked.
"Ah? Kitsuchi-sama?"
The Jonin who was asked was momentarily stunned, then remembered and quickly said, "Tsuchikage-sama, Kitsuchi-sama is still alive."
"Ah?"
Ōnoki was first startled, then looked at the Jonin beside him in disbelief and asked, "What did you say?"
"Kitsuchi-sama is still alive, but his injuries are too severe." The medical ninja shook her head.
Shinji, naturally, heard Ōnoki and their conversation, his eyes narrowing. Impossible, his attack should have instantly ruptured Kitsuchi's organs.
Unless—
"Fortunately, Kitsuchi-sama's heart is congenitally malformed, it's dextrocardia."
The Iwagakure medical ninja said, and this statement immediately made Ōnoki breathe a sigh of relief.
"Hahahaha—"
Hearing this, Ōnoki burst into laughter, his laughter filled with relief.
Even Shinji had to admit it. Truly, Kitsuchi had an incredibly strong will to live. He probably knew he had dextrocardia, so before Shinji's punch landed, he had already prepared to protect his heart.
"Brat, you also have a day when you miss." Ōnoki's face was full of smugness as he sneered at Shinji.
Shinji raised his eyelids and slowly said, "How about I go to your Iwagakure main camp right now and kill him again?"
Gag—
As soon as these words came out, Ōnoki instantly choked.
The Iwa ninjas beside him looked at Shinji warily, as if they would act the next moment if Shinji made any move.
Jiraiya slowly stood in front of Shinji. His earlier obstruction was merely out of consideration for Ōnoki losing his son, to prevent Ōnoki from becoming desperate.
Now that they knew Kitsuchi was still alive, if Ōnoki continued to provoke, it wouldn't be so easy to resolve the matter.
Did he really think Jiraiya was easy prey?
"To put it bluntly, all of you here can come at me, too." Shinji glanced at the several Iwa ninjas with displeased expressions, his words provocative.
Swoosh—
Sounds rang out again behind Shinji. This time, it was his own people.
"Shinji-sama!"
"Sensei!"
Neji, Yushu, and Choza appeared one after another.
Unlike the Iwa ninjas, Konoha's battle line was further back. So, the few of them only found their way here at this moment.
Shinji merely nodded, still looking at Ōnoki in front of him.
Whether to fight or not, it now depended on what this immortal old man wanted to do.
Facing Shinji's gaze, Ōnoki, who had never shown weakness even when directly confronting other Kage, suddenly felt old at this moment.
So old that he seemed to have no energy left to fight this young man in front of him again.
"Cough, cough, cough—"
Ōnoki coughed a few times, then, supported by a medical ninja, was carried on the back of a Jonin.
He looked at Shinji and slowly said, "Iwagakure surrenders. As for how to negotiate, Iwagakure will send someone to Konoha at that time."
After speaking, Ōnoki patted the Jonin carrying him.
The Iwa ninjas kept looking back at the Konoha ninjas until they retreated to a safe distance, then quickly headed towards their rear encampment.
"Phew—"
Jiraiya let out a breath; the war was finally over.
"Jiraiya-senpai, are you sure this immortal old man will really go then?" Shinji watched the gradually disappearing figures and asked Jiraiya beside him.
"Ah, don't worry."
"Unless Ōnoki wants Iwagakure to become the laughingstock of the Ninja World, he will definitely be there." Jiraiya stretched, saying carelessly.
Sometimes, one can disregard one's reputation when performing a mission. But there are few who dare to go back on their word after surrendering, just like Jiraiya preventing Shinji from acting earlier.
You can fight however you want on the battlefield, but once one side surrenders, if the other doesn't stop, they will face attacks from all ninja villages in the Ninja World.
When the nest is overturned, no egg remains intact.
The Five Great Ninja Villages of the Ninja World almost subconsciously adhere to this rule.
Well, perhaps Kumogakure is an exception.
(End of Chapter)
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