"Protection? Protecting me, a perfect Jinchuriki, within The Hidden Rock Village?" Roshi laughed sarcastically.
If his strength in The Hidden Rock Village still required protection, then The Hidden Rock was truly doomed.
The Anbu remained silent, quietly observing Roshi.
Looking at the silent Anbu, Roshi felt a pang of agitation, knowing he couldn't really kill ninjas from the same village without cause.
"Onoki, what exactly are you thinking..." Roshi pondered, eventually turning his gaze toward the tallest stone building in The Hidden Rock Village.
The Anbu were directly commanded by the Tsuchikage, so this must be Onoki's order.
Being a man of action, Roshi ignored the Anbu and headed directly towards the Tsuchikage Building.
He wanted to question Onoki clearly, why waste manpower like this, why surveillance him.
The Anbu initially didn't know Roshi's intention, but as they got closer to the Tsuchikage Building, they gradually guessed Roshi's thoughts.
One went to report the situation, and another attempted to stop Roshi.
"The Tsuchikage is busy, you cannot disturb him casually," said the Hidden Rock Anbu.
"He has time to order you to monitor me, but not to talk to me directly?" Roshi ignored the Hidden Rock Anbu and continued to walk.
The Hidden Rock Anbu tried to pull Roshi back, but Roshi pushed them aside with immense strength.
Roshi then quickly entered the Tsuchikage Building, heading straight for the Tsuchikage Office, not stopping for any ninja along the way.
Bang!
Roshi slammed open the door to the Tsuchikage Office, staring directly at Onoki sitting on the office chair.
"Apologies, Tsuchikage-sama," the Anbu lowered their heads and apologized.
Inside the Tsuchikage Building, they couldn't resort to fighting but only to physical strength, yet Roshi had the Four-tails backing him, so they couldn't stop him.
"It's fine, leave." Onoki's face showed no emotion, he spoke calmly.
The Anbu nodded and swiftly left the Tsuchikage Office, closing the door behind them.
Once the others left, Onoki's expression immediately changed, adopting a stern look as he gazed at Roshi.
"Roshi, what are you planning? Attacking Anbu, breaking into the Tsuchikage Office, these charges alone could see you in prison for ten years!" Onoki spoke in a deep voice, his terrifying aura exploded.
If it were an ordinary Hidden Rock Jonin here, under Onoki's imposing presence, they'd likely be trembling uncontrollably.
After all, this was one of the Ninja World's top figures, the third Tsuchikage of The Hidden Rock Village, the man who led The Hidden Rock to prosperity.
But standing in front of Onoki was Roshi, a Jinchuriki who had communicated with the Four-tails to become the perfect Jinchuriki.
Roshi calmly stared at Onoki and retorted:
"I should be asking you what you are planning. As soon as I returned to the village, the Anbu was sent to monitor me, even claiming protection—are the Anbu that idle?"
"This was the result of a collective discussion among The Hidden Rock's high-ups, even if you're dissatisfied, it doesn't change it," Onoki stated directly.
After all, it had been discovered, and Roshi wasn't naive—whether it was protection or surveillance was clear enough.
"Collective discussion." Roshi's fists clenched tightly, his eyelids twitched.
He fought hard on the frontlines, only to be met with such distrust upon returning.
"This is already the best result. Considering what you did on the battlefield, it's one of the most unforgivable taboos!" Onoki emphasized.
"Some even suggested replacing the Four-tailed Jinchuriki, and if it wasn't for my strong opposition, you'd be facing more than just surveillance by two Anbu."
During the high-level meeting, indeed, some mentioned the idea of replacing the Jinchuriki, but it wasn't as exaggerated as Onoki claimed.
Onoki mainly wanted to use this opportunity to discipline Roshi a bit and urge him to change his character.
Roshi was stunned, unaware that such an idea had even crossed the minds of the high-level officials.
For a Jinchuriki, replacing the Jinchuriki meant the previous Jinchuriki must die.
Once Tailed Beasts are sealed inside them, their lives are tied to the Tailed Beasts; if the Jinchuriki dies, so does the Tailed Beast, and if the Tailed Beast is extracted, the Jinchuriki also dies.
"Whether it's complete Tailed Beast Transformation in the middle of a crowd or breaking through using a Tailed Beast Ball, it was all ordered by Iwakura," Roshi explained.
He wasn't insane to that extent; if Iwakura hadn't used self-explosion to provoke Roshi, he likely wouldn't have executed Iwakura's orders.
"The information that returned didn't mention any of this," Onoki replied with a shake of his head.
Roshi froze again.
He realized that amidst the battlefield chaos, few Hidden Rocks could hear Iwakura's orders.
Plus, Mokgetsu was nearby, and those who survived likely had little chance.
"At the time, I was injured by Habu Mokgetsu's Water Release. After seeing that, Iwakura commanded me to use complete Tailed Beast Transformation to assist him and the Hidden Rock Demolition Squad in the attack…" Roshi recalled the details and explained.
Though he admired Iwakura's final self-explosion, Roshi didn't want to take the fall for him.
Being a Jinchuriki already subjected him to different gazes; gaining a reputation for slaughtering his comrades would make survival in The Hidden Rock even tougher.
"Is there anyone who can testify for you?" Onoki asked after hearing Roshi's explanation.
"How can you prove that the order came from Iwakura, and not that you became violent under the influence of Tailed Beast Chakra?"
Roshi opened his mouth but was speechless.
He didn't even know if any knew the truth and survived.
"I will dispatch a ninja to assist you with the investigation. If there's no issue, then leave, I have work to do." Onoki began to usher him out.
Actually, Onoki already believed Roshi.
As Roshi was a proud and stubborn person, such individuals disdain lying to evade responsibility.