WEEKLY POWER GOALS 💎🔥 30→2ch | 60→5ch | 100→8ch | 200→15ch | 400→25ch⏰ Resets Monday!
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Hummmm…
Floating in the air, Ōnoki casually waved his hand. The small, transparent cube drifted lazily toward the three of them, its power calibrated perfectly to envelop them completely.
"Try to struggle," Ōnoki sneered. "It'll improve my mood."
He was toying with them. The cube moved painfully slow, a sword of Damocles hovering over their heads, refusing to fall.
"Move! Now!"
Even knowing it was a game, Qianyu and the others scattered, moving at their top speed.
"Futile."
Ōnoki crossed his arms, watching with a cold smile. At their speed, they'd never escape the range of Particle Style: Atomic Dismantling Jutsu.
CLANG!
Then—a streak of lightning tore through the air.
It came from the distance, a piercing flash that arrived before the sound, spearing directly toward the cube drifting toward Qianyu's group.
The noise followed a heartbeat later—a hundred shrieking birds. The deafening screech rolled over the battlefield, making ears ring.
"Hatake Style: Hundred Birds Sharp Spear!"
A lance of condensed, crackling lightning, woven from dozens of smaller bolts. It drilled into the transparent cube with furious, spinning force.
BOOM!
The delicate balance inside the cube shattered. It exploded in a flash of blinding electricity, unleashing its annihilating power—the force that reduced all matter to atoms.
The disintegration effect spent itself mid-air, but the sheer concussive blast remained. The shockwave hammered into the ground, hurling Qianyu, Nawaki, and Kosuke into the dirt.
Cough! Hack!
Qianyu hit the ground hard, the impact rattling his bones. He rolled over, retching. Nawaki and Kosuke weren't any better.
"Hmm?"
Ōnoki's attention had already shifted. He turned his head slightly, gaze locking onto the silver-haired man who had landed before him like a slashing ribbon of light.
"Hatake Sakumo," Ōnoki said. "If I'm not mistaken, that's your name, correct?"
He studied Sakumo's exhausted face, a flicker of genuine confusion in his eyes. "At your peak, you stood no chance against me. In this state… are you here to die?"
"It's Lord Sakumo…"
"He's here!"
A murmur swept through the Leaf ranks. Expressions were mixed—hope, fear, grim determination.
"Qianyu! It's the White Fang! We're saved!" Nawaki scrambled over, grabbing Qianyu's arm, tears and snot streaking his face.
"Quiet. Keep it down," Qianyu hissed, patting Nawaki's shoulder. "Let's get clear. Observe first."
He calmed Nawaki, and the two of them helped Kosuke—who was clutching his back—slip backward, using the momentary distraction to put distance between themselves and the Tsuchikage.
"You flatter me, Tsuchikage-sama," Sakumo said, his voice steady, carrying across the silent field. "I merely came to ask a question. Do you intend to personally intervene in the war in the Land of Rain?"
Ōnoki's brow furrowed for a second, then smoothed. "Naturally not. I am here only to avenge my nephew. These three… they are your village's offering. To appease my wrath."
The war between Fire and Earth in Rain was, at its core, a fight over resources and influence. If Ōnoki himself took the field, that changed everything. The scale would escalate. It would become a fight to the death.
Sakumo was not some nameless grunt. Ōnoki couldn't dismiss him. So, he gave the careful, political answer.
"So… he never actually dared to attack us directly?"
"No wonder he was so patient, waiting for us to hand them over." The whispers spread among the Leaf ninja.
"Then there has been a misunderstanding," Sakumo said, cutting through the chatter. His voice grew sharper. "Regardless of their status or the reason, Konoha does not surrender its own. If you seek to kill them, Tsuchikage-sama, you make an enemy of every single one of us here."
"Oh? Is that so?" Ōnoki chuckled, a dry, humorless sound. "You're that confident I won't act? What if I kill a few dozen? Do you think Sarutobi Hiruzen will wage a total war over them?"
"No, no, Tsuchikage-sama." Sakumo shook his head. A slow, deliberate movement. "As I said. If you kill them, you make an enemy of all of us here. You would have to kill every last one of us."
"Ha! Hahaha! The one jesting is you, Hatake Sakumo!" Ōnoki laughed, the sound echoing from his perch in the sky. "Why don't you turn around? Ask the men behind you. See how many are willing to die for those three."
Qianyu's heart plummeted. We're done. We're still dead.
If they were willing, they wouldn't have been tricked out here in the first place. Hell, Qianyu knew himself—he wouldn't willingly die for strangers either.
"They will."
Sakumo's voice was iron. Absolute.
"Because if we surrender these three today, it could be them tomorrow. If they turn a blind eye to their comrades, they will one day find themselves alone and abandoned."
"Because these three are the age of most people's parents. Their children. Put yourself in their shoes. No one trades away their own family for a hollow peace."
"And most importantly…" Sakumo's hand moved. He drew the short sword from his back—White Fang. The polished steel caught the bleak light. "…if anyone dares betray their own, I'll cut them down myself. I won't leave the work to you."
He turned. His gaze swept over the assembled Leaf forces—cold, sharp, leaving no room for argument.
"I've said my piece. Who agrees? Who objects?"
Silence. Thick, heavy.
Then, a voice—raw, furious, from a ninja who'd been clenching his fists the whole time. "I agree! During the fight with Suna, Doctor Qianyu saved my life! This worthless life is his to take back!"
"And this old man! I, too, received the doctor's aid! I am ashamed I did not stand up sooner!"
"That kid Nawaki took a blade for me on the battlefield! I was a coward. I didn't even dare speak up for him earlier…"
Like a dam breaking.
"I've had enough! My son is about their age! Looking at them… I can't do it! I, Rokurō, would rather die than sell out kids!"
"Right! We fight and bleed on these damn fields so the kids back home can grow up safe! These kids are already here, fighting, and they just won a battle! What kind of monster hands them over?"
"I stand with Lord Sakumo!"
"Me too! Screw it! Let's do this!"
With each voice, Ōnoki's face darkened. A thundercloud gathering.
With each voice, Sakumo's faint smile grew.
"Do you hear them, Tsuchikage-sama?"
Sakumo turned back. He raised White Fang, the tip pointing unerringly at the floating Kage. His eyes blazed.
"So, I ask again. Does Iwagakure wish for total war with Konohagakure?!"
Before Ōnoki could answer, a roar erupted from behind Sakumo.
"FIGHT!"
"FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!"
The unified shout of the Leaf ninja tore through the sky, shaking the very clouds.
"Qianyu! We… we might not die!" Nawaki, who had quietly circled behind Sakumo, grabbed Qianyu again, burying his tear-streaked face in his friend's shoulder.
"Don't celebrate yet, Nawaki," Qianyu muttered, his own expression still grim. Whether they lived or died now came down to one thing: how much face a Tsuchikage was willing to lose.
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