Ōnoki stared at the Stone Village ninja under his command in disbelief.
He had never imagined that at this moment, his strategy would be broken by his own comrades.
He fixed his gaze on Fugai, unable to understand why Fugai had suddenly asked him to take action.
Fugai raised his head and met Ōnoki's gaze. His eyes were clear, his heart open and aboveboard, with no sign of evasion.
Ōnoki instantly understood what Fugai was thinking.
Akatsuchi, Kitsuchi, and Kurotsuchi had all been defeated in their friendly sparring matches with Naruto. Akatsuchi and Kitsuchi were among Stone Village's finest, exceptionally powerful, yet they had still been defeated by Naruto.
Who else in the entire Stone Village could fight Naruto again?
Stone Village could not keep losing. Otherwise, its reputation would be utterly destroyed throughout the Ninja World.
From then on, Stone Village ninja would not even dare lift their heads when they left the village.
The solution to this problem was actually very simple.
Someone from Stone Village had to defeat Naruto fair and square, restoring the face they had lost.
And among the Stone Village ninja present, the only one with that kind of strength was their Tsuchikage, Ōnoki.
Naruto was Konoha's Hokage, while Ōnoki was Stone Village's Tsuchikage. Their status was theoretically on the same level, so the gap in their strength should not be too great.
This was the result of careful analysis.
Or perhaps even more so—Konoha's Hokage was young, after all, and could not possibly have as much combat experience as Ōnoki.
Therefore, if Ōnoki fought Naruto, there was hope of victory.
That was why Fugai had stepped forward and asked Ōnoki to fight.
The other Stone Village ninja had thought of this as well. That was why they all echoed Fugai and requested that