Temptation

"That's right, brats. I never expected you to push me this far. Then have a taste of my Steel Release. I won't hold back anymore." Since they had already recognized his Kekkei Genkai as Steel Release, Steel Bone no longer bothered to hide it.

The moment he finished speaking, Steel Bone charged at Soji and the other two like a cannonball, his overwhelming presence kicking up clouds of dust.

Minato Namikaze drew another kunai, bent his right arm, and blocked Steel Bone's incoming fist. But the tremendous force still sent Minato flying.

"Tap tap."

Minato's feet repeatedly struck the ground, bleeding off the force.

Just as Steel Bone was about to pursue him, Soji darted out from the side and positioned himself directly in Steel Bone's path. He thrust both palms forward, striking Steel Bone's right arm as it came up to defend.

"Bang."

A crisp sound rang out, but Steel Bone remained completely unharmed!

With his attack proving ineffective, Soji immediately retreated.

Sure enough, Steel Bone had already raised his right foot high and stomped heavily on the spot where Soji had just been standing.

"Boom."

The hard earth and stone were crushed beneath that foot, leaving behind a hole roughly one meter across.

Soji had not seen Steel Bone's attack trajectory. He had simply predicted his next move, allowing him to evade in advance.

Otherwise, even one or two seconds later, he would likely have been hit by the flying rubble.

Seeing the opportunity, Uchiha Homura threw several kunai from the distance.

"Clang clang."

Steel Bone casually swung his right arm, knocking all the kunai aside.

"Hiss hiss."

"Hm? What is this?"

Before Steel Bone could think further, the kunai Uchiha Homura had thrown, each tied with Explosive Tags, detonated. Thick smoke and dust billowed up, obscuring everyone's vision.

Unfortunately, the rule that there was smoke but no injury seemed to apply everywhere.

Once the smoke cleared, Steel Bone's clothes had mostly been blown into strips of cloth. His hair and face were blackened by the smoke from the explosion.

Yet it was obvious that Steel Bone's body still bore not the slightest injury.

"Damn it, even that couldn't blow this big guy to death. Is he a monster?" Uchiha Homura stared at Steel Bone unwillingly, as if he would not rest until he had bored a hole through Steel Bone's body.

"He's human, just like us. He's simply an iron man!" Soji still had the leisure to crack a joke.

It earned him an eye roll from Uchiha Homura.

But even as they spoke, their eyes remained fixed on Steel Bone. Speaking casually did not mean their bodies had relaxed as well.

"Brats, your little tricks really never end. You're making me more and more interested in you. Now, I have a proposal. I wonder if you'd be willing to accept it." Having fought to this point, Steel Bone had developed a different idea.

"What proposal? Let's hear it." Seeing that Steel Bone had no intention of attacking again, the three exchanged looks before Minato took the lead and asked.

"It's this: brats, would you be willing to join Iwagakure in the Land of Earth? With your talent, I guarantee that if you come to Iwagakure, you will receive the highest standard of training from Lord Tsuchikage." Yes, at this moment, Steel Bone had suddenly taken a liking to talent.

Judging solely from how these three brats had performed against him so far, there were few people their age in all of Iwagakure who could compare to them.

If he could lure these three little fellows back to the country, he would surely earn far more praise from the Third Tsuchikage than he would by merely obtaining a pair of Byakugan and a pair of Sharingan.

He might even have a chance to set his sights on that position coveted by all ninja—the seat of the Fourth Tsuchikage!

Moreover, Steel Bone had realized that he truly could not take down these three brats in a short time. Each of them possessed strength above that of a Chunin, and they coordinated seamlessly with one another.

Steel Bone was confident he could defeat them, but he was not confident he could keep them all. If they were determined to flee, leaving even one behind would probably be the absolute limit.

After all, speed was not Steel Bone's specialty. Steel Release could provide him with powerful defense and offense, but it could not grant him nimble mobility.

So Steel Bone intended to use both force and persuasion. On one hand, he would suppress them with his strength; on the other, he would tempt them with his words.

Hearing Steel Bone's words, Soji and the others were all stunned. They had not expected him to make such a proposal.

Of course, they had no intention of betraying their country or village. All three of them had powerful backing.

As the sole heir of the Third Branch of the Hyuga Clan Main Family, Soji was practically a local emperor. Did he need to go all the way to the unfamiliar Land of Earth and live under someone else's roof?

Uchiha Homura's father was also an elder of his clan. Though he did not hold as much authority within the clan as Soji's grandfather, he was still part of the clan's upper ranks. There was no need for him to join Iwagakure either!

As for Minato Namikaze, he was Jiraiya's direct disciple and the Third Hokage's grand-disciple, a proper successor of the Hokage faction with a bright future ahead of him. Only someone stuffed silly would think of defecting to the Land of Earth and enduring others' scorn.

"So Your Excellency is from Iwagakure in the Land of Earth. May I ask what brings you within the Land of Fire at this time?" Since the other side wanted to lure them over, Minato Namikaze did not mind stringing Steel Bone along and probing for information.

Steel Bone did not care at all that he had revealed through his words that he came from Iwagakure in the Land of Earth. In any case, he had planned to return to the village after this incident.

If the two countries ever got into a war of words, the Land of Earth could simply deny everything. There was no evidence, after all.

They could even claim that another country was trying to damage relations between the two nations, so it had devised this scheme to sow discord.

Their mouths were their own. They could say whatever they wanted!

As long as one's skin was thick enough, there was no blame one could not shift away!

"It doesn't matter which village I come from, does it? You cannot even determine whether my claim to be from Iwagakure is true or false, so why dwell on such things?" Steel Bone shamelessly began denying the truth of his own words.

"Enough. Now, what is your answer? Are you willing to leave Konoha with me and join my village?" Steel Bone once again pressed Soji and the others for an answer.

"If we chose to join Your Excellency's village, would we be subject to any restrictions?" This time, Soji stepped forward to stall for time.

Any delay was good. As for anything the other side said, they would only listen. Anyone who took it seriously would be a true fool.

"Ah, certainly. After all, you are ninja from another village. If you suddenly join us, no one can guarantee that you are sincere. Necessary precautions must still be taken." Hearing Soji's question, Steel Bone was delighted. He felt there was hope and immediately replied.

"For example?"

"On the way back, I would place a Sealing Technique on you that restricts your Chakra. Then, after returning to my village, you would undergo observation for a period of time. Once it is confirmed that you have truly joined the village, the village will remove the Sealing Technique for you." Steel Bone believed the conditions he offered were already quite generous.

After all, they were taking a risk, so they needed some form of insurance.

After hearing Steel Bone's words, Soji believed that if he really was from Iwagakure, then the Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki of Both Scales, did indeed possess the magnanimity to do as Steel Bone had said.

However, sorry, but he really did not want to betray his country or village!

Soji and the other two exchanged looks once again, then Minato spoke on their behalf.

"Respected Senior Steel Bone, this matter has significant implications. Could you give us ten minutes to consider it?" At this point, Minato directly changed how he addressed Steel Bone.

There was no other purpose behind it. Just one word: stall!

"Ten minutes is too long. I'll give you five minutes to discuss it. After five minutes, I hope to hear an answer that satisfies me." Minato's change in address made Steel Bone very happy. He now believed they were genuinely considering the matter.

Still, he remained appropriately wary and directly cut the time in half.

"Then... all right." Minato pretended to hesitate before readily agreeing.

After hearing Minato's answer, Steel Bone sat down where he was to rest, waiting for Minato's response.

"Whew, we finally fooled that big guy. What do we do now? Our attacks are completely useless against him. Cough, cough." Uchiha Homura spoke irritably. He spoke too quickly and seemed to aggravate his internal injuries.

"Homura, are your injuries all right?" Minato asked with concern.

"How about you rest to the side for now? Minato and I will deal with this guy. If you keep fighting and your injuries worsen, you'll be bedridden for months." Soji hurriedly tried to persuade Uchiha Homura as well.

Seeing Uchiha Homura's pale face and hearing him cough from time to time, the two were afraid that he would suddenly cough up blood and collapse in the middle of battle.

But given Uchiha Homura's temperament, he would never be willing to sit far away and rest while watching his teammates risk their lives. Thus, he insisted on fighting alongside them.

Soji and Minato had no choice but to agree. Once the real fight began, they would simply look after Uchiha Homura more carefully.

"Let's wait for Kushina to arrive. Once we join forces, with her Sealing Technique, we should still be able to defeat him." Minato voiced his opinion.

In truth, even after discussing it for so long, they still had not found a way to break the deadlock. None of them had any powerful ninjutsu, so they simply could not break Steel Bone's defenses.

Now, they could only hope that Kushina Uzumaki's Sealing Technique could limit the effectiveness of Steel Bone's Steel Release.

Otherwise, they could only flee and let Jiraiya deal with him.

But that was the most helpless choice. The four of them possessed strength at least on the level of Chunin, while Soji and Minato had even reached the level of Special Jonin.

They truly did not want their first independent mission to end in failure, forcing them to return and seek their Mentor Teacher's help.

"I have an idea, but I don't know if it will work." At last, Soji could not help speaking up.

"Oh? Soji, what idea do you have? Hurry and tell us."

"Yeah, Soji, what are you hiding it for?"

Minato Namikaze and Uchiha Homura both urged him to speak.

"Sigh, it's not that I don't want to say it. It's just that this idea is too dangerous. Someone will need to make a sacrifice, and even then, it might not succeed." Soji sighed helplessly.

"What are the chances of success?" After thinking for a moment, Minato asked.

"Fifty percent!" Soji answered.

It was a fifty-fifty chance. If they succeeded, they could kill him. If they failed, they would all be finished.

Soji had thought of this plan as soon as he confirmed that the opponent possessed Steel Release.

But it was like walking a tightrope. If it failed, the consequences were something none of them could bear.

"Let's do it!" Uchiha Homura clenched his fist and slammed it against the ground.

He truly did not want to continue suffering such humiliation. He would rather fail gloriously than live on in cowardice.

If they could not overcome this hurdle, it would become a shadow over the rest of their lives!

"I agree that we should give it a try. Nothing has a one hundred percent chance of success. Even if we had only a ten percent chance, we would still have to try." Minato gave Soji a resolute look as well.

Seeing that both of his companions supported giving it a try, Soji no longer hesitated.

He quickly explained his plan to Minato and Uchiha Homura.

After hearing Soji's idea, the two of them had uncertain expressions in their eyes!

Because the core of this plan was Soji himself.

Though the other two, acting as support, would need to suffer some injuries, their lives would not be in danger.

In contrast, Soji would be the one delivering the final blow to Steel Bone.

If they failed, he might not even be able to keep his life!

Yet at the same time, only Soji could serve as the core executor.

Because only he could deliver that final strike.

Taking a deep breath, Minato Namikaze and Uchiha Homura looked into Soji's eyes and finally said in unison, "Be careful. You have to succeed!"

Soji nodded solemnly as well. He was about to gamble with his life!