"There are still half an hour left. Let me play with you for a while and see how long you can last against me together."
Ignoring the few people still making a fuss over there, Hawking calculated the time he had left in this world and strode toward the resurrected Kage ahead.
His movement immediately caught Ōnoki's attention.
"Kid, you're absolutely no match for them. Come back, now!"
He had not expected Konoha's ninja to be this impulsive, one after another. Just as he was about to step forward to help, Yamato stopped him.
"Lord Tsuchikage, please don't worry yet. He is Konoha's advisor, Hawking. Perhaps he can deal with these enemies."
He knew Hawking's strength well.
That was precisely why, with Hawking present, he had not hurried to join Ōnoki in persuading Naruto and Killer Bee to leave.
When Ōnoki heard Hawking's name, he froze for a moment and did not continue forward.
He did not know Hawking personally, but he knew the name. Through Tsunade and Iwagakure's intelligence networks, he knew that the key reason Akatsuki had failed to destroy Konoha last time was this mysterious ninja named Hawking.
However, he had never fully figured out Hawking's origins. All he knew was that the man was extremely mysterious.
Logically, as Konoha's advisor and an expert who had once repelled Akatsuki, Hawking should have been assigned an extremely important mission in this war.
Yet Tsunade, the Hokage, had said that Hawking was proficient in space-time ninjutsu and came and went without a trace. Even Tsunade herself could not find or command him.
"Fine. Since he is Konoha's advisor, let's watch for now."
Protecting the Eight-Tails and the Nine-Tailed Jinchuriki was the highest priority of this war.
Since Hawking was so confident, they would let him try first. It would