Ōnoki's Helplessness

Ōnoki, who had been relaxing, collapsed around him, panting, and supporting his aching lower back with his hand.

However, when he heard a voice, he couldn't help but be moved once again.

He turned around and saw Shiyu standing there unharmed.

"You can't be!? You were hit by my Dust Release! There's no way you're still alive!" Ōnoki looked completely incredulous.

Shiyu shook his head and said, "Old Tsuchikage, who told you I was hit by your Dust Release?"

"After using Shadow Clone, my real body hid itself away long ago. What you were dealing with were just my Shadow Clone Jutsu." Shiyu explained the whole story to Ōnoki.

"You're only using Shadow Clone to fight me? And hiding your real body? What a shameless tactic!" Ōnoki was speechless.

"Rogue? Using Shadow Clone to lure the enemy is common sense. Besides, Shadow Clone are meant to expose your weaknesses. Now, your chakra is depleted, so the battle between you and me is over." Shiyu walked forward step by step, his figure appearing somewhat sinister and terrifying.

"I never expected that I, Ōnoki, would be attacked by the Uchiha Clan once again."

"You Konoha won't have it easy either!" Ōnoki, somewhat unconvinced, collapsed to the ground and bit his finger.

"Earth Release: Earth Release: Golem Technique!"

Shiyu was also surprised and said, "Strange? Ōnoki clearly has no chakra left in his body? This is very illogical."

"Hehe! The Will of Stone, makes me stand firm!" Ōnoki squeezed out the last bit of his chakra and summoned a giant Rock Golem.

The rock giant shielded Ōnoki behind it and then proceeded step by step toward Shiyu.

"Sigh, Ōnoki, you're just wasting your time!" Shiyu leaped and used Body Flicker Technique to appear in front of the Rock Golem's abdomen, then delivered a flying kick that slammed into the Rock Golem's stomach.

"Aow!" The rock behemoth roared, and its entire body was instantly torn to pieces.

"Ōnoki? Can't move now, can he?" Shiyu one move, once again forcing the Tsuchikage into a corner.

"Boy, let me tell you, I am the Tsuchikage. No matter how badly I am injured or how powerful the enemy I encounter, I will never retreat. Unyielding will is the Will of Stone!" Ōnoki said with a touch of tragic heroism.

Shiyu sensed something was wrong and immediately said, "Ōnoki? Why are you telling me this? You seem to be stalling for time? Are you waiting for your chakra to recover? Or are you waiting for news of victory from the battlefield?"

"Hahaha! You're such a clever child! If only we were from Iwagakure! It's too late now!"

"Besides the direct confrontation here, I also dispatched a thousand ninjas to sneak through the Land of Grass and attack your Konoha homeland! Judging by the timeline, it should have succeeded by now, right?"

"Once they succeed, they'll immediately flank Konoha from behind! Then Konoha will be caught in a dilemma! Even if I die in this battle, Konoha won't fare well! Haha!" Ōnoki laughed triumphantly.

Shiyu shook his head and said, "You underestimate Konoha's intelligence capabilities."

"Do you think we didn't know about Hidden Death Man leading Iwagakure in an attack on Konoha's mainland?"

"Impossible! I received the good news. If you knew about this beforehand, why didn't you defend yourselves? How could we, the Iwagakure, have forced you into such a predicament?"

"Ōnoki, perhaps you've lived too long and have overlooked the essence of the problem." Shiyu looked at Ōnoki and explained, "Yes, your Iwagakure bypassed the Kusanagi and launched a Grass Ninja attack on Konoha, forcing the Konoha defense force captain Mimura Hamaki, into a predicament with only four people left."

"But! All of this is just to lure the enemy deeper in! To stretch your Iwagakure's supply lines. We, Konoha, have already sent a squad to destroy the Kannabi Bridge, so that we can face your army directly," Shiyu said.

At this point, Ōnoki also laughed.

"Hahahaha! Are you kidding me? I told you, those are over a thousand elite Iwagakure! Sending a small ninja squad? What can they possibly do?" Ōnoki was clearly nonchalant.

"This isn't just any ordinary squad, it's Minato Namikaze's Team," Shiyu she walked towards Ōnoki step by step.

"I don't know him, I've never heard of him." Ōnoki shook his head, completely unconcerned.

"You'll find out." Shiyu narrowed her eyes and moved closer and closer to Ōnoki face was already showing no fear. Just then, a voice appeared again.

"Earth Release: Earth Opening and Digging!"

A massive rocky barrier separated Shiyu and Ōnoki. Shiyu used Flying Thunder God Technique to create some distance between them.

Two more ninjas appeared beside Ōnoki, clearly the commanders of the Iwagakure forces, Kitsuchi and Akatsuchi.

Shiyu observed that the Iwagakure army was arriving one after another, and soon, the Konoha ninjas also arrived.

"What's going on, Tsunade? Why has the battlefield shifted?" Shiyu asked Tsunade beside him.

"News just arrived from headquarters! The Kannabi Bridge 'Minato Namikaze's Team decisively defeated a thousand-strong Iwagakure, but it seems one of the children was killed; he wasn't White Fang's son," Tsunade said.

"Oh?" Shiyu's eyes lit up.

It was obvious that Ōnoki had also received the latest information, and he immediately showed an expression of utter surprise.

"A single squad wiped out my army of a thousand ninjas!?"

"A mere brat! How dare he defeat me, the Tsuchikage!?"

"What should I do?" Ōnoki was deeply shocked.

"Lord Tsuchikage! Let's retreat!" Akatsuchi suggested.

"The Konoha Ninja are at the height of their power; we cannot afford to fight them. Besides, our Iwagakure main force hasn't been reduced by much. Let's retreat first and continue our plans later!" Kitsuchi quickly advised.

"Ugh! I didn't expect that Iwagakure, which came in with such force, would have to leave in such a sorry state! I'm not convinced!" Ōnoki said helplessly. Previously, Iwagakure's weakness was its economy and the number of ninjas. Now, after years of stability, Iwagakure has become much richer and its population has increased significantly.

After its reforms, the Iwagakure consistently ranked second among the Five Great Nations. Now, having made thorough preparations, Iwagakure has allied with Kumogakure, the strongest of the five nations, intending to directly invade Konoha. However, things didn't go as planned.

"Sigh! This opportunity has been wasted!" Ōnoki was very frustrated, but he had no other options at the moment.

"Let's go! Let's go back!" Ōnoki and Kitsuchi prepared to retreat, while Akatsuchi led the main force to cover the Tsuchikage's retreat. However, Shiyu smiled.

"Tsuchikage? Kitsuchi? Akatsuchi? Did I Shiyu, let you go?"

"You! What else do you want!?" The Tsuchikage was also getting angry.