After the meeting ended, Minato, who held no real power, could only follow Uchiha Mai and Sarutobi Hiruzen's wishes and provide Iwagakure with "all possible support."
The next day, after receiving Konoha's reply, Ōnoki turned into a master desk cleaner, sweeping everything off his desk in a fit of impotent rage.
What did "provide all possible support except assistance" even mean?
Didn't it mean doing absolutely nothing?
Yet Ōnoki could do nothing about it. He could not even seize the moral high ground to condemn Konoha or point fingers at them.
After all, Konoha had half a decisive weapon in Uchiha Mai. A year ago, Uchiha Mai had stormed into Kumogakure alone, blasted the Third Raikage to death, and departed unscathed.
Afterward, he had overwhelmingly defeated the resurrected Uchiha Madara, resolving Konoha's urgent crisis.
He only counted as half a weapon because Uchiha Mai was also the Mizukage of Kirigakure, so he could only be considered half a Konoha man.
But his strength was universally acknowledged as the strongest of the current era. Even if Madara had grown stronger, it was still impossible to say who would win if they fought again.
Iwagakure, meanwhile, had already been reduced to ruins. More than half of its mid- and low-ranking ninja had been killed or wounded, and Ōnoki was its only remaining high-level combatant.
What the hell could one Ōnoki do? More than a year ago, even when he had joined forces with the Third Kazekage, they still could not defeat Uchiha Mai.
Helpless, Ōnoki could only forge alliances and coordinate with Kumogakure and Sunagakure to pressure Konoha, openly accusing Namikaze Minato of failing to fulfill his duties as Hokage.
After the two Third Kage of Sunagakure and Kumogakure had been crushed, those villages had drawn very close to Konoha, especially Kirigakure,