Why Were We the Only Ones Unlucky?!

Why did gentlemen in ancient times all have to learn a bit of swordsmanship, and why could some of them even drive their own chariots into battle?

Because the Confucian scholars of that era understood perfectly well that if you wanted to have a civil conversation with someone, it was best to beat them into submission first. (Ahem.)

The founder of Confucianism could even hold up a city gate with one hand, so there was clearly some truth to that.

These muscles weren't here to bully the weak. They were here so people would listen to reason. And if you wouldn't listen to reason, then this (clenched fist) was reason.

With his neck caught in a chokehold, the Third Raikage had clearly become much calmer.

His willingness to see reason prompted Uchiha Yuji to slowly release him, but the terror inspired by those blood-red eyes didn't diminish in the slightest. "The Cloud ninja are destined to lose this war."

"That's a fact!"

His booming voice drowned out the Third Raikage's attempt to argue.

"If you insist on continuing this war, I'll break the backbone of the Cloud ninja for good."

"Keeping me here like this will break the backbone of the next generation of Cloud ninja too."

Uchiha Yuji's fists were hard, and his eyes were intimidating, but neither could compare to the Third Raikage's explosive temper—or his stubbornness.

"He won't die," Uchiha Yuji said with certainty. "Even if it's only for a year or two, A, the Fourth Raikage, is someone I've taken an interest in. He's not the sort of person who dies easily."

"Besides, if he really does die that easily, then he wasn't much to begin with."

"If he lets me down after I put so much faith in him, that piece of trash might as well head to the Pure Land early."

If he could've beaten him, the Third Raikage would've punched him long ago.

"What exactly do you want?! Just spit it out!"

"If you write a surrender agreement here, I can guarantee that you'll all make it back to the Land of Lightning safe and sound."

Both Kage frowned deeply at that.

Ōnoki suddenly slapped the only intact dining table. His small frame packed tremendous strength; the table sank into the dirt under the force of his blow.

"My thirty thousand troops are enough to bury every Cloud ninja here. Why should I let them go?"

"It's not just the Third Raikage who hasn't understood the situation. Third Tsuchikage, you haven't understood it either." His icy gaze shifted to Ōnoki.

"We may have traveled together, but have you forgotten that we're enemies too, Third Tsuchikage?"

"The Cloud ninja were my prey to begin with. Now you want to compete with me for them? If so, I don't mind fighting another battle."

"If the Iwa ninja under your command are willing to accept that, of course."

Ōnoki was at a loss for words. Until he had absolute confidence, he had no desire to fight that man again.

He wouldn't start a reckless war without absolute confidence.

In truth, Ōnoki had another option. It was just one he didn't dare say aloud.

Take out the Raikage and his son, then charge toward their village. Wouldn't that end the war even faster?

He was afraid that the moment he suggested it, Uchiha Yuji's Sharingan would light up, and he'd wipe out every Iwa and Cloud ninja present.

As luck would have it, both the Raikage and his son were there. As misfortune would have it, he and his own son were also on that battlefield.

Especially now that Yuji had the power to do it, one careless remark could easily bring disaster.

Then those reckless Cloud ninja might well seek revenge on Konoha at any cost, making the war even more brutal.

To Uchiha Yuji, these people were all hardworking leeks, ripe for harvesting.

As for the Iwa ninja... perhaps Rōshi would end up calling the shots.

Just imagining Rōshi sitting in his seat, wearing the Fourth Tsuchikage's hat, sneering at his corpse while spreading his own philosophy of Earth...

He couldn't let that happen!

Of course, even if he said it aloud, Uchiha Yuji wouldn't do it. A, the Fourth Raikage, and Kitsuchi were both top-quality sources of emotional energy.

Especially that constant [longing]. Each of them produced countless doses of extreme positive and negative emotions. It was hard to find leeks with such an advantage.

Seeing Uchiha Yuji tear into him had made the Third Raikage furious, but when he saw Yuji show Ōnoki no mercy either, he actually felt a little better.

Without comparison, there was no hurt—and no sense of superiority.

"How am I supposed to write it? There's no ink or paper here." The Third Raikage was direct and didn't waste time.

At the start of the war, to avoid running into Uchiha Yuji, the Cloud ninja's shared brain—Dodai—had chosen to stretch the front line as far as possible. Fearing that the Third Raikage might lose to Yuji in a head-on battle and damage morale, he'd sent the Raikage off on a side job instead.

But sometimes, when bad luck hit, even a sip of herbal tea could make you choke.

They'd tried to steal a march and ended up running straight into the last person they wanted to meet—along with tens of thousands of troops.

However, the goal of this war was to seize supplies, and the fighting had only just begun. The battlefield hadn't even heated up yet, so the Cloud ninja had suffered few casualties.

The long front line also made Konoha's defenses more difficult, which meant the Cloud ninja had managed to seize a fair amount of supplies. Ending the war now wouldn't cost him anything.

The Three-Tomoe in Uchiha Yuji's eyes spun until they joined into a ring. A surge of Chatonra and ocular power flowed into his left eye.

A palm-sized ripple of chaos slowly unfurled beside him. Yuji casually reached into it and pulled out a brush, ink, paper, and inkstone.

Ōnoki and the Third Raikage exchanged a silent glance. Ōnoki coughed twice, then asked with a hint of curiosity, "What kind of ability is that?"

"The Mangekyō Sharingan's ability. It opens up a separate world that belongs only to me. But it takes a long time to activate, so it's hard to use in battle."

"Relax. I don't need this ability to deal with you."

The Third Raikage and Third Tsuchikage both twitched at the corners of their eyes.

Uchiha Yuji set the blank paper on the table and handed each Kage a brush.

"I don't care how you word the surrender agreement. Just make sure you clearly state the fact that you were defeated by Hatake White Fang."

Huh?!

The Third Raikage might not have been the sharpest tool in the shed, but the Third Tsuchikage was no fool. The moment he heard those words, his eyes lit up.

"Does the Uchiha Clan intend to support White Fang as the Fourth Hokage?" Ōnoki asked, his hand never slowing as he wrote.

"Let me offer my congratulations in advance to White Fang for defeating Sarutobi Hiruzen and becoming the Fourth Hokage."

Ōnoki had made his meaning so clear that the Third Raikage's eyes lit up too. He changed the wording of the formal agreement and added all sorts of spiteful remarks.

We lost on the battlefield. Fine.

But if we're all having a bad day, Sarutobi Hiruzen, you old friend, can't be the only one who gets off scot-free!

No matter whether Sarutobi Hiruzen or Uchiha Yuji died, we'd come out ahead!