Secret Talk

After receiving Roshi's message conveying Nawaki's request for talks, Ōnoki was both curious and surprised. He could not understand what Skywalker wanted to discuss with him in secret at a time like this.

The war between them could not possibly stop, and even though Kumogakure had launched an attack, Konoha should still have held the upper hand. Therefore, it definitely was not a request for peace.

However, Roshi's own opinion enclosed in the letter gave Ōnoki something to consider. Roshi himself opposed the meeting, believing that Skywalker was exceedingly cunning and that there had to be some kind of trap involved. This reminded Ōnoki of the last negotiation, when Skywalker had forced him into fighting Kumogakure until both sides were badly battered.

Still, Skywalker had shown sufficient sincerity this time, even allowing them to choose the location. If Iwagakure refused even under such circumstances, they would appear overly timid. If word got out, Iwagakure's morale would inevitably suffer.

After weighing the matter repeatedly, Ōnoki ultimately decided to write back and agree to Skywalker's request. No matter what, they would not lose out. What harm was there in hearing Skywalker's purpose? Iwagakure's higher-ups were no fools; they had enough confidence to judge the pros and cons.

Before long, the two sides agreed on a location for the secret talks. As Nawaki had expected, it was within Iwagakure. To be safe, Nawaki still used the True Clone Technique to create two equally powerful clones. One remained with the army to hold down the fort, while the other went to Iwagakure for the secret talks. With his current base attributes, plus the Tailed Beast chakra he could draw upon at any time, even half his strength was enough to contend with a Kage-level opponent.

That evening, once the appointed time arrived, Nawaki directly