Coercion and Duel

On the battlefield, when Ōnoki heard Nawaki's arrogant response of "If you want to fight, then fight," his expression changed repeatedly. The other Rock Ninja remained silent as they waited for his decision. Even Deidara, usually the most hot-tempered among them, did not rashly speak up. After all, they were facing Skywalker, reputed to be the strongest in the Shinobi World—not to mention the massive army of ninja across the valley, which vastly outnumbered them.

Ōnoki hesitated for a long while, warily glancing at the three black-robed ninja standing behind Nawaki. In the end, he still lacked the resolve to begin a battle. According to Iwagakure's intelligence, these three young ninja from the Land of Rain had fought Rasa several months ago during the war, and all of them had displayed Kage-level strength! Hanzo's death was also directly connected to them. Especially their leader, Yahiko—he had inherited Hanzo's Ibuse poison sac and poison techniques, making him a terrifying weapon of mass destruction on the battlefield. Their forces were already inferior in number, and now they had one fewer Kage-level expert among their top fighters. On top of that, there was the Third Raikage, whose hatred for Iwagakure ran bone-deep. Ōnoki truly had no chance of victory. At last, he could only sigh. "Skywalker, what exactly is your purpose? Don't forget that Kumogakure and Konoha are enemies as well. Letting a tiger return to the mountains will bring endless trouble!"

Seeing Ōnoki back down, Nawaki did not press him further. Of the three sides on the battlefield, the Third Raikage was currently in the weakest position. Dealing with him first before turning on the Iwagakure Shinobi Army was the best choice. Otherwise, if a chaotic melee broke out, the Third Raikage—having nothing left to worry about—might very well escape in the