[Iwagakure · Tsuchikage's office]
Ōnoki of Both Scales stood at the window, looking down over the village he had spent his life protecting.
Iwagakure lay nestled among the mountains, its stone buildings following the slopes, their hard, gray-white surfaces gleaming in the morning light.
Seventy years had allowed him to see through far too much, yet today, he felt an unease he had not known in a long time.
"Lord Tsuchikage, Namikaze Minato has arrived." Akatsuchi's voice came from outside the door.
"Let him in." Ōnoki did not turn around.
The door opened, and Namikaze Minato walked into the office alone.
He wore no Hokage robes, only a simple combat uniform. His blond hair remained striking even in Iwagakure's characteristically dry air.
Ōnoki noticed that Minato carried no Flying Thunder God Kunai at his waist-a gesture of goodwill, but perhaps also a sign of supreme confidence.
"Fourth Hokage, entering an enemy village alone. You have nerve."
Ōnoki slowly turned. His small frame held an authority that could not be ignored. "Aren't you afraid I'll take this chance to kill you and avenge the Third Raikage?"
"If you were that sort of man, Lord Tsuchikage, Iwagakure would never have prospered under your leadership for decades."
Minato answered calmly, "Besides, if I die here, Konoha and Iwagakure will inevitably enter an all-out war. Such infighting is meaningless when we face our true enemy."
"Our true enemy..." Ōnoki sneered. "You mean those visitors from beyond the heavens in the myths?"
Minato took a sealing scroll from inside his jacket, unrolled it, and laid it on the desk.
The scroll contained recorded images of the dark red crystal Jiraiya had brought back, along with footage of the border battle Mifune had recorded using a crystal ball.
"This is a recording of the battle that