Onoki's Admonition

With a flicker of his figure, the scenery in Onoki's eyes blurred. When he opened them again, he had arrived within the village, surrounded by numerous rocky peaks and dwellings carved directly into the stone.

Inside the Iwagakure office, the group of Iwagakure ninja who had been trapped in the genjutsu, along with Onoki, had returned to the village.

"What a desolate place. Setting a chakra mark here was more laborious than I anticipated. Shall we talk now, Third Tsuchikage, Onoki of the Two Scales?"

At the ends of the rectangular conference table, Onoki sat in the main seat while Uchiha Hanazuki sat opposite him, leaning back in his chair with a silent smile.

"To force a negotiation under such restrictive circumstances—you are different from Uchiha Madara after all, brat. He never negotiated with anyone; he only demanded submission."

"I simply prefer not to be overly troubled. However, I believe you are mistaken about one thing: this is not a negotiation, but a unilateral declaration."

Onoki's wrinkled face twitched, his expression turning incredibly grim.

"I retract my previous statement. You and Uchiha Madara are exactly the same—both of you are men who refuse to listen to others."

"It is a very simple treaty. In this conflict, you are not to participate in the battlefield directly."

"If you violate this, you will see grave consequences. I have grown weary of the continuation of this war; let the Third Shinobi World War come to an end in the near future."

At these words, Onoki sneered, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"A brat is still a brat. Even written agreements are torn up by the great nations at will; what use could a mere verbal promise possibly have?"

Hanazuki rose slowly, his back turned to the Iwagakure ninja. His whispered words filled Onoki with a sudden, ominous premonition.

"The moment I leave Iwagakure, the agreement officially takes effect. If you dare to participate in the Third Shinobi World War again... a parting gift will appear in your village."

"This is a gift before parting. It is finished."

His figure vanished from the spot. The premonition in Onoki's heart grew stronger, as if some deeply hidden threat beside him had begun to bare its fangs.

"Sage Art: Great Spiral Ring."

In an instant, all sound ceased.

A pure white light that devoured everything flashed outside Iwagakure. A terrifying, intense radiance replaced the sun in the sky, as if that entity which had hung high in the heavens had fallen to the mortal realm.

A horrific tremor shook the earth; an unprecedented earthquake left the entire village of Iwagakure teetering on the brink of collapse, only settling long after.

Regaining his freedom, Onoki bolted out of the conference room, his pupils trembling. His once-tenacious fighting spirit felt as though he had returned to his youth, facing that invincible figure, now crumbling away.

"Father, the path leading out of the village is blocked by mounds of earth taller than the stone mountains. What exactly was that crater?"

Onoki's son, Kitsuchi, asked in a panic. He had appeared before the village, staring into a massive crater that spanned thousands of square kilometers, where not a trace of life remained.

"What is this... Uchiha Madara? Uchiha Hanazuki? Is he the God of Shinobi?"

The fear he thought had dissipated with the death of Uchiha Madara once again gripped Onoki's aged heart.

"Father, didn't you go to the front lines yourself?"

Facing Kitsuchi's confusion, Onoki remained silent for a long time before slowly shaking his head.

"From today on, until the Third Shinobi World War ends, I will not step a single foot out of this village. My son, Kitsuchi, you must remember this."

"If you ever encounter an Uchiha ninja wearing a three-eyed fox mask, you must flee without hesitation. Do not engage him in direct combat."

"That is a realm unreachable by mortals. I wonder what kind of headache Sarutobi Hiruzen will have if he learns of his existence. The Uchiha and Konoha, heh heh heh..."

The smile on his aged face calmed the panicked Iwagakure ninja, and many set out to assist the wounded.

Among the many Iwagakure ninja, two figures deeply feared by others stood upon a high peak, staring at the massive crater, finding it strangely familiar.

"Is this... a Tailed Beast Bomb? What do you think, Han?"

The burly man, wearing a red conical hat and armor covering his entire face, nodded slightly in agreement.

"Did other ninja villages deploy their jinchuriki? I didn't sense any other tailed beasts in the vicinity. What is going on? Was this the work of that old man, Onoki?"

The ninja in purple, whose red hair was tied in a small ponytail and whose beard was also red, stared at the figure floating in mid-air, lost in thought.

"Why don't you go ask him yourself?"

"Forget it. You know as well as I do that Onoki and I don't get along. If you're counting on him to talk, you go ask him yourself, so you don't end up dead without knowing why, Han."

Roshi turned and left. Han's expression shifted, but he ultimately chose not to inquire. Onoki was the Third Tsuchikage; how he handled this was his own headache. However...

"Even if it were a Tailed Beast Bomb, a blast of this scale would require the power of the Eight-Tails or the Nine-Tails. Cloud Hidden or Konoha? Which side is it?"

As the jinchuriki of the Five-Tails, and with Roshi being the jinchuriki of the Four-Tails, their understanding of Tailed Beast Bombs far exceeded that of others.

"Why? Why not throw it directly at the village? A technique of this magnitude could have easily leveled all of Iwagakure. Who exactly is he?"

The wind whistled, and dust swirled. The terrifying sight left a deep, chilling dread in the hearts of all who beheld it.

On the border of the Land of Earth, a black cloak fluttered in the wind. Beneath the Three-Eyed Demon Fox mask, a flicker of contemplation crossed his eyes.

In his inner world, amidst the pale blue water, a pair of intricate, complex red eyes stared down a pair of vivid, eerie red eyes.

"Are you going to talk? What exactly are you hiding in your belly?"

"Don't be long-winded. Even if you are an Uchiha brat, don't expect to pry a single word out of this lord's mouth. Even if you use genjutsu, I won't tell you!"

The Black Nine-Tails was full of fighting spirit, adhering to the principle of "confession leads to leniency, resistance leads to a long sentence," and stubbornly held out for ten minutes without uttering a word.

Fifteen minutes later, under the "kind persuasion" of the Sage Art: Great Spiral Ring, the Black Nine-Tails finally spoke.

"Damn it, you brat has grown stronger again. Since you asked so sincerely, this lord will show mercy and tell you."

"Less talk, speak quickly, or I'll let you experience my Ultimate Interrogation Technique."

Hanazuki looked impatient. The Black Nine-Tails then reluctantly spat out a bamboo scroll from its mouth, looking as if it were in physical pain.

"This is the treasure from another world that came to this world with me..."