"Why? They bullied Nanako like that. I'll certainly get justice for her!"
Ōnoki bristled and glared, looking ready to stand up for Nanako Uzumaki.
"Uh... to tell you the truth, I already wiped out Kusagakure..."
Didaze reached up and grabbed a handful of his short blond hair, mussing it up.
"You wiped out Kusagakure..."
Ōnoki sat down and frowned in thought.
"The Land of Grass itself is nothing to fear, but I'm worried the other ninja villages will use this as an excuse to attack Iwagakure."
Ōnoki spoke with a frown.
"Lord Tsuchikage, you're too close to the situation to see it clearly."
Didaze addressed Ōnoki.
"Hmm?"
Ōnoki looked up at Didaze, wanting to see what he had to say.
"First, we can rule out the small ninja villages. Aside from Amegakure, which has the Demigod of the Ninja World, and Takigakure, which has a Tailed Beast, none of the other villages pose any threat to us."
"But Hanzo of the Salamander is already exhausted. He has no time to bother with us over a mere Kusagakure. And Takigakure is even less likely to oppose us. After all, they were somewhat hostile toward Kusagakure themselves. They should be thanking us."
As he watched Didaze speak confidently, the look in Ōnoki's eyes changed.
"Go on!"
Ōnoki urged Didaze.
"Konoha goes without saying. We're fighting them right now. Sunagakure is completely incapable of starting a war at this point. Kumogakure attacked us by surprise before, so they might take this opportunity to make trouble, but that doesn't matter. We're enemies, after all. We'd have to fight sooner or later."
"The only village we need to guard against is Kirigakure. They're the only ninja village staying completely outside the battlefield. As long as we handle Kirigakure properly, wiping out Kusagakure is nothing. We could even seize the opportunity to annex the Land of Grass!"
Didaze said everything he wanted to say in one breath, then looked intently at Ōnoki.
Ōnoki was stroking his chin in thought.
"You're right!"
After pondering for a while, Ōnoki affirmed Didaze's words.
As long as nothing went wrong with Kirigakure, even taking the opportunity to annex the Land of Grass would be no problem!
The thought of annexing the Land of Grass excited Ōnoki.
Would he succeed in expanding their territory when even his teacher had failed to do so?
If he really succeeded, could he also contend for the title of strongest Tsuchikage in history?
Just thinking about it excited Ōnoki!
"But the question is, how do we persuade Kirigakure?"
Once his excitement passed, Ōnoki sat down and began considering the practicalities.
Why should Kirigakure agree to their plans? They wanted to annex the Land of Grass, but didn't Kirigakure want that too?
Even if it was a little far away, that didn't matter. They could simply plunder some money from the Land of Earth and leave!
For Kirigakure, plundering a little money would be child's play.
"We can negotiate an agreement with Konoha to end the war. Of course, we need to get their Sealing Jutsu, ten each of A, B, C, and D rank!"
"Once we have the Sealing Jutsu, we can surrender to Konoha. Reputation isn't important to us, but it's very important to Konoha."
"Would they agree?"
Ōnoki looked somewhat hesitant as he spoke.
"Don't worry. Konoha is full of cowards. As long as we get tangible benefits, it doesn't matter if we let them have the title of victor!"
After finishing, Didaze looked at Ōnoki.
Ōnoki nodded in satisfaction.
"It seems that if you became Kage, you would lead Iwagakure to new heights."
Ōnoki appreciated Didaze more and more.
Though he was young, he had an old man's maturity and steadiness.
His strength also met Ōnoki's expectations, making him the best successor Ōnoki could hope for.
"That works out nicely. Once the war ends, go out on some missions and lay the groundwork for succeeding me as Tsuchikage."
Ōnoki had no intention of beating around the bush with Didaze. He felt that, being in his fifties, there was no need to be roundabout about finding a successor.
"Yes, Lord Tsuchikage!"
Abandoning his usual joking manner, Didaze responded with a serious expression.
"No need to be so serious!"
Ōnoki smiled and patted Didaze on the shoulder.
"As for you, Nanako Uzumaki, enroll in school for now. Although you're already past the Ninja Academy's graduation age, I'll change it to twelve. Go study there first."
Ōnoki planned to spend a year giving Nanako Uzumaki a crash course in ninja knowledge, while also letting her forge bonds of her own at the Ninja Academy.
Only once she had those bonds could Nanako Uzumaki truly be considered a member of Iwagakure.
Of course, Ōnoki wanted Nanako Uzumaki to enroll and establish bonds precisely because he saw that she had none in Iwagakure.
Otherwise, Ōnoki could have simply found any Jonin to teach Nanako Uzumaki. He would even teach her himself whenever he had time.
"Lord Tsuchikage... changing the rules for me... this..."
Nanako Uzumaki hesitated, unsure whether she should accept Ōnoki's kindness.
"Don't worry. If it meant breaking the rules, I'd have to think it over, but merely changing them poses no problem at all."
Ōnoki spoke to Nanako Uzumaki.
Nanako Uzumaki looked bewildered.
She didn't understand why changing the rules was easier than breaking them.
But Ōnoki soon gave her an answer.
"It's best to follow the rules you set yourself. If you can't follow them, it's better to change them than break them."
Ōnoki spoke calmly.
He was also giving Nanako Uzumaki a reminder. After all, this little girl would surely become one of the higher-ups in the future.
Learning these things early could only benefit her.
After all, if he broke the rules, people would talk about how the Tsuchikage openly violated his own rules and so on.
But if he changed the rules, people would say that Lord Tsuchikage would rather change the rules than violate those he had set himself!
The same approach, but two different results. Ōnoki was no fool.
Nanako Uzumaki lowered her head, but her mind was in turmoil.
As she understood them, rules constrained everything. But in the eyes of those at the top, they were merely something that could be changed at any time.
If they weren't changed, it was only because there was no need, not because they couldn't be.
"All right, go to school for now. You'll be living across from my house for the time being. That will provide the best guarantee of your safety."
Watching Nanako Uzumaki stand silently with her head lowered, Ōnoki knew what she was thinking.
But he didn't regret anything he had said. She would have to accept these things sooner or later. Perhaps accepting them earlier would be better for her.
"As for you, brat..."
After watching the Anbu lead Nanako Uzumaki away, Ōnoki abruptly turned to Didaze!
"Fix that glass!"
Pointing at the shattered glass, Ōnoki shouted angrily at Didaze through gritted teeth!
The next day, one of Iwagakure's rules was changed, and another was added.
The changed rule set the Ninja Academy's graduation age at twelve.
The added rule was that no one was allowed to enter through the Tsuchikage's office window!