With a hearty smile, Ōnoki patted Morkel's shoulder in an unusually affectionate manner.
"I knew I was right about you, kid. You didn't let me down."
"Huang Tu, bring the reward."
Soon after receiving Ōnoki's order, Huang Tu entered the Tsuchikage's office carrying a thick stack of banknotes.
Morkel accepted them without hesitation.
One hundred and fifty million Ryo—just like that.
After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Ōnoki made a suggestion: "Last time you visited, you were injured and spent most of your stay in bed. This time, why not stay a few more days and let Kurotsuchi show you around the village?"
Morkel had his own plans, but he didn't refuse. Instead, he smiled politely. "Since Grandpa Tsuchikage personally invited me, how could I say no?"
Ōnoki hadn't expected Morkel to actually agree.
He had just been being polite.
Morkel followed an Akatsuchi escort out of the Tsuchikage's office toward the guest room prepared for him.
Back in the office, Kurotsuchi took out a folded piece of paper, her expression mysterious.
"Grandpa, take a look at this."
Ōnoki glanced at the paper and snorted. "A painting? Well, not bad. You've gotten better at drawing. Okay, now run along, Grandpa's still got work—"
"Grandpa, you're being too perfunctory!" Kurotsuchi cut him off with a frown.
"If it were just some normal painting, would I even bother showing it to you?!"
Sensing his granddaughter's discontent, Ōnoki softened and humored her. "Alright, alright. Then tell me—what exactly is in this painting? Some ugly bird?"
Kurotsuchi straightened her posture with pride. "This is called a steel fake painting. Morkel called the thing on it a 'flying chicken,' a super-fast means of transport."
"You just pour Chakra into the image, and the flying chicken comes alive!"
Ōnoki's expression changed. "So this is the flying chicken?"
"I've heard about it! Anbu from Konoha mentioned it, but this is my first time seeing one."
"This must be what you rode when you went to the Rain Country…"
"No wonder the team I sent to tail you said you flew off on a steel bird—'820' or something—and couldn't be caught."
His face darkened slightly. "Wait a minute… how did you even get this?"
"You didn't use a honey trap, did you?"
Before Kurotsuchi could respond, Ōnoki laughed aloud.
"I never expected the kid to fall for it! The one with thick eyebrows got charmed, huh?"
"But let me be clear—if you're using beauty to pull him in, make sure you can keep him…"
"If Iwagakure could bring in a son-in-law like that, it wouldn't be so bad. Everyone sees how strong the kid is…"
Kurotsuchi's face flushed deep red. "Grandpa! What are you talking about?! There was no honey trap! It was just a trick!"
Ōnoki's face froze, and then a more amused expression emerged. "Just a trick, huh?"
He had heard rumors of Morkel's obsession with money—people even called him the Pixiu of the Ninja World.
The fake steel painting had to be worth at least a million, and yet he casually gave one to his granddaughter?
Wasn't that a clear sign of how much he valued her?
Seeing his strange expression, Kurotsuchi quickly waved it off. "Grandpa! Stop imagining things! Let's go test out the flying chicken!"
"Good idea. I'll call the others!"
As Ōnoki walked out the door in high spirits, Kurotsuchi couldn't help but smile to herself.
Was this… Morkel's version of "meeting the parents"?
And the parents seemed quite satisfied.
—---
A while later, Ōnoki, Kurotsuchi, and the senior leaders of Iwagakure assembled on a mountain ridge just outside the village.
Floating in the air with his hands behind his back, Ōnoki declared solemnly, "I've called everyone here today to test a transportation device my granddaughter acquired from Konoha—a flying chicken!"
His words instantly sparked excitement among the gathered officials.
"A flying chicken? That's incredibly rare—even in Konoha!"
"Kurotsuchi has truly outdone herself!"
"Let's try it out—I can't wait!"
Ōnoki retrieved the scroll with the fake painting Kurotsuchi had shown him.
Following Morkel's instructions, he injected Chakra into the image.
A moment later—Boom!
A massive black-and-white steel bird materialized on the mountaintop!
Gasps of admiration echoed.
"As expected of Morkel's creation—it's so refined!"
"I don't like his methods, but I must admit his skill with ninjutsu is impressive…"
But when they examined the cockpit, they all froze.
"..."
One of the elders squinted. "How do we start this thing? There are so many buttons and controls—it looks too complicated."
Ōnoki was also stumped, and turned to Kurotsuchi.
She shook her head. "Why don't we ask Morkel to come teach us?"
Ōnoki hesitated. "No, this is village-level tech—he might not want to share operational details. Also, it'd be embarrassing to ask a kid for help…"
Kurotsuchi smirked. "Then I'll go ask him privately. If it's just me, he'll teach me. He won't let us Rock Shinobi lose face."
Ōnoki nodded. "Fine. We'll keep out of sight for now."
A few minutes later, Kurotsuchi returned with Morkel.
The moment Morkel arrived, he sensed the unique Chakra in the air.
Looking up at the steel plane, he raised an eyebrow. "So this is why you brought me here?"
Kurotsuchi pouted and pointed to the cockpit. "You gave me this, but didn't explain how to use it. T_T"
Morkel stared at the mess of buttons and levers inside.
Ah—so they don't know how to fly it.
Are they hiding to avoid embarrassment… or planning to steal my secrets?
He pretended to think. "Flying this thing isn't something you can learn quickly."
"But I do have an idea."
"Can you directly input the flying skills into my mind?" Kurotsuchi asked eagerly.
"It's possible… but I've got a better solution," Morkel said thoughtfully. "I'll modify the operating system entirely."
Kurotsuchi was skeptical. "Is that… hard?"
Morkel didn't reply. Instead, he dropped a Flying Thunder God Kunai to the ground.
In a blink, he vanished.
Before Kurotsuchi could process what happened, he returned—this time with Sai, Konoha's renowned ink painter, still wearing a crop-top and looking bewildered.
"This is Sai," Morkel said. "He creates the steel fake paintings. He can rework the control panel."
Sai, who had been painting in Konoha just moments ago, opened his mouth in protest.
Morkel shoved a design sketch in his hands. "You still have the base diagram, right? Modify it based on this."
"I—"
"No questions. Do it, and I'll make it worth your while."
Ten minutes later, the upgraded fake painting was complete.
Morkel infused Chakra into it and activated the technique.
Boom!
A second aircraft appeared beside the first one.
"Go on, Kurotsuchi. Take a look."
Kurotsuchi approached the cockpit and her jaw dropped.
There were now just six buttons—forward, back, left, right, up, and down.
"Wow…"
Morkel followed her in. "Simple enough?"
"Way easier than those complicated combos in 'King of Fighters.' Anyone can do it."
"I want to try it!" Kurotsuchi said excitedly.
"Sure. I'll sit in the back in case anything goes wrong."
Moments later, the steel bird took to the sky—soaring above Iwagakure!
Sai and Morkel sat in the back. Sai glanced at Morkel and asked curiously, "Couldn't you just transfer the knowledge with the Yamanaka Clan's technique? Why go through all this trouble?"
Morkel only smiled.
Of course he had a reason.
The simplified controls meant anyone could pilot this version.
But the ones Konoha kept had their original advanced systems.
If war broke out in the future and Iwagakure's planes were captured, Konoha could use them.
But if Konoha's were taken, they'd be useless.
And it wouldn't stop with Iwagakure.
If one village bought in, others would follow.
A small advantage here, a small gap there… over time, Konoha would rise above the rest.
Inside the cockpit, Kurotsuchi grinned. "This flies like a dream! So smooth, and easy to use."
Morkel smiled but said nothing.
After returning to the village and paying Sai a generous 10 million Ryo for his help, Morkel rested for a few days.
On the third morning, Kurotsuchi knocked on his door again.
"Grandpa wants to see you."
Ah. Business.
In the Tsuchikage's office, Ōnoki tried to intimidate Morkel with his position.
But Morkel wasn't fazed. He bowed respectfully. "Grandpa Tsuchikage, how can I help you today?"
"We've tested the steel painting you gave Kurotsuchi," Ōnoki said directly.
"It's not just a toy. We want to buy them in bulk. Name your price."
Morkel put on a conflicted face. "Well, I only made it as a hobby. Even though other villages begged to buy it, I declined."
"But since it's Iwagakure, I'll offer it at 1 million per unit."
He was thrilled inside. It cost barely 1,000 to produce.
Time was the only real expense, and Sai took just ten minutes to draw one.
He had expected Ōnoki to bargain—but instead…
"Done. We'll take 100."
Morkel: "???"
That easy?
Should've asked for 2 million!
Two days later, Morkel and Sai completed the order and delivered it. Morkel earned 90 million Ryo profit and handed 10 million to Sai.
Sai left happy.
Morkel, business complete, returned to Konoha.
—---
In the Hokage's office, Tsunade slouched in her chair, exhausted.
The door creaked open, and Morkel walked in.
Tsunade didn't lift her head. "Sit down. What now? Caused trouble again?"
"Master, you wound me. I just wanted to visit."
"If you really care about me," Tsunade groaned, "then take the Hokage position already. I cleared it with the higher-ups."
"The ceremony could be tomorrow. You're smart—you'll figure it out. Then I can finally rest…"
Morkel: "..."
He recoiled inside. Being Hokage? Trapped in this office all day?
No thanks!
"I told you, I'm not interested. Let Naruto have it. He's the one who dreams of it."
"He's getting stronger," Tsunade agreed. "He has Sage Mode, a tailed beast, and those strange ninjutsu you taught him. But he's still impulsive…"
"What about Kakashi? Guy? Let them be Hokage."
"Kakashi's too lazy. Guy's too… enthusiastic. Let's change the subject."
"I heard you ran into Yakushi Kabuto?"
Morkel nodded, brows furrowed. "He's different now… He built techniques just to counter me."
"Something about him felt off—his skin was even paler than Orochimaru's, and when he used ninjutsu…"
"I sensed Senjutsu Chakra."
Tsunade's eyes narrowed. "Senjutsu? So he's learning Sage Mode too…"
"Couldn't be Mount Myōboku or the Wet Bone Forest. That leaves—"
"Ryūchi Cave," Morkel finished. "He's obsessed with snakes, just like Orochimaru."
"I've heard Ryūchi Cave's trials are brutal," Tsunade muttered. "Only those who survive them can even hope to learn."
Morkel nodded, deep in thought.
He had signed a contract with the Great Snake of Ryūchi Cave long ago…
Maybe it was finally time to visit.
---