The sudden entry of Konoha's full-scale military force indeed caused great panic in the Land of Earth.
At this moment, Ōnoki had no time to consider Konoha's ties with the Akatsuki. He rushed toward the border accompanied by his forces.
He explicitly ordered his men not to retaliate, even if Konoha struck first. All action was to await his arrival.
One had to admit, this old man knew how to hold his ground—he understood that once they retaliated, there would be no room for negotiation left.
Had Konoha not made its intentions clear, this war might well have been averted by him.
When Ōnoki finally arrived in haste, the initial Iwagakure scouting unit had already been captured by Fugaku.
After learning of Ōnoki's intentions, Fugaku halted his advance and chose to wait in place for his arrival.
He wanted to test just how much Ōnoki was willing to endure.
"Lord Fugaku, Ōnoki has already arrived at the Iwa camp."
"He sent word saying he wishes to meet you."
A Konoha ninja entered Fugaku's tent to deliver the latest intelligence report.
"Does this old man really think we came here as tourists?"
Fugaku scoffed, unsure whether to label Ōnoki as senile or simply playing dumb.
He'd made his intentions clear enough—holding Iwa prisoners within his camp. How could Ōnoki still hold himself back?
"Clearly, he has no desire for battle."
"Too bad it's no longer his choice."
Dai wasn't particularly sharp, but he wasn't foolish either.
Having just fended off a powerful enemy, the Land of Earth remained unstable, so it was only natural Ōnoki wanted no part in another war.
Especially when their opponent was Konoha—a village even stronger than Kumogakure.
If Dai were standing where Ōnoki stood, he wouldn't want to fight either.
Enduring some humiliation and anger was a small price to pay.
"Back during the Second War, he exploited the chaos. Did he really never expect this day to come?"
"Send him a message. There's no need for a face-to-face meeting."
"Tell Ōnoki to prepare his neck for the blade and wait for my arrival."
Fugaku had long harbored resentment over the Iwa ninja's actions during the Second War, especially the loss of his uncle.
"Yes."
Though finding Fugaku's words overly harsh, the Konoha ninja still prepared to deliver the message as instructed.
"Wait. If Ōnoki is willing to surrender Rōshi, the Four-Tailed Jinchūriki,
I may consider allowing him to communicate with Hokage-sama.
Make it clear—I am Fugaku Uchiha, leader of the Uchiha Clan from Konoha."
Fugaku called back the Konoha ninja who had just stepped halfway out of the tent and added a few more sentences.
"Yes."
"Do you have any other instructions?"
Looking back at Fugaku, the Konoha ninja hesitated and stopped moving forward.
"No, you may go now."
Only after receiving a definite reply from Fugaku did the Konoha ninja quickly leave.
"You've got quite a dirty trick up your sleeve."
Dai grinned at Fugaku, not intending any sarcasm. He clearly knew who was responsible for the former Uchiha leader's death.
By directly demanding Ōnoki hand someone over and announcing his name, Fugaku intended to show Iwa that he personally had private vengeance to settle.
As for whether Ōnoki was willing to hand over Rōshi, it wasn't particularly important to him.
"Just average."
"Whether it will succeed remains uncertain."
Fugaku didn't really expect Ōnoki to hand Rōshi over so easily. If that were truly possible, it probably meant Ōnoki's time as Tsuchikage was already over.
"The chances of them willingly delivering the Four-Tails Jinchūriki directly to us are slim."
"But can you really guarantee that all Iwa ninjas think alike?"
Even if there was only a slim chance, there was no way some Iwagakure ninja wouldn't consider the offer tempting.
Sacrificing one individual for the village's peace—this was something even Ōnoki would have to weigh carefully.
Dai grinned broadly, revealing his big teeth, looking quite simple-minded, yet he was far smarter than he appeared on the surface.
After this information was passed along, there'd definitely be some tension between Ōnoki and Rōshi.
Considering their already shaky relationship, this would surely make things worse.
"That's exactly right."
"Hearts and minds are the hardest things to predict."
Before any war had even begun, Fugaku had already handed Ōnoki a major gift.
Soon after, his spoken words were put into writing and placed directly before Ōnoki.
"Uchiha Fugaku?"
After finishing the letter, Ōnoki's eyebrows furrowed deeply into a pronounced "III"-shaped crease, reflecting intense concern.
Putting down the letter, his mind felt completely muddled.
If it was just about gritting his teeth and enduring an insult, that might've been manageable.
But asking him to hand over Rōshi in exchange for an opportunity to contact Tsunade—this seemed far too trivial and rash.
But what if—just what if—Tsunade actually agreed?
The more he thought, the more confused he became, and his emotions grew increasingly agitated.
"Father, we absolutely cannot hand Rōshi over."
While Ōnoki was lost in thought, Kitsuchi approached and read the letter himself.
Immediately, fury rose within him; he simply could not allow his father to make such a foolish decision.
"Did I say I wanted to hand Rōshi over?"
Snapped back to reality by his son's voice, Ōnoki quickly flipped the letter face-down.
Fortunately, only the two of them—father and son—were left alone in the room, so this shocking news wouldn't spread for now.
"Fugaku Uchiha is just trying to settle a personal vendetta."
"You can't trust his words."
"After all, the previous Uchiha clan leader died by Rōshi's hands."
Kitsuchi understood his father well—he feared even the slightest hesitation from Ōnoki.
"I know."
"Just go for now. Don't mention this matter to anyone else."
Ōnoki currently had no patience for arguments with his son. He needed time to carefully weigh the decision before acting.
"Father~"
"Go."
Kitsuchi had barely opened his mouth again when Ōnoki cut him off sharply.
Looking at his father's piercing eyes, Kitsuchi ultimately dared not speak further.
Ohh…!
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Once only Ōnoki was left alone in the room, he picked up the letter once more and reread it over and over again.
For Ōnoki, it became another sleepless night, while Fugaku slept like a log.
The very next morning, Ōnoki summoned the gathered Iwa higher-ups to a meeting, carrying visible exhaustion across his face.
After a long night of careful consideration, he still chose to reveal the news publicly.
Even if they were going to hand over Rōshi, the decision must never seem to come directly from his own mouth.
Ideally, perhaps it would be best if Rōshi himself volunteered to step forward.
From the moment Ōnoki decided to put Rōshi on the spot, Fugaku had already accomplished exactly what he wanted.
Once everyone was gathered in the conference hall, Ōnoki first cast a glance at Rōshi before passing around the letter in his hand for all to read.
As expected, every person who finished reading the letter would deeply stare at Rōshi afterward.
At first, Rōshi still felt increasingly confused, wearing an expression full of bewilderment.
However, when he slowly read through the letter line by line, his hands began involuntarily trembling.
These slightly shaking fingers seemed to speak of the shock and inner turmoil surging within him.
The letter's contents were like a massive boulder hurled into the still waters of his heart, sending wave after wave of violent ripples through him.
Rōshi's eyes widened in shock and disbelief, as though he could not bring himself to believe what he'd just read.
How absurd—to offer your own life just for a chance to beg for Konoha's mercy.
And yet, there the letter lay—and Rōshi knew exactly what it meant.
Shouldn't this letter have never even existed?
Realizing this, Rōshi raised his head to glare at Ōnoki, his eyes bloodshot.
That was a silent yet fierce accusation!!!
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