It couldn't be denied that Onoki was extremely powerful.
Among the current Kage-level ninja, his strength definitely ranked near the top.
Of course, he couldn't match up to someone as overwhelmingly powerful as Hashirama.
But his overall strength far surpassed that of most Akatsuki members.
And Kakuzu, who wielded the secret technique [Earth Grudge Fear] and had five hearts, was certainly a formidable adversary.
Yet with just his own combat power, he truly couldn't stand up to Onoki.
The battle hadn't lasted more than a few minutes before Onoki had already become familiar with Kakuzu's black tendrils and attack methods.
In fact, he quickly identified Kakuzu's weakness—the hearts.
Then, using a series of Earth Release attacks, Onoki destroyed one of Kakuzu's earth-aligned hearts, costing him a life.
Clearly, compared to an experienced veteran like Onoki, who had mastered countless ninjutsu techniques, Kakuzu still had quite a gap in ability.
Besides, he'd never been a strong offensive-type ninja...
Still, thanks to his secret techniques and agility, escaping would have been easy—even if he was outmatched.
Only...
Today, he came to collect a debt!
A massive one!
He definitely wouldn't back down until he got what he came for!
...
After a fierce battle, Kakuzu lashed out with his black threads wildly, creating a terrifying display.
While charging up energy, he glared at Onoki with intense hostility and coldly demanded:
"Pay up!"
"You gave us the mission to assassinate the Hokage—this is the payment you owe us!"
Onoki's face darkened.
He immediately shot back:
"Lies! We've never issued any assassination order for the Hokage—absolute nonsense!"
At a moment like this, with so many shinobi watching, how could Onoki possibly admit it?
Who knew if among the crowd there weren't spies from other villages?
Once news about Iwagakure hiring Akatsuki to kill the Hokage got exposed and confirmed,
the consequences would be catastrophic!
It could even cause the peace talks between Iwagakure and Konoha to collapse on the spot—and then Konoha's "Ninja God" would come charging in with his Daibutsu demanding answers!
How could Onoki admit such a thing in public?
"Foolish! I don't know where you found the nerve to barge into Iwagakure alone and accuse our village of such lies!"
"You won't leave here unharmed today!" Onoki roared furiously.
Kakuzu didn't grow angry.
He went on coldly, "Hand over the money, and I'll walk away."
"Refuse—and people will die."
Right after speaking, Kakuzu summoned his remaining three masks.
Together with numerous black threads, they transformed into three monstrous forms and quickly scattered outward.
Rushing toward the rest of the Iwagakure shinobi present.
Though he himself couldn't defeat Onoki,
with the strength of these masked clones,
slaughtering the others should be effortless.
There's no way Onoki could block all of them at once!
"Demon! Stop now!"
"You're asking for death!"
Seeing villagers being slaughtered, Onoki exploded with rage and held nothing back anymore.
Immediately, he executed his ultimate move—Dust Release.
[Dust Release: Detachment Technique of the Primitive World!]
No matter how immortal that monster was, if reduced to atomic powder by Dust Release, it would undoubtedly die!
The next moment,
A pure white beam of light shot forth instantly, targeting Kakuzu's core.
Its speed was so fast that Kakuzu couldn't even begin to dodge!
"Farewell, you bastard…"
With a triumphant smirk, he declared confidently.
However, before his words had even finished echoing,
He suddenly shuddered, looking ahead with immense shock and disbelief.
Right at the endpoint of his Dust Release attack, right where Kakuzu stood,
A crimson-armored man resembling a horrifying nightmare made real abruptly appeared.
With merely an outstretched right hand, he easily blocked this seemingly invincible Dust Release technique.
Moreover, his hand emitted a massive suction force, directly drawing in the entire Dust Release attack.
[Sealing Technique: Absorption Seal]!
One of the innate abilities of the [Rinnegan]: reversing the chakra circulation within the body. Through countless variations of chakra, it can absorb and nullify any technique directed toward its user.
Certainly, forcibly absorbing ninja techniques is already impressive.
But what truly turned Onoki's face pale was that familiar silhouette!
That figure which haunted countless day and night of his dreams,
A horrifying nightmare made real!
"Hey hey! Originally didn't want to reveal myself..."
"Didn't expect you, kid, to have come this far."
"This move... I remember it's called Dust Release, right?"
"You've mastered it far better than the Second Tsuchikage ever did back then. Impressive indeed!"
Onoki," Madara said as he withdrew his hand and dusted off his cloak.
Meeting someone from the past in this age... That's almost like good fortune.
He wouldn't mind saying a few more words either.
After all, there's always a buildup before the main act.
Wouldn't possibly just start dancing immediately...
"You... Who are you?..."
"How is this possible?! How can you still be alive?"
"This can't be real!"
"Are you human or ghost?!"
Onoki stammered, voice quivering, asking frantically with utter disbelief.
"Onoki, still losing composure just like back in the days!"
"Don't tell me you've already forgotten about me?"
"Or perhaps, have you forgotten the terror of being utterly dominated by absolute power?"
Madara remained calm and arrogant as ever.
If Onoki had truly forgotten everything, Madara wouldn't mind jogging his memory!
Of course, definitely not for something violent like debt collecting...
"Madara Uchiha!"
"It's you! You've returned to life as well?!"
"You monster!"
Onoki roared loudly, completely losing the composure he usually held as Tsuchikage.
There was no helping it; this demon standing before him
Was simply too terrifying!
So fearsome, in fact, that he nearly lost all will to resist...
He never expected this.
Just having heard about Hashirama Senju's revival,
Then in the blink of an eye, the even more fearsome Madara Uchiha had appeared right in front of him!
Hell!
What exactly is going on in [Konoha Village]?
How could these long-dead ancient figures keep resurfacing one after another?!
"Monster?"
"Hahahaha! 'Monster' suits me just fine!"
"What? Onoki, are you also itching for another dance?"
Lord Madara laughed loudly, eyes slicing through like blades, throwing down a fierce challenge.
The sight sent chills down Onoki's spine and turned his legs to jelly.
And just like that.
After wrestling with himself for what felt like ages, Onoki still couldn't bring himself to accept this so-called dance invitation.
Because he was very certain—
—he probably wouldn't even leave behind a skeleton after one "dance."
But right in front of the Iwagakure crowd?
How could he, the Tsuchikage, humiliate himself too badly?
So gritting his teeth, he forcefully shifted the topic and barked out,
"Just what exactly do you want to do?"
"Nothing. Just here to collect a debt..."
"A debt?"
"You came here for the [Akatsuki]? Are you also part of the [Akatsuki]?"
Lord Madara sneered disdainfully:
"No, you're wrong."
"The [Akatsuki] is mine alone..."
"Fine then. If you don't want a beating, hand over the cash before I lose my patience! Tell me — how long do you think it'd take me to turn this whole village into rubble?"
A cold dread gripped Onoki's heart. He knew there was no point pretending anymore.
If he really ended up fighting Madara, the entire [Iwagakure Village] might be destroyed!
At that point, the loss wouldn't just be measured in mere hundreds of millions of [ryo]...
He knew exactly what mattered more.
Gritting his teeth, Onoki asked, "May I ask exactly how much is the payment? Could it be reduced a bit?"
Lord Madara: "Three hundred million [ryo]. Not a single penny less."
Onoki: "What? Wasn't it two hundred million [ryo] just now?"
Lord Madara: "Four hundred million [ryo]."
Onoki: "That's impossible! We simply don't have that much money!"
Lord Madara: "Five hundred million [ryo]."
Onoki: "Alright, alright! Four hundred million then! I'll accept it!"
Lord Madara: "Six hundred million [ryo]!"
Onoki: (?Д?)ノ
"Damn you! Just finish me off already!!!"
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