Kaede looked calmly at Ōnoki.
"Ōnoki, you've shown yourself to be a smart man so far, so you'd better make the right choice now."
Ōnoki gritted his teeth. Naturally, he didn't want to choose either option.
But… the man standing before him was Kaede Uchiha.
He growled, "Kaede, do you really intend to unify the entire shinobi world by yourself?
"If you do this, you'll stir up resentment across the whole world. The Allied Shinobi Forces will rise against you!
"No matter how strong you are, do you think you can win against the combined armies of all villages? And during that time, can you even protect your Uchiha clansmen?"
Kaede smirked. "Why don't you try and find out?"
Ōnoki was left speechless.
Kaede continued, "And who said the whole world would rise against me?
"Kumogakure is already finished. Konoha will be destroyed today. Kirigakure has already submitted to me.
"The 'whole shinobi world' you speak of is nothing more than your Iwagakure and the trash from Sunagakure."
Hearing this, Ōnoki was utterly shocked.
"Kirigakure has already submitted to you?"
Kaede replied flatly, "The unification of the shinobi world is inevitable.
"If Iwagakure chooses to resist, you will be crushed into dust."
Despair filled Ōnoki's heart. He had never imagined that Kaede's power and influence had already grown to such an extent.
They should have struck first back when Kaede left Konoha.
But back then, they were all too focused on taking a piece of the Land of Fire, giving Kaede the time he needed to grow.
Even now, Ōnoki still forced out one last question:
"If you truly want us to submit, I have one final question!"
Kaede smiled faintly. "Speak."
Ōnoki asked in a deep voice, "If we submit, how will you deal with us?
"And after we hand over the jinchūriki of the Four-Tails and Five-Tails to you, what will you do with them?"
Kaede answered indifferently, "If you submit, you will follow every one of my commands from now on.
"I don't mind letting you stay where you are.
"As for your jinchūriki, I'll extract their tailed beasts without taking their lives."
All Kaede wanted was to plant the thought of submission in Iwagakure's hearts.
Once that thought took root, it wouldn't take long before they became completely loyal to him through the Divine Tree.
He wasn't going to give Ōnoki any false hope.
Ōnoki's mind raced. "…I see."
At that moment, he had the same thought as Mei Terumi had before.
Right now, Kaede was unstoppable—but in a hundred years, he would be dead. When that happened, Iwagakure could regain its freedom.
Enduring a century of humiliation was better than being destroyed now.
Taking a deep breath, Ōnoki said firmly, "If this is truly how you intend to handle it, then on behalf of Iwagakure… I choose to submit."
The words stabbed painfully into the hearts of the Iwagakure shinobi behind him.
But none of them spoke out.
A faint hope was better than certain annihilation.
Kaede gave a faint smile. "Once Konoha is dealt with, I'll pay your village a visit—and take those two tailed beasts with me."
He looked at Ōnoki with piercing eyes. "Don't do anything foolish."
Ōnoki's heart trembled. "I wouldn't dare…"
Without hesitation, he ordered all Iwagakure shinobi to withdraw.
The land in the Land of Fire he had fought so hard to seize—he didn't even dare to look back at it now.
Once they were gone, Kaede turned his gaze to the distance and smiled.
"Let's go. Time to see what Konoha looks like now."
"It's finally time for revenge!"
"Oh!" The voices of those behind him rose with excitement.
…
In Konoha, Hiruzen Sarutobi and the other three high-ranking elders sat together with grim faces.
Suddenly, a shinobi ran in, tears streaming down his face.
"Bad news! Kaede is approaching Konoha with his forces!"
Hiruzen stood abruptly. "What?!"
He had thought Kaede's ambition would drive him to deal with Iwagakure first before coming for Konoha.
He asked urgently, "What about Iwagakure? What happened to them?"
The shinobi replied in fear, "They've all returned to their village!"
"Damn it!" Hiruzen closed his eyes in pain.
Kaede's hatred for Konoha was so great that he was willing to let Iwagakure go for now just to come for them first.
Koharu waved the messenger away, then turned to Hiruzen.
"Hiruzen, what do we do now?"
Hiruzen gave a bitter smile. "Now… we fight to the death."
He ignored Koharu and looked toward Homura Mitokado.
"Homura, choose someone sharp and capable, and get them out with our records and the young shinobi. I'll take the rest and buy you time."
Hiruzen had already decided—he would give his life to hold Kaede back.
Koharu suddenly cried, "I'm going too! Homura, I'll go with you!"
Facing death, she had abandoned all dignity.
Danzō watched her with disdain, but the veins on his clenched hand betrayed his own unease.
'Damn it, why haven't they realized yet?' he thought bitterly. 'That jutsu is almost finished!'
Hiruzen turned to him. "Danzō, you and I are Konoha's only remaining Kage-level fighters.
"So… it's time for us to give our lives for Konoha."
Danzō opened his mouth to refuse.
He wasn't about to die before bringing Konoha to the peak of the shinobi world. Once his jutsu was perfected, Kaede wouldn't be able to stir up any waves.
Before he could speak, another shinobi rushed in—this one with a smile.
Hiruzen frowned. This was one of Danzō's men. Why was he coming in now?
Danzō's shock quickly turned into delight.
Could it be…?
"Danzō-sama, the jutsu has finally succeeded!" the shinobi announced.
Danzō instantly appeared in front of him, grabbing his shoulder tightly.
"Truly?!"
Hiruzen and the others were baffled. What jutsu?
After his initial burst of excitement, Danzō quickly regained his composure.
He took a deep breath, then looked at Hiruzen and laughed. "Hahaha! Hiruzen! It seems this time it'll be me who saves Konoha!"
Hiruzen frowned. "Danzō, what are you talking about?"
Seeing their confusion, Danzō said, "A month ago, I began studying our sensei's forbidden jutsu—Impure World Reincarnation.
"And now… I've mastered it!"
Hiruzen's eyes widened. "That jutsu?!"
Without thinking, Koharu shouted, "Danzō, that's desecrating the souls of the dead! Our sensei strictly forbade it!"
Her words were met with only a cold glare.
"Then tell me—do you have a better way right now?"
Koharu shrank back, speechless.
Ignoring her, Danzō grabbed Hiruzen's hand.
"Come. We're going to summon the previous Hokage.
"This time, Kaede will die for sure!"
(End of Chapter)
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