Meanwhile, after bypassing Mū and his guard units, Hiruzen successfully pushed his vanguard deep into the Land of Waterfalls. He managed to intercept one of Iwa's isolated cohorts, numbering five hundred shinobi. Leading four thousand elite Konoha troops himself, Hiruzen crushed them with an absolute numerical advantage. Guided by Hyūga Hiro's precise tracking, he continued advancing toward the nearest Iwa battalion—until he ran directly into Ōnoki.
"Onoki… was it?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen stepped forward, his summoning beast, Enma, standing slightly behind his right shoulder. At this point in history, Enma had not yet earned the legendary title of the Monkey King.
Enma possessed deep reddish skin, thick white fur, and a feral, simian face. Clad in heavy shinobi armor over a tiger-striped, sleeveless kimono shirt trimmed with white fur, he stood nearly two heads taller than Hiruzen.
On the opposite side, a short, stocky figure hovered ominously in front of the remaining Iwa cohorts. He wore a black Iwa forehead protector tied like a bandana over his head, paired with a dark combat suit and sparse armor plating across his torso and arms. He sported his signature spiky brown hair, thick dark eyebrows, and a remarkably large, freckled nose.
"Hiruzen, was it?" Ōnoki retorted, his eyes narrowing.
"Gahahahaha!" Enma boomed from behind. "It is Hokage-sama to you, brat!"
Ōnoki sneered. "Acting Hokage, you mean."
Hiruzen shrugged off the taunt, letting the insult pass like a harmless breeze. Not bothering explain his successful succession. "So, Ōnoki. Why is Iwa disturbing the peace of the shinobi world yet again?"
"HAH??!!!"
"Is there truly a need to extend this bloody battlefield into the Land of Waterfalls and Takigakure?" Hiruzen asked, his tone hardening.
"Hmph! Enough sophistry!" Ōnoki snapped. "Who is Konoha to dictate what Iwa can and cannot do? Let our jutsu do the talking!"
Doton: DaiGōremu no Jutsu土遁・大剛隷武の術 (Earth release : Great Golem Technique)
The ground groaned. A massive earth golem—the size of a small hill—rose from the dirt beneath Ōnoki. He floated upward, landing squarely atop its rocky crown.
"This is a technique I personally developed after facing your precious Konoha traitor, Uchiha Madara!"
Hiruzen's brow furrowed at the sheer size of the golem, the mere mention of Madara's name sending a dark ripple through the air. "Hmph! Uchiha Madara is no longer a shinobi of the Leaf, and he is already dead! ENMA!"
"I'm on it, Hiruzen!"
Henge: Kongōnyoi 変化・金剛如意 (Transformation : Adamantine Staff)
With a burst of smoke, Enma transformed into a massive, pitch-black obsidian staff tipped with gleaming gold on both ends. Hiruzen caught it mid-air, gripping the weapon firmly.
"Enma! Enlarge and extend!"
In the blink of an eye, the Adamantine Staff elongated at terrifying speed, driving forward like a massive pillar and piercing directly through the earth golem's chest.
"BAKANA?!" (Impossible?!) Ōnoki gasped.
He slammed his hands together, desperately flooding the construct with chakra to repair and harden the crumbling stone.
"Mudada!" (It's useless!) Hiruzen barked.
With a swift flick of his wrists and a violent swing of his arms, Hiruzen manipulated the extended staff. The adamantine pillar swirled violently from within the golem's chest, tearing outward and cleanly dismembering the massive stone titan into five shattered pieces.
Ōnoki's eyes widened in sheer disbelief. He gritted his teeth, glaring fiercely down at Hiruzen. He knew the sturdiness of the great earth golem he had created; it was a defense he designed specifically after witnessing Madara's Susanoo, and a technique he and Mū had used to subdue the rampaging Four-Tails in the past. He never expected it to be dismantled so effortlessly by a staff.
Doton: Keijūgan no Jutsu 土遁・軽重岩の術 (Earth release : light weight rock technique)
Ōnoki floated higher into the sky, hovering far out of reach as he brought his hands to his chest. "Very well, Hiruzen! If you can survive this next jutsu, then Iwa will consider your negotiations!"
Jinton: Genkai Hakuri no Jutsu 塵遁・原界剥離の術 (Dust release : Atomic dismantling technique / Detachment of Primitive world technique)
A glowing, semi-transparent white cube containing a spinning solid sphere at its core materialized between Ōnoki's palms. The cube began to rapidly expand, casting a lethal, blinding light over Hiruzen's position.
"!!!"
Reacting instantly, Hiruzen summoned four shadow clones. They dispersed in a wide arc around Ōnoki, their hands blurring through an intricate series of synchronized seals.
Goton Dairendan no Jutsu 五遁大連弾の術 (Five release great combo technique)
Working in perfect harmony, Hiruzen and his clones unleashed five colossal elemental dragons—Fire, Lightning, Wind, Water, and Earth—each towering as large as a five-story building, all converging on Ōnoki from every direction.
Seeing the incoming onslaught, Ōnoki immediately halted the expansion of his attack. Instead, he widened the Jinton cube, shifting it into a defensive barrier that enveloped him in a protective arc.
The moment the massive elemental dragons breached the perimeter of the Dust Release cube, they completely dissolved, atomic particles turning to absolute nothingness. Both sides poured massive amounts of chakra into maintaining their jutsu, the stalemate grinding on for nearly three agonizing minutes before the smoke finally cleared and the techniques subsided.
Silence fell over the valley.
Ōnoki stared down solemnly at Sarutobi Hiruzen, internally debating whether to continue this duel. His Dust Release was an invincible, absolute offense, but it consumed a catastrophic amount of chakra when deployed at such a large scale, and he couldn't fire it repeatedly. Just now, he was forced to choose between attacking Hiruzen or shielding himself; he couldn't achieve both simultaneously. At least, his current self couldn't.
After all, he had only inherited and started training the Dust Release less than a year ago. He needed years of rigorous practice to truly perfect it. Perhaps five or ten years down the line, he would be able to effortlessly atomize an enemy's attack and vaporize the enemy at the exact same time.
Furthermore, Iwa's true strategic objective was never to open a secondary front against Konoha here in the Land of Waterfalls.
FWEEEEEET!!
A sharp, piercing whistle cut through the tension of the battlefield. A messenger hawk sliced through the sky, landing heavily on Ōnoki's shoulder.
Keeping his eyes locked dead on Hiruzen, Ōnoki unrolled the scroll and quickly scanned the message. The moment he finished reading, his chakra flared, and the paper crumbled into fine dust in his hand. Mū had ordered the retreat. Tobirama was "alive." The trap was real.
Ōnoki slowly lowered his hands, descending gracefully until his feet touched the ground in front of his surviving Iwa troops.
"Let's hear what you have to say..." Ōnoki said, his voice tightly controlled. "...Third Hokage."
Hiruzen smiled confidently, gesturing toward an open clearing where Konoha shinobi had already swiftly prepared a wooden table and chairs.
"With pleasure."