Rōshi and Han—both unconscious—were dragged forward by stone hands and dumped unceremoniously in front of Ōnoki.
"You…!"
Ōnoki froze.
At first, he hadn't known how he was supposed to demand Shiki return the jinchūriki. But now… there was no need.
They were already back.
Ōnoki narrowed his eyes, staring at Shiki with heavy suspicion.
"You're returning the jinchūriki just like that?"
Shiki tilted his head slightly, looking down at the short old man with a faint smile.
"Don't tell me you think that after getting them back, you'll somehow be able to defeat me."
"..."
Ōnoki didn't answer—because he already knew the truth.
Even when Iwagakure still had its jinchūriki… they'd been completely crushed.
Brutally. One-sidedly.
And now?
Even with the jinchūriki returned, the situation wouldn't change.
Realizing this made Ōnoki's expression turn complicated.
At some point… he had fallen so low that he needed mercy from an enemy.
"Tch—hurry up!"
Shiki waved his hand impatiently, like he was swatting flies, his face full of open disdain.
"Stop standing around and getting in the way."
"You—!"
Ōnoki's face darkened. After staring at Shiki for a long moment, he finally turned away and barked orders.
"Take them back!"
The surrounding Iwa shinobi quickly moved, lifting the unconscious Rōshi and Han.
Ōnoki clenched his fists.
"We, Iwagakure, will never give up on the Third Great Ninja War!"
Even if this battle ended in defeat, he had no intention of abandoning the war against Konoha.
Boom.
Shiki shrugged indifferently.
Whether they continued the war or not had nothing to do with him. He didn't care and had no reason to.
Still, even Ōnoki understood one thing clearly:
In the short term, continuing the war was impossible.
"Let's go."
With a final wave of his hand, Ōnoki led the Iwa forces away.
As per Shiki's original demand, Iwagakure's camp withdrew several kilometers.
Once Iwagakure left, Shiki's side naturally began returning as well.
After witnessing Shiki's strength firsthand, there was no longer any fear or unease on the faces of those in the camp.
Their commander-in-chief had single-handedly subdued two jinchūriki—and forced an Ōtsutsuchi-level Kage into retreat.
What was there left to fear?
As they marched, voices of discussion filled the air—almost all of them filled with awe and admiration.
"He's ridiculously strong…"
"Having a commander like that is way too reassuring."
"I'm not worried at all about Iwagakure coming back to bully us."
"This is the Golden Lion…"
Back at camp.
"Lord Shiki… why did you return the jinchūriki?"
Hyūga Hiashi finally voiced the doubt he'd been holding back. With so many people present earlier, he hadn't dared ask—but now he couldn't keep it in.
He wasn't the only one.
The heads of the major clans all looked at Shiki with similar confusion.
After all, the jinchūriki had clearly been defeated. With Shiki's strength, even if they still possessed tailed beasts, Iwagakure posed no threat.
Capturing Rōshi and Han would have been a massive advantage.
Shiki glanced at him.
"Capture them?"
He snorted lightly. "There's no sealing unit here. You planning to guard them yourself?"
A jinchūriki without a seal could break free at any moment.
Shiki would be fine but everyone else in the camp wouldn't.
"Uh—of course not! That'd be suicide," Hiashi said honestly.
"But Lord Shiki could handle it, right?"
Hiashi was self-aware enough to know his limits.
Shiki waved his hand casually.
"I'm busy."
Guarding jinchūriki all day?
Was he crazy?
"Uh…"
Hiashi fell silent.
So did everyone else.
Busy…?
In their minds, Shiki's daily life was basically the definition of leisure.
When he fought, he was terrifyingly reliable—but outside of battle, he was absurdly laid-back.
He'd sit if he could.
He'd lie down if sitting was optional.
Seeing their awkward silence, Shiki smiled faintly and turned back to them.
"Hyūga," he said calmly,
"do I really look that idle to you?"
"..."
Everyone instinctively wanted to nod.
But the moment they met Shiki's smiling gaze, they realized something very important...
If they nodded right now, they might actually die.
"N-No! Of course not!"
"As commander-in-chief, Lord Shiki has countless responsibilities every day!"
"That's right! Lord Shiki works the hardest!"
"Then releasing the jinchūriki makes perfect sense!"
The tone shifted instantly.
Shiki nodded in satisfaction and turned away.
"Lord Shiki is insanely strong…"
Obito muttered, looking toward Nohara Rin and Kakashi beside him.
"I almost thought we were all going to die in this war. I didn't expect it to end without even fighting properly."
At this point, Obito, Rin, and Kakashi had been assigned to the same squad.
Minato Namikaze was still their captain but in his current condition, there was no way he could actively lead them.
Obito had looked brave before the war began—but if he could choose?
He wanted to live.
And if possible… live well.
Preferably with Rin.
"Rin…"
Obito turned toward her...
Only to see her nodding in agreement… her eyes unconsciously drifting toward Kakashi.
"Yeah," Rin said softly.
"If it weren't for Lord Shiki, I really don't know what we would've done."
"Hey!"
Why aren't you looking at me?!
Obito stared suspiciously at Kakashi.
What's so good about this guy anyway?
Is she into the cool, aloof type?
…Should I try acting cold too?
"Obito?"
Rin's voice snapped him back instantly.
"What's wrong?" he said reflexively.
"You looked like you were thinking about something. Why didn't you say anything?"
"A-Ahem! It's nothing!"
No way he could admit he was thinking about changing his personality.
Obito quickly changed the subject and pointed at Kakashi.
"Hey, Kakashi! You're a sword user, right? Lord Shiki's swordsmanship is insane—why don't you go ask him to teach you?"
"That's true," Rin nodded seriously.
"Lord Shiki is amazing. If you asked, he might actually agree."
"No need."
Kakashi replied flatly.
Even if he had thoughts of his own, Kakashi at this stage wasn't the type to lower himself and ask for guidance.
After speaking, he turned and walked away without hesitation.
"Kakashi!" Rin called after him, worried.
But he didn't respond.
"That jerk…"
Once Kakashi was gone, Obito immediately dropped the subject and turned back to Rin, his expression brightening.
"Rin! Things should be calm for a while now, right?"
"How about we walk around the camp together?"
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