Previously, Onoki's Dust Release had destroyed two of Konoha's ninja positions. Although there were no casualties, it created a gap in the suppressive fire of the exploding cannon, allowing the Iwa ninja to catch their breath once more. The town, which had been on the verge of collapse, held on again.
On the Konoha side, they had almost secured victory, but Onoki's appearance rendered their efforts futile. Their own limits were also approaching; there wasn't much ammunition left for the exploding cannon. If they continued fighting, they would have to engage in close combat, which was exactly what the Iwa ninja were hoping for.
Fumori masaki felt that continuing like this was meaningless. Both sides should regroup. He had just said this to Onoki, and Onoki, after a rare glance, came to the same conclusion.
"Is this alright? Just ending it like this, when we were so close to taking it?" Onoki asked.
"Are you planning to keep fighting?" Fumori masaki said, a little surprised. Just as Onoki's heart tightened, he continued, "Forget it. Fighting any further would lead to heavy losses, and we might not even secure the gains. Let's come back another day."
"This bastard," Onoki muttered through gritted teeth, taking a deep breath. "If you want to go back, then go back. What does that have to do with us? We're hoping you'll go back."
"Although I'd like to say that, everyone doesn't seem too willing. They're all watching our battle to break the stalemate," Fumori masaki said, looking at the people below. "They might not have a deep impression of what just happened. Next, let's show them a Kage-level battle."
With that, Fumori masaki darted out again, even faster this time. Onoki had long been guarding against Fumori masaki, and the moment the other party moved, he immediately sprang into action as well.
Next, the Iwa ninja and Konoha ninja on the ground watched their Kage engage in a fierce aerial chase high above. Their figures streaked across the sky at high speed, tracing one complex curve after another. This was the traditional aerial combat in the ninja world, a rarely seen type of battle.
As Fumori masaki said, he didn't intend to defeat Onoki in this battle. The experienced Onoki was very difficult to deal with, and this wasn't the most suitable place. Onoki thought the same. Of course, both sides used quite a few killing moves, but neither managed to finish off the other.
The people on the ground also seemed to realize that the Hokage and Tsuchikage couldn't achieve victory or defeat immediately, and gradually began to think about regrouping and deciding the victor next time. Noticing the decrease in the intensity of the ground battle, Fumori masaki and Onoki also stopped, maintaining their distance high in the sky as before.
Onoki slowly caught his breath. He was no longer young. Although he was still in the golden age for maintaining peak combat power among ninjas, his physical condition as a ninja was no longer at its best, unlike Fumori masaki's youthful body. His face also had several cuts from the Wind Release, with blood slowly seeping out.
Fumori masaki, on the other hand, was as he had been before, looking as if he hadn't fought at all. His breathing remained calm as he said to Onoki, "It's time to end this. You should seriously consider my suggestion."
"No matter what, I am a ninja under the Daimyo. Whether it ends or not is not up to me. As long as the Daimyo chooses war, I will fight with all my might," Onoki said, panting.
"It's best not to be so stubborn, otherwise it might bring trouble upon yourself. You are the leader of the Iwagakure ninja village, after all," Fumori masaki said meaningfully upon hearing this.
"Hmph!" Onoki glared at Fumori masaki, his figure drifting backward. Fumori masaki did not pursue him further, and after watching him leave, he returned to the Konoha ninja's position.
After Fumori masaki returned to the position, he ordered a retreat. Seeing that the Kage battle, the only thing that could change the tide of the war, was at a stalemate, everyone put aside their spirited desire to capture the town and began to pack their ninja tools, retreating to the camp. The Iwa ninja had no intention of pursuing, as they themselves had suffered heavy losses.
In this battle, both sides fought to a mutual defeat. However,
the enemy Tsuchikage, Onoki, was successfully delayed, which would provide data for adjustments in the next operation. Next time, they would certainly not make the mistake of letting the Tsuchikage destroy two positions again. If it hadn't been for that incident, the Konoha ninja would surely have taken the town.
Shortly after Fumori masaki returned to the camp, his close aide, Yamanaka Takuma, asked his question: "Hokage-sama, why didn't you kill the Third Tsuchikage? Wasn't he clearly at a disadvantage in your battle?"
Yamanaka Takuma had come here as an intelligence officer to integrate information from the Land of Grass and other areas. Having previously stepped down from his secretarial duties, he once again assumed this role, staying by Fumori masaki's side. He had been with Fumori masaki for a considerable time, and as an intelligence ninja, he was skilled in analysis and had a realistic judgment of battles, which was why he was so puzzled.
"Sometimes, just because you can win doesn't mean you should necessarily do it," Fumori masaki said. "Firstly, I could definitely defeat Onoki, but it would be very troublesome. Secondly, if I killed him, it would have bad repercussions. Let's assume, what would you all do if I were killed by Onoki?"
"We would definitely avenge Hokage-sama," Yamanaka Takuma said without hesitation, then immediately understood. "I see, so you don't intend to kill the Third Tsuchikage because you don't want the Iwa ninja to fight to the death?"
"Yes, we are not prepared to completely wipe out the Land of Earth. Our current focus is on completely suppressing the Land of Wind and isolating the Land of Water. As for the Land of Earth, the sooner the fighting ends, the better. We don't need to be in a prolonged stalemate with them; it wouldn't benefit us. So, there's no need to do such an unpleasant thing," Fumori masaki nodded. "Instead of killing Onoki, making the Third Tsuchikage appear disadvantaged might be even more beneficial, as it can weaken the enemy's will to fight."
"Thinking about it that way, your objective seems to have been achieved. The Third Tsuchikage returned in a sorry state, and Iwa ninja will probably think his strength is inferior to Hokage-sama's," Yamanaka Takuma said.
"That's the right way to think. Sometimes, being a little gentle can help you achieve your goals," Fumori masaki smiled. "When formulating the next battle plan, you must also consider this point. I might not always be able to stop Onoki from using Dust Release in time, so you must also be careful to prevent a repeat of today's situation where two positions were wiped out."
"I understand," Yamanaka Takuma nodded and went out to convey the Hokage's message to the frontline ninjas in the camp.
Fumori masaki stayed in the camp for a while, silently considering the future situation. At this moment, he received a signal from the Anbu requesting a meeting, so he straightened himself and said, "Come in."
An Anbu member appeared silently before Fumori masaki and reported on the situations in the Land of Rivers and the Land of Rain. As Fumori masaki listened, his expression slowly darkened.
#
Onoki returned to his room in the town in a huff, slamming the door shut. Someone wanted to see him, but Onoki cursed them away. Knowing that the Tsuchikage was currently in a foul mood, the others had no intention of provoking Onoki; Onoki was not known for his good temper.
Onoki wiped the blood from his face, a slight sting making him gasp. His mood was heavy. After the recent battle, he had a direct understanding of Fumori masaki's strength. Although he was unwilling to admit it, he probably couldn't defeat that Fumori masaki fellow.
From beginning to end, Onoki never had the opportunity to unleash his Dust Release, which could have been a decisive move. Dust Release required a combination of three chakra natures and considerable effort. Even with extremely skilled use, its release speed was no slower than ordinary ninjutsu, but compared to a fast-attack ninja like Fumori masaki, it was still too slow.
As for other ninjutsu, they posed almost no threat to Fumori masaki. His powerful Wind Release could cut through almost any Earth Release, and there was no need to use Wind Release in front of him. The only counter, Fire Release, would also be exploited by the opponent, ending up dragging himself into it.
"No wonder this guy could defeat that Sarutobi fellow and become the Hokage of Konohagakure," Onoki murmured. "He's practically flawless. There must be something wrong with his power; it's different from our chakra."
However, Onoki didn't know that it was Sage power, a legend from too long ago. He had never witnessed it firsthand, and even if he knew, he couldn't connect the dots. Nevertheless, he had already begun to suspect the unique nature of Fumori masaki's chakra and planned to ponder it carefully.
By evening, Onoki had finally calmed down. He went out to gather the Iwa ninja in the town, telling them to adjust well. He would mobilize troops from other areas and would never let Konohagakure succeed. At the same time, he also took Fumori masaki's words to heart and sent people to collect information on the battle situations of Sunagakure and Kirigakure.
In Onoki's view, compared to Iwagakure, those two ninja villages were utterly useless, almost incapable of achieving any significant battle results. With these two burdens, the Land of Earth would probably truly struggle to endure. If there was still no good news, he might have to talk to the Daimyo.
Unexpectedly, Sunagakure, which had always been seen as a liability, actually brought good news this time. They had achieved considerable success in two ambush battles against Konohagakure. Although for Sunagakure, it hadn't achieved their initial strategic goals, Onoki considered it good news, at least proving that these guys were still somewhat useful.
Onoki gained a little confidence, feeling that he still needed to observe the situation. Even though Konohagakure seemed strong, it might just be a facade, and its weaknesses would be exposed over time. Sunagakure's achievements this time might be a signal!
So, Onoki planned to have another good fight with Fumori masaki, but then discovered that the Konoha ninja had actually switched from offense to defense, no longer as aggressive as before. This surprised him a little. After discussing with the Iwa ninja commanders, they also didn't know what the Konoha ninja were thinking.
"Could it be that the battles in the Land of Rivers and Land of Rain have hit them hard? They might truly be on their last legs," someone said optimistically. "It makes sense; facing a three-front war, even Konohagakure can't possibly hold on steadily."
"It's not that simple. Although the Konoha ninja have switched to defense, they are still very calm, not appearing panicked. They definitely have other objectives," someone offered a dissenting opinion.
Onoki also agreed with the latter opinion. He didn't believe Konohagakure would decline so quickly; there must be some other reason. If Onoki knew the before-and-after details of the Land of Rivers battle, he might understand the reason, but now he could only guess.
"No matter what, since the Konoha ninja aren't planning to attack, we can use this time to recover our strength," Onoki said. "Our main task now is to recover our strength and focus on intelligence gathering. If we find out that Konoha ninja truly have internal problems, that will be our opportunity to counterattack."
The Iwa ninja seemed somewhat excited. They hadn't launched an offensive in a long time, feeling frustrated by Konoha's attacks. If they could truly counterattack, they believed their morale would be very high. With this thought, Onoki's earlier poor performance seemed to be cast aside.
Seeing everyone's reaction, Onoki breathed a slight sigh of relief. He had actually been a little worried that his disheveled appearance in front of Fumori masaki would put pressure on the Iwa ninja. Now, using this opportunity to shift focus was just right. However, in the upcoming battles, he absolutely had to perform well, otherwise, the boosted morale would quickly dwindle again.
The Land of Grass then entered a rare period of calm. The only active country remaining was the Land of Lightning. After seeing Konohagakure stop its attacks, Kumogakure, filled with suspicion, also slowed its offensive and sent people to inquire about the reason. However, they received no definitive answer, only a statement that Konoha was readjusting its strategy.
Uchiha Setsuna's betrayal was undoubtedly a heavy blow to Konohagakure. The ambush of high-ranking officials truly had very serious implications. Fumori masaki could not simply let it go. He personally signed orders for the Anbu to conduct an internal investigation. Everyone connected to Uchiha Setsuna had to be investigated. Those with definite evidence would be directly arrested for subsequent processing, and those with suspicious circumstances would be suspended. Aside from those completely unrelated, no one had been cleared yet.
This internal purge could not be known by the enemy, at least not until the dust settled and the most volatile period had passed. Fortunately, with Konohagakure's intelligence capabilities, this could be ensured. The results of each person's investigation would be analyzed and then sent to Fumori masaki.
Fumori masaki had no intention of conducting a large-scale internal purge like a certain Soviet leader in his previous life. That would create a situation where everyone feared for their lives, akin to a reign of terror, with long-term negative impacts and many innocent people implicated. Fumori masaki didn't need to do that; he only needed to find the true traitors. Expanding the purges was truly unnecessary.
This incident also allowed Fumori masaki to pinpoint the presence of a certain entity for the first time.