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The fundamental reason behind Rasa and Mei Terumi's prolonged tug-of-war still lay with Onoki. They wanted to finalize their terms with Onoki during the peace talks, and also see what kind of reaction Onoki would have upon learning of Kazuki's demands. Would he agree through gritted teeth, or explode in furious refusal?
Onoki very quickly received the message that Rasa and Mei Terumi had sent out. This stubborn little old man's face immediately flushed crimson. He tore the scroll to shreds, sending paper fragments flying everywhere. It was fortunate that although he had a bad temper and a habit of slamming tables, he rarely actually broke them. Otherwise, the Stone Village's heavy expenditures would have to include the additional cost of constantly replacing desks.
"That bastard! He actually DARES to make such a demand!!" He looked down on everything else. The kind of benefits the Leaf Village needed, the Stone Village couldn't provide. Therefore, he would reluctantly accept the training methods for Dust Release. Listen to that! Was that even human language?! What kind of cold-hearted person could utter such chilling words?!
Onoki was furious, because the condition Kazuki had proposed wasn't merely digging at the Stone Village's roots. The importance of Dust Release to the Stone Village was self-evident. By all rights, given Onoki's temperament, it should have taken him a long time to calm down. Strangely, though he'd been so furious just minutes ago that he'd shredded the scroll, he cooled off within a few short minutes.
Once calm, Onoki ignored the paper littering the floor, sat in his chair, and began to think. His thick, graying eyebrows, like two white caterpillars, were tightly knitted together. Compared to Kazuki's demand, the conditions proposed by the Mist and Sand Villages were far more acceptable to Onoki. At this stage, as long as they weren't demanding money or supplies, everything else was negotiable. Kazuki's demand was the smallest in scope, yet it struck at the very heart of the Stone Village. Dust Release was immensely powerful – there was no questioning that. It was also vitally important to the Stone Village. Unfortunately, the training threshold for Dust Release was staggeringly high. In the entire shinobi world, Onoki was currently the only person who could use Dust Release.
He had wanted to pass it on to his disciple or his granddaughter, but that high threshold had firmly blocked them. If you couldn't even touch the threshold, what was the point of trying to learn? This threshold had blocked Onoki's disciple and granddaughter, and it would be no different for others. Even if Onoki handed over his personal insights on how to begin Dust Release training, the recipient still might not be able to master it. It would merely increase their chances by a tiny fraction.
The high training threshold of Dust Release, combined with Kazuki's own immense power, was what allowed Onoki to calm down. He felt Kazuki didn't necessarily need Dust Release. As for passing it on to others... Onoki could only chuckle. Take the Leaf Village's Flying Thunder God Technique, for instance. Its power needed no explanation – one only had to look at the combat records of Tobirama Senju and Minato Namikaze.
But over all these years, besides those two, who else in the Leaf Village had ever mastered the Flying Thunder God? Dust Release and the Flying Thunder God couldn't be definitively ranked as superior or inferior. The former was a Kekkei Tota; the latter was a forbidden technique developed by Tobirama Senju. Each had its own strengths. But both shared a common trait: an almost absurdly unreasonable learning threshold.
"Hmph!" Suddenly, Onoki's tightly knitted brows relaxed. A soft, disdainful chuckle escaped him. So you need Dust Release, fine. I'll give it to you. But whether you can actually learn it – that's your own problem. Onoki was very eager to see what kind of conditions the Cloud Village could offer to win Kazuki over. The Stone Village needed to court the Leaf Village, and so did the Cloud Village. Even though they were currently allies, this temporary alliance could shatter at any moment.
There was no such thing as a perfectly stable relationship. Now, both sides were vying for the Leaf's favor, and it would come down to who offered the greater benefit. If I, Onoki, am willing to contribute Dust Release, what does your Cloud Village have to compete? Your Lightning Release Chakra Mode? On the surface, Kazuki's condition seemed devastating. But upon deeper reflection, it was hardly anything at all. Even if Onoki didn't tamper with anything and handed over the complete training methods for Dust Release to Kazuki, Kazuki might never master it. If Kazuki himself couldn't master it, what chance did others have? Furthermore, there was room for negotiation within this.
He could require that Kazuki not disseminate the knowledge and only use it for personal study. My conditions are already outrageous, and I've agreed to them. If you can't even agree to this one small request, then you, Uchiha Kazuki, have no sincerity to speak of. Once Kazuki agreed, Onoki would immediately spread the word and sever the relationship between the Leaf and the Cloud. He would thoroughly lock down any chance of the Cloud Village turning the tables. Strike first to gain the advantage; strike late and suffer the consequences. Onoki understood this principle perfectly. He immediately dispatched his people to the Leaf Village.
Back in the Cloud Village, A had guessed that Onoki wouldn't be able to hold back. He would first contact Rasa and Mei Terumi, and perhaps even contact Kazuki first. But he never could have dreamed that Onoki would be willing to throw out even Dust Release just to win Kazuki's favor.
In the Leaf Village, the situation remained unchanged. After the first day, Mei Terumi and Rasa made no further moves, simply letting their people argue with the opposing side. They argued from dawn till dusk, faces red and necks bulging, yet the peace talks made no progress whatsoever.
"Ladies and gentlemen, after dragging this out for so long, don't you think it's about time?" Mei Terumi and Rasa could remain composed, but Kazuki had finally had enough. It wasn't that he was worried the two delegations would eat the Leaf into poverty. It was that sitting in the conference room day after day, watching them argue to the point of nearly cursing each other's ancestors eighteen generations back – once or twice was tolerable, but after a while, it became utterly nauseating.
After yet another fruitless day, Kazuki specifically detained Mei Terumi and Rasa after the talks concluded. "You're deliberately stalling, waiting for the Stone Village's response. I know all of this. Stalling for time is one thing, but enough is enough. You can argue among yourselves all you want – I, as the intermediary, am numb from watching. Oh, and don't think your people's disguises were so clever. They were spotted long ago; I simply chose not to expose it. Let's all be a bit more candid and direct.
Rasa: "..."
Mei Terumi: "..."
Having their little schemes so bluntly exposed left both of their expressions somewhat uncomfortable. "The peace talks will conclude within two days. If they cannot be resolved in that time, the Leaf Village will withdraw from this matter entirely. The two of you can find another location and take your time negotiating and tugging at each other. Furthermore, whatever terms you negotiate with the Stone Village – that's your own affair. Leave the Leaf Village out of it."
Since they'd already been exposed, what was left to say? Rasa slowly nodded. Mei Terumi, leaning forward with her hands on the table, asked with a smile, "Kazuki, aren't you curious about Onoki's reaction?"
"What's there to be curious about? He will certainly agree to my conditions," Kazuki paused, and upon seeing the astonished expressions on Mei Terumi's and Rasa's faces, he smiled. "Ah, and thank you both for helping me deliver the message to the Tsuchikage. As for why the Tsuchikage would agree – the reasoning is simple. No matter how important Dust Release is to the Stone Village, you still have to be able to learn it. Just like the Leaf Village's Flying Thunder God Technique."
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