Inside a secret room in Iwagakure, Land of Earth, Onoki sat quietly on a chair, smiling faintly as he looked at a ninja standing in front of him. This ninja wore a Kumogakure forehead protector and had pitch-black skin all over his body. This person was the liaison sent by the Raikage to contact Iwagakure, and Kurotsuchi stood beside Onoki.
"Lord Tsuchikage, regarding the matter of unilaterally withdrawing Iwagakure ninjas last time, it was indeed our Kumogakure's fault. However, at that time, Lord Raikage suffered some injuries and was unable to sustain the battle, which greatly damaged our morale. Moreover, at that time, we were on the Land of Cherry Blossoms' territory, so please understand," the Kumogakure ninja said slowly.
Onoki just smiled at him and didn't say anything. No one knew what he was thinking in his heart. This Kumogakure ninja saw that Onoki still had a faint smile on his face, and his body couldn't help but shiver.
However, he also had good mental fortitude and forced himself to remain calm. He said, "I can assure Lord Tsuchikage that what happened last time will absolutely not happen again. This time, we will absolutely not give the Land of Cherry Blossoms any preparations, even with Kirigakure's support.
It's even possible that our Kumogakure will use the power of the tailed beasts to flatten the Land of Cherry Blossoms at the fastest speed. So Lord Tsuchikage need not worry about what happened last time," the Iwagakure ninja said, a hint of embarrassment flashing across his face as he spoke.
Originally, Kumogakure and Iwagakure had allied before, which was considered a formally signed treaty alliance. However, during the battle, they shamelessly abandoned their ally and retreated alone. This was completely indefensible. If this happened again, who would dare to cooperate with Kumogakure in the future?
And this incident also had a negative impact on Kumogakure's image. These negative impacts would be difficult to erase in a short time. After all, many people were paying attention to this great battle, not only various small and medium-sized ninja villages, but also the Five Great Ninja Villages.
Onoki's face showed no change when he heard the Kumogakure ninja's words. He still had a faint smile on his face. The Kumogakure ninja couldn't help but sweat profusely. As an experienced ninja of Kumogakure, he knew Onoki extremely well. Precisely because he knew him well, he would feel wary.
Don't look at this Onoki, who looks extremely slippery and harmless with a smiling face. But he is very clear that this seemingly kind and harmless old man is an old fox who eats people without spitting out their bones.
In previous Ninja Wars, this old fox tricked Kumogakure several times, causing Kumogakure extremely heavy losses. What angered Kumogakure the most was that the Third Raikage of Kumogakure fell into Iwagakure's trap and died under Iwagakure's encirclement to protect Kumogakure.
Although he really didn't want to admit it, this Kumogakure ninja indeed had a deep sense of trepidation towards Onoki. Seeing that Onoki still didn't speak, he gritted his teeth, then revealed Kumogakure's bottom line: "Lord Tsuchikage, if you feel dissatisfied, to show our Kumogakure's sincerity,
I can guarantee on behalf of Kumogakure that no matter how much benefit each of the two countries, once the Land of Cherry Blossoms is carved up, obtains, we can give up ten percent of the benefits our Kumogakure obtains. What do you think?"
Onoki's eyes narrowed slightly. He still looked at him with a faint smile. Sweat continuously seeped from his forehead. Just as he was about to lose his composure, Onoki finally spoke, "Heh heh, is that all you're saying?"
Kurotsuchi, standing beside Onoki, looked at the Kumogakure ninja, whose body was trembling slightly, a hint of disdain in her eyes.
"You... what do you mean? Aren't you satisfied with our conditions? You must know that this is the biggest concession our Kumogakure has made," the Kumogakure ninja said somewhat anxiously. He felt that all his previous words were useless. It seemed Onoki was just toying with him.
"Heh heh, to be honest, I have never believed in your Kumogakure. Even that brat Raikage's hot-headed temper is not trustworthy at all. Your unilateral retreat last time only made me more convinced of this point. On the contrary, I think the Land of Cherry Blossoms is a good partner," Onoki said with a faint smile, but his words made the Kumogakure ninja's heart sink to the bottom.
"You, what do you mean!!!" The Kumogakure ninja's cold sweat instantly broke out. He said somewhat anxiously, as if he couldn't believe what Onoki said.
"That's what I mean." A playful smile suddenly sounded from behind the Kumogakure ninja. Hearing this voice, the Kumogakure ninja's face instantly changed drastically, but it was already too late. "Ah!!!!!" With a soft sound, a sharp kunai had directly pierced into the Kumogakure ninja's heart from behind.
"You..." The Kumogakure ninja slowly turned his head, only to see that Kurotsuchi had somehow appeared behind him, smiling at him. She was still holding the kunai that had pierced his heart.
And Kurotsuchi, who was standing beside the Tsuchikage, slowly transformed into a mud clone. It was an Earth Clone. The Kumogakure ninja's eyes were filled with unwillingness. His body slowly fell.
He probably didn't expect, even before he died, that the Land of Cherry Blossoms and the Land of Earth, who were warring enemies before, would actually become cooperative partners.
"Hmph, you still want me to cooperate with your Kumogakure. It's simply a fool's dream," Onoki said disdainfully. "Is this alright, old man?" Kurotsuchi said, holding the kunai covered in fresh blood, looking at Onoki with a smile.
"Hmm, are all the nails pulled out?" Onoki said calmly. "Don't worry, all the traitors in the village were cleared out in the big purge a few days ago, including those from other villages. Not a single one escaped. Kumogakure won't be able to discover this for now."
"And our ninja units have also already set off for the Land of Lightning border through secret tunnels. After all, it's a secret operation. If those guys from Kumogakure knew about it, wouldn't it all be for nothing?" Kurotsuchi said with a smile.
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