"It is a bit interesting. Onoki, I acknowledge you." Madara Uchiha held the Uchiha war fans, raising one sickle in his left hand to point at Onoki.
Onoki ordered the Earth Style Wall to open a path. He walked out and saw Madara Uchiha standing before the Konoha army, his hair flying in the wind, his face full of excitement, the corners of his mouth lifted. Onoki's heart could not help but tremble.
This was Madara Uchiha, the Shinobi World's Asura, the powerful existence who fought the God of Shinobi for a lifetime.
Seeing Onoki, Madara Uchiha laughed wildly. "Hahahahaha, everyone retreat two kilometers. Do not interfere with my dance with Onoki." After saying this, Madara Uchiha waved his hand grandly. The Konoha shinobi's eyes held a fanatical light. After so many years, they could once again witness the power of the Shinobi World's Asura.
Seeing this, Onoki said, "All forces of Iwagakure, dispel your jutsu and retreat two kilometers." The shinobi of Iwagakure obeyed the order, their expressions grave. Yet they could not disobey the Tsuchikage's words, so they all withdrew backward.
Seeing this, Onoki felt relieved in his heart. If Iwagakure suffered heavy losses in this battle, he would bear a guilt that death could not absolve. These were all Iwagakure shinobi, the future hope of Iwagakure.
He clearly knew that if these people fought Konoha shinobi and Madara Uchiha, it would only be a one-sided massacre. Rather than that, it was better for him to face it alone.
"Madara Uchiha, I hope that after this battle, if I lose, you will not target my Iwagakure shinobi. Do not wipe them out completely. As for me, I am at your disposal." Onoki clenched his fists, utterly unafraid of the recent burn wounds.
Madara Uchiha saw this and nodded. "If I lose, Konoha will withdraw its troops now. For ten years, we will not commit the slightest offense against Iwagakure. If you lose, you will step down. From now on, Iwagakure will be renamed the Konoha Stone Division. You will step down. The division head will be appointed by us from Konoha. You must cooperate fully."
He still remembered Ryun's words. The purpose of this battle was to subjugate all the ninja villages of the world, regulate all the shinobi of the world. From now on, the entire world would be Konoha.
Onoki was stunned. Was this Konoha's true goal? To reduce Iwagakure to a Konoha subsidiary, controlled by Konoha. His own assistance would only be more beneficial for Konoha's rule.
He could not refuse to cooperate. He must cooperate. If he did not cooperate, Konoha would exterminate their Iwagakure clan, and it would happen today.
Onoki looked up at the sky and murmured. "Today, I am afraid I will let down the previous Tsuchikage. Your unworthy descendant Onoki can only defend my Iwagakure with all my strength. If I fail, I hope the previous Tsuchikage will not blame me."
After saying these words, Onoki took a deep breath and looked at Madara Uchiha. This was the existence who once, with mere pressure, made him kneel on the ground and abandon the Will of Stone. Now he was about to fight him. He must conquer his fear, surpass himself.
"Fight." He took the initiative, activating the Lightened Boulder Technique. His body flew up, charging toward Madara Uchiha. When close, his right hand transformed into a stone fist and smashed toward Madara Uchiha.
"An ant trying to shake a tree." Madara Uchiha's eyes narrowed. He swung the sickle in his hand in a circle. The sickle's blade tip met Onoki's stone fist, erupting in a massive shockwave. It spread outward in all directions from the point of contact.
The Konoha shinobi and Iwagakure shinobi felt this shockwave. Their pupils dilated, their hair flew behind them. So strong.
Onoki gritted his teeth. He had used his stone fist jutsu, yet it was only equal to his opponent's casual strike. Madara Uchiha's pupils lit up. "That little brat from back then has now grown much stronger. But this alone is not enough."
After saying this, Madara Uchiha raised his left hand, changing the direction of the stone fist's attack. A stomping kick shot toward Onoki's chest. Onoki could not dodge in time. He was kicked flying by this foot, smashing into a rock wall on the side.
Pfft.
Onoki spat out a mouthful of blood, his pupils wide open. Madara Uchiha's taijutsu attacks had already reached Kage level. This kick shook Onoki's internal organs violently, causing considerable internal injury.
"Hey hey, Onoki, don't tell me you're done already. You are the Third Tsuchikage. You bear the heavy responsibility of Iwagakure on your shoulders. Looking at it now, your responsibility seems very light." Madara Uchiha laughed wildly. This was how he was in battle, wanton and unrestrained. Aside from Hashirama Senju, no one was worthy of being taken seriously by him.
Onoki breathed heavily, his expression intense. So strong. This power. With taijutsu alone, he could accomplish this. Madara Uchiha truly lived up to being the Shinobi World's Asura.
Onoki shakily got up, standing from within the rock wall. His legs trembled. A sense of fear welled up, as if he had returned to that night when he and his teacher were pressed to the ground by Madara Uchiha, unable to resist.
If possible, he, Onoki, truly did not want to confront Madara Uchiha. Because he knew clearly, there was no chance of victory. But today, he, Onoki, could not shrink back. On his shoulders rested the expectations of nearly four hundred thousand people of Iwagakure. On his shoulders rested the future freedom of the shinobi. On his shoulders rested the reputation of Iwagakure.
Even if he died in battle, he could not admit defeat. He still had the powerful enemy Kumogakure to deal with. He still had the sin of causing Iwagakure to lose a Jinchuriki that he had not atoned for. He still had the error of command mistakes that he had not corrected. He could not fall. He could not fall here.
They say a person lives one life, grass and trees one autumn. Perhaps death itself is not frightening. But a humiliating death is the most regrettable. He would rather die standing than live kneeling.
Onoki crouched down and grasped a rock in his hand. "Madara, perhaps a genius like you never understands the persistence of people like us."
"Once it was you who made me lose myself. Facing your overwhelming power, I was powerless, I was trapped, I abandoned the firmness in my heart. But the First Hokage told me, my will has the power to overturn the shinobi world. If I do not protect it, it will disappear in the future."
"But today, I will conquer fear, pick up the Will of Stone once again, use my full strength to protect my village, use everything I have to practice the Will of Stone." Onoki's chakra erupted, making his hair fly wildly. At this moment, his aura was not inferior to Madara Uchiha's.
"Any rock on the ground can be a symbol of our village's steadfast will. Although it is ordinary, unable to make waves in water, the most important thing is the will in the heart. I, Onoki, though my strength is not great, my will is to protect Iwagakure, to protect everyone."
The First Tsuchikage's voice sounded again. "Hitting a wall easily makes a person abandon their will, find excuses for themselves, use hatred to replace the missing will. Listen well, your will, you must never abandon it. Protect it well."
"This time, I will no longer make excuses. Madara, fight. Dust Release was never just for destruction, but for protection." Onoki was fully revived, the shackles in his heart broken. His strength crossed from Kage level to beyond Kage level.
Madara Uchiha's pupils widened. At this moment, he was silent, he respected, he acknowledged, he understood how firm the will in Onoki's heart was.
"Well, Onoki has grown some ability. I take back my previous words. Next, I will defeat you with my full strength. To fulfill your will." Although Madara Uchiha knew Onoki had now broken his shackles, the difference in strength between them was still a vast chasm.
What truly made Madara Uchiha change his attitude was Onoki's Will of Stone.
The shinobi of Iwagakure shed tears. At this moment, Deidara looked at Madara Uchiha. "Hey, Madara, if you kill the old man, I swear, one day in the future, I will raze Konoha to the ground."
Kitsuchi also stepped forward. "That's right. If you harm the Tsuchikage, I will certainly fight Konoha to the death."
"And us. The Tsuchikage is our guardian deity. If he dies, even if we use our last breath, we will bite a piece of flesh from your Konoha." The shinobi of Iwagakure became agitated.
They shouted, "The Will of Stone, never admitting defeat."
"The Will of Stone, never admitting defeat."
"The Will of Stone, never admitting defeat."
The sound spread across the entire battlefield. Even Ryun could not help but sigh. The Will of Stone, that will which awakened in the Fourth Great Shinobi War, leading the Five Kage to fight again, had it now awakened once more here.
For a moment, the Konoha shinobi hearing this scene felt shocked in their hearts, their morale low. At this moment, Ryun stepped forward.
"Where the leaves of Konoha dance, the fire will also live on. The light of the Hokage illuminates the village, new leaves will sprout again. Wherever the leaves of Konoha fly, fire will burn. The fire's light will guide Konoha's path forward."
"We of Konoha are also for the villagers, to end this absurd chaos of the shinobi world, to unify for our descendants, to seek peace."
"Even though the Will of Stone is worthy of respect, any obstacle standing before our Konoha, we will remove them one by one." Ryun quoted the words spoken by Hiruzen Sarutobi before his death in the original, slightly altering them, explaining their will as inheritance, as peace.
This made the Konoha shinobi firm their hearts once again. At this moment, they looked at the Iwagakure shinobi. "Where the leaves of Konoha dance, the fire will also live on. The light of the Hokage illuminates the village, new leaves will sprout again. Wherever the leaves of Konoha fly, fire will burn. The fire's light will guide Konoha's path forward."
The enemy, though respectable, could not become a reason for Konoha to retreat and yield. If sacrifices must be made, then let their generation complete them.
Madara Uchiha erupted with chakra once more. Though he also respected the Will of Stone, what he did was all for inheritance, all for Konoha.
"You heard it, Onoki. The Will of Fire does not lose to your Will of Stone." Madara Uchiha roared. A blue Susanoo rose from the ground, roaring.
The Susanoo roared. At this moment, it erupted with immense power. Feeling its master's resolve, the Susanoo grew wildly, reaching three hundred and fifty meters, like a giant, looking down upon all beings.
Onoki spread his hands open. "Dust Release, Detachment of the Primitive World Technique." The Dust Release prism rapidly gathered. Dazzling white light illuminated this stretch of heaven and earth. A massive pillar of light formed, blasting toward the head of Madara Uchiha's Susanoo.
That was where Madara Uchiha stood. As long as he destroyed him, he would win. Iwagakure would be preserved.
For Iwagakure, for the villagers, go.
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