The news of the First Hokage's defeat spread like wildfire across the entire shinobi world.
The other two major ninja villages, who had previously been pinning all their hopes on Konoha, watched their morale plunge to absolute rock bottom.
This was especially true for Iwagakure Village. Having endured a relentless and intense bombardment from Sunagakure, there was barely a single intact building left standing within its borders.
Historically, Iwagakure was completely encircled by natural hazards. Renowned for its absolute, ironclad defense, the hidden village was a natural fortress carved directly from massive rocky mountains.
Its highly restrictive geography made it nearly impossible for enemies to breach from the outside; however, by that same token, it made communication and integration with the outside world exceptionally difficult.
Yet, it was precisely this deeply insular, isolated village that was now completely surrounded by massive, towering humanoid puppets blotting out the sky. Under the destructive fury of various photon beam weapons, all of Iwagakure's defense mechanisms were rendered utterly useless.
Uchiha Kaede and Hoshigaki Kisame had officially converged with the main force of Sunagakure. Looking down at the battered, ruined state of Iwagakure, Uchiha Kaede's face did not betray a single shred of pity.
"Lord Kaede, Onoki has dispatched an emissary. He requests an audience with us."
It was glaringly obvious that for the survival of the entire Iwagakure Village, Onoki had to make a definitive resolution.
"Grandpa! Why choose to meet with the Sunagakure people at a time like this? We can still keep fighting!"
With her short black hair, dark grey eyes, a red mesh jumpsuit underneath, and her standard ninja flak jacket over it, Kurotsuchi stared at Onoki with deep reluctance. It was clear that the Iwagakure shinobi were absolutely unwilling to surrender to their old rivals, Sunagakure.
Gazing at his precious granddaughter, Ohnoki chuckled hoarsely: "Kurotsuchi, do you know? Long ago, my master, the Second Tsuchikage Mu, and my grandfather, the First Tsuchikage Ishikawa, both faced similar choices."
Ohnoki was the grandson of the First Tsuchikage, Ishikawa. Exceptionally gifted from a young age, he grew up under the strict education and meticulous care of both the First and Second Tsuchikages. T
The First Tsuchikage had personally assigned him the chore of cleaning the village's sacred token—the Symbol Stone—and had personally guided his philosophy.
During those days, Ishikawa had provided a profound explanation of Iwagakure's underlying doctrine—the Will of Stone, which symbolized unyielding tenacity, perseverance, and remaining as immovable as a mountain. This single sermon had a deeply profound impact on Ohnoki's entire life.
In the chaotic era of war, he followed his master Mu through countless conflicts. To protect the village alongside his master, he often engaged in fierce battles against other villages until dawn.
In the early days of the village's founding, Mu had led his disciple Ohnoki to Konoha for diplomatic talks, only to encounter Uchiha Madara. The alliance between Iwagakure and Konoha was ruthlessly rejected by Madara, and both Mu and Ohnoki returned heavily injured.
In the aftermath of that historic incident, Ishikawa had personally stepped forward to battle Uchiha Madara, using his own life to exemplify exactly what the Will of Stone meant.
Ohnoki's true growth began from that very moment...
Later, the Second Tsuchikage Mu taught him the Dust Release—a Bloodline Selection that combined the three nature transformations of Wind, Fire, and Earth—while passing down the unbroken Will of Stone to Ohnoki, deeply shaping his development and destiny.
Kurotsuchi was naturally well-aware of these stories. Hearing the underlying tone in Ohnoki's words, her eyes welled up: "Grandpa, don't talk like that... we can still fight together."
"The world has changed, Kurotsuchi. Iwagakure Village cannot be completely wiped out in your hands. So, let this old man bear the weight of everything."
It could be said that what Ohnoki believed in most firmly throughout his life was the Will of Stone. To put it bluntly, he was stubborn, headstrong, and unyielding—just like a rock, hard and obstinate.
After the First Shinobi World War ended, his master, the Second Tsuchikage, exhausted his life force to protect the younger generation and died in battle. Heartbroken, Onoki succeeded to the mantle of Tsuchikage.
In his capacity as Tsuchikage, he vowed to protect his village and nation, deeply inheriting the intense Will of Stone from the Second Tsuchikage. He was a veteran of a hundred battles, one of the few remaining survivors of the chaotic warring era.
But facing the life-and-death survival of his village, no matter how iron-willed Ohnoki was, he could not help but be deeply moved.
Master... Grandfather...
Kurotsuchi wanted to speak out, but her father, Kitsuchi, stopped her, firmly shaking his head.
Slowly putting on the official robes that represented the Tsuchikage, Ohnoki stepped out of Iwagakure Village one deliberate pace at a time, arriving at the front lines of the battlefield.
"Lord Tsuchikage, have you made your decision?"
Completely ignoring Uchiha Kaede's words, the power of Dust Release began to condense once again within the palm of Ohnoki's hand, transforming into a sharp, terrifying cluster of energy.
"In the name of the Third Tsuchikage, I hereby decree—Iwagakure Village is officially disbanded as of today!"
This utterly unexpected declaration left the entire battlefield stunned into absolute silence. Kurotsuchi's face turned grief-stricken. She tried to rush forward but was pinned down tightly once more by her father, Kitsuchi.
"Don't let your grandfather's painstaking sacrifice go to waste."
As Kitsuchi spoke, his voice trembled. He could perceive that the vast majority of the remaining Iwagakure ninjas were staring at Onoki with tears streaming down their faces. They had all noticed that their Tsuchikage had suddenly downed a specialized liquid from a small vial.
The Hero's Water!
The ancient sacred relic of Takigakure Village. Decades ago, during a conflict involving the Seven-Tails, Iwagakure had invaded Takigakure and seized a portion of the Hero's Water. No one expected it to be utilized by the Tsuchikage himself on this exact day.
The moment the Hero's Water was swallowed, Ohnoki's hair stood entirely on end. Having consumed this specialized secret medicine, his chakra reserves spiked to more than ten times his normal baseline.
For a moment, even Uchiha Kaede's brows knit tightly together as he took several cautious steps backward.
Perceiving that the old man before him was prepared to trade his life, Uchiha Kaede rapidly activated his specialized Sharingan Bead Mode.
Countless Sharingan eyes slowly manifested across his form: "Since you have already announced your surrender, why put on such a defiant posture?"
"Because what follows is a personal vendetta between this old man and Sunagakure!"
Without a single word of empty fluff, Onoki roared, thrusting his palms forward as he abruptly unleashed a violent, sweeping shockwave of light.
When it came to raw destructive capabilities, Dust Release was arguably the strongest killer move in the entire shinobi world.
This was especially true for Onoki, who had cultivated Dust Release for decades; his mastery had long surpassed even his master, the Second Tsuchikage Mu.
Ohnoki's physical appearance had always carried a somewhat comical tone, with a massive bulbous nose right in the middle of his face and an incredibly short, diminutive stature.
However, under the intense influence of the Hero's Water, the sheer power continuously erupting from his entire body added a deeply tragic, heroic color to his figure.
Slowly levitating into mid-air, Onoki unleashed a fierce barrage of Dust Release toward Uchiha Kaede.
This old man possessed an obstinate, rigid personality, but he was a grand ninja who loved his village deeply, fiercely defending its interests and protecting its inhabitants until the very end.
Now, forced to dissolve Iwagakure Village, he still hoped to use his final battle to ensure everyone in the village would remember forever what the Will of Stone truly meant!
With a thunderous, earth-shattering explosion, Onoki drove the Super Weighted Rock Technique, perfectly integrating his own bloodline traits to manifest a colossally massive, shifting earth-core monster.
Treading atop the beast, his hair flaring wildly with rage, he charged straight at Uchiha Kaede.
Confronted by an Onoki who was staking his entire life on this strike, the Sunagakure forces could not help but retreat several steps.
However, Uchiha Kaede did not show the slightest intention of evading. The moment the Mangekyo Sharingan snapped open within both of his eyes, a colossal, pitch-black sun slowly rose into the sky.
An endless, absolute darkness illuminated the earth, violently crashing into Ohnoki's colossal clay monster.
Through his continuous training and development over this period, Uchiha Kaede had fully unlocked more than a dozen unique traits within his Sharingan Beads—and every single one of them could bring a massive, staggering amplification and boost to his combat prowess.
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