With Senra Heart Chains striking again, the battle finally reached its conclusion.
Ōnoki could do nothing but pant, drifting weakly in midair.
Below, Uchiha Kai didn't bother with the old man for the moment.
Instead, he glanced at the prompt hovering in his awareness.
[Defeated Two-Tails Jinchūriki Yugito Nii. Attempting to copy traits…]
[Copyable traits: Blue Cat Princess (Black), Two-Tails Jinchūriki (Gold), Tailed Beast Bomb (Purple), Tailed Beast Fireball (Purple), Fire Rat Orb (Blue)…]
[Copy successful. Congratulations: Legendary trait acquired—Power of the Two-Tails · I (Gold). After activation, you can borrow Matatabi's power.]
Kai narrowed his eyes, looking toward the Two-Tails—now restrained under Senra Heart Chains.
He was mildly surprised.
A jinchūriki who barely had any spotlight in the original story… yet she carried so many traits.
Especially that "Blue Cat Princess."
It sounded… not exactly respectable.
After a moment's thought, he withdrew five of the chains, leaving only one looped around her neck.
If they dared infiltrate Konoha while he was gone—
Then they would pay a price equal to that arrogance.
Then he turned his gaze to the other one.
The fastest man of the Five Kage Summit era.
A walking heap of muscle.
Even embedded in stone, he still refused to give up.
Putting everything else aside… Kai's skin tone really did match Raikage A the closest.
[Defeated Fourth Raikage A. Attempting to copy traits…]
[Copyable traits: Head-First Hard-Charge (Black), Strongest Lightning Armor (Gold), Lightning Release Body Flicker (Purple), Lightning Release Chakra Mode (Purple), Lightning Release: Lightning Plow Hot Knife (Blue)…]
[Copy successful. Congratulations: Epic trait acquired—Lightning Release Chakra Mode (Purple). After activation, you will be faster than many men.]
Kai nodded in approval.
"Not bad. The man second only to the Fourth Hokage."
The Raikage's defining traits had always been simple:
Strong.
Fast.
A brutal muscle monster—big power, bigger speed.
Whether someone could endure it depended on the person.
Clearly, Kai not only endured it—
He was now even faster than Raikage A.
But…
Seeing the copied trait, he hesitated.
"Does Lightning Release Chakra Mode stack with Cloud-Style Taijutsu?"
He didn't hesitate further.
He fused them on the spot.
[Lightning Release Chakra Mode (Purple) and Cloud-Style Taijutsu (Purple) are merging…]
[Merge successful. Congratulations: Legendary trait acquired—Lightning Release Mantle (Gold). Uses Lightning Release to stimulate cellular activity, greatly increasing speed and reaction time—so fast you can even dodge Amaterasu.]
Gold.
Again.
Kai was thrilled—right up until he saw the effect description.
His expression darkened immediately.
Dodge Amaterasu?
Since when did that technique deserve such reverence?
For a jutsu with a reputation terrifying enough to shake the world—
And a track record that was… questionable at best—
When did Amaterasu earn this kind of prestige?
Still, he couldn't help imagining it:
"If I activate Nine-Tails Mode… then Sage Mode… then this so-called fastest Lightning Mantle…"
"And on top of that, Susanoo armor…"
He wasn't sure just how strong that would be—
But he had a strong feeling:
At minimum, ten years from now, he wouldn't be casually bullied from "top-tier Kage" down into the dirt.
Once the rewards settled, he looked down at the battlefield.
His gaze was calm.
Yet the scene was utter devastation.
Two hundred Cloud and Stone elites lay unconscious, scattered like livestock awaiting slaughter.
Raikage A could barely lift an arm—nothing more.
Finally, Kai's eyes settled on the figure below, just rising from the ravine and breathing hard.
Ōnoki.
His gaze was flat.
Like a god staring at dust.
Like the sky looking down on a firefly.
"Ōnoki," Kai said quietly, "who led you into Konoha Village to reach this place?"
That was the question that mattered.
And it was the reason he hadn't crushed Ōnoki outright.
It was also the same question burning in the minds of Shikaku, Fugaku, Hiashi, and the other leaders.
How had so many foreign elites slipped all the way to the Forest of Death?
"Cough—cough. If you want me to betray an ally—impossible!"
Ōnoki seized on the question like a lifeline and forced himself upright, stubborn to the last.
But the moment the words left his mouth, he pivoted:
"However… if you release Iwagakure's shinobi, I can tell you."
"And I can guarantee—for the next hundred years—we will never again set our sights on Konoha."
As he spoke, he rose out of the ravine instinctively.
The moment those words landed, Shikaku's eyes lit up.
A hundred years.
For Konoha's current condition, that was priceless breathing room.
Trading captured Iwa elites for a century of stability?
It sounded… worth it.
Hiashi and Fugaku exchanged a look—both of them tempted.
Right now, what they lacked most was time.
"Kai…"
"Lord Kai…"
"Lord Kai, maybe we…"
One clan head after another spoke up, sharing their opinions.
Kai listened without responding.
Until—
Sasuke, who had been humiliated again and again tonight, suddenly charged forward.
"No! Why?!"
"They attack whenever they want, and they tried to kidnap Naruto and Hinata!"
"And now they want to threaten us for their own benefit?! Absolutely not! Second… brother!"
His voice was firm, his face blazing with anger.
Only when he looked at Kai did his momentum soften a little.
But the expression didn't change.
Still hostile.
To Sasuke, anyone who invaded should be prepared to die in Konoha.
"…Uh."
Sasuke's words forced the clan heads into silence.
Even those who wanted to argue were stopped by Shikaku's warning gaze.
Because in the end—
This decision belonged to Kai.
And Kai…
After hearing Sasuke, he reached out and pinched the boy's cheek.
Soft.
Stubborn.
Then he looked up at Ōnoki and smiled, lips curling.
"Are you—threatening me?"
"Since when does the losing side get to threaten the village they attacked?"
"Do you really think Konoha is still the same peace-loving country it used to be?"
Those words struck Ōnoki like lightning.
His eyes narrowed.
At last he understood.
This boy wasn't like the Third Hokage.
He didn't love peace.
And when Ōnoki saw that half-smile—half-mockery in Kai's eyes—
He made a decision that betrayed his pride.
He turned.
He gathered what little chakra he had left—
And tried to fly.
He wanted to return to Iwagakure.
To contact other nations.
To regroup and strike again.
He spun to leave—
But just as he was about to rise, an amused voice drifted behind him.
"Run?"
"You really want to run—Ōnoki?"
The voice wasn't loud.
But the chill that crawled up his spine was instant and absolute.
Drip. Drip.
Cold sweat rolled down his brow.
Into his eyes.
Stinging hard.
Yet he didn't dare move.
Inside him, only one thought remained:
If I fly… I'll be torn apart in an instant.
Click.
Ōnoki froze.
The attempt to take off—
Failed.
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