Onoki stared at the scroll in his hands, the shock plain on his weathered face.
"Tsk, tsk… Even knowing two major ninja villages were closing in from both sides, he still chose to strike first? Heh… Looks like this old man still underestimated that little brat. The kids these days… they're seriously terrifying…"
Hidden Stone Village, inside the Tsuchikage's private tower.
Onoki shook his head with genuine emotion.
To his side, Kurotsuchi had been biting her lip for a while now. That stubborn little face of hers couldn't hide the complicated look in her eyes.
A thirteen-year-old boy?
Defeating the Raikage—one of the strongest of the Five Kage—in straight-up combat?
No matter how proud Kurotsuchi was, she had to admit it: this boy was on a completely different level from her.
She might think of herself as a genius, but she didn't believe she could beat the Fourth Raikage right now. The man was from the same generation as her father and had made his name during the Third Great Ninja War. He led the most warlike village in the ninja world, and his strength was acknowledged everywhere.
Menma hadn't done it with his own power alone—he had used the Nine-Tails. But did that even matter? The result was clear: Menma had crushed the Fourth Raikage in a direct fight.
That fact was undeniable.
"Lord Third, what should our village do next?"
From the lower seats, Kamizuru Gari asked with a grave expression. The situation had changed too fast. They had only just started reacting, and everything had already flipped again. Their previous strategy wasn't completely useless, but it no longer matched reality.
The personnel they had sent out—except for Akatsuchi, who was still holding the front line near Hozuki Castle—had mostly returned for now.
The board had changed.
Their Hidden Stone Village needed to adapt accordingly.
"What do you all think?"
Onoki set the two scrolls down and turned the question back on them instead of answering.
The current situation carried risk no matter which way they moved. Staying on the sidelines seemed like the safest, most stable choice… but that also meant willingly giving up any control over events.
Watching and waiting was one thing when everyone was still scrambling in chaos—you could play the fisherman. But now that a victor had emerged and the lines were drawn, continued hesitation could mean missing the perfect moment.
That was the last thing a smart leader should do.
Gari, Kitsuchi, and the other elite Jonin in charge of key village posts exchanged glances.
Gari spoke first:
"From what we can see, the situation is still too uncertain. The Cloud suffered heavy losses, but their foundation is intact. And this isn't a fight between just two sides—the Leaf and Mist are involved too. I believe we should lean toward the major villages. Send someone to make contact with the Leaf first. Menma leading the Waterfall to defeat the Cloud is impressive, but he couldn't have done it without paying a price. The pressure he'll face next is still enormous. This is the perfect time for us to make our move."
His stance was crystal clear: side against Menma.
Kitsuchi, however, frowned slightly. Almost as soon as Gari finished, he spoke up:
"I actually think we should honor the alliance pact we made with Menma-kun. Yes, the Cloud can absorb the casualties, but if the intelligence is accurate, the Fourth Raikage's severe injury and the loss of the Two-Tails Jinchuriki have already struck their foundation. The Cloud won't be launching another major offensive anytime soon. At most they'll send some token forces to save face. The Sand still hasn't made any moves, and the Mist's vanguard stopped at the northeastern border of the Land of Fire. Whether they'll actually commit is still fifty-fifty. So the only one we can be sure will act is the Leaf. Honestly, looking at the current power balance, I'm leaning toward Menma-kun's side. The destructive power of three Tailed Beasts is obvious. And Lord Third, don't forget—Orochimaru still hasn't shown his hand, and there's the entire Hidden Grass Village under Menma's influence. We need to take all of that into account."
Two completely opposite opinions.
Gari represented "the foundation of the Great Villages."
Kitsuchi trusted the "potential of the rising power."
Or more accurately, he trusted Menma himself.
At first Kitsuchi had only paid attention to Menma because his father had. Now he genuinely recognized the boy's worth.
Just like his father had said—this was an unprecedented genius.
Watching Menma now, Kitsuchi—who had never witnessed the legendary duel between Hashirama and Madara—had started to believe that someone could truly stand above the entire ninja world through sheer personal power.
Because Menma was only thirteen.
Who could say he wouldn't reach the heights of the First Hokage and Madara Uchiha one day?
And even setting aside that future potential, the strength and influence he had already shown were enough for the Hidden Stone to take seriously.
One misstep, and it could be their village that got overturned. Not to mention they had an actual alliance pact.
Even in the ninja world, where alliances between villages and factions were often treated like jokes, breaking one still came with consequences. Benefits and costs had to at least be equal, or what was the point?
"What about the rest of you?"
Onoki didn't comment on his son's or Gari's views. He simply turned to the other elite Jonin seated below.
Gathering wisdom from many—this was the Tsuchikage's version of "democratic decision-making."
The Jonin below were all veterans with rich experience. Most had lived through the Third Great Ninja War. Only one or two were rising stars from recent years.
After a brief silence, they began voicing their opinions one after another.
Most leaned toward Gari's view.
The Five Great Ninja Villages had stood for over sixty years. It might not sound that long, but their equal status and overwhelming dominance had left a deep mark on everyone's minds. The fact that only the leaders of the Five Great Villages could be called "Kage" was the best proof.
That was why the Hidden Star Village was always mocked.
A village whose peak strength had only been a few hundred ninja—its leader still dared call himself "Kage"? What a joke.
Because of this ingrained mindset, when the Stone's Jonin considered the situation, they were easily influenced by old assumptions. Even though Menma had proven his strength with results, for people stuck in "fixed thinking," it still wasn't quite enough.
As long as the Cloud, Leaf, and Mist maintained their united front, most would lean toward those three.
That was a "reasonable" judgment within normal bounds.
"Hmph. You're all so damn conservative. This bunch is hopeless. Same as you, Onoki. You called me back just to pick this cowardly approach? Then count me out. I'm not interested."
Just as the Jonin finished speaking and Onoki was about to respond—
A cold snort suddenly rang out from the left side of the office. The voice was neither friendly nor polite.
Everyone's hearts jumped.
Who dared speak so arrogantly in this meeting room? And openly mock their own Tsuchikage?
But the people below didn't notice that neither Onoki, Kitsuchi, nor Gari showed any surprise.
They were clearly familiar with the speaker.
As everyone's gazes instinctively turned toward the source of the voice—
A short but extremely stocky middle-aged man came into view. His purple-red hair and thick beard were impossible to miss.
This was none other than one of the Hidden Stone's four Kage-level powerhouses—the Four-Tails Jinchuriki, Roshi!
And the moment they saw his face, even the younger Jonin who weren't that familiar with him showed looks of sudden understanding.
In their entire Hidden Stone Village, only Roshi had the guts and the standing to talk back to their Tsuchikage like this.
Onoki, for his part, looked completely used to it.
He gazed calmly at Roshi and said, "We're simply discussing things normally. After all, this concerns the village's entire strategic direction. Everyone should speak freely. If you have an opinion, feel free to share it."
If anyone else had spoken to him like that, Onoki would have exploded long ago.
Only Roshi got special treatment.
Not just because Roshi was a cornerstone of the village—his personal strength second only to Onoki himself—but because Roshi's deep qualifications in the village meant his sharp words were almost always for the village's benefit, never personal gain. Over the years, even though he rarely stayed in the village and hardly took missions, the moment the village faced a major crisis or war threat, one order from Onoki and Roshi would return immediately to carry it out.
He was the type who would say, "I disagree, but I'll still follow the core orders."
Onoki naturally wouldn't argue with that.
He was always generous toward people who had a big-picture view and truly cared about the village's interests.
In fact, the older generation across the other four great villages all seemed far more reasonable and far-sighted than the Leaf's infamous F4.
Compared to Onoki, Chiyo, Ebizo, and Genji, the Leaf's old guard had aged into something truly rotten.
That wasn't an exaggeration.
The Leaf's F4 followed a perfect arc: brilliant and heroic in their youth and prime, then stubborn, shortsighted, and power-hungry once they grew old.
They could lift the Leaf from the ashes of the First Great Ninja War to its second golden age… and then drag that same golden-age Leaf straight into the abyss.
That was the Leaf's F4.
Completely different from Onoki and the others.
"My opinion? Does it even matter? You're the one who makes the final call anyway. And from where I'm sitting, you've already decided in your heart, haven't you?"
Roshi gave a cold snort, glancing sideways at Onoki with clear disdain.
He didn't treat the Tsuchikage with even a shred of the usual deference.
Onoki, however, remained perfectly calm.
"How would you know I won't listen unless you speak? The situation this time is very different from before. For the three Great Ninja Wars, the protagonists were always us—the Five Great Villages. But today is different. So no matter how outrageous your suggestion is, as long as it truly benefits our village, this old man will adopt it."
Onoki leaned forward slightly, a faint smile on his face as he looked at Roshi.
"Oh? Then here's my stance: take this chance to strike the Cloud hard and cripple them once and for all. We've had a blood feud with the Cloud since the Third Great Ninja War. That Fourth Raikage is thinking about revenge against us every single day. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. If we weaken the Cloud now, our eastern border will be safe for years!"
Roshi raised an eyebrow, gave a cold laugh, and spoke without the slightest hesitation.
'Cripple the Cloud?'
'Roshi-san is still as bold as ever.'
'That… doesn't sound very appropriate, does it?'
'Lord Roshi is as direct as always.'
Down below, Kitsuchi, Gari, and the others all showed slight changes in expression—especially the younger Jonin, who immediately began exchanging glances.
The debate in the Hidden Stone Village had only just begun.