Chapter 144 What's this guy planning to do with the Jinchuriki?
"Deidara! Didn't I tell you not to play your nonsense in the village?" Onoki rushed forward, grabbed Deidara, and scolded, "What if you offend a distinguished guest?"
After scolding Deidara, Onoki looked at Uchiha Touhuan with a hint of apology on his face and said, "I'm sorry, Hokage, this is my disciple Deidara. I've been too lenient with him, which has led to his unruly behavior. Please forgive him."
"What are you saying, Earth Shadow?" Uchiha Touhuan chuckled dryly. "He's just a kid; it's normal
for him to be a little mischievous." "I'm sorry to have troubled the Hokage." Although Onoki said this, a faint hint of pride lingered on his lips. After all, for Deidara's age to cause such a commotion was enough to demonstrate his talent.
Therefore, Onoki's words carried a subtle sense of boasting.
Seeing Onoki's expression, Uchiha Touhuan understood what the old man meant. Naturally, Uchiha Touhuan wasn't going to let the old man get away with it, and immediately went to Deidara.
"Kid, did you cause that commotion just now?" Uchiha Touhuan asked with a warm smile.
"Yes!" Deidara replied proudly, "This is the art I've been pursuing! Pretty impressive, right?"
"Not bad," Uchiha Touhuan said, "This is indeed a very new art form." "
Haha, I didn't expect you to know so much! Much better than this old man!" Deidara's face lit up with joy upon hearing Uchiha Touhuan's words.
"I didn't expect you to have such a passion for art at such a young age. That's good, but it's not quite artistic enough." A hint of regret appeared on Uchiha Touhuan's face. "However, considering your age, it's already quite good."
"Is that so?" Deidara, hearing Uchiha Touhuan question his artistic talent, immediately became indignant. He raised his head, stared at Uchiha Touhuan, and asked defiantly, "Then tell me, what is true art?"
"Hehe, a wise man once said," Uchiha Touhuan smiled mysteriously, "the most elegant form of art in this world is to destroy beautiful things for people to see. Explosions may be art, but they're just minor things."
"Deidara, get out of here! This is none of your business." Onoki, seeing that Uchiha Touhuan was starting to corrupt his disciple, quickly spoke up, wanting to get rid of the kid.
"Hey! Uncle! Can you explain it more clearly?" Deidara, rarely encountering someone willing to discuss art with him, naturally didn't want to deal with his old man and pestered Uchiha Touhuan for answers.
"Hehe, I was just kidding." Uchiha Touhuan, seeing that Onoki had spoken, stopped talking and just smiled mysteriously. Then, Deidara was dragged away by the arriving Anbu.
"I'll deal with you later!" Onoki glared at Deidara, who was still struggling in the Anbu's arms, before turning to Uchiha Touhuan. "Does the Hokage usually entertain himself by playing with children?"
Uchiha Touhuan innocently shrugged. "Playing with children? Do I? Doesn't the Earth Shadow think this child has great talent in art? It's good for a child to have a hobby; we should support it."
"Is that so? I wonder what the Hokage's disciple's hobby is?" Onoki's lips twitched slightly.
"My disciple's hobby?" Uchiha Touhuan thought for a moment. "Does graffiti on the Hokage Rock count? That kid Naruto, he likes to give us Hokage a makeover whenever he's bored, especially his dad's Hokage Rock. It's a real headache for me." "
Heh, the Hokage's disciple's hobby is quite unique. But shouldn't the Hokage support their disciple's hobby?" Onoki said with a dry laugh.
"Did I say I don't support it?" Uchiha Touhuan said. "I don't really interfere in this regard. As long as he cleans up the Hokage Rock after he's had fun, that's fine." Uchiha
Touhuan smiled as he looked at Onoki. If it's your own kid, you'll definitely need to discipline him with a stick, but if it's someone else's kid, especially from a rival faction, then of course you should encourage him to go all out.
"Let's not talk about this anymore, we've already delayed the banquet." Uchiha Touhuan's ability to spout nonsense was far beyond Onoki's imagination, but continuing to argue with him about this was clearly not a good option. So, Onoki could only grit his teeth, swallow this bitter pill, and force a smile as he invited Uchiha Touhuan to join them again.
After this little interlude, Uchiha Touhuan and his group followed Onoki to the banquet venue.
At this moment, all the high-ranking members of Iwagakure, except for the Jinchuriki still in the village and Han, the Jinchuriki of the Five-Tails Kokuō, were present. Onoki was still quite clear-headed and wasn't foolish enough to send his own Jinchuriki to an Uchiha with the Mangekyou Sharingan. Moreover, long before Uchiha Touhuan was even some distance from Iwagakure, Onoki had informed Han to keep himself hidden in the village during this time.
However, just as Uchiha Touhuan and Onoki were exchanging toasts, Han, who was in seclusion in a secret room in Iwagakure, received a reminder from his Tailed Beast companion.
"Han, I sense the aura of another Tailed Beast." Inside the sealed space, King Mu suddenly spoke.
"Is it Old Purple back? We need to hurry and remind him not to return to the village for a while." Han, who was practicing Boil Release, stood up. "Can you sense where he is?"
"No, it's not Son Goku." King Mu said solemnly, "It's Kurama. Kurama is in your village."
"What?" Han was shocked. He originally thought that Old Purple, who had left the village after a conflict with the Earth Shadow, had returned, but he didn't expect it to be Kurama.
"We need to let Lord Earth Shadow know about this as soon as possible." Han said, getting up and pushing open the door to the secret room.
After the banquet, Onoki, who had personally escorted Uchiha Touhuan and his group to the inn, returned to his Earth Shadow office.
As soon as he got back to his office, Onoki slumped into his office chair. The subtle and overt banter with Uchiha Touhuan today had left him, despite his age, feeling exhausted. Of the five Hokage of Konoha so far, he wasn't qualified to participate in matters at this level during the time of the First Hokage.
During the Second Hokage's era, he served as a disciple of the Second Earth Shadow and clashed with his teacher. That wise man, who could be said to have single-handedly created the current ninja village system, left a very deep impression on him.
As for the Third Hokage, his contemporary and longest-standing rival, Onoki had to admit that the young Hiruzen Sarutobi was an extremely formidable opponent. However, Hiruzen Sarutobi became increasingly indecisive with age, and Konoha declined under his leadership, while Iwagakure steadily rose. Therefore, Onoki could proudly say that, despite both being Third Hokage, the Third Earth Shadow was superior to the Third Hokage.
As for the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, Onoki only clashed with him on the battlefield, so he wouldn't comment on that aspect.
And the current Fifth Hokage, Touhuan Uchiha, although their encounters were brief, has proven to be far more difficult to deal with than any previous Hokage.
[This guy is barely 20 years old, yet his strength is terrifying, and he's incredibly shrewd in his words and actions. No wonder he was able to seize power from that old codger, Hiruzen Sarutobi.]
[Damn it, why did such a genius have to be born in Konoha? That old waste Hiruzen Sarutobi actually made such a genius rise to power through a power grab. If he were in Hidden Stone Village, I would have groomed him as the Fourth Hokage long ago!]
Onoki admired Uchiha Touhuan more than anything, but the thought of him being Konoha's Hokage, someone he could only be rivals, filled Onoki with nausea. He also cursed the heavens for favoring Konoha so much, when they hadn't valued their own geniuses at all!
Just as Onoki was cursing the heavens and Hiruzen Sarutobi in his office, there was a knock on the door of the Hidden Stone Village office.
"Come in," Onoki said, composing himself.
A man disguised as a man entered the Earth Shadow's office. Onoki frowned slightly upon seeing him.
"Han? What brings you here? Didn't I tell you to stay hidden?" Onoki stood up, closed the office door, and then said to Han, "Although Uchiha Touhuan probably wouldn't be that ruthless, the safety of the village is at stake, so it's best not to take any risks."
"Earth Shadow, I understand." Han nodded, but he had important information to report.
"Kokuō told me he sensed the Nine-Tails' aura in the village."
"What?" Onoki, who had just sat down, slammed his hand on the table and stood up abruptly. "The Nine-Tails is in the village now?"
"That's what Kokuō told me." Han nodded.
Onoki took a deep breath. The two Jinchūriki of his village in this generation had a relatively good relationship with the Tailed Beast within him; both were perfect Jinchūriki capable of Tailed Beast transformation. And since Kokuō, the Five-Tails, had said so, this information was practically accurate!
Onoki instantly broke out in a cold sweat, his mind racing: "Nine-Tails... Uzumaki... It's that brat! Minato Namikaze's son! No wonder I felt that kid had an unusual amount of chakra; he's the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki!"
"Damn it! Uchiha Touhuan, that madman, what does he want to do by bringing a jinchūriki to the village?"
Onoki took a deep breath. Although he wasn't afraid of tailed beasts, this was, damn it, the heart of Hidden Stone Village! What exactly did Uchiha Touhuan want? Was he planning to cause another Nine-Tails attack in Hidden Stone Village?
It's no wonder Onoki reacted so strongly; anyone who knew they had a nuclear bomb in their own home with the switch in the enemy's hands would probably lose sleep.
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