Because the requirements to master it were far too harsh—
even after all these years, only the Second Tsuchikage and Ōnoki himself had learned it.
If he gave away Dust Release, then so be it.
Whether Sarutobi Hakuto could actually learn it was another matter entirely.
The real pain—
was the Light-Weight Rock Technique.
For taijutsu users, it could greatly enhance physical combat.
For ninjutsu users, it granted aerial mobility—
a massive boost in combat capability.
As for the earlier condition—
"one hundred Sarutobi Asuma" per Jinchūriki—
Ōnoki fell into thought, his expression turning strange.
Good grief…
Only Konoha could come up with a unit like that to measure money.
After a moment of deliberation—
he gritted his teeth.
"Deal!"
"Kitsuchi! Go back and retrieve the jutsu scrolls and 3.5 billion ryō!"
"A wise choice~"
Seeing Ōnoki agree,
Sarutobi Hakuto was naturally pleased.
No need for further negotiation—
he preferred things this simple.
Just as Sarutobi Hakuto was about to relax on a chair—
Ōnoki spoke again.
"I've already sent Kitsuchi to retrieve the items."
"So… shouldn't you release them first?"
Though he said "release them"—
his gaze was fixed entirely on Kurotsuchi and Deidara.
As for Rōshi and Han—
he didn't even spare them a glance.
Especially Rōshi—
their relationship had never been good.
If not for his status as a Jinchūriki,
Ōnoki wouldn't have cared about him at all.
Right now—
he only wanted his granddaughter and disciple back.
Seeing this,
Sarutobi Hakuto raised an eyebrow,
then glanced at the people beside him, quickly understanding.
"Fine. But you haven't paid yet~"
"One hand pays, the other releases. Since you agreed so quickly, I'll make an exception—return two first."
At Sarutobi Hakuto's signal—
Fugaku casually tossed Rōshi and Han back to Ōnoki.
Seeing who was returned—
Ōnoki's mouth twitched.
But looking at Sarutobi Hakuto lounging there so leisurely—
he didn't dare complain.
He could only order his men to take the two away.
Iwa's medical ninjas quickly rushed over.
Han was fine—
just knocked unconscious by a single punch.
With rest, he'd recover in a month.
Rōshi, however—
seeing the condition of his injuries—
even the medical team hesitated.
How were they supposed to treat that?
Judging by the blood loss alone—
the situation was serious.
Thinking this,
every medic instinctively tensed.
Better never encounter injuries like this in their lifetime.
All they could do now—
was try their best to treat him.
Fortunately, as a Jinchūriki—
with his physique and the tailed beast's regenerative ability—
he should recover eventually.
After the two were taken away—
Ōnoki could only wait for Kitsuchi to return.
But instead of Kitsuchi—
an uninvited guest arrived.
"What? Iwagakure doesn't have money?"
"Need me to lend you some?"
Seeing the smug expression of the Fourth Raikage—
Ōnoki's anger surged instantly.
If not for this reckless fool invading the Land of Earth—
he wouldn't have provoked Konoha at all.
And now—
he had to pay money and hand over jutsu.
He'd settle the score with this brute sooner or later.
Ōnoki snorted coldly—
completely ignoring him.
Seeing this—
the Fourth Raikage simply smiled and walked up to Sarutobi Hakuto.
"Young Master Sarutobi Hakuto, here are 3.5 billion ryō."
"May I ask… can Killer B and Yugito be returned?"
As he spoke—
he handed over a storage scroll containing the money.
Sarutobi Hakuto paused for a moment.
This old man had come all the way to wage war in the Land of Earth—
and still had this kind of money?
Where did he even get it?
But Sarutobi Hakuto didn't care.
Once it reached his hands—
it was his.
"Alright. But this amount only gets you one person~"
"Who do you want back—Killer B or Yugito?"
The Fourth Raikage's expression instantly darkened.
"W-what? We agreed—3.5 billion for both of them!"
"Changing terms now… isn't that a bit much?"
There was no way he could produce another 3.5 billion.
And choosing only one—
was impossible.
If he brought back Killer B but abandoned Yugito—
his position as Raikage would be finished.
He wouldn't be able to convince anyone.
Seeing his dilemma—
Sarutobi Hakuto spoke again.
"Relax. The second one won't cost money~"
"Hand over the Lightning Release Chakra Mode."
"It's just a B-rank technique. Surely the Fourth Raikage wouldn't be reluctant?"
Hearing this—
the Raikage's expression turned even worse.
As expected—
this brat had his eyes on that technique too.
Lightning Release Chakra Mode might only be B-rank—
but at its peak, the taijutsu it enabled was incredibly powerful.
And now—
this kid wanted it just like that.
"Just a B-rank technique," he says—
if it's so trivial, why don't you stop asking for it?
Though he grumbled internally—
he didn't dare show it.
"…Fine. I agree."
"I'll have the scroll delivered to Konoha."
With that—
the Fourth Raikage turned and left immediately.
The Kumogakure army had already prepared to withdraw—
and the moment he returned,
they retreated without hesitation.
Their speed—
was almost suspiciously hurried.
Watching the Raikage leave,
Ōnoki felt a strange unease rising in his heart.
Time passed.
The Cloud army had long since withdrawn—
yet Kitsuchi still hadn't returned.
"Strange…"
"The village isn't far from here…"
"Why is he taking so long just to fetch a few scrolls?"
Just as Ōnoki grew increasingly puzzled—
Kitsuchi finally appeared.
But the look on his face—
made Ōnoki's heart sink.
"What happened?!"
"Why are you so late?!"
"Did something happen?!"
Faced with the barrage of questions—
Kitsuchi hesitated,
momentarily at a loss for words.
After a pause—
he slowly took out the scrolls containing the Light-Weight Rock Technique and Dust Release.
"…While we were fighting Konoha…"
"The Fourth Raikage led his men and took advantage of the village's weakened defenses…"
"…to raid the treasury."
"The village… doesn't have a single ryō left."
Ōnoki felt like he had been struck by lightning.
Thinking back to the Raikage's excited expression—
and that hurried retreat—
as if afraid someone would come after him…
It all made sense.
That bastard—
was clearly guilty.
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