438. The Wrath of Ōnoki

"Return to the village?"

"No."

Rōshi, his face framed by a thick red beard, looked at the Iwa ninja before him and flatly refused the request to return to the village.

There was a time when he, too, had been a proud Iwa ninja, guided by the Will of Stone.

But Ōnoki's two-faced tactics were something he simply couldn't accept.

Over the years, he had also come to realize that he was no match for Ōnoki in their rivalry.

So, he had chosen to leave the village, cutting himself off from its affairs to avoid the frustration.

Now, they wanted him to return to that chaotic, corrupted village? Ha! Not a chance.

Seeing the stubbornness of the Jinchūriki, the Iwa ninja delivering the message sighed in frustration.

The situation in the Land of Earth was dire, and there was no time to waste. Reluctantly, he pulled out a sealed letter from his pocket and handed it to Rōshi.

"Elder Rōshi, this is a confidential letter from the Tsuchikage."

Rōshi raised an eyebrow. "A confidential letter?"

He took the letter and began to read, his expression growing more serious with each line. By the time he finished, he let out a deep sigh.

"That old fool Ōnoki... It seems the situation has truly deteriorated to this point..."

The letter was straightforward. It outlined the current predicament of Iwagakure and the risks they were facing.

Most importantly, it conveyed Ōnoki's tone—unlike his usual stubbornness and arrogance, this time, his words carried a sense of pleading.

The letter was, in essence, a tacit admission of compromise.

This was why Rōshi couldn't help but feel a pang of emotion.

He knew Ōnoki's temperament all too well.

If the situation hadn't reached a critical point, the old man would never have humbled himself to ask for Rōshi's return.

But none of that mattered now. Rōshi's gaze hardened.

After all, he was still a member of Iwagakure. In the face of such a life-and-death crisis, he couldn't simply stand by and do nothing.

With a flick of his fingers, he reduced the letter to ashes and calmly said, "Let's go. Back to the village."

---

Rōshi didn't keep Ōnoki waiting long.

After returning to Iwagakure, it took him only two days to prepare for battle.

He then led his forces to the border between the Land of Earth and the Land of Grass.

With Rōshi guarding against Konoha's potential invasion, Ōnoki finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Time was of the essence, so without further hesitation, on the fourth day of Rōshi's deployment, Ōnoki formally declared war on the daimyo's capital.

His justification was that the daimyo and the nobles had become corrupt and decadent, and they had unjustly killed an Iwa envoy, causing significant losses to the village.

Therefore, to restore order and bring a brighter future to the Land of Earth, Ōnoki decided to overthrow the daimyo's rule!

This declaration didn't come as a surprise to the leaders of other nations.

The tension between the Tsuchikage and the daimyo had been common knowledge for some time.

Moreover, the recent news of Iwagakure's failed assassination attempt and the subsequent annihilation of their forces had only added fuel to the fire.

That the two sides would finally break into open conflict seemed almost inevitable.

After all, ever since the Land of Fire's reforms, the world had entered an era of "collapsing order."

What once seemed unthinkable or impossible had now become the norm.

In any case, Ōnoki set out with his forces, marking the official start of the Land of Earth's civil war.

From the outset, Ōnoki adopted a blitzkrieg strategy.

In his view, the previous assassination attempt had failed because the elite squad hadn't been strong enough.

This time, with him personally leading the charge, a few Particle Style: Atomic Dismantling Jutsu attacks on the daimyo's castle would be enough to force the cowardly old fool to surrender.

With this in mind, Ōnoki, accompanied by his Anbu guard, quickly approached the capital.

Once there, he left his guards behind and flew alone to the skies above the city.

"People of the capital, listen well! I am Ōnoki, the Tsuchikage! I have come to settle accounts with the daimyo and the nobles. I have no intention of slaughtering innocents. If you surrender now, I will spare you. Otherwise... don't blame me for being merciless!"

As the old man ranted above the capital, the soldiers below, under the guidance of Konoha instructors, silently adjusted their cannons.

They calibrated the elevation, loaded the ammunition, and then...

"Fire!!"

At the command, dozens of shells shot into the sky, nearly sealing off all of Ōnoki's escape routes.

"So, this is what injured Kitsuchi so badly... You fools are really asking for it!"

Ōnoki's anger erupted.

He spread his hands, and a massive white cube began to form between them.

"Particle Style: Atomic Dismantling Jutsu!!"

With a push of his hands, the cube expanded, emitting a blinding white light that enveloped all the incoming shells, reducing them to dust in an instant.

"You think such petty tricks can harm me?" Ōnoki sneered, his eyes narrowing as he prepared another, even larger and more terrifying jutsu.

A beam of light, far more massive than the last, erupted from his hands.

The blinding white light cast a shadow over the hearts of everyone in the capital. This single attack was enough to destroy a third of the city. This was the power of a Kage!

"Die, you wretched scum!"

Ōnoki poured all his pent-up rage into this devastating attack.

But just as he was about to release it, something unexpected happened.

A crimson figure shot toward him at incredible speed. If he continued to charge his attack, he would undoubtedly be hit.

Reluctantly, Ōnoki redirected his aim, launching the Particle Style attack at the mysterious assailant.

Unfortunately, the attacker seemed to have anticipated this.

The moment Ōnoki shifted his focus, the figure ascended vertically at an unimaginable speed.

Despite Ōnoki's quick adjustments, the attack missed.

The massive beam of light cleared the clouds in its path, creating a spectacular "sky road" above the capital.

While everyone marveled at the terrifying power of the Kage, Ōnoki's attention was fixed on the mysterious figure.

He sensed a powerful and familiar energy emanating from the person.

"As expected of the Tsuchikage. Your Particle Style is truly formidable."

Aburame Ryoma descended slowly from the sky until he was level with Ōnoki.

To conceal his identity, he wore a thick mask and a black coat.

A thin layer of tailed beast chakra enveloped his body, and two tail-like appendages extended from his back, resembling wings.

All of this confirmed Ōnoki's suspicion.

The person before him was a tailed beast Jinchūriki!