Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
A black half - body [Susanoo] rose from the ground, crashing directly through the roof of the Conference Room.
He was clad in armor, wielding a long sword, and grinning menacingly as he looked down at the people on the ground.
"Th - this... this is...!"
Ōnoki's pupils constricted in shock, as if an earthquake had hit him, and his body trembled uncontrollably.
After all these years, the fear of the past had transcended time and space and descended upon him once again.
The figure of that demonic god from back then reappeared before his eyes, gradually overlapping with Kaze's figure until they merged into one!
Ōnoki wasn't the only one. Facing such a colossal figure, everyone's faces were filled with horror.
The oppressive force of the [Susanoo] was like a tangible wave, making them feel suffocated!
"Earth Release: Earth Flow Divide!"
"Earth Spike Spears!"
Many Iwagakure ninjas formed hand seals, trying to unleash ninjutsu to attack the monster in front of them.
Within the Land of Purity, as expected, not a single ninjutsu could be unleashed.
Kaze stood there with his arms folded, smiling, watching the high - ranking Iwagakure officials flail about in front of him.
It was quite amusing, like watching a bunch of kids playing around.
"What's going on? Why can't I use ninjutsu?!" a shocked Iwagakure ninja exclaimed.
Facing a [Susanoo] dozens of meters tall and unable to use ninjutsu, how the hell were they supposed to fight?
(Hey, GM, I'm reporting someone for cheating!)
"Lord Tsuchikage!"
Many Iwagakure ninjas looked at Ōnoki with hopeful eyes.
Although they couldn't fight against this kind of monster, if it was Lord Tsuchikage, surely he'd have a way!
"...I can't use ninjutsu either."
In the hopeful gazes of the crowd, Ōnoki forced a bitter smile and shook his head dejectedly.
"Even Lord Tsuchikage..."
Everyone's hearts sank to the bottom. A sense of powerlessness welled up, accompanied by deep despair.
Crack, crack.
Kaze controlled the [Susanoo] to twist its neck.
Just this small movement made many people shiver in fear.
Pfft.
Kaze laughed.
He slowly raised his arm, and the [Susanoo] raised its long sword, pointing at the high - ranking Iwagakure officials, and said,
"Now, do you feel the gap between us?"
Gulp.
In the direction the long sword was pointing, several Iwagakure ninjas swallowed hard, scared out of their wits.
"Die, [Black Flash]!"
At this moment, an Iwagakure ninja leaped high behind Kaze, holding a steel knife, and stabbed fiercely at Kaze inside the [Susanoo].
Huh?
Trying to compete with me in speed, huh?
Kaze slightly turned his body, looked back, and the [Susanoo] instantly raised its free hand.
Then, it pulled out a long sword glowing with thunder from its chest and swung it backhand at lightning speed!
Hey, just having a bit of fun like this!
An arc-shaped blade light of several meters wide flashed by, as sharp as it could cut through iron. It easily sliced through the steel blades and swept across with undiminished momentum.
Whoosh!
Where the blade light passed, the attacking Iwagakure ninja, along with several unlucky guys behind him and the load - bearing pillar behind them all, were all cut in half. The cut was as rough as if chewed by a dog, with traces of lightning erosion.
"Uhhhhhhhhh!"
The shrill screams echoed through the conference room. Everyone showed looks of hatred, but no one dared to fight back.
Even Ōnoki, out of humiliation, chose to stand by and watch.
"Why are you looking at me like that? I'm just defending myself passively. You can't blame me for that, right?" Kaze smiled.
He wasn't angry about the Iwagakure ninja's sneak attack just now, nor did he take it out on others.
After all, which adult would get angry with a child?
"I came here this time to discuss cooperation with you." Kaze explained very seriously.
"If I really wanted to kill you, all of you here would already be under my blade."
Iwagakure is an ally that Konoha wants to win over.
In fact, in the original plot's Third Great Ninja War, Iwagakure and Konoha had a brief cooperation.
The Battle of Kannabi Bridge is known as the turning point of the Third Great Ninja War.
On the surface, Minato's team destroyed Kannabi Bridge, which disrupted Iwagakure's supply line. As a result, they turned the entire war situation around.
But in fact, is that really the case?
No, this battle was not enough to seriously damage Iwagakure.
The real turning point of the Third Great Ninja War was Ōnoki's change of attitude.
From Iwagakure's subsequent cease - fire with Konoha and its turn to attack Kumogakure, as well as Hiruzen's choice to unconditionally forgive Iwagakure after the war, we can see that Ōnoki had private contact with Konoha and reached some kind of secret agreement.
What Kaze has to do now is to make Iwagakure face the reality directly.
Let them know that Iwagakure can't be a match for Konoha, and force them to stand on Konoha's side from the start.
"Damn it!"
After hearing Kaze's words, the Iwagakure high - level present could only fume silently.
He came here brandishing a sword more than ten meters long right in front of people's faces. Now there are two!
Is this how you people from Konoha discuss cooperation?
"Sigh—"
Ōnoki is truly a man who has weathered many storms.
He took a deep breath, trying to overcome the fear in his heart and calm himself down.
Then he waddled over on his short legs, stood in front of everyone, and stared directly at Kaze.
"Tell me, young man, what kind of cooperation do you want to discuss with my Iwagakure?"
"Lord Tsuchikage!"
Seeing Ōnoki step forward bravely, everyone was extremely touched.
This is the responsibility of a village's Kage!
"Here's the thing."
With absolute strength in hand, Kaze didn't bother with [Talk - Jutsu] anymore. He got straight to the point.
"For us ninjas, there are no allies; we only pursue interests. As long as it benefits the village, it makes no difference whom we fight."
"In that case, why doesn't Iwagakure cooperate with us of Konoha and snatch a piece of meat from the other two villages?"
"Cooperate with Konoha..."
Ōnoki narrowed his old eyes, quickly got into the state and started calculating.
What Kaze said made sense. It was all about fighting, and the difference was who would bring more benefits.
As long as there was profit to be made, he wasn't entirely opposed to it...
"This old coot! So many of his subordinates have died, but as soon as he hears about the benefits, his anger vanishes!"
Seeing Ōnoki showing a tempted look, Kaze secretly looked down on him, but still said,
"At that time, Konoha will hold off the main forces of Kumogakure and Sunagakure. Iwagakure just needs to turn against them on the spot, and it can easily cripple those two villages."
"After that, the tailed beasts of Sunagakure will belong to Konoha, and the tailed beasts of Kumogakure will belong to Iwagakure. Everyone will make a profit."
"Are you serious?" Ōnoki's eyes suddenly shone with a sharp light.
Kumogakure has the Two-Tailed and Seven-Tailed beasts. If he could get his hands on them...
Thinking of this, Ōnoki's breathing became rapid.
Kaze nodded and said solemnly,
"Of course I'm serious. I can swear on the reputation of the Uchiha clan."
"If I go back on my word, may the entire Uchiha clan be disgraced and come to a bad end!"
<><><><><><><><>
Thank you for reading! Your support will keep me updating!
~ Every 50 Powerstones = **4 Bonus Chapters** on the weekend!