Bab 30: Ōnoki

In the heart of Iwagakure, the Hidden Village among the Rocks, the Tsuchikage's mansion stood imposingly.

At the top of this structure, in the office, was Ōnoki, the Third Tsuchikage. Despite his diminutive stature, his presence filled the room with an overwhelming pressure.

His face showed an expression of satisfaction as he finished reviewing some documents.

Stretching in his chair, Ōnoki couldn't help but let a cunning smile form on his lips. "The battle between Konoha and Sunagakure," he muttered, "It's like watching two dogs fighting over a bone. It would be best if both ended up losing."

His eyes gleamed with a flash of malice as he thought of Konoha. "It would be especially fun if Konoha lost at Kikyoyama," he savored that idea.

A thousand Konoha ninjas against three thousand from Sunagakure. Orochimaru and that Luo Lei facing off against Rasa, Chiyo, and Ebizō. 'Sunagakure has all the advantages,' he thought.

"And with Iwagakure and Kumogakure pressuring on other fronts, I don't see how Konoha could come out well from this."

Suddenly, a thunderous knock on the door interrupted his musings.

The door burst open, revealing Kitsuchi, who entered hurriedly with two scrolls in his hands. Showing a panicked look.

"Father," Kitsuchi panted, "Something terrible has happened at the front."

Ōnoki sat up in his seat, his brow furrowing with concern. "Explain yourself,"

Kitsuchi swallowed, struggling to find the words. "The decisive battle between Sunagakure and Konoha... Sunagakure has been defeated," he finally blurted out. "The whole world is in turmoil."

"...What?" Ōnoki was paralyzed for a moment. ".....Are you sure you haven't made a mistake? Isn't it Konoha that has been defeated?"

"No!" Kitsuchi quickly denied. "I've confirmed it over and over again. It's Sunagakure who has fallen, and there's more..."

"What else?" Ōnoki demanded anxiously.

Kitsuchi opened his mouth, but the words seemed to get stuck in his throat.

Instead of speaking, he quickly turned and pulled out an intelligence scroll. "You... you should read it yourself," he muttered, extending the document with trembling hands.

Ōnoki looked at his son with exasperation. 'Is this really my son?'

'Apart from the big nose, hasn't he inherited anything from me?'

With a sigh of resignation, he unrolled the scroll and began to read.

At first, his expression remained neutral. But as he progressed in the reading, his face transformed. Surprise gave way to disbelief, and finally, to absolute shock.

The scroll detailed the battle of Kikyoyama. It spoke of how a single Konoha ninja, Luo Lei, had decimated Sunagakure's forces. The numbers were astonishing: more than 100 Jōnin, 628 Chūnin, and 1,035 Genin, all fallen before a single man.

And most shocking: the death of Chiyo and Ebizō, pillars of Sunagakure, at the hands of this mysterious Luo Lei.

'How is this possible? How could this happen?' He had prepared for many scenarios, but this... this was beyond all his possibilities.

"This Luo Lei..." he muttered. "What kind of monster is he? Not even Madara..." He stopped, remembering the terrifying power of that Uchiha.

After a moment of silence, he came to his senses and looked at his son. "Do we have information on Luo Lei?" he asked, his voice laden with urgency.

"Yes, we do!" Kitsuchi responded quickly, handing him another intelligence scroll.

"Good," Taking the scroll and reading it carefully.

The scroll detailed Luo Lei's trajectory: the Light of the Commoners, Sakumo's apprentice, vice-captain of Konoha ANBU, transferred to reinforce Konoha's army at Kikyoyama. But what caught Ōnoki's attention was the last sentence: it was suspected that Luo Lei had awakened a mysterious Kekkei Genkai, granting him the ability to shoot heat rays from his eyes and more than doubled strength.

"Kekkei Genkai?" he muttered with disdain. "If it were that simple, my Kekkei Tōta would dominate the world. There must be something more..."

After a long silence, he sighed, rubbing his nose in frustration. "Konoha has too many geniuses, doesn't it?"

First, after learning that Sakumo had committed suicide, Ōnoki had been happy for a long time, as Konoha had lost a high-level combat power.

Now, the war had broken out, and a genius named Minato had appeared on the battlefield of the Land of Grass. The Kikyoyama battlefield was even more incredible. Luo Lei had become famous in the first battle, and the whole world knew it.

"Father, there are rumors...." Hesitantly, he added, "... They say Luo Lei is very violent. It's even said that he kills his own when he's irritated."

"Grr...." Ōnoki responded coldly: "As long as he doesn't desert, he's still part of Konoha and our enemy. Genius and madness often go hand in hand. It's not our problem, but Konoha's. Besides, Jinchūriki also lose control sometimes, don't they?"

"Father..." Kitsuchi, confused, "....What should we do now?"

"Raise Luo Lei's danger level to S-rank," Ōnoki ordered. "The front in the Land of Grass is unstable. Send the Five-Tails Jinchūriki with a thousand more ninjas there."

"Yes, father," Kitsuchi nodded.

Ōnoki, with a cold look, added: "Prepare all the ninjas in Iwagakure. I have a feeling we'll have to use crowd tactics sooner than expected."

Kitsuchi paled, understanding the situation. Crowd tactics, a secret strategy of Iwagakure originally planned against the Third Raikage, but now considered necessary. It was evident that a great battle was approaching....

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