Chapter 140: The Third Raikage Must Die

Ōnoki and the Third Raikage simultaneously pulled out specially crafted signal flares. Boom— The flares from both villages exploded in the sky. Three, then four bursts in succession. This type of signal usually signified a truce, a call to cease hostilities. So... Everyone around them came to a halt. Immediately after, several members of the Anbu followed suit, launching signal flares into the sky. All the ninjas saw the signal—Minato and his team, positioned behind the Iwagakure forces, were no exception. "Minato, we won!" "We did it..." Namikaze Minato let out a breath of relief. It was undeniable—Kyoichi's strategy had worked flawlessly. Their rear assault struck deep, and the Iwagakure forces behind Onoki crumbled under the pressure. The defensive line formed by the Jonin and Chunin who had stayed behind fell apart in mere minutes. Simply put— Aside from the first wave, Iwagakure never managed to form an effective defense at their rear. And the result? By the time Onoki returned, all that remained of his medical corps was a mere third of its original strength. His fists clenched tight in frustration. Damn it! Rage burned within him, but there was nothing he could do. "Tsuchikage-sama, in war, each side fights with all they've got. I hope you won’t hold it against us for going all out." Minato smiled gently. This time was different. Onoki hadn't interacted much with Minato before—Kumo knew him better. But from Kyoichi, he had heard certain things— The man before him had inherited the Second Hokage’s "Godspeed" technique. One glance at the devastated camp, and Onoki could already piece together what had happened. He sighed, "I've fought in hundreds of battles and led countless wars. I thought I had a solid grasp on strategy and the battlefield... but I still fell into your trap." "Not at all, you’re the formidable one. If I didn’t know as many jutsu as I do, I would’ve been dead at your hands." Kyoichi approached from behind. Not that he was worried about Minato and the others. Given Iwagakure’s current state, Onoki had only two choices—surrender or negotiate. Unless he wanted to see his village’s Jonin ranks completely wiped out. So… Minato was perfectly safe. There was no way Onoki would dare attack him. Kyoichi came over mainly to see if there was any money to be made. "Ugh..." Onoki didn’t want to talk to Kyoichi. How old was this brat, anyway? Seventeen at most! He himself was multiple times Kyoichi’s age, yet after clashing with him, he had nearly been blown to bits by the boy’s explosive tag techniques. As the Tsuchikage, he already felt humiliated enough. And now, this kid had come over just to rub salt in the wound. If only he could catch him—Onoki would’ve loved to teach him a lesson. His resentment festered. "Ahem, Kyoichi, I’ll go find the Third Hokage first." "Alright, you guys go ahead. I’ll handle the aftermath here." Kyoichi nodded. Onoki looked over the scene, and his heart clenched. These were Iwagakure’s elite... Now, many of their Jonin and Chunin had been killed, entire squads of medical-nin wiped out. It would take years, if not decades, to rebuild. And this was just the camp—the losses on the battlefield were even greater. Furthermore... Another problem— With so many medical-nin dead, the injured Iwa shinobi had no way of receiving treatment. "Tsuchikage-sama, your forces have taken quite a beating." "Ugh..." Onoki turned his head and sighed. "Just say whatever you want to say. I may be old, but I’m not so frail that you’ll talk me to death." "Good, that makes things easier. What I mean is, Konoha, out of humanitarian concern, is willing to offer medical assistance. Do you need it?" Kyoichi coughed lightly and spoke. Onoki was stunned for a moment, then cautiously asked, "Is there a fee?" "Personally, I can waive my fee for your sake, but to heal everyone, I need the aid of Katsuyu-hime. She is a sage of the Shikkotsu Forest—you wouldn’t expect her to come all this way for free, would you?" "Ugh..." Why not just ask for money outright? Did he really need to dress it up like this? Since when did summoning creatures charge an appearance fee? Onoki grumbled internally, but he knew that without Kyoichi’s help, Iwagakure’s wounded would only continue to deteriorate. Money was nothing compared to lives. "How much?" "Cheap. One-tenth of what we charged Kitsuchi-sama." "That’s not the same! Kitsuchi was your prisoner. This is medical aid. Also, didn’t you just say you wouldn’t charge your own fee?" "Fine, fine, I’ll lower it. How about one-twentieth?" "Ugh..." After some back-and-forth haggling, Onoki agreed to pay Kyoichi five million ryo. That was the standard rate for an S-rank mission. However... The payment had to be made upfront. Onoki fumed when he entered the treasury, only to discover that all of their explosive tags had mysteriously vanished—no wonder Minato had left so quickly. After scraping together barely over a million ryo, he had no choice but to issue an Iwagakure-backed promissory note for the remainder. Kyoichi didn’t hesitate. As soon as the money was secured, he got to work. But first— He made sure to clarify the situation. He would heal their wounded, but Iwagakure’s shinobi needed to provide chakra. Since Onoki had already paid, he didn’t mind sparing some chakra as well. Then— Kyoichi amplified his abilities with the remaining tailed beast chakra he had, summoning a massive Katsuyu clone. After a brief discussion, Katsuyu-hime split into countless smaller slugs, dispersing among the wounded. Meanwhile— He absorbed chakra from several Iwa shinobi to replenish his Yin Seal reserves. Onoki wasn’t blind to Kyoichi’s tactics. Aside from the chakra used for summoning, Kyoichi hadn’t spent any of his own chakra at all—he was using borrowed chakra for all the healing, stopping to absorb more every now and then. Onoki had already suspected that Konoha’s medical aid came from Kyoichi. Seeing it firsthand, he couldn’t help but sigh— This kid’s medical prowess was already the best in Iwagakure. He had no idea how Tsunade’s skills compared these days, but from their last encounter, Kyoichi wasn’t far behind her. The most terrifying part? Kyoichi wasn’t even a medical specialist—his primary discipline was kenjutsu. His talent was truly monstrous! Why didn’t Iwagakure have a genius like this? Onoki felt bitter. He was pushing sixty, and still, no one in Iwagakure had mastered Dust Release. At the very least, he would’ve settled for someone learning the Light-Weight or Heavy-Weight Rock Techniques, but— Not a single one! That brat from Konoha had played him perfectly, knowing full well he wouldn’t dare go all out. And truthfully, he wouldn’t. Onoki sighed. While worrying about how to explain things to the Daimyo, he also started thinking about how to deal with Kumo. The Third Raikage wouldn’t be easy to handle. After a long while, Iwagakure’s wounded had been stabilized. "Jonin Kyoichi, was it you who devised this strategy against us?" Onoki had calmed down. A loss was a loss. Iwagakure had started this war against Konoha. Losing and paying the price was only natural. But— He wanted to know who had planned it all. The Third Hokage? No way… He knew Hiruzen Sarutobi too well. That man would never orchestrate such a bold maneuver. "Take a guess..." "To put it plainly, we Iwa-nin will keep our word. We'll step in to block the Kumogakure, but how much we can hold them back and what kind of results we achieve will depend on how much effort Konoha is willing to put in." "And you're suggesting…?" Kyoichi already understood Ōnoki’s intentions. "We work together to take down the Third Raikage. If he makes it back alive, the Kumogakure will be at war again in just a few years. That won’t be good for anyone." Ōnoki made no attempt to hide his thoughts. Iwagakure's jutsu were completely countered by the Kumogakure. In particular, the current Raikage, the Third A, wielded the "strongest spear"—his One-Finger Nukite—against which every Earth Release technique might as well be paper-thin. He had long dreamed of killing the Third Raikage. Kyoichi, on the other hand, had incredibly powerful Wind Release, could absorb chakra with Samehada, and had speed that was nothing short of terrifying. In Ōnoki’s eyes, Kanda Kyoichi possessed every necessary trait to defeat the Third Raikage. "The Third Raikage, huh…?" Kyoichi fell into deep thought. From Konoha’s perspective, eliminating the Third Raikage was certainly in their best interest as well. The man could go toe-to-toe with the Eight-Tails in a direct fight. More absurdly, even the Eight-Tails had failed to break through his defenses—his only injury had come from his own attack. In the original timeline, Ōnoki had sacrificed over ten thousand Iwa-nin just to exhaust the Third Raikage to death. That alone spoke volumes about his sheer durability. Konoha wasn’t as specialized as Iwagakure, but even they didn’t have many who could go up against him. If the Third Raikage made it back home… That would be a real problem. After a long pause, Kyoichi finally said, "I can't make the call on the Third Raikage myself. I'll have to return and discuss it with the village and the Hokage. But rest assured—I definitely have an interest in dealing with him." "Good. Go back and talk it over. This is a golden opportunity," Ōnoki said seriously. Kyoichi’s strategic planning was nothing short of brilliant. On one hand, he sent troops to launch a surprise attack, throwing the enemy's rear lines into utter chaos and deciding the battle in one swift move. On the other hand, he deliberately loosened the eastern front, forcing the Kumogakure to stretch their forces thin. What good outcome could come from a lone army plunging deep into enemy territory? He was certain that Konoha hadn’t just roped in Iwagakure as an ally—there was a good chance Kirigakure had been offered similar terms as well. And the moment news of victory from the western front reached them, those cowards from the Kiri would waste no time stabbing the Kumogakure in the back. That was entirely in line with Kyoichi’s tactical style, as seen multiple times before. "Still, you'd better move fast. Speed is everything in war. If you're too slow, the Kumogakure might catch wind of this and retreat before we even get the chance. And when that happens… well, Konoha won’t be the one losing sleep over it." Kyoichi had to give credit to Ōnoki. With just a bit of intelligence, the old man had pieced together nearly the entire scope of his strategy. The wisdom that comes with age—no doubt about it. He didn’t want to let Ōnoki take control of the conversation, and truthfully, Konoha wasn’t nearly as concerned about the Third Raikage as Iwagakure was. On top of that, Ōnoki wasn’t just under strategic pressure—he also had hostages to consider. After all, Konoha still hadn’t returned Kitsuchi and Roshi. The two of them wouldn’t be sent back until the war was over. Until then, they were Konoha’s “guests.” "Do you think I’d go back on my word? I’ll return tonight, and by tomorrow, we’ll march on the Land of Lightning. That should put you at ease, right?" Ōnoki was speechless. This kid refused to take even the smallest loss. What a pain to deal with. Sёarch* The novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. "You’ll have our answer before nightfall." As Kyoichi finished speaking, his figure flickered and disappeared. "The Senju bloodline is truly something to be envious of…" Ōnoki sighed inwardly. First, there was Hashirama Senju and Tobirama Senju. Now, there was Tsunade and Kanda Kyoichi. From what he knew, the Senju clan had long been integrated into Konoha as a whole, and Kanda Kyoichi was the result of their intermarriage policies. Yet even after two generations, the strength of the Senju still ran strong in his veins. That bloodline… It was terrifying!