A Godsend Opportunity!
At this very moment, Ōnoki sat calmly in the seat reserved for the Tsuchikage. His outward demeanor was composed, unmoved by the tension in the room. Yet inside, his heart churned like a raging river, endlessly turbulent.
The hesitation he had wrestled with earlier now felt even more weighty. Taking action here meant completely tearing apart the fragile peace. If they failed to capture Sarutobi Hiruzen, the consequences would be catastrophic—far worse than anyone dared imagine.
Sarutobi Hiruzen slowly rose to his feet, a weary sigh escaping his lips. Who could have imagined that all of this—the turmoil, the conflict, the very fate of the Hidden Leaf Village—was born from a single graduation exam four years ago? The absurdity of it all was almost laughable.
But at this moment, Sarutobi had no choice but to move.
"The resources of the Land of Fire naturally belong to the Land of Fire," he declared, his voice heavy with authority.
"Who gets what, how much they get, and when—that's not up to outsiders to decide."
His murky eyes burned cold with an unforgiving resolve. The aura around him swelled, radiating immense power. His words struck like thunder, commanding the attention of every person present.
"To the Kazekage: I'm willing to report and allow more leniency to the Land of Wind."
"I'll give you what you ask for."
"But you will not take what's mine by force!"
Sarutobi's words were like a calming antidote, stabilizing the volatile tempers in the room.
"You've reached out to snatch what belongs to me? Then I'll chop off your claws. You'd better learn to bear it quietly!"
With that, Sarutobi's speed exploded beyond expectation, moving with the swiftness that no nearly seventy-year-old man should possess.
His mastery spanned ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu alike—he was a hexagonal warrior, excelling in all six core fields of shinobi combat. Under such close quarters and sudden eruption of power, Rasa barely had time to react before Sarutobi grabbed him by the shoulder and dragged him up onto the rooftop.
Yet, the Kazekage was still the Kazekage. His body shattered into countless grains of golden sand, slipping free from Sarutobi's grasp and reappearing a short distance away.
"Heh, nice words," Rasa sneered, eyes flashing coldly.
"You know full well what's right and wrong."
"You chose this path, so accept the consequences."
Raising his palm, Rasa's actions put Sarutobi on high alert. The old man braced for a devastating jutsu attack—but instead, a tiny white snake slithered out from his opponent's sleeve.
"What is this...?"
Sarutobi's face darkened in alarm.
That small snake suddenly opened its mouth wide—and out crawled a human figure, emerging from the serpent's mouth like some sinister apparition.
"Hokage," the man said coldly, "Your troubles are not just mine."
"The one who defected from Konoha long ago—the legendary Orochimaru—is also your doing."
Rasa's lips curled into a mocking smile as he looked at Sarutobi.
"Long time no see, Teacher…"
The man with long black hair slowly stood, a wicked smile playing across his lips as he faced the teacher he hadn't seen for twelve years.
"Orochimaru…"
Sarutobi's heart wavered despite having anticipated this moment for so long. Even so, the reunion stirred a haze of emotions in him.
At the same time, four Sound Ninja, who had been pre-positioned, swiftly surged up to the rooftop, forming hand seals.
"Technique: Four Purple Flames Formation!"
A purple barrier erupted, engulfing the rooftop in an impenetrable seal.
Ōnoki sensed the commotion above and allowed himself a rare moment of calm.
The plan was clear: encase the Hokage, Kazekage Rasa, and the cold Orochimaru within this barrier and work together to slay Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Using a summoning scroll previously prepared, they would bring forth the mighty Orochimaru of the Ryuchi Cave to disrupt the Leaf Village's order.
This…
This was victory within grasp!
Today marked the Hokage's death day.
As this thought crossed his mind, Ōnoki prepared to rise, ready to join the fray.
But before he could, a figure cloaked in black robes appeared by his side, shamelessly seating themselves in the Hokage's chair.
The newcomer ripped off their mask and pulled back their hood, revealing a cascade of beautiful, pale golden hair.
"What are you staring at?" the figure asked, eyes sharp as a phoenix's, showing no respect toward the Tsuchikage.
"Tsunade… I didn't expect you to return to Konoha at this time."
Ōnoki's motion to rise faltered, and he sat back down.
"The hell I care where I go," Tsunade replied, crossing her legs arrogantly as she settled into the Hokage's seat, folding her hands over her abdomen and closing her eyes.
Ōnoki looked at her cool disregard without speaking.
As a taijutsu specialist, Tsunade's speed—especially with her Dust Release preparatory moves—made avoiding her strikes a near certainty in close quarters.
With respect mixed with wariness, Ōnoki quietly resumed his seat.
If the Hokage and Kazekage were to clash, and the Kazekage won, Ōnoki planned to launch a massive assault on the Land of Fire.
If the Hokage won, he would continue to scrape by, eking out resources trickling from the Land of Fire and leveraging Konoha's power to crush any stragglers.
And if Konoha turned its gaze on him…
Then Ōnoki would quickly call upon the Land of Lightning to form a pincer attack against Konoha, forcing them to retreat to the Land of Fire.
Yet the thought of allying with the Land of Lightning was unpleasant.
Ōnoki's face darkened as he recalled the bitter enmity between the Land of Earth and the Land of Lightning.
Among the Five Great Shinobi Nations, the four nations of Wind, Earth, Water, and Lightning were far from united against Konoha. Each harbored grudges.
Even the vast distance between Wind and Water had not prevented conflict.
It was for this reason that Rasa had once traded the village hero, Yakura, to the Land of Water to secure peace.
"Looks like that guy's making his move."
On the rooftop, Sakura saw the Four Purple Flames Formation rise and immediately drew a large scroll from her back.
Kakashi's eyes twitched at the sight of such a huge scroll—how many things could be sealed inside that?
"Release!" the girl commanded, her hand forming a sword shape in front of her chest.
With two sharp bangs, two mysterious objects materialized in front of Kakashi, their colossal shadows casting an ominous veil.
Kakashi stared, his lone visible eye wide as a saucer.
"What the hell is that thing?!"
He took a step back, trying to comprehend the full scope of the weapon before him.
Its pitch-black metal gleamed with a chilling aura in the sunlight.
The black metallic spheres were studded with terrifying conical spikes all over their surfaces…
Sakura lifted the two meteor hammers connected by a heavy chain, weighing them carefully in her hands.
The chains clinked sharply as the steel linked together with ominous resonance.
"S-Sakura…"
Kakashi's mind froze at the sight of this weapon.
He couldn't imagine how anyone could wield such a thing.
"Sakura, get ready," he said tensely.
Sakura gripped the chain tightly with both hands and took a step forward.
Suddenly, the chains snapped taut with a violent tension.
Her monstrous strength burst forth, and the two iron balls began to move as if alive!
The roof tiles beneath her groaned under the strain.
Despite the chaos, Sakura found herself briefly admiring the quality of Konoha's architecture—it was impressively sturdy.
"Bring it on!" she shouted, her voice fierce.
Spinning like a deadly whirlwind, the pink-haired girl swung the chained iron balls with ferocious speed.
The terrifying whoosh of the spinning spheres filled the air, causing Kakashi's scalp to tingle in alarm.
He felt certain now that he might not even need to face Rasa himself.
With just a few powerful strikes from Sakura's iron balls, the Kazekage would be pulverized!
"Heavenly Obstruction Iron Ball!"
"Smash it!"
With Sakura's furious roar, the two spinning iron balls hurtled straight toward the Four Purple Flames Formation!
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End of Chapter 86
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