Chapter 92
There was nothing. He couldn't feel his chakra at all, and as much as he wanted to glare at Hiruzen Sarutobi, that old monkey was in the same situation as Onoki. He had heard of this poison, which is used on prisoners to sedate them and make them incapable of fighting back.
But he never heard of it being so odorless and tasteless that it could be hidden in the tea. Onoki could do nothing at the moment. As much as he hated to admit it, he was too old to match anyone here in taijutsu alone.
"There is no…" Before Mifune, that traitorous bastard, could mutter any more nonsense, Sarutobi hit him on the back of his neck, and he collapsed to the ground like a doll cut off from its strings.
"Hehe," Sarutobi chuckled suddenly as he took a closer look at the teapot. "This is some good stuff."
"What are you doing?" Onoki asked, shocked, as Sarutobi suddenly drank the rest of the tea that was there, but seeing that crazy monkey not answer him, he turned to the rest. "And you all, do you think you can match us with your swords alone?"
Onoki, not able to understand Sarutobi's actions, turned to the samurai and glared at them. He dared them to try anything with Han and Roshi by his side. They had their hands on their swords, but they only glared back, not moving an inch.
"They are all under genjutsu," the Hyuga said. "It only started working a couple of minutes ago; otherwise, I would have noticed it beforehand."
"Well, well, well," suddenly a voice could be heard coming from behind them. "What a party we have without little poor me, aren't you? And you are right, the genjutsu was only activated at this moment. Those foolish samurai couldn't even realize they were controlled and used for weeks by now."
A boy walked up to them. But Onoki recognized him as the Fourth Mizukage. And behind him were three of the Seven Swordsmen: Ameyuri Ringo, the wielder of the Kiba blades; Jinpachi Munashi, the wielder of Kabutowari, the explosive sword; and Juzo Biwa, owner of the Kubikiribōchō, the decapitating blade.
All of them were dangerous alone, and behind them there were even a dozen more Kiri shinobi. With all the samurai, too, it was a very dangerous group. And without him and Sarutobi being able to use their chakra, they were dead meat on a platter.
Han and Roshi might be able to handle the three of the Seven Swordsmen themselves, and Jiraiya was of similar strength to the rest of the Kage. But that would leave the Hyuga clan leader to handle the rest of the shinobi and the samurai alone.
"You sure are a cute kid." As Onoki was planning the next course of action while he still had time, Sarutobi suddenly appeared before the Fourth Mizukage and patted his head. "What's a kid like you doing with a scary weapon like that in such a place?"
Yagura Karatachi, one of the most infamous and most brutal shinobi who had stepped out of the Bloody Mist, was treated like he was a kid by the Third Hokage. If Onoki hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he would have called anyone who told him about it a crazy bastard.
And just as expected, Yagura didn't take it kindly as he swung his weapon. Only for Sarutobi to bend ninety degrees back, completely dodging the attack, and as the hook-like weapons were pulled back to take Sarutobi's head, he suddenly fell to the ground, avoiding a certain death again.
"The Third Hokage, as I thought, you won't be an easy opponent, but without your chakra, you won't be able to avoid your destined death today."
"Hehe." Onoki couldn't take his eyes off Sarutobi, who, with a flushed face, laughed in Yagura's face. "Destined death? You play too many games, kiddo. Should I tell your mother to take you home and give you a spanking for disrespecting your elders like this?"
"Oh, fuck." There was silence as everyone looked at the scene before them until Jiraiya of the Sannin spoke. "He is drunk."
Like that explained anything. And who gets drunk over poison? Onoki and the rest looked at Jiraiya, waiting for more explanation, but the Sannin only cracked his neck, and suddenly the air filled with coldness.
Right, there was no time for this nonsense. They were surrounded. And since Sarutobi somehow managed to keep Yagura occupied, they now had a chance. Onoki didn't know how good the Hyuga clan head was, but Jiraiya alone was a force to be reckoned with on his own.
"Han and Roshi will take on the Seven Swordsmen; it is three on two, but they will manage it," Onoki said. "And even though I can't be of much help, I won't be taken down this easily. So, I hope you two will take care of the rest of our enemies."
"Our?" the Hyuga asked with a smirk that irritated Onoki. "Well, if the Hokage wasn't intoxicated, he would probably agree with you. But don't be mistaken, Tsuchikage; the only reason we aren't taking this opportunity to kill you is that our Hokage wouldn't approve of it. Still, you aren't our friend, and if you are killed by them, we won't even bother to take a glance at your body."
"You are on your own," Jiraiya added. "We will take care of the enemies, but our priority is the Hokage's safety. So, don't blame us if you are killed."
"Don't worry, I won't die today." Onoki grimaced at those two in displeasure.
There was no respect for the elderly anymore. But that could be put aside for now, as it finally started. The rising mist made it clear that none of them could leave as they pleased anymore. In this situation, they either kill or be killed.
In a matter of seconds, the whole temple was enveloped in thick mist. Onoki couldn't see a thing. He could barely perceive his own hands before his eyes. Now, he could only trust in the sounds he heard: the clashing of steel, the ground breaking, and the screams of samurai and shinobi alike.
A few samurai burst through the mist, their swords gleaming as they descended upon him. Onoki might be old, but even without chakra, he was no easy prey. He didn't even blink as he jumped back, evading their sharp swords.
Once they fell to the ground, Onoki stepped on them, and although even he would admit that he was no master in taijutsu, his body was trained from when he was nothing but a babe to handle such rabble. His fist could still ring the heads of his enemies, no matter how much younger they were.
"Damn, my back." As Onoki knocked out those two unruly samurai, he couldn't help but gasp at his own back, as he felt sharp pain coming from it. "Maybe I am too old for this."
At those words, Onoki saw Hiruzen Sarutobi fly through the mist, crashing next to him. With a sigh, Onoki knew who would come next. And as he expected, soon enough, Yagura walked in on them. Now, this wasn't just any rabble, and Onoki didn't think he stood a chance without his chakra.
"Yagura, do you think you can escape the consequences of this?" Onoki had no choice but to step forward too; he wouldn't back down, even if it were an unwinnable fight.
"And what would the consequences be?" the young Mizukage asked back. "After your two villages lose their heads, even if the rest of you escape, what are you going to do? None of you is in a position to wage a war against Kiri."
"A child speaks of what he does not know." Sarutobi thankfully was able to get up. "He doesn't even know that he is manipulated into fighting a war he has no idea of."
Onoki was only happy for a second before he saw how unsteady Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, stood on his feet. Swaying to the right and left, he tried to lift his hands into a fighting stance, only for it to be nothing but a mess.
"Don't call me that!" But that still seemed to get Yagura's attention. "I won't be humiliated by the likes of you."
Red chakra burst through the Fourth Mizukage. It was overwhelming, and Onoki could feel the danger from it. It was boiling up. Before he could warn Sarutobi, the Mizukage had already leaped over him, trying to finish the Third Hokage.
Onoki once again had a hard time admitting that he was happy to see Sarutobi evade Yagura's weapon. Not just evade it, one step to the side and the hook-like weapon missed Sarutobi by a hair's breadth, and then Sarutobi would jab at the younger man's face.
"Wow," it repeated, with Sarutobi always commenting on it. "That was close."
And another jab. Sarutobi's punches probably did more damage to himself than to Yagura, but if Onoki had been in the young man's shoes, he would have died of shame being played like this. What Onoki couldn't believe was the speed Sarutobi showed them.
Onoki could barely perceive Sarutobi moving, as he only moved at the last moment and still managed to outplay Yagura like it was child's play. A step to the side, a jab to the face, over and over again, making Yagura's red chakra cloak bigger and bigger.
"Now, that's unfair," Sarutobi said as he waved away his bloodied fists. "I am the one who is hitting you, but it is me who gets hurt. Oh, well, what can I do about that?"
The answer that Sarutobi received came with the hook-like weapon trying to take his head once again. For a second, Onoki thought that this time the weapon did its job, only for him to notice Sarutobi holding his body with one hand on top of the weapon's shaft.
Then he brought his feet down, pushing Yagura's weapon and himself to the ground. The Mizukage had no choice but to let go of his weapon, and just like that, Sarutobi snatched it for himself, spinning it around like it was his weapon from the beginning.
"Phew." Yagura let out a lengthy breath as he calmed himself down and let his red chakra cloak recede within himself once again. "God of Shinobi, a name that isn't given to just anyone. You seem to deserve to have it, Hiruzen Sarutobi."
"Name, no name, what does it matter?" Sarutobi leaned on the long staff with two hooks on each end, completely relaxed, like the sound of fighting around him didn't even exist. "Kid, you should not have done this naughty ambush. You should try to enjoy peace while you can."
"Peace?" Yagura laughed. "There is never peace in the Bloody Mist."
The mist suddenly condensed around Sarutobi, turning back into water. Yagura only needed one hand sign to make it happen. That amount of chakra and control was impressive on its own. Well, Onoki should have known that Yagura was the Mizukage for a reason.
In mere moments, Yagura trapped Sarutobi in the water prison. And Onoki could do nothing but watch it. In the end, both he and Sarutobi were poisoned and couldn't use their chakra. They were no match for another Kage with this limitation. And they both had long passed the prime of their fighting days.
"Arrogance of the children." But Onoki was a bitter old man, and he wasn't going to accept reality so easily. "How dare you underestimate me? Not even glancing at me."
He might not be a taijutsu master, but nobody should underestimate the years of experience he has under his belt. And even though Onoki didn't have a good opinion of that scheming old monkey, how dare this child come in and interfere in their matters?
"Fist of Crushing Rock." Even with his aching back, Onoki used all his strength to punch the ground under his feet, using the taijutsu he hadn't used in over twenty years.
Back then, the ground under them would have been crushed into powder; now all he could do was make it crack and shake. But that was enough to get that young man's attention. Looking at the kid with a glare, Onoki put his hands under the cracks he created and pulled a slab of ground, throwing it at Yagura.
"You damn old man," Yagura cursed as he had no choice but to release Sarutobi to block the slab of rock flying at him. "Fine, if you don't want to wait for your turn, I will take care of you first."
Again, only one hand sign, and he created a wave of water out of nothing but air. That kid had an immense amount of chakra, and he could fully control it. Another monster from Kirigakure. It was Onoki's mistake to underestimate him.
He couldn't even move as his back hurt so badly, and he could only watch as the wave of water was about to wash him off the ground. He indeed was too old for this shit. But just as the water hit him, he felt something gripping him from behind and throwing him into the air above the wave.
It was Sarutobi who used Yagura's weapon to hook his clothes and throw him high into the air. Then the old monkey stabbed the weapon into the ground and jumped on top of it, making the water brush only against his feet.
A simple yet effective way to counter it. Damn that Sarutobi. He was only ten years younger than Onoki, but he still could move so freely and flexibly, like age hadn't hampered him at all. If only he hadn't injured his back in the last war, he could do the same.
"The kid sure has a lot of energy to spare," Sarutobi said as he caught the falling Onoki with his hand. "But I think it is about time he took his nap; it might fix his grumpiness."
A.N. As always, thanks for reading and supporting me, so I can continue writing without any concerns, and if you want more, up to seven more chapters, you can support me on pa treon. com \ ironwolf852.