Land of Earth, Village Hidden in the Stone.
Ever since they were forced to submit by the Ice-Fire Clone's Great Fireball Technique, the Third Tsuchikage, Onoki, the Fourth Tsuchikage, Kitsuchi, and all the jonin had been imprisoned.
Wulei had used [Fire Style: Fire Prison] to seal them, and with an additional seal personally applied by the Chakra Clone, their chakra was completely suppressed, rendering them as helpless as ordinary people. They could only wait quietly in the sunless dungeon.
Only a small amount of food was delivered each day, without them ever seeing a single soul.
With each passing day, the torment in their hearts grew.
They didn't know what fate would befall the Iwa-nin outside. They didn't know if Iwagakure still existed. They didn't know if the Land of Earth had become a vassal state of the Land of Rain, or if it had even lost its name.
More importantly, their own fates were now in the hands of the Land of Rain, stepping into an unpredictable darkness.
There were too many things to worry about. For some of them, it had already reached an unbearable point.
Even the jonin with their resilient wills began to fall into despair.
"How much longer are they going to keep us locked up? Have they forgotten about us?"
"I can't accept this! I don't want my short life to end like this! I don't even have any children yet!"
"I've had enough! Let me out! Didn't we already surrender?" a younger jonin cried, tears streaming down his face.
Just then, a figure in a mask appeared, pointed at the weeping jonin, and said with a chuckle, "Congratulations to this lucky brother. You've caught the eye of Leader Kaito. You can leave prison now."
"Me? Is it really me?!" After confirming it several times, the jonin burst into laughter. "Good, good, good!"
The drastic emotional swing made him seem like a madman as he left with the masked figure, his face wreathed in smiles.
Seeing this, the others began to beg for mercy in the same way.
However, the masked figure sighed. "My apologies, but there's only one release slot per day. If you want to get out, please perform better and catch Lord Kaito's attention. He knows everything that happens in here!"
Under the hopeful gazes of the crowd, the masked figure disappeared from the cell with the incredibly lucky young jonin.
Some of the prisoners exchanged glances, then shamelessly began to direct fawning words towards the absent Kaito.
But in the cell, there were still many who remained clear-headed. They gathered around Onoki and Kitsuchi, a sense of sorrow rising in their hearts as they watched the scene.
Those who could become jonin were all exceptionally talented and diligent, having endured hardships unimaginable to ordinary people.
But now, for a chance at survival, they were fawning like stray dogs.
The others who remained lucid couldn't help but feel a sense of shared sorrow.
"Third..." Seeing this, Kitsuchi sighed and looked at Onoki, who sat with his eyes closed, not saying a word. "Is there really nothing we can do?"
"Sigh..." Onoki opened his eyes and let out a long sigh. "The entire Land of Earth has fallen. What else can we do? Are we to count on Konoha and the Cloud? That would just be jumping from one pit into another."
"If we don't submit, we'll have to stay here for the rest of our lives?"
"Yes. Kaito is just using this method to make us submit. They can afford to wait. We can't."
Onoki looked around at the sorrowful faces of the crowd, sighed again, and said, "Forget it. Our shinobi villages are, at their core, mercenary organizations. Since the Land of Earth we served has fallen, let's just switch to a new nation to cooperate with."
"Let Iwagakure... just disappear into the river of history..."
"Third!"
"Lord Tsuchikage!"
"It's settled!"
Onoki stood up, his former dignity returning to him, and shouted, "As the Third Tsuchikage, I issue one final order! From this day forward, the Village Hidden in the Stone is officially disbanded! The shinobi world may be vast, but there is no longer an Iwagakure!"
He pointed at the men before him. "From now on, you are no longer people of Iwagakure. You have been returned to your freedom."
"..."
Your subjects still wish to fight, why does Your Majesty surrender?
In the cell, aside from Onoki, tears welled up in everyone's eyes, and they lowered their heads deeply.
They had finally realized that Iwagakure's demise was inevitable.
Onoki paid them no mind, instead raising his head and shouting, "Kaito, you should be satisfied now."
A few seconds passed. Just as Onoki thought his dramatic display had failed, the Ice-Fire Clone finally appeared.
He looked at Onoki with a smile. "Have you thought this through? Once it's decided, you can't go back on your word. Otherwise, I will make Iwagakure truly disappear from the river of history. Future generations will not remember a single thing that the Stone Village left behind."
A chill ran down Onoki's spine. His fists clenched and unclenched, and finally, he lowered his head. "I am a man of my word. I will never go back on a promise I have made!"
"Good. Remember what you've said."
The Ice-Fire Clone waved a hand and looked at the prisoners, his voice cold. "If you want to get out of here alive, there is only one way: pledge your allegiance to me! I will count to three. Anyone still standing will stay here for the rest of their lives!"
"One!" Some of the less resolute men immediately dropped to their knees.
"Two!" Onoki sighed and bent his knee, kneeling on one knee.
"Three!" Seeing Onoki kneel, all the others fell to their knees as well.
At that moment, the Village Hidden in the Stone collapsed, its entirety surrendering to Kaito.
"Very good." The Ice-Fire Clone nodded. "Since you have chosen to pledge your allegiance to me, neither I nor the Land of Rain will treat you unfairly. Rejoice, for you will witness and personally support the rise of an unprecedentedly massive kingdom! The one and only great empire to occupy the entire shinobi world!"
"Onoki, Kitsuchi, do you not wish to see your old rivals kneel before you one by one?!"
Onoki and Kitsuchi exchanged a glance, seeming to realize for the first time that as the first nation to be annexed, they had actually gained a first-mover advantage in other respects.
If, as the Ice-Fire Clone said, the Land of Rain could truly rise to become the sole nation in the shinobi world...
"Of course, we do. If Leader Kaito... no, if Lord Amekage does not disdain my old and feeble body," Onoki quickly corrected his position, stunning Kitsuchi who stood beside him.
"Hmph. Onoki, you are old but vigorous. Your Dust Style is invincible. How could I possibly disdain you?"
The Ice-Fire Clone said, "From now on, you will be the Second Elder of the Land of Rain, with the same standing as Hanzo."
"As for you, Kitsuchi, you will be my Shadow Guard."
"Yes, sir!" Kitsuchi breathed a sigh of relief.
"As for the rest of you, you will be reinstated to your former ranks as jonin of Iwagakure. I hope you will not disappoint me."
"Yes, sir!"