Having become Tsuchikage and held the position for so many years, Onoki, like Sarutobi Hiruzen, was a "silver old man."
If there was anything wrong with this assessment, it was only missing the word "old."
Such a person, after knowing Akatsuki and Kumogakure had gone all-in, was probably thinking about where Kumogakure's confidence came from.
Giving such thoughtful information now probably carries a lot of probing.
Of course, there's more persuasion and temptation in it.
Even if Kumogakure and Konoha have an agreement, agreements between countries are seen as sacred and inviolable when they want to recognize them, but they're just waste paper when they don't.
This information is saying that the Land of Thunder is now messed up by Iwagakure. It's so good, really, why not take advantage of it?
Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura clearly couldn't resist the temptation and started getting restless.
But, you know, they're both old after all.
Whether they can rise up or not, the decision lies with Orochimaru, Tsunade, and Jiraiya, the "Konoha Sannin."
The latter two, due to their personalities, are more inclined to protect themselves than to decisively start a war.
Orochimaru holds the actual decision-making power, and he has no intention of doing so.
Why bother? Why distinguish between Kumogakure and Iwagakure? No matter who wins, it will all be mine in the future.
Although his base is currently only in Konoha, Orochimaru firmly believes that he will be able to expand to the entire ninja world in the future.
What he needs is time. Three years? Five years? Every little bit makes a big difference.
Therefore, Orochimaru is acting very conservatively against his usual style. Even if Kumogakure is so tempting right now, he just won't take the bait.
Even Jiraiya has the will to control himself at crucial moments.
"Orochimaru, this is really..."
Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura were clearly disappointed.
But they couldn't say anything more. When they received the information, before communicating with Orochimaru, they had contacted the village, and the Third Hokage's order was to let Orochimaru decide.
The teacher and student are on the same side. No one can withstand that, even Danzo is not good enough.
"Now that things have come to this, the battle between the two villages has come to an end. The rest is up to you."
Orochimaru stood up, looked at Tsunade, and smiled, "I have another task here to report back to the village."
Shizune, Karin mother and daughter, and Third Kazekage's Chakra soul, this trip yielded so much material. It's time to go back and digest it.
Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura exchanged glances and didn't stop him.
Kumogakure is now unable to start another war. Instead, they have to worry about whether Konoha will join hands with Iwagakure. The signing of this "peace agreement" is naturally not a problem, and they can even take the opportunity to demand some excessive things.
Like the rare mineral resources of the Land of Thunder.
...
One day later, Land of Thunder, Kumogakure.
That night, ripples suddenly appeared on the mist-covered mountaintop.
The next moment, a man wearing a tiger Madara patterned mask stepped out and landed on a cedar tree.
He hid in the dark clouds, looked at the lights lit on the clusters of tower peaks, and sneered.
The war between Iwagakure Village and Kumogakure suddenly started and then stopped, ending with Onoki injuring the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki. It just stopped like that.
Kumogakure is fine. They were defending the war. But Iwagakure Village, as the aggressor, didn't achieve any substantial results and could still accept this result?
What Obito couldn't figure out the most was that Konoha didn't take advantage of Kumogakure's empty rear to attack.
When did the atmosphere of the ninja world become so good?
Even to return the favor for Kumogakure's previous backstabbing, Konoha should have taken action.
"Hehehe..."
Obito let out a gloomy chuckle, "The Fourth Hokage has only been dead for so long, and the village is getting worse and worse."
"Yes, yes, Konoha's behavior is indeed confusing."
On the tree trunk, Zetsu stuck out half of his body from the leaf of a huge pitcher plant, echoed a few words, and then asked in confusion,
"Is the previous plan still going to proceed? The peace talks between Kumogakure and Konoha will begin soon."
Obito glanced at Zetsu and pondered slightly.
The previous plan was to take advantage of Kumogakure sending people to Konoha for peace talks and assassinate the negotiators to provoke a war.
But if they do that now, no matter which side dies, Kumogakure will admit defeat because their current strength cannot support a war with Konoha.
After a moment of silence, Obito said, "The plan will continue. Next, help me find a suitable high-ranking member of Kumogakure. I need a pawn to delay the peace talks until the Fourth Raikage recovers from his injuries."
Only with similar strength can they compete. Kumogakure with the Fourth Raikage and Kumogakure without him are two different villages, as can be seen from this war.
"Are you going to use genjutsu to control them?"
Zetsu leaned out, puzzled, "Aren't you afraid that your eye power won't be enough?"
Shisui's Mangekyo Sharingan can permanently change a person's will in a physical sense.
But other Sharingan, whether Mangekyo or Rinnegan, are essentially just genjutsu that consumes eye power. They are short-term, time-limited abilities that need to be replenished regularly.
Currently, Obito is controlling Kirigakure's Fourth Mizukage and the tailed beast inside him. Both are extraordinary beings, occupying much of Obito's eye power. Maintaining an additional powerful ninja would likely affect his daily use of eye power.
"It's worth it."
Obito was silent for a moment, then chuckled, "Besides, for Kumogakure's high-ranking officials, we don't necessarily need to choose those with strong abilities. Once ninjas get old, it's easy to control them."
...
The next day, in the morning.
After more than a day of traveling, Orochimaru and his group returned to Konoha.
"We're back in the village again."
Tsunade looked at the gates of Konoha and sighed softly. Compared to when she left, she really hasn't made much progress in these years.
"...Tsunade, long time no see!"
While immersed in sadness and self-blame, a cheerful voice with a smile suddenly rang in Tsunade's ear. Then, as if a gust of wind had blown, a strong figure embraced her.
"Let's have a long-awaited reunion hug!"
Feeling the warmth surrounding her body, Tsunade was first shy, then angry. She mustered her strength to break free and punched Jiraiya.
Jiraiya came here very quickly and disappeared just as quickly.
Boom boom boom...
He crashed into several trees in front of the gate, flew into the depths of the forest, and was buried in broken branches and wood.
Everyone present swallowed and those who recognized Jiraiya were silently speculating that this reunion might be their last.
But seeing Orochimaru standing there calmly, looking like he was used to it, they were somewhat amazed.
The daily lives of these "Sannin" are too dangerous.
---
You can read 50 Chapters ahead on my
pat reon.com/GMadman
Free member can read 3 chapters ahead