The battle itself held no suspense whatsoever.
Under the leadership of numerous Kage-level powerhouses, the hundred-thousand-strong shinobi army tore through Iwagakure's defenses like a blade through paper.
Only after watching their comrades get slaughtered one after another like livestock did the surviving Iwagakure shinobi finally understand what Ōnoki had meant before.
The two sides simply weren't on the same level.
Just as they had once crushed weaker nations in the past, now they had become the ones being utterly overwhelmed.
"Retreat! Hurry and retreat!"
"Run! Everyone, run! The enemy is far too strong!"
"Damn it… why are you all running?! Fight me to the death!"
"Cut the crap! If we stay here, our fallen comrades will have died for nothing!"
Thanks to Ōnoki's earlier order, the shinobi of Iwagakure felt no psychological burden when it came to fleeing.
Most of them pushed their bodies to the absolute limit, escaping as fast as they could in the direction of Iwagakure.
As for some of the Iwa shinobi who had been blinded by hatred and driven mad by bloodshed, they charged into the endless enemy ranks like lone heroes charging toward certain death.
From first contact to the end, a large-scale war involving over 'one hundred vs thirty' thousand people had ended in less than two hours.
Other than the blood staining the ground and the corpses of Iwagakure shinobi, it was almost as if nothing had happened at all.
"That was amazing! This was the easiest battle I've ever fought. Killing the enemy felt as easy as crushing ants!"
"So without even realizing it, we've already become this strong!"
"Hahahahaha! At this rate, the day we capture the Tsuchikage alive isn't far off!"
The shinobi under Yuzuru's command were wildly excited. If Yuzuru hadn't ordered them to advance slowly and steadily, they probably would have already rushed off to hunt down the fleeing Iwa shinobi.
Iwagakure.
Looking at his utterly demoralized subordinates, Ōnoki couldn't help but let out a silent cry of anguish.
Even though he had long expected this outcome, it was still difficult for him to accept.
The Iwagakure he had spent his entire life building had now been defeated so easily. That crushing sense of defeat made him seem to age several more years in an instant.
It took him a long while before he was finally able to barely steady his emotions.
Then he turned to Akatsuchi and ordered, "Akatsuchi, call back all the shinobi stationed outside."
Akatsuchi's voice dropped low. "Teacher, even if we can't win, we can't just give up like this."
"Their hundred-thousand-man army needs an astronomical amount of supplies to keep moving. As long as we drag this out, there's bound to be a turning point."
"If we give up every other town now, then we truly won't have even the slightest hope left."
Ōnoki waved a hand, his tone firm.
"Since Uchiha Yuzuru has started this war, he won't retreat so easily."
"Lose five cities today, lose ten tomorrow, and after all that bloodshed, all we gain is a single night of peace."
"Rather than be slowly devoured piece by piece, we might as well gather all our strength here at Iwagakure and make our final stand!"
Seeing that Ōnoki had already made up his mind, Akatsuchi could only obey and leave.
Three days later.
All the Iwa shinobi had returned to Iwagakure, and the army led by Yuzuru had arrived at its outskirts.
Ōnoki floated high in the sky, looking at the endless black mass of enemies before him, his expression dim.
Ever since the deaths of Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha, the Iwagakure under his leadership had once become the strongest force in the shinobi world.
During the Third Great Ninja War, if he hadn't feared Kumogakure and Yuzuru taking advantage of the chaos, he might have even had the chance to march straight into Konoha itself.
And yet now, in barely more than a decade, Iwagakure had fallen to the brink of total destruction.
At that moment, a familiar figure suddenly came running over from the distance at high speed.
Ōnoki's pupils shrank.
"Kitsuchi?"
Kitsuchi came alone beneath the walls of Iwagakure and shouted loudly, "Father, stop struggling in vain. Surrender!"
Even after imagining countless possibilities, Ōnoki had never once imagined that his own son would come to persuade him to surrender.
Disappointment immediately appeared on his face, and he snorted coldly.
"Kitsuchi, I truly misjudged you. I never thought you'd be someone so afraid of death."
"For the sake of staying alive, you actually came here to persuade me to surrender."
"Do you even remember that you are the Tsuchikage's son?!"
Hearing Ōnoki's accusation, a trace of shame flashed across Kitsuchi's face, but he quickly forced it down.
He shouted back, "Father, you should know me better than anyone. I'm not someone who fears death."
"I came to persuade you because I've seen the future clearly."
"Every nation is now living prosperous lives under Lord Yuzuru's rule. Why does Iwagakure still have to keep resisting so stubbornly?"
"You say I came here to surrender just to save my own life, but in my eyes, you're the one sacrificing our comrades for your own selfish pride!"
"If you'd just go out and look at the world as it is now, I refuse to believe you'd remain blind to it!"
After hearing Kitsuchi's words, Ōnoki's body swayed slightly in the air.
In just a few short days, his once honest and straightforward son had somehow become so sharp-tongued.
But even he had to admit that every word Kitsuchi said was true.
For the sake of an ending that was destined to fail, was it really worth throwing away so many lives?
With that thought, Ōnoki lowered his gaze toward the Iwa shinobi below.
After suffering defeat after defeat in multiple battles, everyone's faces had long since been filled with tension and unease.
And now, after Kitsuchi's attempt at persuasion, their morale had sunk to its absolute lowest point.
Ōnoki could even see numbness and despair on some of their faces.
They were no longer the elite shinobi force he had painstakingly raised.
They were a group of walking corpses.
In their current state, facing a hundred thousand elite enemies, there was only one possible outcome.
Total slaughter.
"Even the strongest will, when faced with absolute power, can only be crushed into dust…"
Ōnoki murmured to himself and finally gave up on his original plan.
He turned to Akatsuchi and ordered, "After I die, surrender the village."
Akatsuchi's expression changed with concern.
"Teacher, what are you planning to do?"
"There is only a Tsuchikage who dies standing. There is no Tsuchikage who lives kneeling."
After saying that, Ōnoki turned to Kitsuchi and said in a low voice, "Kitsuchi, I have only one final wish."
"Before I die, I want to personally witness the power of the Mangekyō Sharingan."
"Go tell Uchiha Yuzuru this: if he is willing to fight me one-on-one, then the shinobi of Iwagakure are willing to submit!"
Kitsuchi looked at Ōnoki deeply, then dropped to his knees and kowtowed.
"Father, I'll go right now!"
Ōnoki floated in the sky and slowly flew forward.
Back then, the overwhelming power of Madara Uchiha had left an endless shadow in his heart, one so deep that it still haunted his dreams to this day.
That ignorant little brat from back then had now become the Tsuchikage, wielding tremendous power.
He had to find out for himself.
He had to know whether the power he had forged over this lifetime was enough to defeat the pride of the Uchiha clan.