Chapter 85 - Chapter 86: You Know Nothing of Power

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The chanting from the tiered spectator stands grew louder and louder.

Ōnoki's eyes gleamed with the light of a scheme coming to fruition.

Just a youngster after all!

"War, so what?!"

"Don't know what they're all fussing about!"

"Lord Hokage is so strong, we should just have another huge fight!"

"Shut these people up!"

"After all, only dead men don't spout such annoying words!"

From within the stands, Deidara glanced at the agitated crowd beside him and curled his lip in annoyance.

If he were Lord Hokage, he'd just blow these people up and be done with it.

"Tsuchikage," Tsukimi Heshu spoke, his voice cutting through the noise. "I came to Iwagakure based on trust in you."

His gaze sharpened. "I never imagined you could be so shameless in your old age."

"You—!" Ōnoki's face flushed red with fury at the blunt insult.

"State your true purpose," Heshu demanded.

"Nonsense! What true purpose? I have no idea what you're talking about! There is no 'true purpose'!" Ōnoki flatly denied.

He looked at Heshu with a calm, almost smug composure, as if the young Hokage were already trapped in his palm.

"Is that so?" Heshu raised an eyebrow.

If Ōnoki wouldn't admit it willingly, then he'd have to employ a little… persuasion.

"The lie of a lie shall become the truth."

Kotodama Jutsu.

Instantly activated. The truth Ōnoki refused to acknowledge would now spill from his own lips, sentence by sentence.

"Hmph! Stupid brat!" Ōnoki's voice rang out, loud and clear, but his expression was one of gloating triumph he didn't feel. "Stunned, aren't you? At a loss? Serves you right! Think you can match wits with me, Ōnoki? You're still wet behind the ears! I was on the battlefield when you were still playing in the mud! Fooled you, didn't I? A simple little trick was all it took to lure you to Iwagakure! Hahahaha!"

The crowd fell silent, bewildered. Ōnoki kept talking, the words tumbling out against his will.

"Now, I just need to say a few words, and you'll be in mortal danger! Peace? A peace treaty? What a load of crap! My son died at the hands of your Konoha ninja! Want peace? Then let your grandpa here slaughter you first, flatten Konoha, and then we can talk about peace!"

Ōnoki planted his hands on his hips and let out a maniacal laugh.

The once-bustling arena fell into a dead silence. You could have heard a pin drop.

The two Iwa-nin standing behind Ōnoki stared, mouths agape.

"Lord Tsuchikage… have you lost your mind?" one of them finally couldn't help but ask.

"You've lost your damn mind!" Ōnoki snapped back instinctively.

Then he froze. Mid-air. Mid-laugh.

What… did I just say?

His eyes darted to the crowd below.

Doubt. Shock. Disgust. Hatred…

A dozen different gazes merged into one sharp thorn, plunging deep into Ōnoki's heart.

"How…?" he uttered, stunned.

His gaze snapped back to Heshu the next second, razor-sharp. "You! You did something!"

Heshu spread his hands innocently. "Ōnoki, I'm the victim here! Who knew you'd get so agitated you'd blurt out your true feelings? Everyone saw. I did nothing."

He smiled. The incantation for the Kotodama Jutsu had been whispered, deliberately suppressed. No one could have heard it.

Ōnoki knew. His carefully constructed facade was shattered.

But his desire to kill Tsukimi Heshu didn't waver. Since things had come to this, killing the Hokage outright was the most direct path.

CRACK!

A fissure split the wall of the training ground, dozens of meters high.

In the blink of an eye, the crack spider-webbed. The wall collapsed.

Ōnoki's eyes widened in horror. "Save the civilians!" he roared.

To stir public opinion, he'd deliberately gathered many ordinary citizens here. If they were harmed today—especially because of him—the blow to his reputation, both in the village and across the shinobi world, would be devastating.

But the collapse of the entire training ground was not something the present ninja could easily counter. The sheer number of civilians made rescue nearly impossible.

Ōnoki watched the scene, his heart turning cold.

The plan backfired.

ROAR!

A dragon's cry that shook the heavens made everyone jolt.

A massive shadow enveloped the entire training ground.

A colossal dragon curled its body, shielding all the civilians beneath it.

Collapsing boulders slammed onto the dragon's iron-hard scales. Not a single scratch appeared.

All the civilians stared at the giant dragon before them, hearts filled with awe. The news that the Fifth Hokage's summon was a dragon had long spread across the ninja world.

So, the one saving them was the very Fifth Hokage they had just been denouncing.

The Tsuchikage they trusted… was likely the mastermind behind this disaster.

"I have no wish to see civilians suffer for the Tsuchikage's mistakes," Heshu declared, his tone accusing as he looked at Ōnoki. "Every one of them holds a precious life. If you wanted to harm me, Tsuchikage, you need not have gambled with the lives of your own village's people!"

Righteous. Indignant. The perfect condemnation.

"…" Ōnoki opened his mouth, glanced at the civilians protected by the dragon, and found he had no words.

In that moment, unprecedented doubt and confusion bloomed in every civilian's heart.

I feared the Hokage, yet he harmed me not.

I respected the Tsuchikage, yet he brought me to the brink of death.

They were engulfed in thick disappointment.

"…" Ōnoki felt a deep wave of sorrow.

How did it come to this?

Countless eyes focused on him, causing the once-revered elder to seem to shrink, his back bending slightly under their weight.

But what happened next left Ōnoki no time for sorrow.

THUD!

A figure slammed into the ground. The floor shattered on impact.

The sudden attack drew panicked screams from the civilians.

"Xiaoqing! Keep the people safe!" Heshu's voice commanded. "Everyone, don't be afraid! You will be alright!"

In the next instant, Heshu's figure appeared atop the dragon's head.

The Iwagakure villagers, sheltered behind the dragon, looked up at that figure. Unbidden, their eyes grew hot.

Lord Hokage…

He truly made them feel safe!

Even after they'd said such terrible things… Lord Hokage was still the first to stand before them, to shield them with his own body.

Many of the women began to weep.

"…" Ōnoki felt he shouldn't even be here anymore.

At this moment, Tsukimi Heshu seemed more like the Tsuchikage than he did.

In the crowd, Deidara reached out and touched one of Xiaoqing's scales. It felt hard and smooth.

Could scales like these withstand my explosions? he wondered.

Xiaoqing felt someone's impudent hands. It lowered its head, ready to see which bold human dared touch the great Xiaoqing without permission!

A child looked up and flashed it a sweet, innocent smile.

…Fine.

Xiaoqing straightened its head again. Given the kid seemed to be someone Heshu favored, it would let it slide. After all, it was only natural for someone of its magnificent stature to be admired and coveted.

As the dust in the air began to settle, the identity of the figure who had been smashed into the ground became clear.

It was Iwagakure's Five-Tails Jinchūriki—Han.

"Lord Han!"

"That's Lord Han?"

"Impossible!"

An Iwa-nin's jaw dropped, cold sweat beading on his temple. Anyone else would be one thing, but this was Han! A figure in the village second only to the Tsuchikage!

Just who could have injured Lord Han like this?

All eyes snapped toward the collapsed entrance of the training ground.

Upon the piled rubble of the shattered gate stood two figures.

"Ah, so this is Iwagakure's Five-Tails Jinchūriki? Seems rather ordinary, wouldn't you say?"

A mocking, amused voice reached everyone's ears.

They stared intently. One figure was a strangely shaped old man. The other wore a mask, their true face hidden, but long, silver-white hair streamed behind them in the air.

The same hair color as the Hokage.

Heshu split his focus, maintaining his main body while simultaneously controlling his Corona Mode Clone, Hanataki.

"Who are you? How dare you trespass in Iwagakure!" Ōnoki's brow furrowed deeply as he instantly flew to Han's side.

Han's injuries looked severe but were mostly superficial. Given his status as a Jinchūriki, these wounds would heal quickly. Warily, Han pushed himself up from the ground. The smaller cuts were already beginning to close.

"Lord Tsuchikage, leave them to me," Han said, his voice steady, though his intent was anything but.

Ōnoki nodded. He trusted Han's strength.

"Boil Release: Unrivalled Strength!"

Red steam erupted from Han's body. The intense heat scorched the air, bringing a wave of warmth to the winter chill.

The chakra within Han's body reached a blistering temperature, and his speed shot to its absolute limit.

A red streak flashed before everyone's eyes.

Han's figure instantly appeared before Hanataki and Sasori.

A fist wreathed in crimson steam hurtled toward Hanataki's masked face.

"…" Heshu, via Hanataki, wasn't sure why, between Sasori and himself, Han had chosen to attack him.

Was the mask not stylish enough?

Golden light, like burning flame, ignited across Hanataki's body. The radiance gathered in his palm and met Han's fist head-on.

A flicker of triumph crossed Han's eyes. His punch was monstrously powerful and carried extreme heat. Even if this masked figure blocked it, the searing steam would scald him.

But the scene Han anticipated did not unfold.

The golden light from the other's hand instantly absorbed the red steam from his fist.

Han's momentum stalled.

Wrong. Not absorption.

It's… extraction!

The Five-Tails' chakra within him surged violently, only to be instantly devoured, swallowed by the golden glow.

This was the Corona Extraction ability of the Corona Mode. An advanced version of the Luna Mode's extraction. It could draw out the very energy from within a target's body.

Perfect for dealing with Jinchūriki.

Feeling the tailed beast chakra going berserk, Han's expression changed. If too much leaked out, the beast would run wild.

Sure enough, the very next second, a deafening roar echoed through the training ground.

Red chakra enveloped Han's entire form.

Five massive tails whipped out wildly, smashing craters into the ground wherever they touched.

Ōnoki frowned but still held back. Han's full tailed beast transformation should be more than enough to handle these two. If even that couldn't deal with them… then the situation had just become grave.

"Hanataki, let me handle this," Sasori offered.

Hanataki shook his head. Puppets were wood. Boil Release was heat. That was a natural counter.

"I've got it."

He took a step forward.

The golden light flowing over his body began to shift, to change.

A more resplendent radiance burst forth.

Unlike the single hues of the previous modes, this light was like a galaxy fused with nebulae of various colors. It wasn't a chaotic mess, but a light that evoked a sense of vastness and awe from deep within anyone who saw it.

Strangest of all, this light carried no sense of aggression or pressure.

Instead, it felt supremely vast and inclusive.

The Five-Tails' frenzied movements faltered slightly.

This mode, higher than Luna Mode, Corona Mode, or Eclipse Mode, was an even higher form of Ultraman Cosmos—Cosmo Corona Mode.

Against the Five-Tails, Hanataki had no intention of dragging things out.

Because clearly, after the Five-Tails, there was an even more formidable opponent—Ōnoki. The old man might be sly and cunning, but his strength was undeniable.

This time, Hanataki struck first.

In Cosmo Corona Mode, his movements were untraceable. One moment he was there, the next he was before the Five-Tails.

Hanataki leaped down from above. A beam of dazzling, multicolored light shot from his hand, piercing straight through the Five-Tails' massive body.

Too fast. Impossible to dodge.

Coupled with the tailed beast's super-regeneration, Han had been confident.

But this light beam, which seemed capable of tearing the sky itself, robbed Han of any chance to speak again.

The Five-Tails let out a piercing shriek.

Its colossal form began to disintegrate within the gigantic pillar of light.

Its ear-splitting scream wasn't born of the agony of death.

The Five-Tails' red chakra slowly dissipated.

On the ground…

A crater dozens of meters deep was revealed as the dust settled.

At its bottom lay Han, his life extinguished.

His face was peaceful, devoid of any trace of suffering.

This, too, was in line with Ultraman Cosmos's inherent nature.

A painless death was also a form of mercy.

Hanataki's figure hovered in mid-air.

Silence once again claimed Iwagakure.

"Ah, dead?" Sasori remarked. "Looks like we'll have to wait for the Five-Tails to resurrect. But… impressive as always, Hanataki."

"Impossible…" Ōnoki's eyes held sheer disbelief.

Han… was dead?

Ōnoki's expression turned grim. He had underestimated these two.

His gaze flicked toward where Heshu stood. It might be underhanded, but he thought, Tsukimi Heshu should be strong enough to protect the villagers.

That meant these two intruders… were his to deal with.

Ōnoki's figure flashed, appearing in the air above the arena in the blink of an eye.

"Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World!"

He showed no mercy. This was his ultimate technique from the start.

A transparent, white cube formed in Ōnoki's palm. In an instant, it expanded, engulfing Hanataki completely.

Blinding white light.

Anyone trapped within that cube would be disintegrated into atoms.

In other words…

Hanataki would vanish from this world in an instant.

From within the light, Hanataki's voice, calm and clear, reached Ōnoki's ears.

"Ōnoki."

"You know nothing of power."

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