Chapter 686 Kicked the Chakra Steel Plate

After the high-level meeting approved it, Ōnoki secretly led some skilled Iwagakure Jōnin to Six Paths City, without even notifying Jonin Hikari, the Iwagakure representative there.

In Ōnoki’s view, this matter should not be publicized; the fewer people who knew, the better.

The reason was simple: Ōnoki felt that he was very likely to lose.

Ōnoki did not think he was weaker than Hiruzen Sarutobi, but he also did not think he was stronger than Hiruzen Sarutobi. If Sōsuke could defeat Hiruzen Sarutobi, then he could very likely defeat him.

Since there was a high probability of losing, it was natural to try to block the news.

A Kage losing was not a glorious thing, and Ōnoki had no intention of passing on his title now; Iwagakure couldn’t even find a Ninja who satisfied him.

Until he entered Six Paths City, Ōnoki maintained his Transformation Technique disguise, as did the Iwagakure Jōnin who accompanied him.

After entering Six Paths City, Ōnoki did not immediately seek out Sōsuke, but instead wandered around Six Paths City.

Although he had always paid attention to the Shinobi Sect’s affairs, this was his first time visiting Six Paths City.

He was, after all, the Tsuchikage and could not leave the Village at will; he had to remain in charge to maintain the Village’s stability and oversee the overall situation.

“These Shinobi Sect Ninja aren’t panicking at all,” Ōnoki observed the Shinobi Sect Ninja performing their duties in Six Paths City out of the corner of his eye.

He wasn’t just sightseeing; he was gathering intelligence, assessing the atmosphere of Six Paths City, and the state of the Shinobi Sect Ninja.

“Kitsuchi, let’s go. Let’s find Sōsuke,” Ōnoki turned to Kitsuchi, who was standing behind him, and said.

To maintain secrecy, he brought only absolutely reliable Ninja, either seasoned Iwagakure ANBU or Iwagakure Jōnin whom Ōnoki knew very well.

Kitsuchi nodded, took a few Iwagakure Jōnin to a secluded spot to dispel their Transformation Technique, and then went to the Shinobi Sect’s office building to request an audience with Sōsuke.

Ōnoki would not personally negotiate with Sōsuke; instead, Kitsuchi would convey his intentions.

If Sōsuke agreed, they would choose a secret location outside Six Paths City for a friendly sparring match.

If Sōsuke did not agree, Ōnoki would act as if he had never come and return to Iwagakure with his subordinates.

Kitsuchi often acted as the Iwagakure representative in dealings with the Shinobi Sect, so the Shinobi Sect Ninja were quite familiar with him, and he smoothly met Sōsuke and presented the request.

“You want to have a friendly match with me…” Muzuki’s Shadow Clone made a thoughtful expression.

He knew the friendly sparring was a pretense, and gathering intelligence was the real goal.

Some of Iwagakure’s minor actions outside the Land of Rain might escape the Shinobi Sect’s notice, but Muzuki was not only the leader of the Shinobi Sect; he was also the Hokage of Konoha.

Based on Iwagakure’s actions, Muzuki felt that Iwagakure was likely somewhat wary of the Shinobi Sect and intended to take action against it, so they wanted to exhaust some of their previous goodwill before making a move.

“Alright, let’s meet outside the City at 3 PM,” Muzuki’s Shadow Clone agreed.

In the past, Muzuki’s Shadow Clone would not have been able to agree, and even if he did, he couldn’t have fought on the same day.

Now it was different; Limitless was far superior to the Flying Thunder God Technique for long-distance travel. With Limitless, he could quickly travel between two different countries.

Since Ōnoki wanted information, he would show Ōnoki information.

If Ōnoki was scared and settled down, it would make the Ninja World a bit more peaceful. If Ōnoki wasn’t scared but instead wanted to eliminate Muzuki’s alias even more, then Muzuki hoped he would gather more allies, ideally allowing him to solve all problems at once.

“Thank you for your trouble,” Kitsuchi said, expressing his gratitude.

“No trouble at all. Iwagakure helped a lot when Six Paths City was first established,” Muzuki said with a chuckle.

Kitsuchi sighed and said nothing, bowing slightly to Muzuki before leaving the office.

He felt somewhat ashamed; Iwagakure was secretly plotting how to deal with the Shinobi Sect, while the Shinobi Sect still remembered Iwagakure’s past kindness.

However, Kitsuchi was ultimately an Iwagakure Ninja; no matter how ashamed he felt, he still had no intention of revealing any of Iwagakure’s plans to Sōsuke.

Perhaps from a secular moral perspective, they were in the wrong, but from the standpoint of Iwagakure and the Land of Earth, they were not wrong.

Although they had agreed to meet at 3 PM, Ōnoki arrived at the designated location ten minutes early.

Coincidentally, Muzuki also arrived at the agreed location at the same time, accompanied by Nagato, Yahiko, and a few other Shinobi Sect Ninja.

Due to Ōnoki’s need for secrecy, Muzuki brought very few people and specifically instructed them not to reveal any information beforehand.

“As expected of the legendary Ninja Master; just looking from afar, I can feel the scholarly aura about him. It truly is better to meet in person than to hear about him,” Ōnoki said with a chuckle.

Since Iwagakure had initiated this battle with the Shinobi Sect, their attitude needed to be good.

Turning hostile would be a matter for the future; for now, they still had to display the demeanor of an ally.

Roshi stood behind Muzuki, his jaw dropping at Ōnoki’s benevolent, kindly old man appearance. Could this guy actually look so amiable?

Forget compliments, Roshi had never even seen Ōnoki give him a kind smile.

“In front of a senior, how can I be considered a legendary Ninja? When the name of the Two Scales resounded throughout the Ninja World, I was still an unknown nobody,” Muzuki replied with polite flattery.

Although he knew this old fox Ōnoki had ill intentions, Muzuki didn’t mind, because Ōnoki would soon receive his just desserts.

“Haha, no wonder the Ninja who attended the Ninja Master’s lectures found them so memorable. You’re so eloquent; I even want to listen to your lecture,” Ōnoki chuckled.

This was indeed the truth.

Although Sōsuke’s words weren’t flowery, coming from Sōsuke himself, Ōnoki found them very agreeable.

Roshi was speechless. So, you can speak nicely after all.

Ōnoki noticed a Shinobi Sect Ninja giving him a rather strange look but didn’t pay much attention.

If he remembered correctly, this Ninja was named Shirakawa and was mainly responsible for the Shinobi Sect branch in Bird Country.

He might have a certain status within the Shinobi Sect, but he hadn’t displayed much strength and was just an ordinary mid-to-high-level Shinobi Sect member.

Ōnoki didn’t take most of the Shinobi Sect’s mid-to-high-level members seriously. He believed these people were just riding on Sōsuke’s coattails, and their actual skill level was inferior to the mid-to-high-level members of small Ninja Villages like Grass Ninja Village.

“Then, the next time there’s a lecture event, I’ll invite you, senior, in the name of the Shinobi Sect,” Muzuki said.

“Mm, next time for sure,” Ōnoki replied.

Since the Shinobi Sect’s establishment, Sōsuke had only held two lecture events, with a considerable interval between them.

If his plan went smoothly, the Shinobi Sect wouldn’t have the chance to hold another lecture event.

At this point, the polite flattery temporarily ended, and both sides began to prepare for battle.

“Kitsuchi, you all step back. Be careful not to get caught in the battle’s range,” Ōnoki’s eyes were fixed on Sōsuke as he reminded the accompanying Iwagakure Ninja.

If he used Dust Release at full power, the range of its destructive force would be incredibly wide, making it easy to accidentally injure spectators.

Kitsuchi and the other Iwagakure Jōnin understood the terror of Ōnoki’s Dust Release and quickly retreated.

“Father, go for it!”

Kitsuchi took a deep breath, secretly condensing Chakra, and focused intently on the battlefield, ready to use Ninjutsu to protect Ōnoki at any moment.

In fact, before coming to the Shinobi Sect, he had volunteered to replace Ōnoki in testing Sōsuke’s strength, but Ōnoki refused, citing his insufficient strength.

Kitsuchi was a not-so-small powerhouse in the Ninja World, but he was not qualified to face Sōsuke, who could defeat Hiruzen Sarutobi.

The other Iwagakure Jōnin also dared not relax. Although the relationship between the Shinobi Sect and Iwagakure was currently friendly, accidents could happen during battle.

Better safe than sorry. If no accident occurred, all was well. If one did, they could support Ōnoki immediately.

If they had a choice, the Iwagakure Jōnin would want to support Sōsuke, because that would mean Ōnoki was winning.

On the other side, Nagato and the others also retreated backward.

Muzuki had only brought four people. Among them, Nagato and Roshi had witnessed Muzuki’s battle with Hiruzen Sarutobi and knew how terrifying his strength was. Although Yahiko and Konan hadn’t seen it firsthand, they had heard accounts from spectators and dared not be careless.

“Sparring with Sōsuke, you’ve really kicked a Chakra steel plate this time,” Roshi looked at Ōnoki, a schadenfreude smile appearing on his face.

Roshi didn’t exactly hate Ōnoki, but he was very annoyed with him.

Ōnoki wasn’t the sole reason he left Iwagakure, but he was certainly more than just the last straw that broke the camel’s back.

Now, having the chance to see Ōnoki get thoroughly beaten, Roshi’s mood was naturally very pleasant.

If Sōsuke hadn’t told him to keep it a secret, Roshi would have wanted to find a camera to capture some photos of Ōnoki being beaten.

Having personally witnessed how Hiruzen Sarutobi was crushed by Sōsuke, Roshi could already imagine how miserably Ōnoki would lose.

The opponent Ōnoki was about to face was not simply strong; he was strong in a way ordinary Ninja could hardly comprehend, close to the strength of a God of Shinobi.

Yahiko’s eyes were fixed on the battlefield, his gaze constantly shifting between the two standing figures.

He was also a Ninja, and after hearing the Shinobi Sect Ninja’s excited and enthusiastic descriptions of how Sōsuke used powerful and mysterious means to defeat Hiruzen Sarutobi, he also became curious.

Konan crossed her fingers over her chest, praying for Sōsuke in her heart, hoping he could win the battle unharmed.

She had heard that the Tsuchikage possessed a Bloodline Limit called Dust Release, a powerful ability that surpassed Bloodline Limits and possessed extremely terrifying destructive power.

Nagato’s expression was normal, watching the battleground with a calm demeanor.

He was the one in the Shinobi Sect who knew Muzuki’s strength best, and he knew there was no possibility of Muzuki losing to Ōnoki.

In fact, Nagato felt that Muzuki didn’t even need to bother; he himself might be able to defeat Ōnoki.

Under Muzuki’s guidance, his Yang Release Breathing had made great progress. In Muzuki’s words, if he continued to train for a while, he would have hope of mastering Yang Release Breathing Chakra Mode.

Furthermore, Nagato was becoming increasingly proficient in using the Rinnegan; he could now use all of the Rinnegan’s basic abilities.

PS: There’s one more chapter coming later, time TBD.

Xiao Ju originally wanted to finish writing it in one go, but the full attendance line was reached, so he could only publish a part first, otherwise he wouldn’t get full attendance.