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Ōnoki had always maintained a good relationship with the Daimyō of the Land of Earth.
Because of this, more than half a year ago, the Daimyō had discreetly warned him to prepare for surrender and to align with Konoha. There was no point in resisting Uchiha Kaito—winning was simply impossible.
Ōnoki didn't know exactly what the Daimyō had learned, but the mere fact that he was advising surrender showed just how far Kaito's influence over the ninja world had spread. Any countermeasures they could take were already too late.
"I regret it! If I had known this would happen, I should have gathered more allies during the Second Great Ninja War and eliminated Uchiha Kaito in Amegakure!"
Ōnoki spoke with deep remorse.
"Uh…"
Kitsuchi hesitated before replying, "Father, didn't you and the Third Kazekage already team up against Uchiha Kaito back then? You still lost."
"At that time, Kaito was already invincible. There was no way to defeat him!"
"Even if you had gathered more allies, I doubt you could've killed him."
"You should stop dwelling on the past and move on."
Ōnoki: "….."
"You brat! Do you think I don't already know that? Do you really have to rub it in my face?!" The next moment, Ōnoki roared at his son in frustration.
This damn kid—couldn't he just keep quiet instead of making things worse?
But Kitsuchi remained calm, wiping away the spit that had landed on his face before saying, "There's no need to get so worked up, Father. Since we already understand the situation, why not just accept reality?"
"If we're dealing with an enemy we have no hope of defeating, wouldn't it be better to submit to him?"
"You've seen it yourself. Under Konoha's rule, both the village and the entire Land of Fire are thriving!"
"Not just Konoha and the Land of Fire—even our Land of Earth and Iwagakure have benefited in many ways."
"If we formally align with Konoha, things will only get better for us!"
"You've always been envious of Konoha's mysterious power-ups and resources, haven't you? If we join them, we'll definitely get some of those benefits too!"
"And when it comes to situations like this, the earlier we act, the better. As the first village to surrender, we'll receive the best treatment."
"Even if it's just to set an example, Konoha will make sure we're well taken care of."
Ōnoki was furious. "You brat! Are you really in such a hurry to make Iwagakure surrender to Konoha?"
"Are you so eager to throw away the efforts of every generation before us?!"
He had watched Iwagakure grow from its founding to where it was today. He had spent his entire life building and protecting it. How could he just let it all go?
"Father, that's not how it is." Kitsuchi sighed and shook his head. "If we had a choice—if there was even a slim chance of victory—I wouldn't be saying this."
"But ask yourself honestly—do we really have any chance of winning? Do you think I want to see all of your efforts amount to nothing?"
"There's always a chance! What if Uchiha Madara really did escape Konoha's control?" Ōnoki stubbornly argued back.
"With him on our side, we could stand a chance!"
"At the very least, we could stop Konoha from uniting the entire ninja world!"
Kitsuchi rolled his eyes. "Father, you don't even believe that yourself."
"Two years ago, Uchiha Kaito was just eight or nine years old, and even then, he was already invincible. You couldn't even last a single exchange against him."
"With his terrifying talent, imagine how much stronger he must be now."
"Even if Madara did break free, do you really think he could defeat Kaito?"
"And let's be real—this whole 'Madara escaping' situation is probably just a ploy by Konoha."
"They likely staged the entire thing to turn Madara into a villain behind the scenes."
"I can already predict what's going to happen next—Madara will stir up chaos and become a major enemy, forcing all the other villages to fight against him."
"Konoha will use this opportunity to push for an allied ninja army."
"And once that happens, Konoha will slowly integrate and take control of every ninja village's forces, making it easier for them to unify the entire ninja world."
"If Uchiha Kaito has any kindness left in him, he'll try to unite the world as peacefully as possible."
But still…The truth was, many in the ninja world had already figured this out.
For years, ever since Konoha started making suspicious moves, intelligent minds within Iwagakure had been discussing and predicting the true nature of Konoha's plans.
Ōnoki himself had been a part of those discussions. He knew the truth but had been in denial, refusing to accept reality.
"How can you be so sure that Uchiha Kaito wants to unify the ninja world peacefully instead of using war to wear us down?"
Ōnoki asked, still grasping for hope.
Kitsuchi sighed in exasperation. "Father, you're just being stubborn now."
"You yourself have said that Konoha's current strength is more than enough to crush the entire ninja world."
"If they really wanted to weaken us through battle, why would they go through all this trouble?"
"They could just wipe us out directly."
"Why go through the effort of putting on a show? Why make things so complicated?"
"I wouldn't be surprised if Konoha expects us to figure all this out."
"But they're still playing along—probably to give us a way to surrender with dignity, allowing them to unite the world without unnecessary bloodshed."
"Honestly, it sounds crazy, but all the evidence points to this conclusion."
The real issue was that no one could fully understand Uchiha Kaito's thoughts.
Ultimately, his true motives remained a mystery.
Was he genuinely trying to unify the ninja world in a peaceful way, avoiding unnecessary bloodshed?
Or was he merely trying to absorb the manpower of all the ninja villages, using them for some greater, unknown purpose?
Given his ruthless methods during the Second Great Ninja War—where he had wiped out thousands of enemy ninja using terrifying lightning techniques—Iwagakure's strategists leaned toward the latter.
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