— — — — — — —
"This..."
Onoki's heart sank upon hearing the news, but he quickly adjusted his mindset. After all, this was something he had already anticipated.
At least the Hokage was willing to offer enough contribution points as compensation, right?
Still, he couldn't help but ask, "So, what exactly can be exchanged at Konoha's Merit Pavilion? Is there a list available? Can I trade for Kekkei Genkai potions? What about the Flying Thunder God Technique?"
Konoha had been eyeing his Dust Release, but wasn't he just as eager to get his hands on Konoha's vast collection of forbidden techniques?
"The Flying Thunder God and most of Konoha's forbidden techniques—except for the Edo Tensei—are all listed in the contribution exchange catalog."
"As for the Kekkei Genkai potions, all are available except for those belonging to the four major clans, including the Uchiha."
"There are also lower-level meditation techniques, taijutsu, body-strengthening arts, high-grade nutrition pills, and life-enhancing potions."
"Amazing!" Onoki thought these benefits were already significant.
Tobirama then added, "There are also the life-extending pills."
"Indeed. Every month, a limited supply of these pills is made available for exchange. They are called Longevity Pills."
"Each person can consume up to five pills, extending their lifespan by over 90 years in total!"
Kaito smiled at Onoki as he spoke.
"What?! There is such a thing? Over 90 years of extra life? Konoha has something this miraculous?!"
Onoki was utterly shocked. If he could get his hands on five Pills, wouldn't that mean he could live for another 90-plus years?
The thought sent a shiver down his spine, and he instinctively turned to look at Uzumaki Mito and the revived and all young members.
Seeing their unnaturally youthful appearances, realization struck him like a lightning bolt. "So that's it! That explains everything! I was wondering why all of you look so absurdly young! It's because of these Pills, isn't it?"
He took a deep breath, his expression growing serious as he turned to Onoki and said solemnly, "Hokage-sama, rest assured! Once I return, I will immediately gather all of Iwagakure's ninjutsu, forbidden techniques, secret arts, and our unique ninja tools to hand over to you."
"In exchange, I ask that you grant me permission to redeem some of these Pills."
Looking at Uzumaki Mito and the others, who appeared no different from people in their twenties or thirties, Onoki couldn't help but desire the same.
He wanted to be young again. He wanted to live another hundred years.
The older one gets, the more they fear death.
Although he had already led Iwagakure to submit to Konoha, he still wanted to live long enough to personally witness the fall of the remaining ninja villages—one by one—until Konoha reigned supreme.
He wanted to see the day Konoha unified the entire Ninja world.
That future would surely be spectacular.
When the other villages heard that he had surrendered voluntarily, they would no doubt laugh at him.
But he was willing to wait.
Wait until they were also crushed and had no choice but to submit.
That moment, their faces would be truly priceless!
"Alright."
Kaito gave Onoki a deep look and nodded in agreement.
Setting aside the fact that Onoki had led Iwagakure in its surrender, which was already enough merit to qualify for the Longevity Pills—
Even if that wasn't the case, Kaito would still let him exchange for them.
After all, this was the perfect advertisement.
"Thank you! There's no time to waste—I'll head back immediately to organize the jutsu and other resources. Hokage-sama, should I take some of your people with me to begin Konoha's takeover of Iwagakure?"
Onoki looked eager, barely able to contain his excitement.
"Heh, sounds good," Kaito smirked and turned to Uchiha Izuna.
"Izuna-senpai, take a squad of ANBU, along with a few officials from the Intelligence and Administrative Departments, and escort Tsuchikage back to Iwagakure to oversee the transition."
"If you need more manpower later, just contact me. I'll have them teleported over."
By now, the Ninja world had already realized that Konoha had numerous people capable of space-time teleportation. It wasn't exactly a secret anymore.
Of course, most ninjas—Konoha's own included—believed that this was due to Konoha mastering the Flying Thunder God Technique and significantly lowering the difficulty of learning it, allowing mass distribution.
Because of this, other villages had spent years sending spies in an attempt to steal the so-called "optimized" Flying Thunder God Technique.
But none had succeeded.
Onoki, too, had inquired about the technique earlier, likely for the same reason.
Little did he know, it wasn't an optimized Flying Thunder God Technique at all. It was just the Space-Time Gate.
Konoha had never distributed any simplified version of the Flying Thunder God technique.
It was true that Kaito hadoptimized it over the years as he mastered it further, even evolving it into pure space-time teleportation.
There were now multiple variations of the technique—Some made it easier to learn and practice.
Others vastly improved its power and capabilities. But all of them required a high contribution rank to exchange.
"Understood! I'll make the arrangements immediately!"
Uchiha Izuna nodded before turning to Onoki. "Tsuchikage, if there's nothing else, let's head out."
"Wait... you're Uchiha Izuna? Uchiha Madara's younger brother?"
Onoki was momentarily stunned as he stared at Izuna in shock.
As someone who had harbored deep hatred for Madara in the past, there was no way he wouldn't recognize the name.
But hadn't Izuna been killed by Senju Tobirama long ago?
Yet here he was, standing before him, alive and well?
More importantly, wasn't Uchiha Madara no longer with Konoha?
"So it's true... Everything was just a carefully orchestrated performance by Konoha. Their plan to unify the Ninja world had been in motion all along!"
"Good thing I surrendered early. Otherwise, I don't even want to imagine the consequences..."
Onoki marveled at the realization.
"Yes, I am Uchiha Izuna. Is there a problem?" Izuna smiled faintly.
"No... no problem at all. Please, lead the way."
Onoki shook his head and gestured for Izuna to proceed.
There was nothing more to ask. Everything was already clear.
Now, he could only be grateful.
With that, Uchiha Izuna led Onoki and his entourage out of the Hokage's office.
Once they were gone, Hashirama couldn't help but sigh in admiration. "I never expected the Tsuchikage to be so decisive. Not only did he see through our plans, but he also had the guts to surrender outright. He's no ordinary man."
"The most important thing isI was right." Hashirama couldn't wait to show off in front of Madara.
"Indeed," Naori agreed with a nod. "Onoki has always been cunning and intelligent."
"But it's precisely because of that intelligence that he can see the reality of the situation so clearly."
"He understands that our unification of the Ninja world is inevitable because we already possess the absolute power to make it happen."
"That is why he chose to surrender."
"He may be an old schemer, but as a Tsuchikage, he is really a good leader."
"I have to agree," Mito added with a nod. "To be honest, I thought Suna or Kiri would be the first to submit..."
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