Chapter 490: The Third Raikage: As Disgusting as Eating a Fly

After capturing the Four-Tails Jinchūriki, Roshi, the Third Raikage waited eagerly to see Iwagakure's reaction. Ōnoki acted decisively and ordered a troop withdrawal soon after.

By normal logic, withdrawing troops was equivalent to admitting defeat.

In other words, Iwagakure had conceded, and the Cloud Village emerged as the victor in this nearly three-year-long war.

The Third Raikage finally felt relieved. Now he could give the villagers an explanation for the sacrifices made during the war.

He began preparing to extract reparations from Iwagakure to compensate for the Cloud Village's losses.

With this in mind, the Third Raikage even publicly suggested that Ōnoki should be mentally prepared for harsh negotiations.

Whenever he thought of Ōnoki's frustrated, wrinkled face, the Third Raikage couldn't help but feel elated.

As Ōnoki's mortal rival, the Third Raikage looked forward to metaphorically carving him up with a knife—though Ōnoki might not personally attend, his envoys would be given a strong warning.

How dare Iwagakure challenge the might of the Cloud Village?

But what the Third Raikage never anticipated was that after Iwagakure's troops had fully withdrawn, no envoys came.

Days turned into weeks, and still, there was no sign of anyone from Iwagakure.

What was Ōnoki up to?

They had withdrawn troops, effectively abandoning the war, but hadn't sent envoys for negotiations. Was he buying time to resolve internal conflicts or simply afraid of the inevitable terms?

The lack of movement from Iwagakure left the Third Raikage no choice but to wait.

But after waiting and waiting with no results, he grew impatient and sent a delegation to Iwagakure to press them for negotiations.

When the delegation returned, the news they brought made the Third Raikage livid.

The delegation hadn't even made it to Ōnoki—they were stopped at the border of the Land of Earth. The Iwagakure ninja stationed there delivered a message dripping with disdain:

"Negotiations? Are you out of your mind, Cloud Village? Since when did we admit we lost the war? Withdrawing troops doesn't mean defeat. It's called a tactical retreat. Understand?"

"Negotiations? Stop flattering yourselves."

Clearly, these words were pre-scripted by Ōnoki, knowing that Cloud Village would eventually try to force negotiations.

When the Third Raikage heard the report, he was dumbstruck.

Tactical retreat?

Withdrawing troops doesn't mean losing the war? Since there's no defeat, why negotiate?

You, Cloud Village, didn't defeat us.

The Third Raikage had been so public about his expectations for Iwagakure's surrender that hearing this rebuttal was like a slap to his pride.

It was said that his roar of fury nearly shook the Raikage's office building to its foundation.

The angrier he had been before, the more humiliated and disgusted he felt now.

After calming down, the Third Raikage called a meeting with his top advisors.

When the Cloud Village leaders learned what had happened, they were just as enraged, calling Iwagakure's actions shameless.

This was nothing short of playing the rogue.

Claiming a "tactical retreat" with such bold-faced confidence was audacious, to say the least.

Many among the leadership called for immediate retaliation.

"If they're so brazen, let's invade the Land of Earth and show them what we're capable of!"

But none of these suggestions were adopted by the Third Raikage.

Attacking Iwagakure was easier said than done. The Land of Earth was far from the Cloud Village, and the logistics of launching an invasion were daunting.

The Third Raikage cursed the distance between their two lands.

Transporting supplies across such a vast stretch of land was already a nightmare. To make matters worse, Ōnoki had proven he was more than willing to personally disrupt supply routes by flying in and destroying convoys.

Unlike Ōnoki, the Third Raikage couldn't fly.

Attacking by sea wasn't an option either—most of the Cloud Village's naval forces had been decimated during their previous conflict with the Mist Village.

With more than two years of war already draining their resources and manpower, the Cloud Village wasn't in a position to launch a new offensive.

"Disgusting!"

The Third Raikage couldn't stop muttering curses, furious at Ōnoki's shameless tactics.

Ōnoki had perfectly calculated the situation. The Cloud Village couldn't afford to escalate, and Iwagakure could continue its defiance without fear of immediate retaliation.

Ōnoki's message was clear:

If you want us to admit defeat, come and beat us. If you don't, don't expect us to concede anything.

While the tactic cost Ōnoki some pride, it was undeniably effective.

The Cloud Village, for all its strength, was stuck.

If they couldn't secure their supply lines, their forces wouldn't last in the Land of Earth. And Ōnoki would continue to target their logistics with impunity.

"Father, since Iwagakure is being so shameless, why don't we keep the Four-Tails? At least we'd gain something to compensate for the village's losses."

The Third Raikage was fuming but retained enough composure to think clearly. His son, however, was another story.

Young Ai, impulsive and hot-headed, had inherited his father's fiery temper but not his wisdom.

"Shut up!"

The Third Raikage, who usually spoke to his son with patience, snapped angrily.

"Isn't it embarrassing enough? Do you think we can just hold onto the Four-Tails without consequence?"

"Why not?" Ai asked, genuinely confused. "The Four-Tails is our trophy, captured by you personally in the Land of Earth."

The Third Raikage exhaled deeply. "Capturing it doesn't mean we can keep it."

He paused for a moment, his expression softening.

"Focus on your training. Work with Killer Bee. He's your brother, your partner. You'll need each other in the future."

"But—"

"Get out!"

Ai, recognizing his father's mood, drooped his head and left without another word.