Chapter 256: The Mysterious Summons

Obito nodded in agreement.

Meanwhile, someone nearby was racking their brain for a fitting quote.

"Yeah, yeah, as long as the green hills remain, there will always be firewood to burn."

"A true man knows when to bend and when to stand tall... uh, wait, can a 'little brother' be both big and small?"

[Is that really how the saying goes? Something feels off...]

His reservoir of proverbs ran dry after just two attempts.

Obito gave up, coughed twice, and said, "Ahem, anyway, enough people have died today."

"Let's call a ceasefire, everyone," he stated seriously.

Under the merciful thousand-palmed assault from the Buddha statue just moments ago, over half of the allied three-village army had been wiped out.

Then, a single "super gentle" Birth of the World of Trees followed, reaping nearly ten thousand more lives.

The once-mighty force of forty thousand shinobi had stormed in with overwhelming momentum—

Now, it was questionable whether they even had enough survivors left to break five digits.

Rasa, while calming the enraged Raikage, turned to Obito with a puzzled expression.

"Why?" he asked. "You clearly had the chance to annihilate us completely. Why hold back?"

"Aren't you afraid that leaving us alive will pose a future threat to Konoha?"

At those words, Obito placed his hands on his hips and burst into laughter.

"Hahaha! Are you joking?"

He rubbed his chin, pondering for a moment before speaking.

"Let me put it this way. That level of jutsu I used just now? I can throw out seven or eight of them in a row if I want."

"If I really wished to, I could flatten the entire shinobi world in a single day… So tell me, what do I have to be afraid of?"

"As long as I, Obito, am alive, no war will ever reach Konoha, and you all won't pose any threat at all."

Besides, I'll easily live for another eight hundred or a thousand years... sending you lot off won't be a problem at all!

The sheer confidence in Obito's words left both Rasa and the Raikage silent.

Given what they had just witnessed, it was hard to argue against him.

"As for why I'm sparing you…" Obito trailed off, then shrugged. "Forget it!"

"You wouldn't believe me even if I told you. Let's just move on to the next phase."

"Ding!"

Obito snapped his fingers.

A frail old man, bound tightly by wooden branches, was suddenly delivered before the three of them.

"Lord Tsuchikage, you should hear what I have to say next as well."

Ōnoki was still in a daze.

His eyes flickered between fury, confusion, and sorrow as he stared at Obito.

"You… let me down first," he rasped, his voice hoarse.

After all, he was still hanging upside down, suspended in the air by the branches!

Obito gave a small nod and snapped his fingers again. The branches instantly loosened.

"Thunk!"

Ōnoki, top-heavy and off-balance, fell in a heap.

His head crashed straight into the ground, burying itself in the dirt.

"Ugh… Mmmphhh!"

Damn, my memory...

Seeing this, Obito smacked his forehead and hurried forward, feeling slightly guilty.

He grabbed Ōnoki's short legs and yanked him out of the ground in one swift motion.

"Apologies, Lord Tsuchikage. I forgot I drained your chakra."

Ōnoki's wrinkled face flushed red as he gasped for air, trying to recover from nearly suffocating in the dirt.

"A Tsuchikage almost dying from being buried alive… That's definitely making the shinobi world headlines."

Dusting off his clothes with an annoyed expression, Ōnoki was already thinking about how to kill this brat.

"Ahem."

Obito's gaze swept over the three Kage, his expression serious.

"I'm willing to negotiate a ceasefire on behalf of Konoha," he declared. "But let me make one thing clear."

"Forgiveness does not mean indulgence. I simply wish to avoid unnecessary bloodshed."

"You must acknowledge your defeat and sign a peace treaty with Konoha."

Ōnoki jerked his head up at that.

"If we sign it, you'll let my people go?" he asked sharply.

Obito nodded solemnly.

"That's right. And the terms won't be overly harsh. I can personally guarantee that."

"As long as you no longer set your sights on Konoha, we can coexist in peace."

The three Kage exchanged glances, seeing the same uncertainty in each other's eyes.

They had expected Obito to make outrageous demands.

If their roles were reversed…

Forget outrageous demands—they wouldn't have left any survivors at all.

So why…?

In the end, it was simply a matter of perspective and scale.

Obito's vision was vastly different from theirs.

From his point of view, the conflicts between shinobi villages were nothing more than petty skirmishes—mere child's play. Tens of thousands of deaths? Meaningless.

The true enemy of mankind was the Ōtsutsuki—the so-called "gods" who could wipe out all of humanity.

From a strategic standpoint, keeping the three Kage and their villages intact was far more beneficial.

Not to mention… there was another crucial reason.

Perhaps because he wasn't a fully realized Ten-Tails Jinchūriki yet, his chakra absorption and conversion rate were too inefficient!

"I represent Iwagakure," Ōnoki finally spoke. "I accept your terms."

Moments later, Rasa followed suit.

"I, too, agree. Sunagakure will sign the peace treaty with Konoha."

A long silence stretched.

The Raikage glared daggers at Obito, gritting his teeth as if he wanted nothing more than to tear him apart.

"… Kumogakure will do the same," he spat.

A satisfied grin spread across Obito's face. He burst into laughter.

"Good. I've already released my hold over the forest. Go and gather your remaining forces."

"I'll be waiting here. Oh, and a little friendly advice—don't get any funny ideas."

Obito's harmless smile sent a shiver down Rasa's spine.

As the three Kage left, Obito sighed.

"Even now, war has never truly ended..."

"But that doesn't mean we should lose hope. Step by step, we'll move forward."

Just then—

An overwhelming surge of chakra rippled through the air.

It was as if something was trying to rip Obito's consciousness straight from his body.

For a brief moment, he froze.

Then, he smirked and stopped resisting, allowing the chakra to do as it pleased.

His vision blurred for a split second.

"Drip!"

The sound of water droplets echoed in the silence.

When Obito opened his eyes again—

He found himself lying in a dimly lit space.

The floor was covered in shallow pools of water, yet his clothes remained perfectly dry.

Just as I thought… Now this is interesting. Hahahaha!

Amused, he immediately slipped into character.

He moved his limbs sluggishly, glanced at his arms, and muttered in a dazed voice—

"I… am I dead? So suddenly…? Did those three sneak attack me?"

At that moment—

A deep, weathered voice rang out, filled with a magnetic resonance.

"What do you think death is?"

"Your view on mortality… seems quite different from that of my era."

Obito flinched, startled by the voice.

He scrambled to his feet, scanning his surroundings warily.

"Who's there?!"

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Pls Drop some Power Stones

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