Chapter 155 – Mizukage? I Might As Well Step Down Now~

"Mizukage, you're the leader of an entire village, and yet you don't even have the courage to face the enemy?"

Ōnoki leaned forward slightly, eyes heavy with seriousness as he stared at the growing circle of shadow clones around them. He was trying to rouse Yagura's fighting spirit.

The enemy's power was completely beyond what he had anticipated.

This level of overwhelming strength—perhaps even if Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha were resurrected, it wouldn't be much different!

But he was no longer the same man who, in the past, had needed all his willpower just to lift his head in front of Madara.

He now wielded Dust Release, a bloodline combination technique, and had inherited the title of Tsuchikage. 

As long as the Mizukage, the Three-Tails Jinchūriki, could muster the courage to fight seriously…

And as long as that powerful subordinate of his stopped cowering and thinking only about running away…

Then they might still have a real shot at taking the enemy down!

"You're right, Tsuchikage. As Mizukage, I really shouldn't act so cowardly."

"Hmph! In that case, I'll just…"

"I'll go back and resign."

"…???!"

Ōnoki's vision went dark. His chest heaved violently, and he nearly coughed up blood on the spot.

Was this guy serious?!

Had all the shinobi in Kirigakure died out? How could this man have been made the Mizukage?

This was a disgrace to the Five Kage!

...

Black Zetsu, who was possessing Yagura, didn't even spare Ōnoki a glance.

If it weren't for Yamanaka Shinno's bizarre ability to strip others of certain powers without warning, he would've long since released Yagura and Isobu from all restrictions and had them go full Tailed Beast Mode to charge the battlefield. No need to waste time with Ōnoki's nonsense.

But that eerie sense of foreboding he'd felt just before burrowing underground… and the way Shinno was clearly trying to confront him directly…

All pointed to one thing:

The enemy wanted to use that same technique on him—the one that had worked on Madara Uchiha.

And that technique… was extremely dangerous!

Some sort of Sage Art?

Black Zetsu's thoughts were spinning fast.

In theory, Sage techniques should only hurt creations like him, who were formed from Yin-Yang Release. They shouldn't be able to kill him outright.

But that was just theory. Over a thousand years, the shinobi world had come up with all sorts of obscure forbidden jutsu.

Who knew if something new and deadly had popped up again?

If something happened to him… what would Mother do?

Black Zetsu shrank into a tight ball, hiding behind Tobi, ready to leap from Yagura's body onto his host at a moment's notice.

...

From the sky, six silhouettes descended and landed beside Black Zetsu and Tobi.

Each one had the exact same Rinnegan in their eyes, locked directly onto Yamanaka Shinno's form.

Meanwhile, under Black Zetsu's instructions, Tobi was using his own Rinnegan to stimulate the chakra left in the White Zetsu army.

The body Tobi was inhabiting—a member of the Hoshigaki clan—naturally had a lot of chakra and a decently sturdy physique.

But compared to someone like Nagato, who had the Uzumaki bloodline and overwhelming talent, it was no contest.

Even with enhancements, he could only barely draw out a portion of the Rinnegan's true power.

To use anything stronger...

The only current option was for Tobi to transmit some of the chakra stockpiled in the White Zetsu army.

Ōnoki turned toward Yagura and his nearby subordinates.

Just as he was about to try provoking them again with words, something suddenly caught his eye—the exposed eyes of one of Yagura's shinobi, no longer covered by a forehead protector.

Purple eyes. Rippling concentric circles.

The legendary Sage's Eye—the Rinnegan!

Ōnoki's heart surged with disbelief. Then, almost instantly, he was overwhelmed with the urge to curse out loud.

Seriously?! One of your subordinates has the Rinnegan!

And you're here acting like you're ready to flee at any second, too scared to even show your face?!

Wait a second...

Ōnoki froze, glancing toward Yamanaka Shinno, whose entire body was wrapped in a black aura, with massive, snarling dragons swirling around him.

Then he looked at the colossal trees rising all around them, their limbs thrashing like monstrous demons descending from the heavens.

Yeah, the team was strong—no doubt.

But the enemy was stronger!

This wasn't just about raw power. It was about guts and willpower.

Even someone with the Rinnegan—if they were a spineless coward—what could they actually accomplish?

And Shinno... he was standing toe-to-toe with the First Hokage himself in terms of strength. Add in Hiruzen Sarutobi, who currently held the title of Hokage, the rising power of the Sannin, and the recently seen Namikaze Minato...

Compared to that, Iwagakure was lagging in both numbers and elite combatants.

If he, Ōnoki, were to fall here today—

Who else could carry the mantle of Tsuchikage?

He'd been a fool to ally with Kirigakure in the first place!

Grinding his teeth in frustration, Ōnoki subtly shifted his stance, widening the distance between himself and Yagura's group. Then, turning to Yamanaka Shinno, he spoke:

"We of Iwagakure and Konohagakure… don't actually have any real, irreconcilable grudge."

...

Even Black Zetsu was stunned by that, staring wide-eyed at Ōnoki like he'd gone insane.

Was this old man… defecting?!

"Hm?"

Shinno paused, momentarily thrown off.

He honestly hadn't expected this. The stubborn old man from the original story—was he changing sides this fast?

Wasn't Ōnoki the one who, in the Fourth Great Ninja War, rallied the other Kage to fight Madara to the bitter end?

What was happening here?

Was it because Gaara and Naruto weren't around to give their impassioned speeches?

Or maybe, in the original story, it was only because Madara had pushed things to such extremes—making it clear that everyone would die—that this guy finally stood his ground?

...

"You foolish old man. You really think the enemy will agree to that?" Black Zetsu sneered in feigned disdain.

Even as he spoke, he was furiously thinking about how to stall for more time—and cursing Tobi up and down.

With Tobi's control over the Rinnegan...

The chakra reinforcements should've arrived ages ago!

So why was there still nothing?

What the hell had gone wrong?

...

"We could even form an alliance," Ōnoki continued quickly. "Iwagakure and Konoha, together... What do you say about launching a joint attack on Kirigakure? The Land of Water may not be that large, but it's rich in resources..."

His mind was racing, words spilling out as fast as he could fabricate his pitch.

...

BZZZT—!

Suddenly, a golden-red, semi-transparent barrier surged up around the perimeter of the Flower Tree World.

The surface of the barrier glimmered with dancing flames, cutting off all external chakra and reinforcements.

Sage Art: Four Red Yang Formation!

A sealing jutsu powered by Sage chakra—only possible when four Kage-level ninja worked in unison. In the blink of an eye, it had sealed off the entire battlefield.

Black Zetsu's pupils contracted.

It was only now, seeing the flickering reflections of the barrier, that he realized the giant trees spawned by the Flower Tree World were radiating streams of invisible Sage chakra.

That Sage chakra had formed a thin, misty membrane in the air.

And that membrane was blocking off the chakra coming from the sky—

Including Tobi's.

Damn it!

So Shinno had known about Tobi all along—and laid this entire trap as a countermeasure!

...

"There only needs to be one shinobi village in this world," Shinno said with a bright, confident smile, arms crossed.

"But I don't mind there being a few more Kage. What do you think, Tsuchikage?"

The barrier that could withstand even a Tailed Beast Bomb from the Ten-Tails was complete.

The Rinnegan' power had been fully blocked.

He no longer needed to secretly manipulate the trees to emit Sage chakra. Everything was already working perfectly.

If Black Zetsu still managed to escape now—

He might as well livestream himself chopping off his own head.

As for Ōnoki?

If he was smart, he could bring Iwagakure's ten-thousand shinobi and work under Shinno's command.

If he wasn't—

Then Shinno would just wash the land clean with Wood Release...

And throw in a casual "goodbye" while he was at it.

----------------

Pls Drop some Power Stones

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