82 Chapter 82

As Onoki approached, his heart sank like a stone into a deep abyss. The air was thick with the smell of blood and despair, and the sky above seemed to cry crimson tears over the devastation below. The battlefield, once a symbol of Iwagakure's strength, is now a grim picture of death and destruction.

Lifeless bodies lay scattered across the ground, their once lively spirits extinguished in an instant. The earth itself seemed to moan in pain, stained with the blood of fallen comrades. Limbs were scattered around like discarded toys, torn from their owners by the merciless hand of war.

In the midst of this chaos stood a lone figure, covered in the blood of his now-fallen Iwa Shinobi, his gaze burning with a fierce intensity that sent chills down Onoki's spine. The ground around him bore scars from the force of his power, cracked and scorched. Onoki would recognize this man anywhere because he had been the source of his countless nightmares in the past.

The few remaining Iwa Shinobi, battered and broken, stood with wide eyes filled with terror and despair. They looked like helpless lambs facing a fearsome lion, unable to withstand the relentless assault of their foe.

Onoki felt a surge of anger and grief well up inside him as he surveyed the scene. These were his comrades, his family, struck down in the prime of their lives. Each loss cut deep into the heart of Iwagakure, leaving wounds that would never fully heal.

"Namikaze." Onoki's voice resonated like a dangerous growl amidst the ruins of the battlefield. He instinctively wanted to believe he had fallen under a genjutsu or that this was some kind of disguise. But the carnage around him spoke otherwise, leading him to quickly accept that the figure before him was indeed the famed Yondaime of the Leaf.

"How... How are you still alive? Why didn't you reveal yourself if you were alive all these years?" Onoki's shock gave way to a realization as he pieced together the puzzle. Not many knew the truth of what happened during the Nine-Tails attack. Konoha had declared that their Yondaime and Jinchuriki had perished defending the village. Yet rumors of a Fuinjutsu grandmaster had circulated in recent years, and if Minato had survived the Nine-Tails rampage, it could explain why Konoha boldly engaged in the Fourth Shinobi War instead of seeking negotiation. If Minato had indeed survived and further mastered his fuinjutsu skills during his retreat, everything would make sense.

Gritting his teeth in anger and frustration, Onoki knew he couldn't show weakness in front of his formidable enemy.

"Minato, are you the one responsible for all these attacks by the rumored Ghost Squad? And what have you done with my granddaughter?"

Onoki understood that while young Minato was not someone any of the Kage wanted to confront head-on, he had to be cautious, as he didn't know the extent of Minato's growth during his years in hiding.

"Tsuchikage-sama, how long has it been? If I remember correctly, the last time we met was when I delivered the peace treaty on behalf of Sandaime-sama. And I still vividly remember you promising not to cause any unnecessary conflict. I am very disappointed in you," Kazuki remarked, using details gathered from the Third Hokage to bolster his new persona and breathe new life into the legend of the Yellow Flash.

"Minato! I am not here to reminisce about the past. I warn you: return my granddaughter and surrender yourself. Maybe we can still talk things through," Onoki responded, determined not to falter in front of his enemy and give him an advantage. Yet he knew well that the man standing before him was the one who single-handedly pushed back Iwagakure during the last war.

"Tsuchikage-sama, not that I question your intelligence, but look around you. Do you still think you have the ability to make me surrender willingly? As for your granddaughter, she is safe and will remain so. Of that, you can rest assured. Unlike you, I always keep to my word. She will be a guest of Konoha until the people of Iwagakure come back to their senses," Kazuki stated firmly. He understood the need to strong-arm this stubborn leader into willingly coming to the negotiating table, as wanton bloodshed was not his goal if lives could be spared.

"[Doton: Chidōkaku]" (Earth Release: Moving Earth Core) Suddenly, the ground around Kazuki lowered rapidly as the few remaining Iwa Shinobi stealthily prepared to confront the enemy. They regained their confidence when Onoki came to their rescue.

"[Doton: Doryūkatsu]" (Earth Release: Earth Flow Divide) Immediately following the first attack, the entire landscape was turned, and a massive landslide was created to bury Kazuki within the pit. Onoki quickly flickered right on top of it while floating and charged a full-powered Jinton (Dust Release) attack in the form of a beam, disintegrating everything within the massive pit. The Iwa Shinobi wanted to restrict their enemy's line of sight by burying him in the pit. With two back-to-back large-scale earth releases, all this happened within a split second, as they had coordinated this combo attack beforehand.

"[Jinton: Genkai Hakuri no Jutsu]" (Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique) Onoki, for good measure, created a large cube that covered a large part of the landscape and disintegrated it.

"Tsuchikage-sama, it's better if you save your chakra. You don't think that I would fall for such a sneak attack, do you?" A teasing voice came from behind the remaining Iwagakure Shinobi, who had launched the surprise attack.

Onoki knew that catching Yellow Flash with such an attack was not a possibility, so he wasn't very disappointed, and he prepared to face his adversary again.

"At first, I thought of sparing you guys, but you had to go ahead and launch a sneak attack. You Shinobi from Iwagakure need to understand that every action has its own consequences," Kazuki stated. With that, he used the Thunder God Technique again to disappear from everyone's perception. Onoki, with decades worth of combat experience, instinctively moved towards the most probable target to intercept, but the old man was not fast enough. A flash flickered past through the now crippled Kage-class Iwa Shinobi, and a thin red line appeared on his neck. Just when he felt the pain, blood gushed out through the deep cut, killing the man instantly.

"Minatooooooooo...!" Onoki screamed at the top of his voice, ridden with fury. Every Kage-class shinobi was a pillar of support for their respective villages, but now Minato had just cut down one of their Kage-caliber shinobi in front of his own eyes, and he was helpless to stop it.

Onoki plucked a massive boulder from the ground and threw it in the direction of his enemy, wanting to crush him beneath the added weight. But Kazuki was ready for it.

He held his kunai like a blade, pouring chakra and infusing his shadow, creating a makeshift blade.

"[Hachi no Kata: Arashi Tsuki]" (Eighth Form: Tempest Thrust) Kazuki whispered in a barely audible tone and thrust his blade forward. In a moment of blinding speed akin to lightning, it tore through the huge boulder as if it were mere paper. The attack did not stop there, as the thrust pinned three of the Iwa ninjas who had been unlucky to be standing in the same line as the blade thrust.

Kazuki slowly pulled out the kunai, which was now almost destroyed due to infusing his shadow from the skull of his latest victim.

"[Doton: Ganchūrō no Jutsu]" (Earth Release: Rock Pillar Prison Technique) A massive rock-pillar prison surrounded Kazuki as he leisurely retrieved the broken kunai. From the corner of his eye, Kazuki noticed the entire rock pillars were rigged with explosion tags to the brim.

"KATSU!" A massive explosion once again rang through the surroundings as Onoki triggered the massive explosion.

"Tsuchikage-sama, behind you!" One of the remaining elite Iwa Jonin, screamed with all his might to warn their leader. Onoki instinctively swung his arm like a blade, coating himself in the Earth Spear technique and increasing his weight by a huge margin.

However, Kazuki, using his chakra-enhanced strength, intercepted the attack with brute force and caught the Tsuchikage's arm that was about to strike him.

"Tsuchikage-sama, you sure are as crafty as ever, but you need to understand that I am not the same man you once knew. And it seems like old age has caught up to you." Kazuki's words were laced with mock concern for the old man.

Contrary to everyone's expectations, Onoki retreated immediately to a safe distance. He was confused about how Minato was able to fly like him, but this was not something to dwell on in the middle of the battlefield.

His next actions, however, baffled every Iwa shinobi below. Their Tsuchikage, without blinking for a second, tore through the sleeves where Minato had made contact. He didn't stop there; he also ripped out a part of his skin along with some flesh and threw it away.

"Tsuchikage-sama, you sure are a veteran of a thousand battles. Otherwise, you wouldn't be so decisive." Kazuki had to praise the old man for his battle awareness. Kazuki had left a Hiraishin marker on Onoki's arm when they made contact, and if the old man had reacted any later, the marker would have seeped into his very bones. This was a fuinjutsu technique that Kazuki had mastered from studying the skeleton he had retrieved from below the Senju ruins. So, if Kazuki were to mark someone, unlike Minato, who did it on the surface with Obito, his marker would seep into the bones. The only way to get rid of it would be to get rid of the whole body part. However, the old man had realized the danger out of instinct and reacted quickly.

"Namikaze, don't underestimate me. I will not fall for your petty tricks. You weren't even born when I was slaughtering enemies in scores on various battlefields." Onoki, although old, still held on to his pride and arrogance. He believed that although he may not be able to corner Minato, the same applied to his opponent. So, the best they could hope for was a stalemate. Onoki knew his primary concern was the safety of his granddaughter, and as long as it was Hiruzen who sat on the chair of Hokage, he could somehow get his granddaughter back without much hassle. But now, with Minato alive, he has become an anomaly. He needed to assert enough dominance and make Konoha realize that Iwagakure could still pose a threat to Konoha if they retaliated in full, not caring about the consequences.

"Is that so? In that case, why don't we put your words to the test, Tsuchikage-sama? Please don't blame me if you break a few bones; you asked for it." Kazuki couldn't help but comment. After coming into contact with Onoki, he only needed a split second to scan the old man's body with his Iryo ninjutsu technique. He realized that Onoki was running low on chakra, likely exhausted from his hasty return to the village and the continuous use of Dust Release, which was a massive burden on his chakra reserves.

"[Jinton: Genkai Hakuri no Jutsu]" (Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique) Just as Kazuki was taunting the old man, a massive cube enclosed the space where he was standing, and Onoki decisively disintegrated everything within. But Kazuki was a step faster and had teleported out. The next instant, he arrived in front of Onoki and thrust a powerful Rasengan right where his heart lay. Onoki dodged the first attack, but what he didn't expect was for his chest to come into contact with a fist in the direction where he had dodged. Onoki felt like his opponent was able to read the future, as he was able to intercept his path with pinpoint accuracy.

Kazuki's left fist, primed with Tsunade's chakra-enhanced strength technique, smacked onto the old Onoki's earthen spear-coated midsection. Like a meteor, the Tsuchikage was launched towards the ground. Everyone who saw this scene was shocked and quickly moved in the direction where their Tsuchikage fell.