Naruto: The Teaching System - 281

Chapter 281: Easy, Easy, Don’t Bully an Old Man Who Just Lost His Son

For a moment, Ōnoki just stared, stunned.

Then the words finally sank in. His son. This brat was talking about going back to Iwagakure’s main camp and killing him again.

His son was the one this brat had nearly beaten to death.

“You little bastard!”

“Han! Let me go! I’ll kill this brat!”

This time it was the Five-Tails’ Jinchuriki, Han, who had Ōnoki in a bear hug from behind, his arms locked around the Tsuchikage’s waist as the old man kicked uselessly in midair.

“Third Tsuchikage, you just surrendered,” Han rumbled. There was no way he was going back to trading blows with Jiraiya again. Getting tag-teamed by that guy and a bunch of toads had been nauseating enough.

And now there was a “Tailed Beast Terminator” on the field on top of that.

“Surrender, my ass! I’m killing him!” Ōnoki roared. He didn’t care about pride or position. If he could break free, he’d dive right back into a fight with Sawada.

Jiraiya watched the old man frothing and felt the corner of his mouth twitch. He glanced sideways at Sawada. His junior’s tongue really was dipped in poison. Did he think Ōnoki had forgotten? The man had surrendered for Iwagakure’s sake. Then Sawada went and stomped his pride into the dirt in front of everyone.

If Ōnoki didn’t react, other people would laugh him to death.

“Come on then, you walking corpse. You think I can’t finish you off?” Sawada called back without a shred of concern. As far as he was concerned, Ōnoki was a crafty old snake. If he could bury him here, Iwagakure might as well withdraw from the Five Great Nations.

Ōnoki’s struggling cut off with a sharp crack. His face went ashen, and his breath hissed through his teeth.

“Let… let go. My back… my back went out,” he wheezed.

Han immediately released him in alarm.

Ōnoki dropped like a rock.

He hit with a scream, mouth gaping wide enough that the air coming out almost looked visible. Sawada watched him coolly. The timing of that thrown-out back really was immaculate.

Jiraiya saw it too and let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding.

Thank god.

Several Iwa jōnin flickered into place behind the fallen Tsuchikage. Seeing his state, they rushed forward. One placed glowing green hands on Ōnoki’s lower back, Mystical Palm Technique flowing into him.

Sawada’s brow creased. Medical ninjutsu. Nono Yakushi should have died long ago, and Iwagakure’s medical system had always been the worst of the Five. If this jōnin was leading with Mystical Palm, then Nono might have left medical scrolls behind in Iwa.

“Please don’t get worked up again, Tsuchikage-sama,” the medic said after a long stretch of healing. “Your lower back had already taken serious damage earlier. If you get agitated, I’m afraid it won’t hold.”

Ōnoki hissed as he tried to sit up, and pain lanced through him.

“Have you found Kitsuchi’s body?” he asked, glancing once at Sawada before looking to his men.

“Kitsuchi-sama?” The jōnin blinked, then seemed to remember and scrambled to answer. “Tsuchikage-sama, Lord Kitsuchi is still alive.”

“What?” Ōnoki froze, then snapped his head toward the man. “What did you say?”

“Kitsuchi-sama is alive. His injuries are just very severe,” the medic said, shaking his head.

Sawada heard every word. His eyes narrowed. Impossible. That punch had detonated Kitsuchi’s organs. Unless…

“Fortunately, Lord Kitsuchi’s heart is dextrocardic. It’s on the right side,” the medic explained.

Relief sagged Ōnoki’s shoulders. He actually laughed, loud and unrestrained, the sound full of raw gratitude.

Even Sawada had to admit it: Kitsuchi’s luck was insane. He probably knew about his own heart since birth. Before Sawada’s fist landed, he must have already focused all his defense there.

“Brat, looks like you can miss after all,” Ōnoki said, smirking at him.

Sawada’s eyelids lifted a fraction. “How about this, then? I head to your Iwagakure main camp right now and kill him properly this time.”

The words cut off Ōnoki’s gloating in an instant. Iwa shinobi around him all turned, eyes sharpening as they locked on Sawada. One wrong move and they would all attack.

Jiraiya stepped up between them. Before, he had been holding Sawada back for the sake of a father who had just lost his son. He hadn’t wanted to see Ōnoki pushed into doing something desperate. Now that he knew Kitsuchi was alive, if Ōnoki kept poking like this, things would not end cleanly.

Did they think Jiraiya was made of mud?

“To put it bluntly, even if all of you came at me together, that’d be fine,” Sawada added, glancing at the dark-faced Iwa jonin, leaning on his words just enough to sting.

Chakra flickered behind him. This time, it was their own people arriving.

“Lord Sawada!”

“Sensei!”

Neji, Yusuke, and Choza Akimichi all appeared in quick succession. Unlike Iwa’s lines, the Leaf’s formations were further back. It had taken them this long to fight through.

Sawada just nodded, eyes still on Ōnoki. Whether the war resumed or not depended entirely on this stubborn old man.

Under that look, Ōnoki, who had never once backed down even in front of other Kage, suddenly felt every year of his age. He was old. Too old to muster the strength for another round with this young monster.

He coughed a few times. The medic helped him up and onto a jōnin’s back. Looking at Sawada, he said slowly, “Iwagakure surrenders. As for negotiations, Iwagakure will send representatives to the Hidden Leaf.”

He patted the jōnin carrying him. The Iwa shinobi withdrew step by cautious step, eyes never leaving the Leaf forces until they had reached a safe distance. Only then did they turn and move at speed back toward their encampment.

Jiraiya let out a long breath. The war was finally over.

“Jiraiya-senpai, you sure that old fossil will really show up?” Sawada asked, watching the retreating figures.

“Relax,” Jiraiya said, stretching lazily. “Unless Ōnoki wants Iwagakure to become the laughingstock of the entire shinobi world, he’ll be there.”

Sometimes, during a mission, you could throw away your pride. But almost no one dared go back on a surrender. Just like Jiraiya had stopped Sawada earlier, on the battlefield, you could fight however you wanted, but once one side yielded and the other kept attacking, they would make every other village their enemy.

If the nest falls, no egg survives intact.

The Five Great Hidden Villages all observed that unspoken rule, almost by reflex.

Well… maybe Kumogakure was the exception.