Chapter 93
"Flying Thunder G.o.d? I did not expect Konoha to have another user of that technique besides Minato Namikaze!" Onoki held his waist, with immense pain showing upon his face.
Ryo ignored Onoki's words. Instead, Orochimaru interfered saying with a bit of sarcasm: "Onoki, it's a pity that you've lost this time as well."
"Hey! Ryo Yamanaka! Hand over Ros.h.i.+'s body!"
"Old man, You're not that dumb! Are you in a position to ask for such a thing?"
Ryo knew that if he stayed firm, Onoki, a man fit to be Kage, would come back to reality and start to negotiate.
Onoki clearly could not afford letting Ros.h.i.+'s corpse in Konoha's hand. In the world of Ninjas, information derived from an enemy's corpse is of utmost value.
"Ryo Yamanaka, what will it take for you to give Ros.h.i.+'s corpse?"
"It's very simple. The Rock must immediately withdraw from the borders with the fire country, and not try to invade Konoha. If you agree, I'll give you Ros.h.i.+'s corpse immediately. If you don't, then I'm afraid that intelligence from Ros.h.i.+'s brain will be spread to all five major countries. Never forget that I'm a Yamanaka; you know our clan's special techniques I believe."
Listening to Ryo's conditions, Onoki became hesitant. Ros.h.i.+ was of extreme importance to the Rock, as a living man, or even as a corpse.
He was one of their Kage tier fighters, and the Yonbi Jinchuriki. He had performed countless tasks for his village, and only G.o.d knew how much intelligence his brain held. If his body felt into Konoha's hands, no one could even imagine the grave consequences.
But that the same time, the Hidden Rock were at a disadvantage on the battlefield. Pulling out their troops would hit the Ninja's morale greatly on all other battlefields.
Ryo did not urge Onoki, and waited quietly for his decision. In mid air, the latter held his waist and though it over again and again, and then finally accepted Ryo's offer.
Seeing Onoki agreeing, Ryo put Ros.h.i.+'s body back into the scroll, and handed it over directly to his foe.
In reality, Onoki did not expect Ryo to hand over the corpse so quickly, and he kept staring at the kid.
Ryo found himself being stared at by Onoki's "deep love" eyes and had immediate goose b.u.mps:
"Oy Oy Oy, I don't like men! Stop staring at me!"
"Ryo Yamanaka, you've directly handed over Ros.h.i.+'s corpse; don't you fear that this old man might back out on his word?" Onoki didn't pay attention to Ryo's nonsense, and directly asked about what's in his heart.
"I believe that you, a Kage, would never do such a shameful thing. Even if you happen to disappoint, I'm confident that we can defeat you either way." Ryo said with confidence.
"Oh, Konoha is indeed a cradle of geniuses. Before you, there was that kid Minato Namikaze, and now here's Ryo Yamanka. Rest a.s.sured, this old man will keep his promise and withdraw
"Is it just me, or did he say that they were withdrawing their troops?"
"I heard the same as you!"
"Did we just get victory?"
"Well… probably?"
All over Konoha's camp, that was the kind of dialogue that took place. Konoha's Ninjas were somewhat in disbelief that victory would come so simply.
At that moment, Ryo was also a little bit surprised that just Ros.h.i.+'s corpse was enough to push Onoki to withdraw.
"Ryo kun, you're wondering why he agreed so easily?"
"Orochi san, you have any explanation?"
"It does seem like you were taking advantage of him, using Ros.h.i.+'s corpes to force the Rock to retreat. But Ryo kun, you're ignoring one factor: We have already defeated them in the previous battle."
Orochimaru's words made Ryo realize the truth. That cunning old man Onoki had put him exactly where he wanted.
Just like Orochimaru had said, Ryo has ignored that his arrival changed the situation between Konoha and the Rock.
Before he arrived, Konoha was in an absolute disadvantage, being beaten by the Hidden Rock. After Ryo arrived, they were able to deal with the Explosive Squad, and Konoha was in a position to take the initiative.
In the previous battle, the Rock lost to Konoha. It was obvious that they were in a desperate situation. Otherwise, they wouldn't have gone as far as summoning Ros.h.i.+ with the Yonbi to attack Konoha's camp.
What Onoki didn't expect was that the Yonbi would be taken care of so quickly by Orochimaru and Ryo. Of course, he never thought of the possibility that Ros.h.i.+ would actually be killed by Ryo.
With his Jinchuriki's death, Onoki knew that his village had no chance of winning this war. Ryo's terms were just perfect for him. He would get the important corpse of Onoki, while getting a chance to retreat.
"Ryo kun, there's nothing wrong with what you did. With the Rock retreating now, we can be free to deal with the Hidden Mist. On the other side of the country, we can begin our battle against the Water Country in the Wave country."
"The water country's Ninjas have landed in the Wave country?" Ryo was a bit worried.
"Yes! What is happening there is why I haven't stopped you from making that deal with Onoki. Having the Rock retreat is actually best for us as well."
Ryo nodded. On the battlefield of the Water Country, Konoha had no Kage tier Ninjas. Their strongest Ninjas were an Anbu and the 3rd's son, both being Quasi Kage tier. The leaders of the battlefield, the heads of the Ino-s.h.i.+kCho alliance and the Hyuga twins were all some of the finest Jonin tier Ninjas.
Out of Kage tier Ninjas, the Hokage gathered those seven to collectively create a force to be reckoned with, one that can hold the Water Country Ninjas off.
The following day, under Onoki's orders, the Hidden Rock started withdrawing their troops, and Konoha's camp was full of joy. Ryo Yamanaka's name was to be remembered by all of Konoha's Ninjas on that battlefield.
The news about the Rock's retreat reached Konoha's camp, and the 3rd was extremely happy about it. After reading Orochimaru's report, and learning that the Yonbi Jinchuriki was killed by Ryo, he laughed for a long time, and then ordered the Anbu to call for a high-level meeting in the village.
In the 3rd's office, Konoha's higher-ups gathered. Of course, Danzo, who had restored some of roots, was also there.
The third informed everyone with the contents of Orochimaru's report. Some couldn't believe it. Ryo Yamanaka had been in that battlefield for less than two months, and yet he had such a ma.s.sive influence.
And that was against the power of the Yonbi! The ability to kill Ros.h.i.+, meant that Ryo was at least Kage tier.
"Hokage Sama, this information mentioning that Ryo Yamanaka had killed the Yonbi Jinchuriki, does it mean that that Ryo is…" asked the Hyuga family head.
The 3rd had nothing to hide: "Yes, Ryo Yamanaka is indeed Kage tier."
His words made the meeting room get noisy, but he didn't stop the discussion. He liked were thing were going, as he wanted to create a new hero for Konoha.
In those days, morals were shot by the war. Even though Konoha was bearing no major losses, they weren't getting exciting victories either. The 3rd felt the need to create an idol, one that gives confidence to Konoha's Ninjas and citizens.
It was perfect for what he wanted that Ryo killed the Yonbi Jinchuriki and made the Rock withdraw their troops. Such achievements are enough for him to become Konoha's new hero!