Starting with rogue ninjas, building the insect kingdom.

Inside the tent, Onoki waved a round fan without even getting up.

He squinted, looking the three boys who walked in up and down. The orange-haired boy was enthusiastic, the purple-haired boy was aloof, and the red-haired boy was silent. He didn't find anything unusual about them.

"Have a seat." Onoki gestured with his fan to the several futons in front of him, his tone as casual as if he were greeting a neighbor's child.

Yahiko sat down properly, with Konan and Nagato sitting on either side.

Onoki cut to the chase: "You've come here this time, probably to make me withdraw my troops, right?"

Yahiko and the others looked surprised. They hadn't expected that the other party would know what they wanted to say before they even opened their mouths.

"Yes," he nodded.

Onoki scoffed, fanning himself with his fan to cool off: "Kid, you think retreating is so simple? You just talk the talk, telling us to retreat without any conditions?"

Yahiko was momentarily speechless when asked the question. He didn't know why, since peace was clearly a good thing, everyone was raising objections.

Before he could speak, Onoki continued, "Do you know how much grain my five thousand men need for a day? Do you know how much it cost them to walk here from Iwagakure? You just want to cancel their trip? Who's going to reimburse me for that?"

"But... peace cannot be measured in money."

"Peace, of course not," Onoki interrupted him again. "But food is. Kid, have you ever had a full meal?"

Yahiko was taken aback by the question.

"I can tell you've eaten it before."

Onoki sized him up: "Nice skin, good complexion, doesn't look like someone who's been starving since childhood. Tell me, tell a hungry ninja, do you think he'll listen to peace?"

Yahiko wanted to argue that he had experienced hunger, but it was precisely because he had tasted that he longed for peace.

Because as long as there is no war, people will have food to eat, fields will not be destroyed, roads will not be bombed, and people will live and work in peace and contentment, and everyone can be happy.

"Peace isn't that simple." Onoki leaned back in his chair, his fan swaying slowly. "If you're sincere about getting me to withdraw my troops, you'll at least have to offer something tangible. Anyone can talk the talk, but walk the walk."

Yahiko was speechless when asked the question. He closed his eyes and his mind raced, but he found that he really couldn't come up with anything substantial.

Money, it's always money. Is money really that important?

He lowered his head, feeling that the adult world was so realistic, couldn't they understand the other person's difficulties?

Just when he thought the negotiations were about to fail completely, Onoki suddenly changed the subject.

"but--"

Yahiko's eyes lit up, and he raised his head again.

Onoki paused for a moment, then continued, "I'm not here to destroy the Land of Rain. Nor do I intend to take advantage of its misfortune or seize it."

"My purpose in coming here is simple: I want to use this route to attack the Land of Fire. It may sound dishonest, but I'm telling the truth. Do you believe me?"

Yahiko looked at him and nodded emphatically: "I believe you!"

After all, the other party was the Kage of a village, so naturally he wouldn't deceive this unknown and insignificant ninja, because it would be pointless.

He believed it! He actually believed it!

Onoki was almost speechless with shock, but managed to suppress his laughter and maintain his composure.

He never expected that such an eccentric ninja would appear in the ninja world. To put it nicely, he was naive; to put it bluntly, he was stupid.

"You, the leader of this village, would never deceive us children, would you?" Yahiko smiled brightly, looking directly at the other person. His honesty was enough to make some people with ill intentions unable to look him in the eye.

Unfortunately, he was facing Onoki, who was already hard-hearted.

Onoki was silent for a moment, then smiled and said, "You're quite the smooth talker. So, you're willing to help me?"

"No!" Yahiko refused righteously.

He bowed again, pleading, "Lord Ōnoki, I still beg you not to attack Konoha. Please don't start a war!"

Onoki stopped fanning himself, his smile fading, and a hint of impatience appeared on his face: "Why?"

"Because war only brings more hatred."

"Lord Ōnoki, is there some deep-seated hatred between Iwagakure and Konoha? If so, why can't we sit down and talk things out, resolving the issue through communication?"

"And even if you fight, you won't get any revenge; it will only intensify the hatred and make the resentment even more irreconcilable. If this continues, the war will never end."

Onoki looked at him like he was an idiot, then suddenly interrupted, "Who said we have a grudge? We went there to take advantage of the chaos."

"While Konoha is still caught off guard and mistakenly believes we are attacking the Land of Rain, let's seize the opportunity to strike first."

Yahiko was completely stunned.

His eyes widened, his mouth slightly open, and for a moment he didn't know what to say.

Taking advantage of someone's misfortune? He never expected that the village's leader would make robbery sound so natural.

"This...this isn't right, is it?" Yahiko's voice stammered. "Robbery is wrong! This is banditry, legally and morally..."

"Interesting, very interesting." He waved his fan, looking Yahiko up and down. "I never thought that before I die, I would see another saint appear in this ninja world filled with killing, plundering, and betrayal. You remind me of someone I know! It's just a great pity that you don't have the skills of that person."

"You don't think I'm some kind of good person, do you?" Without waiting for his reply, Onoki continued speaking to himself.

"Kid, let me be frank with you. Things aren't going well for Iwagakure right now. There are more and more ninjas, but the share they get is getting smaller and smaller. Do you know what that means? Conflict. Conflict everywhere. I can suppress it for a while, but not forever."

That's right, there was indeed someone instigating them to launch this attack, but the more important reason was that Iwagakure also desperately needed a battle to deplete the village's ninjas.

Onoki's intention was to use war to weed out all the unqualified people. This way, with fewer people to share the missions, the remaining people would be able to eat their fill.

As for whether we can seize Konoha or gain any advantage—that's just a side effect.

"However—you can ask me to withdraw my troops. I'm not a heartless person. Actually, I was forced into this situation."

Yahiko's heart tightened; that feeling was back. Kakuzu did it too, Ōnoki did it too. Each time, they would refuse first, then offer a new condition.

Yahiko took a deep breath and asked earnestly, "Lord Ōnoki, what do you need me to do?"