Born in Sunagakure, dedicated to antagonizing Konoha for decades

After parting ways with Kakuzu, Shinto, fearing he wouldn't have enough time, rushed to the cave where the Raikage and his son were fighting Onoki. He took out his camera and started snapping photos of Onoki's miserable state in the poorly lit cave. Looking at the photos in his hand, although the lighting wasn't great and the pictures weren't very clear, you could still vaguely see a tuft of hair still flowing on the back of Onoki's head, even though it had obviously been beaten up quite a bit. The Raikage hadn't been very serious about completing this mission.

However, to his surprise, he originally thought that the Raikage and his son would easily defeat Onoki in a doubles match, where Onoki couldn't utilize his strengths.

But the situation seemed different. Although Onoki was indeed badly beaten, his face bruised and battered, and his clothes tattered, the reality wasn't as he imagined. The Raikage and his son were pinning Onoki to the ground. While Onoki was suppressed, the Raikage and his son were also greatly restricted because they hadn't activated their Lightning Release Chakra Mode. They couldn't even use their ancestral Piercing Hand technique, only swinging their large fists. In the not-so-large cave, Onoki, though unable to fly very high, used his small stature and the Super Light-Heavy Rock Technique to his advantage, making him quite agile. Although he couldn't fight the Raikage and his son, he wouldn't let them do as they pleased. Especially when the Raikage's large hand reached for his head, Onoki always managed to dodge it narrowly, only to have his kidneys kicked away by the future Fourth Raikage. This cycle repeated several times, and after being kicked in the kidneys multiple times, Onoki would get up like a kidney warrior and continue fighting...

Looking at Onoki's stubborn little figure, with a tuft of hair still moving on its head even without wind, Shinto felt itchy to go up and finish him off.

But seeing the Raikage's smug expression, I thought better of it and decided to let it go, just consider it a good thing...

.....

"Lord Tsuchidai, news has come from the village that the Five-Tails has broken free of its seal."

On the other side, a group of Iwa ninja, who were investigating the clues left by Onoki and preparing to reach the cave, ran up to Tsuchida and reported to him.

"Bang! We've fallen for their trap! Kurajiro, go and inform Lord Tsuchikage immediately, we need to go back to the village!"

Upon hearing his younger brother's explanation, Tsuchida, who had been pondering all the way about why the other party, who could clearly defeat young Zi, was so strong, suddenly realized that it was the same old trick of feinting and diverting attention. The other party's real target was the Five-Tails. No wonder the other party, who clearly had the strength to fight their boss, insisted on running so far away. The purpose was to lure their boss away from the village, so that another group could go and fight the Five-Tails.

Thinking of this, Tsuchida immediately ordered Kurajiro to go to the front to inform their leader, while he led his men back to the village. If they lost their homes, what the hell would they do?

When the Five-Tails broke free of its seal, it swept through the village and destroyed half of it. If it happened again, Iwagakure's economy would regress by at least ten years, and all their efforts over the years would be wasted...

.....

"Wenya, how's the situation over there?"

Meanwhile, Tsuchida and the others who were rushing back did not know that their Five-Tails had not broken free of its seal, but had disappeared after breaking free!

When Huang Tu and the others reached the foot of the mountain and began to set up a barrier, the sounds from the other side of the mountain suddenly disappeared, and the ground stopped shaking. This surprised Huang Tu and the others. According to the habits of these creatures, after being sealed for so many years, if they were to break free, their first action would be to seek revenge on them. But now that everything had suddenly quieted down, they were not relieved but rather a little frightened. The unknown is the most terrifying thing. They were afraid that the Five-Tailed Fox would suddenly become aware of human tactics and evolve to hide in the bushes.

So they found a biologist in the village and learned that although this kind of animal had become intelligent, it was still a beast. As long as it was a beast, even if it became intelligent, its patience was still limited. So after waiting outside for a day and finding that there was still no movement inside, Wenya volunteered to lead a group to investigate.

"Everyone's dead, and the Five-Tails is gone too..."

Wenya shook his head, suppressing his shock.

The scene was truly astonishing. Not to mention the numerous deep craters of all sizes, even though I had been mentally prepared, the shock of seeing the collapsed mountain still lingers. Such a towering mountain was completely flattened from its base; the power of the tailed beasts is indeed terrifying.

Thinking back to the last time we fought Konoha, the Four-Tails that was summoned unleashed its powerful destructive force, but it wasn't necessarily able to easily shatter such a large mountain. Is this Five-Tails really that powerful?

"...Gone? Σ(⊙▽⊙a) "

Now it was Huang Tu's turn to be shocked. The Five-Tailed Fox was gone?

Huang Tu sensed something was wrong. His father had just led a group out to fight, and the Five-Tailed Fox immediately broke free of its seal. If it were the Five-Tailed Fox that broke free, it would definitely come back to the village to take revenge before running away. But now it didn't come back to take revenge and just ran away. Huang Tu was certain that this was definitely done by someone.

But then again, who could make the Five-Tails give up its revenge and obediently leave with the newcomer?

For some reason, the image of a golden-haired middle-aged man kept appearing in his mind. He had personally witnessed the scene of the Golden Lion beating up the Four-Tails until it cried and begged for its father. He was also the only man in the world who could beat a tailed beast to tears.

He was shocked for a long time. Was Shiki's fist stronger than his own father's map-wide wall of punches? Even the Four-Tails' face was distorted by the punch.

So if we're talking about who's most likely to be the second in history, it's undoubtedly the Golden Lion. That's why Huang Tu started to have doubts.

After all, he and Wenya had once staked out Jie, the captain of the Sunagakure Puppet Masters Corps. If Sunagakure found out that they were the ones who did it, it wouldn't be impossible for Shiki to do the same.

But then he thought, something didn't seem right. It was already late that day, and he was absolutely certain that he and his companions hadn't left any trace. Even the katana they used were products of the Land of Fire, and they had immediately headed there afterward. There was no reason for the investigation to trace them back to them...

559. Raikage heard the camera shutter click.

"Tsuchikage!! Stop fighting! The Five-Tails has escaped!!!"

Inside the cave, the battle between the Raikage and his son and Onoki continued. Just as the Raikage and his son were locked in a fierce fight, Kurajiro finally arrived. Seeing Onoki being fought two against one, he didn't come to help but instead shouted at Onoki in the air.

"What?! You damn bastard! Let's go...! ?╬?д?╬?"

Upon hearing his nephew's words, Onoki immediately realized he had fallen into a trap. He retreated dozens of meters, his killing intent blazing as he glared at the two muscular men before grabbing Kurajiro and flying towards the cave entrance.

but....

"Hmph! Where do you think you're going!"

"boom!!".

Upon hearing this, Raikage and his son's eyes lit up. They knew their plan had succeeded, and all that was left was to go back and lie down and count their money. With no worries about the future, Raikage was even less likely to let Onoki leave so easily. Although he couldn't kill Onoki, he believed in keeping his word and would at least pluck the last few hairs from Onoki's head.

"Damn Raikage! Don't think I don't know who you are. If you try to stop me, I'll take you all down with me!!"

Onoki looked at the two muscular men blocking his way and cursed at the Raikage, who had turned into a pretty boy. Although the Raikage was now fighting him with his fists, he thought to himself, who in the ninja world had such exaggerated taijutsu and muscles? Although he wasn't good at close combat, he wasn't a pushover either. The only ones in the ninja world who could hold his own against him with taijutsu for so long were either the Raikage or those two bastards, Shiki. However, Shiki's aesthetic sense wasn't that extreme. He didn't want to become a muscular man with a pretty boy's face. Although he didn't quite believe it, the Raikage was the only bastard in the ninja world who could do that.

He had already guessed it, but didn't say anything. After all, Kurajiro had indeed gone to the Land of Lightning to cause trouble, and he suspected that the Raikage and his group had probably tracked them down. After all, the Azabu clan's big heads had an intelligence level higher than Tsuchida's, and even if Kurajiro was careful, the Raikage would still find some clues. Feeling a bit guilty, he didn't say anything but stayed to fight the Raikage to calm him down and prevent things from getting too big. After all, he was worried that Konoha might also track him down and send people to cause trouble.

But now that something's happened in the village, and the Five-Tails has come out again, what would happen if the Five-Tails ran around the village like it did back then? So, disregarding the embarrassment after being exposed, he grabbed his nephew, his old face flushed, and unleashed a torrent of abuse at the Raikage.

As for the muscular man next door who was assisting the Raikage... he really didn't know who he was. He figured he must be a genius from Kumogakure, so he didn't care. What he was worried about now was the village. That was the Five-Tails! Without him, he didn't know if young Yukari could handle it. After all, the Four-Tails had one less tail than the Five-Tails. And if the two tailed beasts fought in their village, it would be even worse!

"Hahaha! Not bad, you recognized me. But you sent people to wreck my place before, and now you think you can just leave? You really don't respect me at all! (▼へ▼メ)"

The Raikage didn't care that his identity had been exposed. At this point, he already had the Five-Tails, so it didn't matter if he was exposed. Although Onoki was furious, he didn't seem to want to make things worse. The Raikage also laughed and deactivated his transformation technique. In short, the angrier Onoki got, the happier he became!

"Screw you! Get out of my way! Dust Release: Particle Style...?╬?д?╬?)"

Time is life. Now that the Five-Tails has broken free of its seal, it's probably racing around his village right now. Onoki was extremely anxious. After seeing that the transformation jutsu had indeed revealed the Raikage and a boy who looked about 80% like the Raikage, Onoki didn't bother arguing with him. With a resolute look, he prepared to blast the cave ceiling with a white light emanating from his hand. Since they wouldn't let me leave, then we'd all die here together!

He traded his life for the Raikage father and son with his nephew; it doesn't seem like a bad deal.

"Damn it! Get out of the way, this bald guy's gone mad!"

Seeing that Onoki was preparing to fire at the cave ceiling and didn't seem to be faking it, Raikage quickly grabbed his son and hurriedly retreated. If the cave collapsed, he could hold it up, but his son couldn't.

"Damn Raikage, we'll settle this score later..."

The Raikage led his son out of the cave entrance, and a voice came from high above. Then, Onoki and Kurajiro turned into small black dots.

"Damn it, Onoki, don't you dare run away! Fight me for three hundred rounds! Raikage, you were too lenient with that bastard, even leaving him a few hairs. If it were me, I would have plucked all his hairs off!! (▼he▼メ)"

At this moment, Shinto walked out from the other side with an arrogant gait, carrying the "Uchiha Greatsword" on his back, seemingly unafraid of being called for a trip by the referee. He came to the Raikage's side as if he was very reluctant for Onoki to leave.

"...There's plenty of time later, let's finish our business first."

The Raikage stared speechlessly at the bastard. Although he'd just been fighting Onoki, he hadn't missed the camera shutter. He didn't know what the bastard was trying to achieve by taking those pointless photos. However, he wasn't certain the bastard had arrived much earlier, just watching the show. If he wanted to fight, he would have already. The bastard was cunning; he wasn't showing himself just to make Kumogakure take the fall. Although he was annoyed, the thought of going back to lie down and count his money made him too lazy to bother with such trivial details. Did Onoki dare to fight them?

"That's right. The Five-Tails is already in Kakuzu's hands. As usual, after Kakuzu makes the deal with them, I'll have someone send your share to you. I have other business to attend to, so I'll be leaving now. Nephew, would you like to come and visit us in Sunagakure? ヾ(^?^)?"

Shinto pretended not to see the Raikage's expression and smiled at the future Fourth Raikage beside him, saying that it was not easy to find a good teammate like the Raikage who would get beaten up the more he fought. If he was really killed by Onoki in a few years, he would have to find another teammate. In the future, the Fourth Raikage beside him would be the one to make decisions in Kumogakure. He should have a chat first.

Someone like Onoki can only be a temporary teammate and can't be teamed up with frequently. Teaming up with such a cunning old fox means you never know when you'll get screwed over. It's much better to be a muscular guy like Kumogakure. Although you can't trust him 100%, at least he won't cause any trouble while you're teaming up for dungeons. Unlike Onoki, you have to be wary of him even before the team disbands.

"Your Excellency, the Golden Lion, please don't stand on ceremony. After this experience, I've realized I still have many shortcomings, and I must return to diligently cultivate..."

The future Fourth Raikage politely shook his head and refused.

I don't know why his dad likes teaming up with this guy, but he really dislikes this bastard who tricked his dad into calling him "big brother," and he can't beat him yet, so he'd better stay away from him...

560. Ebizo almost had a stroke too.

"Bang! Raikage... Golden Lion... those two damn bastards. (▼he▼メ)"

Shinto and the Raikage went back to their respective homes; the rest of the work is up to Kakuzu.

Back in the village, Onoki was furious. He smashed the table in front of him to pieces with a slap, his face contorted with rage, his teeth practically grinding to dust.

When he hurriedly brought Kurajiro back to the village, he found that the village was still the same village. It was already midnight, and the village was exceptionally quiet and peaceful at night.

It was completely different from the scene of the Five-Tails racing here that he had imagined.

Completely bewildered, he arrived at Fengying Tower to find out what was going on and listened to his son's analysis, which pointed to Jin Shizi as the culprit. Actually, there was no need for analysis. After hearing his son's report, he realized that this seemingly familiar modus operandi could only be done by someone as brainless as Jin Shizi, using the same old trick over and over again.

"Snapped!"

Onoki slapped himself across the face, leaving a bright red handprint that made the surrounding earthen mound and yellow soil look painful...

Onoki was on the verge of tears. Although Shiki's bastard method was old-fashioned, he had still been tricked by him!

And twice! o(▼皿▼メ;)o

The situation is now clear. This time, the raid on their Land of Earth was clearly orchestrated by Shiki and the Raikage. The Raikage stirred up trouble on his territory and made the situation as big as possible. Then, when he arrived with his men, he was immediately distracted, leaving the village vulnerable and giving Shiki enough time to take down the Five-Tails.

"Father, what do we do now? They've captured the Five-Tails. Should we go to war with them?"

The pain felt by the father was felt in the son's heart. Huang Tu looked at his father, whose face was covered in bruises and whose hair had almost been pulled out, and felt a pang of pain in his heart. This was his own father, how could he possibly bear it?

".....Fight my ass! Do you expect our village to take on four of us? Kumogakure already knows we were the ones who attacked, Sunagakure definitely knows you ambushed Chiyo's son, and Konoha definitely knows it was us, they just haven't made a move yet. Besides, there's Kirigakure too....(▼he▼メ)"

"We can't rush this. Knowing the Raikage and Shiki's personalities, they only kidnapped the Five-Tails to try and get something out of us... Let's wait and see. Someone will come to make a deal with us in a couple of days..."

Although he knew his son was just being considerate, Onoki still sprayed his son's face with water.

Impulsive, so impulsive!

This is also the biggest reason why he's been hesitant about handing over the leadership to his son. It's one thing if his son lacks the skill and experience; he's still young and has a chance with effort. But his son is too naive and oversimplifies things, making him unsuitable to be the leader. While he's alive, he can guide him, but if he dies, the village, under his son's leadership, will one day reach its end...

Compared to the village, what did it matter that he got beaten up?

Besides, a gentleman takes revenge even after ten years. Unless the Raikage dies first, there will always be a chance to get revenge. Moreover, apart from being beaten up by the Raikage and his son, he didn't suffer any losses at all and even made a profit this time.

So the issue to consider now is still the Five-Tails. Although that's what he said to Tsuchidae and his son, he was just trying to comfort them.

The importance of the tailed beasts is self-evident. Back then, Takigakure dared to challenge the Sixth Great Shinobi Village just because they possessed the Seven-Tails. Other villages in the ninja world might be afraid of Iwagakure and dare not openly covet them, but they must have been very envious. If they knew that the Five-Tails was in the hands of Shiki, it is hard to say that they would not have secretly contacted Shiki to offer a high price for the deal, just like with the Seven-Tails. If Shimura Danzo hadn't been unable to handle the Seven-Tails, probably no one would have known that the Seven-Tails was in Konoha's hands.

So Onoki was also worried that Shiki wouldn't come to them for a deal, like last time when he used that bounty hunter Kakuzu to spread the word and then secretly make a deal. That would be troublesome. Losing the Five-Tails to Iwagakure was already embarrassing enough. If it fell into someone else's hands, he would really have to go to his grandfather's place to reflect on his mistakes. Back when the village was first established, the finances were very poor. His grandfather had to swallow his pride and go to the First Kazekage, Retsuto, pointing to the ceiling and pledging his personal integrity to borrow money from him for the Four-Tails and Five-Tails. The significance of these two tailed beasts to him was not just the nuclear threat to the village, but also his grandfather's reputation!

"Tsuchidai, go and prepare the funds. When the people come, you go and negotiate. You must bring the Five-Tails back no matter what."

Thinking of his deceased grandfather, Onoki's eyes became strong and determined as he turned to Tsuchida and spoke.

"Yes, Lord Tsuchikage!"

Tu Tai nodded decisively and firmly, but in his heart he was cursing. What did the boss mean by asking him to prepare funds?

Isn't it just about fleecing him and those families?

The money to buy the tailed beasts, according to proper procedures, should come from the village's finances. It shouldn't fall under his purview; he's not the finance minister. The fact that he's being notified to prepare funds clearly indicates they don't want to use the village's funds, but rather expect the clans to contribute. However, those clan elders are shrewd; without someone taking the lead, even a knife to their throat wouldn't get them to hand over a penny. Having followed the boss for so many years, he knows exactly what he means—he wants his clan to set an example...

His family was just an insignificant little family in the village. Over the years, it was all thanks to him that they were able to grow bigger and stronger. But he also had to rely on his boss for protection. Now that his boss asked him to donate, he had to do it even if it meant gritting his teeth.

Although he was internally cursing, Tu Tai was decisive. This time, he was not only going to donate but also go through a huge financial drain. As long as the boss continued to protect him, he wouldn't have to worry about getting his money back later...

.......

"What?! You bastard, you captured the Five-Tails of Iwagakure again?! ヽ(#`Д′)?"

Inside the Kazekage Tower in Sunagakure, Ebizo, his hand pounding against his heaving chest, was practically bursting with rage as he pointed at the nonchalant bastard in front of him with trembling fingers.