Saving the Uchiha clan starts with becoming the clan leader.

The method is also quite simple.

Simply eliminate the messenger from Konoha!

Killing the Konoha envoy would effectively sever any possibility of cooperation between the Iwa ninja and Konoha. He didn't believe Konoha would choose to continue cooperating after such humiliation. At that point, regardless of whether the Tsuchikage was willing or not, the only option left would be to cooperate with the Kumo ninja to jointly attack Konoha!

Once the idea came to mind, it could never be erased.

Like an inextinguishable weed, it overwhelmed his heart!

then,

He arrived at the Konoha envoys' encampment, defeated the Iwa ninja responsible for protecting and monitoring the Konoha envoys, and launched an attack using Lava Release. Unfortunately, because he didn't want to hurt his own people, he was delayed for a little over a second, less than two seconds, giving the Konoha ninjas and Kirigakure ninjas inside the tent an opportunity.

The two Mist Ninjas disregarded the consumption of chakra and used their strongest Water Release technique.

The two of them barely managed to block Lao Zi's sudden attack.

At least they were given a chance to catch their breath and weren't killed by Old Purple in one move. Old Purple's pursuit was stopped by Han, who rushed over and pulled Nara Suzaku and the others back from the brink of death.

Old Zi, whose plans had been ruined, was furious.

They got into a fight!

Then Onoki and the others arrived. Realizing things had gone wrong, Rōshi, a ruthless man, had always been dissatisfied with Onoki's rule. They had argued more than once because of ideological differences. But this time, things had obviously deteriorated to the worst possible point. Rōshi completely gave up on arguing with Onoki and chose to leave!

"...This is my mistake. I should have considered using a more tactful way to stop Rōshi-senpai..." Han swallowed back the word "senpai" halfway through his sentence. Rōshi-senpai was now a rogue ninja and could no longer be called "senpai"!

"None of your business, Han!"

Onoki shook his head.

He wasn't shameless enough to make Han take responsibility for this.

"That bastard Lao Zi... I'm not surprised at all that this happened. There were signs of it before. He's disliked me for a long time. Today, he just ignited all the accumulated conflicts and contradictions at once. If we're talking about responsibility, ninety percent of the responsibility lies with me!"

"But······"

"No buts, Han, go and rest! You don't need to worry about things here. Your nose... go find a medical ninja to check it out! Although the Tailed Beasts will help you heal, you still need to restrain yourself from borrowing their power." Frequent and excessive use of the Tailed Beasts' power will only gradually erode your self-esteem, a predicament that no imperfect Jinchuriki can avoid.

"Yes, Lord Tsuchikage."

Han agreed and quickly left to find the medical ninja.

Ōnoki floated in mid-air, watching Kōtsuchi and the others use Earth Release techniques to fill the crater. His heart was filled with mixed feelings, an indescribable frustration and annoyance. That idiot Rōshi played such a trick at this moment, completely leaving him with no room for maneuver.

We have no choice but to cooperate firmly with Konoha!

[Chapter 202: The Alliance Between Konoha and Iwagakure]

"Senior Suzaku, what will happen to us?"

Ebisu reached out and touched the bridge of his nose, but didn't touch the familiar glasses frame. It seemed that he had lost it in the chaos. He scratched his brow uncomfortably, his wandering gaze lingering on the Iwa ninjas surrounding him, who were supposed to be protecting and monitoring him.

The group of five was surrounded by dozens of Iwa ninja.

The Iwa ninja stood shoulder to shoulder, almost joining hands to surround the Konoha envoys.

"Dispose of? What are you thinking?"

Nara Suzaku didn't even glance at Ebisu. He stood on a rock, tiptoeing, looking at Huang Tu and the others not far away. It has to be said that the Iwa ninjas are really big. Nara Suzaku's height of 175 centimeters is considered average in Konoha, but the average height of the Iwa ninjas is around 190 centimeters.

People like Huang Tu, Wen Ya, and Han are all over 200 centimeters tall. As for Onoki, the Tsuchikage... he's an exceptional case, a very rare one.

"Um, wasn't that guy who attacked us just now the Four-Tails Jinchuriki from Iwagakure?"

Ebisu asked in a low voice.

"Haha! That's great!"

Suzaku Nara chuckled twice, his voice light and leisurely.

"Good news? We almost lost our lives..." Ebisu was still quite shaken by Old Purple's sudden attack and his mind was a bit muddled, but after Suzaku Nara said that, he suddenly came to his senses. "Ah! It really is good news. I was confused!"

To become a special Jonin

Ebisu was not stupid. On the contrary, in the original history, Ebisu, who served as Konoha's tutor, was a very shrewd guy and a big believer in bloodline theory.

"The Four-Tails Jinchuriki's attack on us was probably an act of their own volition, while the Five-Tails Jinchuriki rescued us because the Iwa ninja didn't want anything to happen to us..." Ebisu cleared his jumbled thoughts, and a look of joy immediately appeared on his face. "Suzaku-senpai, so you mean the Iwa ninja are..."

"That's right, our operation should be considered a success!"

Suzaku Nara didn't keep us in suspense.

He breathed a sigh of relief. Despite his previous confidence, no one knows what might happen in these situations until the very end. It's not impossible for them to turn the tables, but for now, things seem to be going well!

The internal conflict within Iwagakure proves that the Iwagakure leadership has made a decision that is beneficial to Konoha; otherwise, the Four-Tails Jinchuriki would not have been so ruthless in killing them.

"Senior Suzaku, someone is coming."

Genma Shiranui noticed the approaching Huang Tu. The Iwa ninjas along the way retreated to both sides like rice stalks blown down by the wind, spontaneously making way for Huang Tu, a path leading directly to Suzaku Nara and the others.

Nara Suzaku narrowed his eyes, his expression becoming serious and solemn as he awaited the approach of the yellow earth.

"Mr. Nara."

Huang Tu greeted him very politely, "I'm so sorry for what happened!"

"It's a small matter, not enough to affect the friendly relationship between Konoha and Iwagakure." Speaking to people in a way that suits them, Suzaku Nara was very sincere and polite to Huangtu, who had shown a friendly attitude towards Konoha from the beginning.

Upon hearing Nara Suzaku's words, a relieved smile appeared on Huangtu's face.

The envoy from Konoha is reliable enough that there's no need to worry about Konoha causing trouble and ruining the cooperation between the two sides. As for Iwa ninja, because of Rōshi's antics, they've almost completely eliminated any room for maneuver. The cooperation with Konoha is practically a done deal!

The two exchanged a lot of meaningless but unavoidable pleasantries. Huang Tu led the group to a new location and settled them in. During the conversation, he subtly revealed the decision of the Nara Suzaku Iwa ninja leadership, telling them to wait patiently and that a clear result would be forthcoming soon.

That is, the next day,

Suzaku Nara received an invitation from the Third Tsuchikage and came to see Onoki for the second time. Unlike the last time when only Onoki and his son, Yotsuchi, were present, this time there were more than ten people in the tent, all of whom were leaders of Iwagakure. With the information provided by the walking priestess, Suzaku Nara easily identified the identity of each person.

"Lord Tsuchikage, it is an honor to meet you again."

Suzaku Nara greeted them politely.

"How was the excitement yesterday?"

Onoki directly presented this thorny question.

"To be honest, I haven't had a chance to thank His Excellency Han for saving me. I'm really sorry."

Nara Suzaku avoided giving a direct answer and instead looked at Han sitting next to him, cleverly shifting the focus of the question. The defection of the Four-Tails Jinchuriki was definitely a significant blow to Iwagakure, although Nara Suzaku did feel that it was excellent news.

but,

However, one must never say it aloud or show a happy expression on one's face.

"Hmph! Nara, Nara... It's more accurate to describe your clan as foxes than deer. Your arrival has caused unrest within our ranks, and that bastard Old Purple has defected... I wonder if you are satisfied with this outcome?"

Onoki revealed the problem himself.

His sharp gaze was fixed on Suzaku Nara.

"Konoha never betrays its allies. If you want to pin this on us, then Lord Tsuchikage, you may use my head to vent your anger. However, Konoha never forgives its enemies either," Nara Suzaku replied solemnly. Since Onoki insisted on bringing up yesterday's events, he couldn't simply dodge the question. The cooperation between Konoha and Iwagakure was a matter of mutual benefit when they cooperated and mutual harm when they separated; it was not a result that Konoha had begged for.

"Talk is cheap!"

Onoki was still rude, but his attitude had clearly softened.

He didn't dwell on yesterday's events any longer. He cleared his throat and got straight to the point: "Nara Suzaku, right? Do you still stand by what you said when we met last time?"

"That's natural."

Suzaku Nara nodded solemnly.

"Konoha and Iwagakure will form an alliance to jointly wage war against Kumogakure. The spoils of war will be divided according to the contributions of both sides. After this war ends, the Land of Fire and the Land of Earth will establish a cooperative and mutually beneficial trade partnership. This is a win-win choice."

"...A win-win situation? I hope so!"

Onoki's attitude kept changing, from being difficult at the beginning to being gentle now.

However, in Nara Suzaku's view, Onoki's change in attitude was more like a performance. The initial difficulty was because many of the Iwa ninja leaders present were still reluctant to cooperate with Konoha. Not to mention, although Konoha seemed to have suffered heavy losses in the Third Shinobi World War, Iwa ninja also suffered heavy losses.

The deaths of a number of outstanding young people, including Higashi no Shijin, Hikari, Oishi, and Mahiru, on the battlefield dealt a heavy blow to the Iwa ninja! Their talent pool was almost wiped out!

The reason why their attitude has become more moderate now is because cooperation is already a done deal. Since it cannot be changed, they can only try their best to change themselves and adapt to the future. They can't cooperate in a rude manner; that would not be cooperation, but rather making enemies of Konoha!

"By the way, I have another request, and I hope Lord Tsuchikage can listen to it."

Seeing that the general outline of the cooperation had been discussed, and there would be plenty of time to work out the details later, Nara Suzaku seized the opportunity to speak.

"what's up?"

At this moment, Onoki was maintaining an easy-going persona.

"It's like this, not long ago some of our Konoha's merchants and tourists in your country were arrested for misconduct. Coincidentally, Konoha also has a group of Earth Country citizens who have committed minor offenses in prison due to some past mistakes. If possible, we hope to exchange these citizens of our two countries who have committed minor offenses."

These words,

It truly strangled a large number of Nara Suzaku's brain cells.

Espionage is something that can never be openly admitted; it can only be disguised with euphemisms and a veneer of reasonableness.

Onoki was stunned for a few seconds, but as a seasoned politician who had ruled Iwagakure for decades, he understood in just a few seconds what Nara Suzaku was talking about—that he wanted to exchange spies… This was something he had never imagined.

quickly,

Most of the Iwa ninja present had figured out what Suzaku Nara had said.

Immediately, everyone looked at them with strange eyes. Exchanging spies... was this a joke? So-called spies either return successfully or disappear without a trace. What use is it to exchange spies captured by the enemy? Losers are of little value to begin with, and there might even be concerns that some of them might have been turned by the enemy or controlled by secret techniques.

Because of these concerns, there has never been an example of exchanging spies among the five great nations and the five great ninja villages in the past.

"I hope you, Tsuchikage, will be lenient in this matter. I don't know where things went wrong, but this matter has already spread throughout Konoha. Many people hope to rescue the arrested people and are shouting that they cannot let them bleed and then shed tears. Now even the Hokage has issued instructions. I think the people of your country feel the same way... I'm a little afraid that if I don't do this job well, I'll be talked about behind my back when I go back to the village."

This combination of soft and hard tactics made Onoki's expression change.

What does it mean to shed tears after bleeding? What does it mean that the people of the Land of Earth share the same thoughts? Does this mean that if he doesn't agree, then he, the Tsuchikage, doesn't care about the safety of the spies captured by Konoha? Is he planning to use public opinion to bring him down?

It took a lot of effort for Onoki to suppress the urge to curse.

To be honest,

Having sat in the position of Tsuchikage for so many years and seen countless deaths, Onoki didn't care about such a small sacrifice. As for the possibility of being impacted by public opinion, if the Konoha ninjas could stir up public opinion in Iwagakure to attack him as the Tsuchikage, then they would be underestimating him too much!

However, he had to consider the current situation. He had already decided to form an alliance with Konoha. If this caused any future troubles, it would be very unpleasant!

Lao Zi's defection dealt another heavy blow to Yan.