The leisurely life of the Hyuga main family

"What did you say?!" Inside the Tsuchikage building in Iwagakure, Onoki's roar could be clearly heard even outside the office building.

"That's indeed the case; the Hidden Cloud Village has already surrendered to the Hidden Leaf Village..."

"Why didn't you stop them?! Why didn't you just snipe them?! You just let those brutes surrender to Konoha?!" Onoki's eyes were bloodshot as he stared intently at the yellow earth, his anger burning fiercely within him!

"I'm not entirely confident, and..."

"And what else?! What else?!" Onoki pounded Huangtu's head in exasperation. "And we misunderstood Konoha? You think we should just surrender?!"

"…………" Silently enduring his old man's beating, Huang Tu wanted to nod if he could, but his old man was clearly in a rage, and if he said it, he might be beaten to death.

As he continued to berate his eldest son, Onoki's frustration eased considerably.

"Yellow earth! And you all! Remember this!" Taking a deep breath, Onoki looked around solemnly and said, "Only by facing adversity like a rock, never giving up, never making excuses, can we rise again from setbacks! The hardest rock in our Iwagakure village is our will! Nothing can defeat me..."

Just then, a black and white pitcher plant slowly emerged from the ground!

"Who goes there?!" Even though Akatsuchi recognized the guy's clothes and had even dealt with him several times before, the sudden appearance of Black Zetsu still put Akatsuchi, who was guarded by the Tsuchikage, on high alert.

He even considered attacking directly, trying to kill this bastard.

After all, this is the Tsuchikage Building! The core building of Iwagakure (Hidden Stone Village). It's a disgrace that a mere mercenary dared to barge in so brazenly!

What do they take their Tuying Building for?! A public restroom that anyone can just walk into?!

"The Akatsuki? What brings you here?" Onoki raised his hand to stop the group of Iwa ninja high-ranking members whose eyes were blazing with anger. He narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked at the uninvited guests in front of him, suppressing his killing intent as he spoke calmly.

"I apologize, Lord Tsuchikage. I am truly sorry for coming here so abruptly." Kuroko said respectfully. If it weren't for his arrogant act of forcibly entering the Tsuchikage building, his respectful tone might have made him seem very polite.

"Enough with the nonsense, or you'll be dead in no time!" Onoki's killing intent intensified.

"I've heard that Iwagakure is about to go to war with Konoha. I wonder if the Tsuchikage would like to hire us?" Black Zetsu raised an eyebrow. She could ignore the others, but she had to respect Onoki, who knew Dust Release, since Dust Release could kill him.

"Oh?!" A cold smile curled at the corner of his lips as Onoki stared menacingly at Black Zetsu. "Everyone knows that my Iwagakure is no match for Konoha, which has united Sunagakure, Kirigakure, and even Kumogakure. Why do you still want to actively get involved in this mess? Are you so greedy for money that you'd rather die?"

"Money is certainly important, but there's an even more important reason!" Black Zetsu immediately said, "If we allow Konoha to destroy Iwagakure and eventually unify the ninja world, then our Akatsuki organization, as well as other small ninja villages and some minor forces, will cease to exist! You probably understand that Konoha, once it unifies the ninja world, will never let us go. Even if they do let us go, without the conflict of war, our Akatsuki organization will lose its source of funding and will cease to exist."

"Is that so..." The reason is reasonable, but although Black Zetsu is a thousand-year-old fox, Onoki is also a cunning old fox. How could he be persuaded by just a few words?

"What do you think, Tsuchikage-sama?" Black Zetsu stared at Onoki with a sinister look.

"Even with you all included, we are still at a significant disadvantage. What other bargaining chips do we have? Tell us all at once." Ōnoki stared intently at Black Zetsu, a forced smile on his face.

"Besides our organization, some smaller ninja villages are also willing to join us in fighting against Konoha."

"..." Onoki stared silently at Black Zetsu. Did this pitcher plant think he was an idiot?! Those small ninja villages, struggling to survive year after year between the Five Great Shinobi Villages, did they have the guts to resist a behemoth like Konoha now?!

"Since we're all in the same boat, how about we leave the first advance force from Konoha to you?"

"That's only right!" To Onoki's surprise, the black and white pitcher plant in front of Black Zetsu actually agreed.

"Then I'll wait and see!"

"Farewell, Tsuchikage." With that, Black Zetsu sank into the ground and left the Tsuchikage Building.

"Lord Tsuchikage!" After Black Zetsu left, Huang Tu immediately said anxiously, "This matter is highly illogical; there's clearly a trap..."

"Shut up! I have my own plans!" Onoki interrupted his eldest son's admonition, his gaze fixed on the spot where Black Zetsu had disappeared, lost in thought.

In an instant, the Tsuchikage Building fell into a deathly silence. Because of Onoki's almost dictatorial prestige, even the free-spirited Kurotsuchi had no intention of uttering a sound.

The group of people watched Onoki quietly, waiting for him to come out of his reverie.

"Akazuchi!"

"Your subordinate is here!" Akatsuchi immediately responded upon hearing the Tsuchikage's call.

"Move to the front lines immediately. If anyone attacks the Konoha forces, order our men to retreat immediately." After giving these instructions, he seemed to deflate, his already hunched body becoming even more hunched and curled up, a sense of despondency filling his body.

He already knew the outcome of this war.

Facing the now extremely powerful Konoha, let alone the Iwagakure village alone, even if the Kumogakure didn't back down, they simply couldn't win!

Previously, they had already suffered greatly when facing just one Konoha, but now they are facing three or even four Konoha combined.

There wasn't even a sliver of hope for victory.

The reason I'm still thinking about resisting is purely because I'm unwilling to accept defeat!

The Hidden Stone Village, which was unwilling to inherit from its predecessors, was ultimately destroyed by its own hand.

And now! There are actually people who treat him like a fool! They want their Iwagakure village to be cannon fodder, it's simply outrageous!

However, it was precisely because of the appearance of Black Zetsu that Onoki, who originally wanted to perish together with the enemy and die a glorious death, gave up the fight.

Looking back at the yellow, red, and even black soil on his face, he felt a sense of disbelief.

"You are still young, you shouldn't die in a war where there is no hope of victory!" Onoki said quietly.