"Drip… drip…"
"Huuuuff…"
Beyond the sound of blood dripping from the wound in Elder Rashi’s chest, pierced by Kaguya’s bone spur, and the heavy gasps of the Third Raikage struggling with all his might.
There was no other sound in the entire conference hall.
Ōnoki clenched his fists, his gaze shifting between Uchiha Madara, Orochimaru, and the Third Mizukage, Yuki.
He hadn't expected that his idea of setting aside pride and forming an alliance with Cloud Village against Leaf Village would be so completely shattered by Leaf Village in such a direct manner.
Mist Village, one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, had already sided with Leaf Village.
This so-called Joint Chunin Selection of the Shinobi World was merely a conspiracy woven by Leaf Village to capture the other three Great Shinobi Villages in one fell swoop.
The Third Kazekage, sitting next to Ōnoki, was also uneasy.
Sand Village’s status as one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages wasn't due to its population or strength.
To put it bluntly.
Sand Village bordered Leaf Village. The reason it survived under the pressure of the two great Leaf Village legends, Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha, was not due to its strength.
What did it rely on?
It relied on the harsh environment of the Land of Wind!
It relied on the scarcity of resources and small population of Sand Village.
Coupled with the pity in the heart of the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju…
Perhaps, there was also Madara Uchiha’s dismissive attitude towards the weak!
But everything happening before him made the Third Kazekage understand that the current Leaf Village was no longer the same as the Leaf Village established by the First Hokage.
This difference wasn't due to the sudden appearance of Uchiha Madara, who should have been dead.
It was a fundamental difference.
This Orochimaru, who was about to become the Fourth Hokage, this man who, upon hearing that his disciple was nearly captured, directly suppressed the Third Raikage…
This person was not a political simpleton like Hashirama Senju, who could forgive someone as long as they showed outward subservience.
This person had his own set of principles.
And yet, this person's strength was to a terrifying degree.
A powerful ninja like the Third Raikage, known as the strongest spear and strongest shield in the ninja world, had no power to resist in front of him…
In the end, ninjas had to settle matters with their fists.
The Third Kazekage fell silent.
Rosari and Pakura behind him also fell silent.
…
On the other side, Ōnoki, who had been suppressing his anger, slowly floated up from his seat.
"Orochi…"
"Fourth Hokage!"
"I want to know, what kind of unification are you talking about?"
Ōnoki glanced at the Third Mizukage, who stood behind Orochimaru like a servant, his eyes slightly reddened, and asked in a low voice.
"Are you expecting me and everyone in Stone Village to face you in this manner, like Mist Village?"
"Orochimaru…"
"Lord?"
Ōnoki, with his keen eyes, had already drawn a conclusion from Orochimaru’s way of subduing the Third Raikage.
The current Orochimaru was no longer the young junior from the Land of Demons who had only made him apprehensive.
His strength had completely reached a level he could not comprehend.
But his stubborn nature, and the will of stone that he inherited from his grandfather, Ishikawa, the First Tsuchikage, made him unable to accept the humiliation of his dignity being trampled upon.
"If that's the case, I'd rather die!"
Orochimaru looked at the old man opposite him, a barely perceptible admiration flashing in his eyes, then replaced by coldness.
"Ōnoki…"
Orochimaru uttered the Third Tsuchikage's name and slowly released his hand on the Third Raikage.
"Leaf Village now has me, Senior Madara, Tsunade, Jiraiya, and White Fang…"
"In the future, there will also be Nawaki, Minato Namikaze, and my disciples, Kushina Uzumaki."
"Honestly, Leaf Village doesn't need the help of any outsiders to sweep through the ninja world and forcibly achieve unification through military might."
Ōnoki opened his mouth to retort, but after thinking for a while, he found with a sense of dejection that, apart from himself, there was truly no standout expert in Stone Village anymore.
Rōshi was dead, Han had only recently become the jinchuriki of the Five-Tails; his son had not inherited the kekkei genkai of Dust Release, and even if he became an excellent Earth Release ninja in the future, he probably wouldn't reach his current level.
Although Stone Village still had an explosive corps.
But while Karyū's Explosion Release was effective for ambushes, in frontal combat, they might not even be able to defeat ordinary elite Jonin…
But so what?
Even if all of them died, Stone Village still had thousands of warriors who inherited the will of stone, and they would definitely, like him, bravely sacrifice their lives to protect the dignity of Stone Village.
The dark chakra, no longer what it used to be, conveyed Ōnoki's thoughts precisely into Orochimaru's mind.
Orochimaru chuckled, but his voice was extremely indifferent.
"Sand Village…"
"Does Sand Village have more than ten thousand ninjas on its active roster?"
"Is the average strength above Chunin?"
Ōnoki was stunned, not understanding Orochimaru’s meaning.
"So what?"
"Even if they fight to the last man, Sand ninjas will not surrender to Leaf Village!"
"Even if they are not Leaf Village’s opponents, the warriors of Sand Village will find ways to hide and use the most brutal methods to repay Leaf Village for everything it has done to Sand Village!"
As soon as Ōnoki spoke these words, the cold expression in Orochimaru’s eyes instantly turned into chilling killing intent.
"So…"
"Are you saying that even if Sand Village is destroyed, you will hide in the shadows and wait for opportunities to disrupt the peace of the ninja world?"
Ōnoki actually regretted his irrational words spoken in anger, but since things had come this far, it was extremely difficult for him to apologize.
He simply straightened his neck, adopted a combat stance, and said resolutely:
"That's right!"
"Even if the ninja world is unified, Sand Village will never accept the kind of unification you speak of!"
"The will of the stubborn stone will never be crushed by external forces!"
Orochimaru sneered and slowly nodded.
"Good!"
"A good will of stone!"
"Then I…"
"Will grant your wish!"
"Summoning Jutsu!"
His fingertips danced, and a dark summoning circle appeared in front of Orochimaru. Tsunadehime, one of the three Snake Goddesses of the Snake Sage’s Cave, immediately appeared in the conference hall.
"Great Sage!"
Tsunadehime, without looking sideways, bowed deeply to Orochimaru with a look of reverence.
Orochimaru nodded slightly and casually asked:
"Who is on duty in the Land of Demons today?"
Tsunadehime did not dare to be negligent and replied respectfully with her head bowed:
"Replying to Great Sage, today it happens to be my turn to be responsible for guarding Lord Miroku's safety!"
Orochimaru nodded in understanding and looked at Ōnoki with a stern gaze.
"Go back and tell Miroku that the time has come for her to prove her worth."
"Send out the fifty thousand undead army hidden beneath Sand Village immediately!"
"Also, go to the Star Village in the Land of Bears and inform the Third Star Kage. Have all the Star ninjas who cultivate the Peacock Myōhō cooperate with the undead army in launching a village-destroying war against Sand Village."
"Within one day, I want to hear the news of Sand Village's complete annihilation."
Tsunadehime’s eyes lit up as she raised her head.
"Great Sage, when you say complete annihilation, do you mean it in the literal sense?"
Orochimaru nodded with a cold expression.
"That's right!"
Tsunadehime greedily licked her lips and nodded heavily at Orochimaru.
"Yes!"
"I will return now…"
Ōnoki finally understood the meaning behind Orochimaru's words.
Undead army?
Was it the undead army created by that monster in the Land of Demons?
Fifty thousand?
There were fifty thousand of those undead monsters, which ordinary ninjas could not resist, and they had already infiltrated the vicinity of Sand Village?
"Wait!"