CHAPTER 164
Ōnoki slowly turned his head.
His eyes fell upon the fading white lightning still dancing around Konoha's White Fang.
His expression became incomparably solemn.
He knew that although White Fang had lost his right arm and had consumed an enormous amount of Chakra...
His terrifying speed...
And that unwavering fighting spirit...
Had not disappeared.
He could still unleash a fatal strike at any moment.
Just after White Fang finished speaking...
Akimichi Torifu's anxious voice suddenly rang out from afar.
"White Fang! Don't act recklessly!"
White Fang turned his head and glanced toward Akimichi Torifu.
He immediately understood the meaning hidden in Torifu's expression.
Under the current circumstances...
Whether Iwagakure withdrew its forces...
Or returned home to wage war against Kumogakure...
Both outcomes greatly benefited Konoha.
Regardless of who ultimately emerged victorious...
The pressure facing Konoha would be significantly reduced.
This was naturally the first conclusion Akimichi Torifu had reached.
It was also the conclusion shared by many Konoha Shinobi.
However...
The instant Torifu looked into White Fang's eyes...
He froze.
There was no madness.
No loss of reason.
Only an incomparably calm determination.
Torifu immediately understood.
White Fang...
Still had another intention.
Even so...
He slowly shook his head.
His eyes conveyed both persuasion and warning.
Only four words could describe them.
"The bigger picture."
The atmosphere that had only just relaxed between Konoha and Iwagakure immediately became tense once again.
White Fang's killing intent silently spread across the battlefield.
One after another...
Both Konoha and Iwagakure Shinobi instinctively tightened their grip on their weapons.
White Fang's pupils narrowed slightly.
His gaze slowly swept across the battlefield.
He saw the exhausted yet determined faces of Konoha's Shinobi.
Every one of them was covered in blood.
He also saw the Shinobi whom Might Guy had just rescued.
Many still hadn't recovered from the shock.
Then...
He saw the heavy casualties suffered by Konoha.
White Fang remained silent.
Part of him truly wished to exchange his own life...
For Ōnoki's.
If the Third Tsuchikage died here...
The blow dealt to Iwagakure would be unprecedented.
It might even determine the outcome of future wars.
As for Konoha...
Although losing someone like him would undoubtedly be a devastating loss...
It wouldn't destroy the village.
However...
If he truly killed Ōnoki here...
How would Iwagakure respond?
What about Kitsuchi?
This conflict might instantly escalate into a war of extermination.
One side would continue fighting until the other no longer existed.
How many more Konoha comrades would die then?
Yet...
Simply allowing the severely injured Ōnoki to retreat...
White Fang couldn't accept that either.
After all...
This was an opportunity that might never come again.
The opportunity to kill an enemy Kage.
Silence descended.
After what seemed like an eternity...
White Fang finally let out a quiet sigh.
He slowly looked toward Ōnoki.
His calm voice spread throughout the battlefield.
"Ōnoki."
"I have one final strike."
"If you can withstand it..."
"I'll let you leave."
The instant those words were spoken...
Kitsuchi's expression changed dramatically.
He immediately stepped forward.
His face filled with anger.
He knew better than anyone how terrible his father's current condition was.
And White Fang's final strike...
Would certainly be earthshaking.
"Are you out of your..."
"Enough!"
Before Kitsuchi could finish...
Ōnoki suddenly shouted.
His stern voice immediately stopped him.
Having survived countless battles over several decades...
How could he fail to notice the subtle change within White Fang's eyes?
Although it lasted only an instant...
He had seen it clearly.
The killing intent had disappeared.
What remained...
Was unwillingness.
"So..."
"You intend to leave me with one final wound."
Ōnoki narrowed his eyes.
His thoughts raced rapidly.
During the previous standoff...
He had secretly swallowed several military ration pills.
A considerable amount of Chakra had already recovered.
Judging from White Fang's previous attacks...
He believed he could survive one last technique.
More importantly...
This was also an opportunity.
A perfect opportunity to recover the dignity he had lost after being mercilessly beaten through the sky.
Although he had acknowledged White Fang's strength...
The humiliation from earlier remained unforgettable.
"I'll restore my reputation here."
Taking a deep breath...
Ōnoki forcibly suppressed the intense pain throughout his body.
He pushed aside the Shinobi supporting him.
Then he stepped forward several paces.
Raising his voice so everyone present could hear.
"Very well!"
"This old man severed one of your arms."
"Today..."
"I shall receive your final strike!"
"Once this exchange ends..."
"Our battle will temporarily conclude."
"My Iwagakure does not fear war."
"But Kumogakure has invaded our homeland."
"We must return immediately."
"Konoha's White Fang..."
"Strike with everything you have!"
Every sentence was spoken with righteous confidence.
He deliberately reminded everyone that he had severed White Fang's arm.
At the same time...
He gave a perfectly reasonable explanation for Iwagakure's retreat.
He was trying to transform his previous humiliation...
Into an act of strategic restraint.
White Fang narrowed his eyes.
"This old fox..."
He merely snorted inwardly.
He said nothing more.
Since Ōnoki wished to preserve his dignity...
So be it.
Ōnoki likewise became completely serious.
Stone Armor rapidly spread across his body once again.
Earth Release Chakra surged continuously.
Several defensive Earth Release techniques had already been prepared.
Ready to activate at any moment.
Then...
White Fang moved.
His only remaining left hand slowly rose.
With a single hand...
He formed a seal.
The Tiger Seal.
Ōnoki's expression instantly became extremely serious.
"This hand seal..."
"Fire Release?"
"No..."
"That's impossible."
White Fang had never displayed any Fire Release affinity.
More importantly...
No flames appeared.
Instead...
Countless violent arcs of white lightning burst from his left hand once more.
Every strand of Lightning Release Chakra rapidly compressed.
Gathering toward the tips of his fingers.
A tiny point of dazzling white light appeared.
Rather than expanding...
That light continued collapsing inward.
Growing denser.
Brighter.
More terrifying.
The destructive fluctuations it emitted caused everyone's heart to tighten.
Ōnoki stared fixedly at that tiny point of white light.
His expression became incomparably solemn.
Every remaining trace of Chakra within his body surged madly.
His face twisted from the strain as he roared.
"Come then, White Fang!"
"No matter what technique you use..."
"I, Ōnoki..."
"Will withstand it!"
"Show me..."
"Your strongest strike!!"
Stone Armor instantly covered every inch of his body.
The surrounding Iwagakure Shinobi unconsciously held their breath.
Every Konoha Shinobi watched silently.
Then...
Under everyone's nervous gaze...
White Fang slowly unleashed the final technique into which he poured every remaining ounce of Chakra...
Every fragment of his life force...
And every shred of his unwavering resolve.
His calm voice echoed across the battlefield.
"Lightning Release..."
"Secret Technique..."
"One Thousand Years of Death!"
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