Chapter 196 : Onoki is Going Off
Uchiha Taiga's laughter echoed across the battlefield. For a moment, everyone stopped, and the Kage unanimously cast their gazes toward Orochimaru's direction.
Onoki was the first to react. He dropped sharply from midair, his feet landing heavily on the ground in front of the Iwagakure forces with a dull thud. The Particle Style in his hands had already extinguished.
"Han!"
His voice was loud, his expression incredibly ugly. His eyes quickly swept through the Iwagakure ranks, but there was no sign of Han.
*Not good. Our Jinchuriki has been abducted.*
This was Onoki's only thought at the moment. Realizing this, his expression darkened even further.
Within the Iwagakure ranks, everyone's faces paled. Some gaped in shock, some frowned, and others looked around frantically.
No one knew how Han had disappeared, nor had anyone noticed how that vortex appeared. By the time they reacted, the vortex was already gone, taking Han with it.
Uchiha Taiga was currently clutching his stomach, leaning forward with laughter.
"Oh, this is rich. This is just too good."
His voice came out in broken gasps between his laughter.
"You called me a threat to the ninja world, and I won't argue with that. But now Uchiha Madara just straight-up kidnapped a Jinchuriki right under your noses. What do you have to say about that? Hahaha, this is absolutely hilarious!"
He straightened up a bit, though he was still chuckling.
Truth be told, from the very beginning, Uchiha Taiga knew that Uchiha Madara would never give up on collecting the Tailed Beasts.
Uchiha Taiga understood one thing very clearly: when a powerhouse reached their level, their convictions were incredibly firm, or rather, incredibly egocentric.
He was like this, Uchiha Madara was like this, and Senju Hashirama was exactly the same.
Their power was simply too immense—so immense that they didn't need to care about the opinions of others, so immense that they could act entirely on their own whims.
Their beliefs were not instilled by others; they grew from their own experiences and reflections, deeply rooted and unshakable.
Perhaps Senju Hashirama himself hadn't even realized this.
His ego manifested in his kindness, showing up in his insistence on communication and mutual understanding in all matters.
There was nothing wrong with this, as it merely meant that Senju Hashirama's ego aligned more closely with universal values.
On the other hand, the egos of both Uchiha Taiga and Uchiha Madara were far more selfish. But at their core, all three of them shared the same underlying foundation: *I am right, and you should listen to me.*
*Or at the very least, you should understand me!*
Well, look at the situation now.
Senju Hashirama believed Uchiha Taiga was a threat to the ninja world, buying into Uchiha Madara's words. Yet Madara immediately turned around and pulled a massive stunt right in front of everyone, undoubtedly slapping Hashirama directly in the face.
To Uchiha Taiga, this was peak entertainment.
He was now highly anticipating what Senju Hashirama would say next.
Because of this, Uchiha Taiga completely stopped fighting.
He retracted the faint golden glow around his body and stood there, looking toward the crowd with an expectant expression. He looked exactly like an onlooker who had just stumbled upon some juicy gossip.
Fighting the Kage was nothing more than a minor outlet for him to vent his frustrations.
Now that there was a good show to watch, why would he bother fighting? After all, combat was nowhere near as important as entertainment.
Raikage A stood in the center of the battlefield, having completely withdrawn his Lightning Style chakra.
He watched Uchiha Taiga stand down, then glanced at Senju Hashirama in the distance. Without saying a word, he simply lowered his fists.
Yagura Karatachi walked back from the edge of the battlefield to his own forces and stopped. He didn't step forward any further, nor did he speak.
Orochimaru's four white snakes vanished in puffs of white smoke. Once the smoke cleared, only four shallow craters remained on the ground.
It was hard to describe his current mood. He couldn't help but lick his lips again as he silently stepped aside.
Everyone was staring at Senju Hashirama.
Senju Hashirama's expression was incredibly complicated. He raised a hand to scratch his head, paused in midair, and then lowered it.
Faced with everyone's intense scrutiny, even someone with Senju Hashirama's temperament couldn't help but cover his face.
"That damn Madara!"
His muffled voice came from behind his hands.
"Why would he do something like this?!"
Senju Tobirama stood beside him. His expression wasn't as conflicted as Hashirama's, but it was just as grim.
The current situation perfectly validated his long-held belief: the Uchiha could not be trusted. Now that Uchiha Madara had pulled a stunt like this, they were put in an incredibly passive position.
His mind was racing.
"Brother."
He spoke up.
"Did you not notice that Madara's condition just now was a bit off?"
"Furthermore, the jutsu he just used was very similar to the one Orochimaru mentioned belonging to Uchiha Obito."
He paused, his voice growing heavier.
"There is something wrong here."
Senju Hashirama lowered his hands from his face. His expression shifted from helplessness to deep thought, his brows slightly furrowed.
"Are you saying..."
Senju Tobirama nodded.
"His eyes. The pattern of his Mangekyo Sharingan was different from his own. Those eyes belong to Uchiha Obito."
Senju Tobirama clenched his fists. "Moreover, the traces of the Reanimation Jutsu on his body were gone. He felt like a living person."
"That's impossible, isn't it?" Senju Hashirama instinctively retorted.
Senju Tobirama just looked at him without saying a word.
Senju Hashirama's tone weakened. "This... Did that guy really come back to life? Ah, this is not good news at all."
Senju Tobirama continued to stare at him expressionlessly.
"Alright, alright, I was wrong."
Senju Hashirama raised both hands in surrender, then shot an apologetic smile toward Uchiha Taiga.
Uchiha Taiga waved him off. "Don't mind me. Please, continue."
Senju Hashirama's lips twitched, feeling even more awkward, but the priority now was solving the problem Uchiha Madara had created.
"So, what should we do now?"
His voice carried a rare hint of hesitation.
After he asked this question, no one answered.
Senju Tobirama looked at him, opened his mouth slightly, and then closed it.
Senju Tobirama fell silent.
The others remained silent as well.
Standing in the center of the battlefield, Raikage A heard Senju Hashirama's words, and his mouth twitched.
He wanted to say something, but after glancing at the silent crowd around him, he swallowed his words.
What could he even say?
Say that the people of Konoha were a massive pain in the ass?
Say that Madara had kidnapped a Jinchuriki?
Saying it would be useless.
Madara wasn't here, and neither was the Jinchuriki. Anything he said would just be empty talk.
Yagura Karatachi stood at the edge of the battlefield, his Coral Staff resting on the ground. He gave off an aura of calm, but that calmness was entirely feigned.
Onoki stood at the front of the Iwagakure forces. His hands were clenched into tight fists, his nails digging into his palms. His lips were trembling. He was beyond furious.
Han had been abducted right in front of everyone present.
"Konoha must give Iwagakure an explanation for this!" Onoki demanded.
Senju Tobirama turned his head. "Why should we give you an explanation? Did Konoha abduct him?"
"You!!"
Onoki was so enraged he practically stomped his feet. "We came here to hold a summit to resolve the issue of Uchiha Madara's appearance! And now look! You Konoha ninja resurrected the two of you brothers and lured Uchiha Madara here! Luring him here is one thing, but Senju Hashirama, you actually believed that bastard and started a meaningless fight with Uchiha Taiga!"
The more he spoke, the more fluent his rant became, and the angrier he got.
"Now look what happened! You let him get away, and Uchiha Madara ended up taking our village's Jinchuriki! What do you think he's going to do next? Or do you think your own Jinchuriki are safe?!"
He pointed at the Raikage. "What about you, Kumogakure? Are you not afraid of Uchiha Madara?!"
Raikage A's face darkened, but he didn't argue.
"And you, Kirigakure? Feeling confident, are we?!"
Yagura Karatachi tightened his grip on his Coral Staff.
"And you, Sunagakure! Do you think just because you're on good terms with Uchiha Taiga, you'll definitely be fine?!"
Rasa awkwardly turned his head away.
At this moment, Onoki was going all out, pointing an accusing finger at Orochimaru. "Don't think I don't know what you're plotting! You resurrected the Senju brothers and thought Konoha had this in the bag, didn't you?! Well, you'd better hide your Nine-Tails Jinchuriki carefully!"
Orochimaru pulled down his Hokage hat, obscuring the lower half of his face.
Uchiha Taiga watched intently from a short distance away. *Good lord, Onoki is really going off on everyone.*
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