Naruto: I, who fooled the ninja world, was hailed as a savior.

Chapter 81 Onoki: Tsk tsk, look at this young man...

Northwest of the Land of Rain, in the Hidden Stone Village of the Land of Earth.

Surrounded by high mountains and hills, with a top-secret fortress that is as impregnable as a natural barrier, it forms a natural shield for Iwagakure Village.

At first glance, the buildings in the village are mainly made of forged stone, giving them a dark gray color.

Meanwhile, inside the Iwagakure Village hospital, cries of agony could be heard continuously.

"Ouch, my back! Be gentle! Be gentle! Ah!"

"Lord Tsuchikage, please be strong! It will be over soon!"

On the hospital bed, several nurses held down the limbs of a short old man, while a burly head nurse pressed down on his back and waist.

"You make it sound so easy for you, but I... Awooo!!"

Click!

With a crisp sound, the short old man, who had been burying his face in the pillow, suddenly raised his head and let out a howl that was a mixture of pain and pleasure.

"All right."

The head nurse clapped her hands with practiced ease, looked at the old man lying on the bed, smiled helplessly, and said in a resentful tone, "Lord Tsuchikage, please don't move around anymore."

"Your back injury from last time hasn't healed yet. We told you to rest in the hospital, but you refused. We told you to go back and take good care of yourself, but you've already hurt yourself again after only a few days. You really don't take good care of your body."

If she hadn't said it, no one would have believed that the old man lying on the bed, feeling quite sore and groaning, was the Third Tsuchikage of Iwagakure.

As the grandson of the First Tsuchikage and the personal disciple of the Second Tsuchikage, his strength is quite formidable. He is known as "Onoki of the Two Scales" and is not only proficient in Earth Release ninjutsu, but can also use the Bloodline Limit "Dust Release," which surpasses Bloodline Limits.

Unfortunately, even he could not escape the erosion of time.

"What do you know?"

Feeling his dignity somewhat diminished, Onoki wrinkled his large red nose, straightened his body, and complained, "I... I'm not even fifty years old yet, I'm in my prime, this little injury is nothing to worry about."

"Iwagakure can't do without me! You... Ouch!"

Onoki was still grumbling loudly, but the burly head nurse ignored him and used a board to fix his waist, causing the old man to let out another groan.

"Yes, yes, Lord Tsuchikage, everyone in the entire Iwagakure knows you. You are our pillar of strength."

The head nurse pursed her lips, turned the old man over, and instructed him, "But you must take good care of your health. You have too many hidden injuries, and they will gradually appear as you get older."

"If you suffer another back sprain, this problem will stay with you forever, and it will have a significant negative impact on your life and your fighting ability."

Onoki grumbled in dissatisfaction, but stopped being stubborn and lay obediently on the hospital bed, saying impatiently, "I know, I know, I'll just stay in the hospital and rest for a while."

"Uh-huh."

The head nurse nodded in satisfaction and grinned, "Lord Tsuchikage, I'll take you to the restroom."

"Wait, wait a minute! I don't want to go to the toilet right now!" Onoki's face changed, and he said in a terrified tone, "Even if I wanted to go to the toilet, I could go by myself!"

"Listen to me, Lord Tsuchikage, you can't move right now."

"No, no, I can use ninjutsu! Do you know the Light-Weight Rock Technique? I can fly!"

"I'm not a ninja, I have absolutely no idea about light-weight rock or heavy-weight rock."

knock knock.

A slightly heavy knock came at the door, and the head nurse instinctively stopped in her tracks. Ohnoki immediately breathed a sigh of relief and quickly said, "Come in!"

Although she didn't seem to have much respect for Onoki, it was just out of concern for the patient. The head nurse was naturally sensible and left the ward very discreetly.

boom.

A very burly figure walked in, accidentally bumping his head on the doorframe as he entered. Rubbing his head, he looked at Onoki on the hospital bed and said in a muffled voice, "Father, how are you feeling?"

The newcomer wore a red ninja hat and a red tight-fitting combat uniform, covered with brown Jonin chainmail. He was very tall and burly, and his large nose was exactly like Onoki's.

It was the son of Onoki, Huangtu.

"Intelligence from the Dark Guard?"

Onoki, lying on the bed, took the scroll from Yotsuchi's hands, glanced at it, and frowned. "Hyuga Kumokawa? The Hyuga clan?"

He said with surprise, "No wonder Hiruzen Sarutobi was able to unite the Konoha ninja clans so cleanly and efficiently to make a response. It turns out that he had members of the Hyuga clan cooperating with him."

"Tsk tsk, look at what he's saying, 'If our heads are already hanging in the tiger's mouth, reasoning won't save us from danger,' and this is actually coming from a brat..."

Onoki marveled at the detailed proceedings of the Jonin meeting, but a hint of envy and jealousy flickered in his eyes.

"It's truly rare to see a member of the Hyuga clan who chooses to train in ninjutsu instead of taijutsu. This is not a choice that everyone can make, and to achieve such skill and possess such a good temperament..."

Konoha is truly a place of outstanding people and resources. Whenever it seems that Konoha is facing a crisis of succession and is in dire straits, there are always young people who step forward to turn the tide and save the day.

If nothing unexpected happens, this kid named Hinata Kumokawa will soon be on the battlefield in an even stronger form.

With Konoha's rich foundation of ninjutsu and secret techniques, as long as you can demonstrate your value and talent, there will always be a ninjutsu or secret technique that suits you.

The former Sannin of Konoha, the former Minato Namikaze, the current Hyuga Kumokawa, who will be the next?

Looking at Hinata Kumokawa's appearance in the intelligence report, and at that gentle, smiling face, Onoki turned to look at the yellow earth beside him.

You have to throw it away when comparing things.

This image is completely different.

Thinking of this, Onoki patted Koto's head, causing him to scratch his head in confusion.

Onoki continued to look back, his brows furrowing deeper and deeper.

"The abyss of the Land of Hot Water... the power to alter the terrain... a monster that seems to have broken free from its seal..." He muttered to himself, referring to the intelligence gathered by the Dark Division on the scroll.

Only after seeing that both Kumogakure and Konoha had secretly sent people to the Land of Hot Springs did Onoki close the scroll and narrow his eyes thoughtfully.

If it were just Kumogakure, it wouldn't be a big deal. Those brainless brutes just throw things around regardless of whether there's any chance of success.

But now even Konoha has chosen to temporarily allocate manpower to form a small team and head to the Land of Hot Springs during this crucial period when war is about to begin.

This can only mean that there really is something good there.

“Father, is there anything we need to do?” Huang Tu asked at the right moment.

Onoki nodded, but quickly shook his head and said, "We will do it, but it can't be done by us."

"Those brutes from Kumogakure chased and bit us like they were our father's killers. So what if they killed their Third Raikage?"

He grumbled through gritted teeth, then took out a scroll from his pocket and handed it to Huang Tu. Huang Tu took it, opened it, and looked at the name on the scroll with slight surprise.

"Kakuzu, the Xuanyuan Clan, the Hannya Clan, the Jashin Cult... and all sorts of bounty hunter ninjas and teams..."

Huang Tu looked up at Onoki and asked, "Father, do you intend to hire these bounty hunters to investigate the situation in the Land of Hot Springs?"

Xuanyuan Clan has a great reputation in the black market. They claim to be without a village or leader and do what they do: take money to solve problems for others. They are known as "the ninjas who hunt ninjas".

Kakuzu, known as the "Immortal," is another example. His mission completion rate in the underground black market is close to 100%, and he has a record of killing A-rank rogue ninjas and Jonin on several occasions.

As for the evil god cult, it is an extreme religious organization native to the Land of Hot Water.

Huang Tu wouldn't underestimate bounty hunter ninjas; the fact that they've made a name for themselves proves they all have their own skills.

The black market is a mixed bag, with all sorts of people, but there are no good people among them. Those who can survive on this platform and make a name for themselves are inevitably people whose hands are stained with countless lives.

"These bounty hunter ninjas and their teams are all quite useful, as they are all highly experienced and skilled fighters."

Onoki stated frankly, "As long as the money is right, even missions with a nine-out-of-ten chance of death will be eagerly undertaken. If used properly, they can bring us considerable profits."

“I will not only send them to the Land of Hot Water to investigate, but also to the Land of Rain to find out the situation so that we can accurately join the battle in the future.”

Even the honest and simple-minded Huang Tu did not express any objection to his father's words; he simply nodded and acquiesced to Onoki's actions.

If we send Iwagakure ninjas, they will be targeted by both Kumogakure and Konoha, and there is a very high probability that they will all die.

It would be better to entrust this dangerous mission to bounty hunters who are willing to risk their lives for money. For Iwagakure, whether they succeed or not, the only loss would be some money.

The resources required to train an excellent Jonin are far more expensive than hiring a rogue ninja of Jonin caliber.

(End of this chapter)