"Deva Path":
-Victor Gonzalez
-Linh Q Tra
*
"Animal Path":
-Umar Jawed
*
"Human Path":
-Joseph Stan
*
"Outer Path":
-Ken Kaza
You can read 40 chapters ahead of everyone on p@treon.
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Just then, with a whooshing sound cutting through the air, a small figure shot towards them like a cannonball from the sky. Sosuke glanced at the newcomer with a slight smile, his eyes twinkling with sharpness. The Rock ninjas, surprised, exclaimed in recognition of the figure.
"It's the Tsuchikage! Look, it's the Tsuchikage! Thank goodness!" "Why... does the Tsuchikage seem to be in a bad state..."
As the figure approached, Tsuchi, who had been intently watching, suddenly changed his expression.
With a thud, he leaped from the tree trunk towards the sky, not daring to use ninjutsu to catch the gravely injured figure. Instead, he used his robust physique as a cushion, firmly blocking the plummeting small figure.
The two collided in mid-air, the severely injured Tsuchikage, Onoki, hitting Tsuchi's embrace like a cannonball, even breaking ribs upon impact. Their descent slowed slightly but they still fell rapidly towards the ground.
Sosuke, standing atop a tall tree trunk, watched the scene unfold with a smile, choosing to observe from the sidelines.
The Rock ninjas, witnessing Tsuchi and Onoki's rapid descent, were shocked. Several Rock ninjas quickly performed hand seals.
"Earth Release: Mud Wall!" "Earth Release: Rock Dissolving Technique!"
With their jutsu, the ground within dozens of meters softened like boiling water, shaking violently. The ground's rocks and pebbles turned into soft mud, forming high, rippling mounds like a cushion.
Plop! The two landed softly on the ground, unharmed.
"Cough, cough... Father, how are you?" Tsuchi, lying in the soft mud, looked worriedly at Onoki, disregarding his own coughed-up blood.
Hearing Tsuchi's voice seemed to revive Onoki, who opened his eyes with difficulty. "Is that... Tsuchi..." he rasped.
Eager for reassurance, Tsuchi didn't wait for a response before shouting for a medical ninja, "Where's the medic? Quick, treat the Tsuchikage!"
Onoki weakly shook his head, a cold smile on his lips, "No... no need... I can't show less resilience than that guy from the Leaf... I'm fine!"
He insisted on getting up despite his trembling body, but Tsuchi carefully supported him.
A Rock ninja skilled in medical jutsu arrived and began treating Onoki, who accepted the help quietly but with a serious gaze around them.
As Onoki received treatment, the atmosphere was tense, with Rock ninjas and Sosuke watching closely, each lost in their thoughts about the future and what it held for them after this failed mission and the unexpected return of their leader.
A tall figure suddenly appeared in front of the Rock ninjas and Onoki. With a slight smile in his deep eyes, Sosuke lightly said, "The Tsuchikage's strength is truly formidable, to be able to retreat in one piece from the encirclement of Leaf ninjas. Such strength is commendable."
Hearing his words, everyone's faces changed, paling slightly. They were reminded of an uncomfortable fact: although this man was a Leaf Village defector, he wasn't truly an ally of the Rock ninjas. Moreover, it was his annihilation of the Earth Core Mobile Unit that led to the Rock ninjas' plan's utter failure.
Onoki, looking gravely at Sosuke, stated bluntly, "There's no need for pretense, Sosuke. I'm in no position to stop you now."
Sosuke, with a twinkle in his eye, responded, "All I desire is your Dust Release, nothing more."
Onoki, puzzled, questioned why Sosuke, who could have been the Fourth Hokage, would forsake the village for an elusive goal and why he now spared them. He couldn't believe that a scroll of Dust Release was more valuable than killing the Tsuchikage and crippling the Rock Village's forces.
Sosuke lightly said that Onoki simply couldn't comprehend his ambitions. "You're stuck in the shadows of your predecessors, unable to break free," he added, proclaiming his intent to establish a new order, replacing the current system of ninja villages.
Onoki, angered, accused Sosuke of underestimating the ninja system, to which Sosuke calmly replied that their ignorance was not his concern. His decision not to kill them was not out of mercy but because it served no purpose to his plans. He advised Onoki to return to the Rock Village and live in fear until the day his "palace" would claim their lands.
With that, Onoki reluctantly handed over the scroll of Dust Release and left with Tsuchi and the other Rock ninjas, while Sosuke mused on the quality of Onoki's son.
ps: I'm really confused whether Onoki son name is Ku or Tsuchi