"Come in," Akira said, hearing the voice from outside.
The door opened, and in stepped a shinobi from Iwagakure. He looked about forty years old, with a steady and composed demeanor.
Akira recognized Zitu instantly. As the leader of one of Iwagakure's ninja clans, his status was comparable to that of Hiashi Hyuga in Konoha. His strength was near the peak of Jonin, with hints of touching the Kage level.
Why would he visit so late at night? Akira could easily guess the reason.
"Lord Akira, I'm here because of what you said earlier today," Zitu said without wasting any time, getting straight to the point.
He agreed with Akira that the Third Tsuchikage was too old and should step aside for the younger generation. And of course, he praised Konoha for flourishing since the Uchiha took charge, rapidly developing and growing in strength.
"Well said. A person should always strive to climb higher, but when age catches up, they should know when to step down instead of hogging resources and blocking the path for the next generation," Akira replied with a smile, hinting that he was willing to help Zitu overthrow Ōnoki.
Zitu's face lit up with excitement upon hearing Akira's words. If Akira was willing to support him, his chances of becoming the Fourth Tsuchikage seemed closer than ever.
"Rest assured, Lord Akira, if I succeed, Iwagakure will maintain a lasting and friendly relationship with Konoha," Zitu promised, painting a hopeful picture of the future.
"Hahaha, I wish you the best of luck in becoming the next Tsuchikage," Akira responded, though internally he scoffed. Zitu's promise was nothing but an empty check. Still, Akira kept up appearances, pretending to be fully invested in Zitu's ambitions.
Akira even began discussing potential plans for the coup with Zitu, who was more than happy to share his initial strategies.
For about half an hour, the two went back and forth, planning in detail.
"Hmph, Zitu, you really are having quite the dream, aren't you?"
Suddenly, as Akira and Zitu were deep in conversation, the door was pushed open again, and Ōnoki floated into the room, his small form suspended in the air. Right behind him was Sasuke.
Zitu's face turned pale. He had been discussing overthrowing the Third Tsuchikage, only for that very same Tsuchikage to walk in on the conversation. Zitu glanced at Sasuke, and everything became clear—Sasuke had informed Ōnoki.
"You… You tipped him off? You set me up! Why, Lord Akira? This makes no sense!" Zitu's voice was filled with disbelief, shock, and anger.
From his point of view, any internal strife within Iwagakure should have been advantageous for Konoha. That was why he had approached Akira for help in the first place.
Akira had agreed to his face, yet here he was, standing alongside Ōnoki. Why would Akira do this?
"I do believe the elderly should make way for the younger generation when their skills decline," Akira said, staring Zitu down, "but I also despise seeing someone with no real talent trying to rise to power."
Zitu's strength barely scratched the surface of the Kage level. He hadn't even noticed when Sasuke left to fetch Ōnoki. To Akira, Zitu was nothing more than a fool who didn't know his limits. Why would Akira team up with someone like that to overthrow a Tsuchikage?
"All because of that? You're backing Ōnoki just to stop me?" Zitu shook his head in disbelief. "That doesn't make any sense."
He couldn't understand why Akira would be against his coup when it should have been beneficial to Konoha.
Akira didn't bother responding. Instead, he turned to Ōnoki and said, "Take him away. This disturbance is interrupting our rest."
Naturally, Zitu, with his ambition of becoming the next Tsuchikage, was taken away by Ōnoki without resistance.
"Well, I just helped Ōnoki squash a rebellion before it even started. This should give me some leverage to demand even more in war reparations," Akira thought with a smirk.
"He's completely delusional. How can someone without Kage-level strength even think of taking the Tsuchikage's seat?" Kakashi commented, expressing his disdain for Zitu's ambition.
If someone wanted to be Hokage, they needed the strength and qualifications to back it up. The same applied to Iwagakure. If you couldn't reach Kage-level power, you had no business even considering it.
"In Konoha, only people like Jiraiya, Tsunade, or Kakashi himself could be considered strong enough to be Hokage. Zitu didn't even come close," Kakashi continued. "It's common sense—how could Zitu not understand that?"
"Still, Akira, I'm curious," Sasuke said. "Zitu's clan isn't weak. If we had supported him, Iwagakure would have plunged into chaos. Wouldn't that have been good for us?"
Sasuke couldn't wrap his head around it.
Even if the coup failed, it would still have been beneficial for Konoha to see Iwagakure weakened. So why didn't Akira go along with the plan?
"Sasuke, think about it," Akira replied. "If we really helped him, the coup would likely fail, but in the aftermath, do you think Ōnoki would still pay us the war reparations?"
"There's no way he would," Sasuke admitted, understanding Akira's point.
"Exactly," Akira said. "And without the reparations, it would be a loss for us."
"Still, that doesn't seem like enough reason," Sasuke countered, still feeling like something didn't quite add up. "War reparations are important, but they're not as significant as destabilizing Iwagakure. Surely you can see that, right?"
"Of course," Akira thought to himself, amused by Sasuke's reasoning.
The real reason, the one he hadn't shared, was that Iwagakure wasn't even on his radar as a serious threat. His true enemies were Nagato, Obito, and Madara Uchiha.
To take on those foes, he needed the strength of all five Great Nations. Weakening Iwagakure now would only hurt his plans for the larger battle ahead.
Helping Zitu wouldn't have been worth it. Instead, Akira preferred to let Iwagakure remain stable, under Ōnoki's leadership, so they could stand as a potential ally against the looming threats.
Why destroy Iwagakure when they could be useful later?
In the meantime, betraying Zitu earned him extra leverage over Ōnoki, which could help him squeeze out more compensation. It was a win-win situation.
Ōnoki, meanwhile, spent the night tossing and turning, unable to sleep. Akira had not only refused Zitu's offer but had actively handed him over to Ōnoki. The Third Tsuchikage couldn't understand Akira's motives.
And because he couldn't understand them, he spent the entire night racking his brain over it, with no peace of mind.
The real problem was that Ōnoki's perspective was too limited. He was still thinking in terms of village politics and rivalries, while Akira was playing a much larger game, considering the fate of the entire ninja world.
The next morning, Akira and his group resumed negotiations with Iwagakure regarding the war reparations.
Akira brought up the incident with Zitu, hinting that this act of preventing a coup was worth quite a bit.
Reluctantly, Ōnoki agreed to raise the compensation to five times the original offer—thanks to Akira's actions the previous night. But he refused to go higher.
Akira, however, had other plans.
"Old man, I've noticed that Iwagakure's terrain is mostly rocky and barren. Not too different from the desert around Sunagakure, is it?"
Ōnoki nodded, a touch of bitterness in his voice. "It can't compare to Konoha's lush forests, that's for sure."
"Well, all this boils down to you being envious of our forests, right?" Akira said with a grin. "Here's my offer—ten times the compensation, and I'll use Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence to turn the lands around Iwagakure into a forest. How about that?"
Ōnoki's eyes lit up at the suggestion. Having forests surrounding Iwagakure would be a game-changer for their barren landscape.
But then he paused, growing suspicious. "Wait… You'd leave Deep Forest Emergence here, around Iwagakure, wouldn't that just be a way to keep us constantly reminded of your power?"
Akira didn't deny it. "So, are you going to refuse?"
"I… Why would I refuse?" Ōnoki sighed in defeat. This was an open strategy—he knew exactly what Akira was planning, but he couldn't say no. The allure of turning Iwagakure's barren surroundings into a thriving forest was simply too tempting.
Even though it meant that Iwagakure would forever live under the shadow of Akira's power, the benefits far outweighed the drawbacks.
And so, Ōnoki had no choice but to agree.
*************
Note: If you are interested, you can read up to chapter 270+ at patreon.com/Emik01.