Chapter 205 - Cap 191: That's something you'd do

"So what's up?" - asked Jiraiya as he looked at the redhead - "What do you think of her?"

"She's beautiful, I won't deny it... but that's all" - said Kurama calmly - "I don't know anything about them to give a more concise opinion, not to mention that I don't plan to move forward in this relationship, after all, my hands are full"

"I understand what you're trying to say but there's something you need to know" - said Jiraiya seriously - "It's about the Nadeshiko Village law"

"You better talk fast, Ero Sennin," replied the ginger as he frowned.

"Okay, the matter is simple, when a woman decides of her own free will to fight a man, then things are a little different" - said Jiraiya - "If the man wins and doesn't accept the woman, she has only one way out..."

"Please tell me it's not suicide..." - said Kurama with annoyance.

"No... it' s exile" - answered the white-haired Sannin - "The woman has to leave the Village and go to an unknown corner of the Elemental Nations with the pain of not being able to have a family because if Nadeshiko finds out that she did not comply with this rule, then not only the girl will die, but also the whole family, and when I say all, it' s all"

". . ." - Kurama was silent when he heard this because it wasn't the case, after all, the two of them would fight because of Jiraiya, not because the girl decided to.

* * * * *

"You should relax a little..." - Onoki said as he watched his secretary seem to be on the verge of madness - "I'm supposed to be the crazy old man, not you"

"I'm sorry, Onoki-sama," said the secretary, "it's just that we can be attacked at any time..."

"It's just a guess" - sighed the Tsuchikage - "Now I regret having mentioned it..."

". . ." - The secretary was silent for a few seconds before nodding.

"Anyway, tell our escorts we'll make camp immediately," ordered the old Iwa shinobi.

"As you command, Onoki-sama," said the secretary as he instructed the carriage driver to stop him and give the orders to the subordinates.

"That idiot worries too much... although it's been like that since Deidara left Iwa..." - sighed Onoki as he remembered the past and how young Deidara was always chasing him - "How things change over time..."

Nostalgia invaded his eyes as he remembered the past, as well as the people who had left him behind.

"Ugh... that's the problem with aging... it always knows how to attack you where it hurts most... the memories of those important people left behind..." - Onoki murmured as he sighed with regret - "The other problem is the f.u.c.k.i.n.g pain from all those battles that left their mark on our bodies... it's so annoying that I even feel that it wouldn't have been so bad if we had died in the last war... although if that had happened, I might have regretted not being able to see my little Kurotsuchi grow up despite how lawless she is"

"Onoki-sama, the camp is ready, you can come down anytime" - said the secretary.

"Really?" - Onoki asked in surprise - "How long was I thinking alone? Okay, that's the other problem with old age... that one wanders off so easily..."

"Onoki-sama..." - said the secretary again because their leader again started talking to himself.

"Oh, I'm sorry... Did you say something?" - Onoki asked in confusion.

"The camp is ready, you can enter your tent whenever you want" - said the secretary.

"Oh, thank you, old friend," nodded the Tsuchikage as he stepped out of his carriage and walked to his tent in silence, though his mind was once again wandering in his memories.

"Onoki-sama needs a successor, but now," sighed the secretary as his leader seemed to be beginning to show his mental deterioration from all the wars he had participated in. It was a miracle that he remained so steadfast despite all that had happened.

"Shin-sama" - he said no to the escorts.

"What's going on?" - asked the secretary as he looked at the shinobi.

"We haven't detected anything in the vicinity" - reported the escort.

"Ok, be on guard in case of any situation, we can't let anything happen to Onoki-sama" - said the secretary seriously - "He is the last pillar that completely supports Iwa now that our Jinchurikis have been captured by Akatsuki"

"I still do not understand how they let Roshi-san and Han-san be captured" - said the escort as he frowned.

"Simple... because those idiots in the council thought that now that the war is over, the value of the Jinchurikis was also over, after all, they consider Han-san and Roshi-san to be time bombs" - answered the secretary with disdain - "And now thanks to their stupidity, Iwa is in a bad position because as much as they hate to admit it, Han-san and Roshi-san were not only our first line of defense but also two of our trinity along with Onoki-sama"

". . ." - . . .the escort just frowned because it sounded like something those assholes who got their posts by luck and influence during the last great war would do.

"I know Han-san saved your life... but..." - murmured the secretary.

"I know... it's obvious that Akatsuki wanted something with the Bijuu, and if it's like we think... then he must have been dead long ago..." - sighed the escort - "That only leaves one thing for us to do... revenge..."

"Exactly... although Akatsuki is unknown whereabouts..." - the secretary nodded, though his expression changed to one of uncertainty - "We don't know where they might be right now to attack them... not to mention that without Onoki-sama our chances of success are low... very low..."

Iwa wasn't like the other villages painted it. Yes, they were a real military dictatorship where if you didn't follow orders, you were punished firmly but at the same time, it was a village where force was valued. The stronger a shinobi was, the more respect he received, the more power he had within the village, and this was no different for the two Jinchurikis. Han and Roshi were recognized in the village, and despite that, they were not accepted and treated with contempt for the beasts within them, they never received attacks from the people of Iwa many respected them for their great power and treated them as heroes for all the lives they had saved.

"You better go rest... tell the Kenji group to take the first shift with Jin" - said the secretary - "After 4 hours, you will take the position with Ren"

"Hai!" - exclaimed the escort as he retired to assign shifts to his companions.

* * * * *

A new day had arrived and the Iwa group was finally at Konoha's entrance.

"I swear to God I'm gonna shove a rock up that branch-headed idiot's a.s.s in the afterlife for building his village so far from Iwa..." - said Onoki as he got out of the carriage. Her escorts had already informed the porters that they had arrived, so they were just waiting for the man responsible for guiding them through Konoha to appear so that they could finish all the paperwork and come to an agreement for the release of his granddaughter.

"Sorry I took so long, you old stone head," Hiruzen said as he appeared on the scene.

"Of all the possible candidates, you had to come, you old shitty monkey," said Onoki as he frowned. "Can't someone else come? I'll settle for even with that pain in the a.s.s of Uzumaki Kurama"

"I am sorry, Kurama-kun is busy with personal matters and let us say that I am the one who of all possible escorts, I am the most capable of guiding you, after all, we have not only fought against each other, but we had similar positions," replied the old Sandaime.

"True, although I don't want to admit it, you being my escort is a good thing... anyone else would be a waste, especially knowing that I am the leader of a Village that is still hostile" - answered old Tsuchikage - "Although it is great to see that you are now only an escort... not bad, my ego has grown"

"At least I have a worthy successor," answered Hiruzen sarcastically. "You will probably have to remain in your position as Tsuchikage for many more years before you can have a well-deserved rest, that is if you don't die first"

". . ." - Onoki just rolled his eyes at his old rival, though he had to admit his words were not wrong - "We'd better change the subject... tell me how my granddaughter is doing"

"She is in an excellent physical condition we have only left her locked in a maximum-security residence with her Tenketsu sealed so that she does not try anything stupid... I am sure you understand," Hiruzen said calmly.

"As long as she is not injured or mistreated by your shinobis, I do not care what arrangements you have made to restrain her, she is only a prisoner of war after all," the old Tsuchikage replied as he shook his head. " I would have done the same for a prisoner of Konoha, though his stay would get better or worse depending on how important he is to you"

"Yes, that sounds like something you would do," Hiruzen smiled as he climbed into the Iwa carriage to make his way to Hokage Manor.