The moment the higherups of each village sat down, Onoki went straight to the point, but he addressed Hiruzen while completely disregarding Fugaku, for he was an Uchiha…
"Oy Hiruzen, do you really expect us to believe that nonsense? Don't think that just because you revealed to us the fact that you can control the nine tails, it would mean that we should believe anything you say now!"
Hiruzen's eyes narrowed slightly and he couldn't help but shoot Fugaku a look, but he was relieved when he noticed that the latter's stoic face didn't seem fazed at all by the disrespect Onoki was showing.
In fact, before they came here, Bakorio had already warned them about the hate Onoki held for Konoha and its Uchiha clan in particular that stemmed from the humiliation he suffered along with his teacher at the hands of Madara.
However, even though Fugaku didn't seem to mind, a person behind him held a different opinion… Kurotsuchi who was standing behind Onoki kept staring at the man behind Fugaku that had his Sharingan at full display and she found him familiar, but she couldn't match him with anyone she ever met…
This man was of course one of Bakorio's true clones which he sent along with this convoy to help them in their negotiations, and when he noticed that Fugaku appeared to be weighing the severity of the situation over his pride just like Hiruzen usually does. His eyes immediately narrowed…
"Onoki, if you want to address someone, you are to address the Hokage, please note that we can do with or without you, just don't come begging us for help when your village gets annihilated" Spoke Bakorio coldly which surprised Fugaku and he couldn't help but shoot him an enquiring look before he returned to his stoic look and readied himself to whatever Onoki might do...
"Who do you think you are, Uchiha brat! to think you can talk in this meeting?" Replied Onoki with an angry look on his face and anyone perceptive enough could feel that his chakra was moving chaotically as if he was going to attack at any moment if he didn't like the answer.
Bakorio however simply smirked and said "You don't remember me? Well, I'm but a simple teacher from Konoha, you can call me Bakorio Uchiha"
Onoki's frown deepened at first, but then a certain memory sprung to his mind as the image of the man in front of him superimposed with the image of a kid that kidnapped his granddaughter a long time ago…
"You…" He muttered in surprise, and even more surprised than he was were Kurotsuchi and Akatsuchi who encountered Bakorio along with Onoki, and Kurotsuchi in particular couldn't help but shoot in surprise while staring at the muscular Bakorio "YOU! IS IT REALLY YOU?"
Everyone in the room could clearly see the fire igniting in her eyes, and just as expected after seeing Bakorio nod at her, she immediately said "It's time to have our rematch!"
"Kurotsuchi, now is not the time for childish games" Spoke Onoki while observing the smirking Bakorio, and the more he did, the more he couldn't help but find himself being reminded of Madara Uchiha which greatly annoyed him.
"This is no childish game, we can make this a bet, if I win, I want that man to join our village… If he wins, I'm willing to convince my stubborn grandpa to form an alliance with you, what do you think, Fifth Hokage?"
Kurotsuchi actually said this directly to Fugaku with a confident smile on her face, but the latter couldn't help but smile awkwardly at her and shake his head…
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"What! Are you scared?" She spoke again and finally, Onoki lost it and yelled at her "If you say one more word, I will kick you out of this room"
Kurotsuchi flinched slightly, but she still shot Bakorio a look as if she won after seeing the hesitation on Fugaku's face but the latter suddenly rubbed the back of his head as snickers started echoing from the ninjas of Konoha including Hiashi, Itachi, and anyone who really knew Bakorio…
This brought a frown to Onoki's face as he asked "What's going on?"
Fugaku shot his ninjas a look to not be disrespectful before he said seriously "Well, we just don't want to bully your village that's all, how about you pick another Jonin and we might accept this bet"
The eyes of the ninja from Iwa narrowed when they heard this, and seeing the barely held laughter from the side of Konoha, they took it as Fugaku was retaliating against Onoki's disrespect… What they didn't know however is that he truly meant his words… To his knowledge, betting against Bakorio was a stupid decision… He never saw him truly lose!
"Are you underestimating our ninjas?" Spoke Onoki coldly before he turned to his granddaughter which he trained rigorously for these past few years and so she was already at elite Jonin level and almost reaching the low Kage level and he couldn't help but smirk "Fine then, I accept this bet… Brat, you better honor the end of your deal"
Bakorio pointed at himself curiously before he smiled and said "Are you sure?". Onoki for some reason had a bad feeling when he saw the weird look on the face of everyone from Konoha's side, but he still believed in his granddaughter so he nodded at her to signal 'Take this seriously'
Kurotsuchi nodded back at him before she said to Bakorio "let's go out" before she disappeared and reappeared outside the huge tent they were in.
Meanwhile, Bakorio unhurriedly walked out followed by the rest of the ninjas from both sides which made Kurotsuchi angry, but she controlled her anger
'Oh, she's not as impulsive as she used to be, not bad… It seems like she realized that I'm intentionally provoking her... I'm starting to like this little investment more and more' A small smile appeared on Bakorio's face, and only those who were present during their first encounter understood the reason behind it…
"Please remember, this is just a friendly fight, do not injure each other" Spoke Hiruzen trying to turn the fight into a friendly spare and both Kurotsuchi and Bakorio nodded at him before they rushed at each other…
"I will show you how much I progressed during these past few years!" Yelled Kurotsuchi, but Bakorio's blood-red eyes suddenly shined dangerously as he said "Sorry, but you shouldn't consider me as your opponent… my eyes are set on something beyond humans…."
The moment she heard this, Kurotsuchi felt a chill in the deepest part of her soul and directly yelled "Lava release: Lava prison!"
This was an offensive Jutsu usually used to trap people and melt them away. However, this time she actually used it on herself to defend against any possible attack by Bakorio…
However, how could this be enough to stop a monster? Bakorio calmly stepped in front of the lava jail and used the complete mastery of the gentle fist to split it in half making it appear like a miraculous scene!
"Impossible! How could he manipulate his chakra to such a fine degree?" Yelled Kitsuchi, Kurotsuchi's father from the ranks of Iwa's ninja… However, the people were too shocked to answer him as they watched Bakorio then calmly approach her and deflect any attack she sent his way by just using his gentle fist leaving many speechless until he eventually reached her and placed his hand on her neck signifying the end of the fight…
The scene fell into complete silence, but it was eventually broken... "How did you become this strong?" Asked Kurotsuchi in disbelief before her eyes started to tear up as she said
"I sacrificed a lot, trained harder than anyone for more than 3 years under the guidance of grandpa! How is it possible that I still lost after all of this effort to someone so much younger than me! How!"
Bakorio could see the clear disappointment and depression brewing in her eyes so he gently flicked her forehead and said with a smile "Don't put yourself down, you are very strong… for a human. You don't need to compare yourself with a monster"
Kurotsuchi felt like she was losing herself when she stared into Bakorio's empty eyes and it made her forget her own depression for a second as her heart started aching for a completely different reason…
But then she watched as Bakorio turned around and simply said "I trust that you will hold your end of the deal…" Before he disappeared… although his words left a bitter taste in the hearts of his friends…