Chapter 265: The Shadow of Oonoki
"The Kumogakure is a bandit, the Sandgakure is weak, and the Kirigakure is caught in the blood mist chaos. In the entire ninja world, only the Iwagakure Village of Ōnoki-senpai can be our partner."

Unconsciously, Bai Ye's way of addressing Ohnoki had changed from Tsuchikage-sama to Ohnoki-senpai.

Ohnoki also heard the change in Baiye's address, but he didn't say much and gladly accepted Baiye's way of addressing him.

At the same time, I am a little envious of Salamander Hanzo for being able to train such an outstanding successor.

If only his apprentice Deidara could be as capable as him, even if he was only one-tenth as capable as him, he wouldn't be causing trouble for him in the village all day long.

After a few seconds of silence, Ohnoki gave his answer: "Bai Ye boy, I will consider your plan carefully, but the most urgent task is to stop the fight between my apprentice and your village."

Bai Ye nodded, then took out a psychic contract and handed it to Oonoki.

Ōnoki took a glance and knew that this was a summoning contract. Byakuya wanted to use the summoning beast to establish a communication channel between the Iwagakure Village and the Raingakure Village.

Ohnoki accepted the summoning contract. He did not plan to sign the contract himself. He planned to let his subordinates try it after returning. He did not know if there were any traps in this summoning contract.

After the negotiations, the two flew into the sky and headed towards the location of Konan and Deidara.

After seeing Bai Ye being able to fly in the sky, a hint of surprise flashed in Ohnoki's eyes. He didn't expect that this kid, in addition to the Wood Release Ninjutsu, also mastered the ability to fly.

There are very few ninjas in the ninja world who have the ability to fly, and most of them achieve this through raptor summoning beasts.

Ninjas who can rely solely on their own flying are definitely one in a million, which means that even if Bai Ye is defeated by his opponent in the war, he can still retreat by flying.

Bai Ye enjoyed the feeling of showing off in front of others and couldn't help but speed up.

To him, the shock of a hundred ordinary ninjas is not as great as the shock of a Kage-level warrior. What's more, Ohnoki is not an ordinary Kage-level warrior, but a genuine Five Kage.

Not long after, Byakuya and Oonoki arrived at the place where Konan and Deidara were fighting.

The battle between Konan and Deidara was almost coming to an end. Under Konan's almost endless explosive tags, Deidara had exhausted most of his strength and did not even have the chakra to sustain flying.

He has always been passionate about the art of explosion, but he actually lost to a female ninja in the explosion contest.

This dealt a severe blow to Deidara's confidence, and he even gave up on reaching the destination, looking at Konan in mid-air with despair.

Konan did not kill Deidara, she just restricted Deidara's movements.

Firstly, because Byakuya has not appeared yet, she doesn't know how Byakuya will deal with Deidara. Secondly, Deidara's identity is indeed sensitive, as he is the disciple of the Third Tsuchikage.

It is impossible to kill such a ninja during non-war period, unless she wants to provoke a war.

At this time, Konan was the first to sense the arrival of Byakuya and Ohnoki. After seeing Ohnoki flying in the sky, she was a little dazed.

What on earth did Byakuya do while she was fighting Deidara here?
Why would Bai Ye appear side by side with the Third Tsuchikage? Is there really some special temperament in Bai Ye that can increase the old man's favor towards him?

When Deidara saw Ōnoki's figure, he was still a little dazed. After rubbing his eyes, he confirmed that the short old man in front of him was his teacher.

"Master Ohnoki... you finally came. I..."

This was the first time Deidara showed a good attitude in front of Ohnoki, just like a naughty child who came home to find his parents after being bullied outside. Faced with Deidara's rare admission of fault, Ohnoki was not only not happy, but frowned instead.

After landing next to Deidara, Ohnoki snorted coldly and said, "Deidara, if you haven't mastered the skills well, don't show off outside. I didn't tell you that there are more powerful people in the ninja world than you think."

Deidara nodded and said a little aggrievedly: "I understand, Mr. Oonoki."

In the past, when Deidara heard Ōnoki’s scolding, he would only agree verbally and didn’t care in his heart. But after meeting Konan during this outing, he realized how cruel the outside world is.

It turns out that there really is someone in the ninja world who can surpass him in the art of explosion and crush him to pieces.

At this time, Deidara noticed Bai Ye not far away, and asked curiously: "Teacher Ohnoki, why are you here with him? Aren't they the enemies who invaded the village? Didn't you capture him just now?"

Oonoki's face froze.

If he could capture Bai Ye, Bai Ye would naturally be a petty thief who invaded the village, but if both sides were evenly matched, they could only be friendly partners.

In order to maintain his image in front of his apprentice, Ohnoki had to say:
"Bai Ye Jonin and Xiao Nan Jonin are both my guests. After hearing that you escaped from the confinement room, I specifically asked them to teach you a lesson, so that you will understand that there are always people better than you."

Deidara's eyes were filled with shock. He pointed at Ohnoki and said, "Old Ohnoki, how could you do such a thing? I almost sacrificed myself for art just now."

Ohnoki stroked his beard and said in a pretentious manner: "If you don't do this, how can you please your teacher? Don't blame me. I am doing this for your own good. I want to see if you will pursue art in the future."

After a moment's silence, Deidara said seriously:

"I will never stop pursuing the art of explosion. Today's fight with Konan Jonin made me understand what the art of explosion is! I will continue to move forward along this path!"

When Ōnoki heard this, the smile on his face froze instantly, and he gave Deidara a slap in the face.

"Deidara, go back and reflect on your mistakes. Why are you still pursuing art? Look at Byakuya and Konan, they are only a few years older than you, and they have already become the strongest ninjas in the ninja world."

Deidara said dissatisfiedly: "It's because I didn't prepare enough clay, otherwise Konan would definitely not be my opponent. The same goes for that Byakuya. As long as he is well prepared, he will definitely not be my opponent."

After hearing Bai Ye's name, Ohnoki's expression became much more serious: "Deidara, even if you are fully prepared, you can't be Bai Ye's opponent. That guy's strength is unfathomable."

It was the first time Deidara saw Ohnoki with such an expression, and he asked in confusion: "Old Ohnoki, is that person called Byakuya really that strong?"

Ohnoki nodded and said, "Very strong. His current strength is comparable to mine. In the next few decades, he will definitely grow into a ninja that will make the ninja world tremble."

After saying that, Ohnoki sighed softly.

When he was young, he met the First Hokage and Uchiha Madara, ninjas who were feared by the ninja world. The mere existence of the two of them was enough to suppress the ambitions of the four major ninja villages.

He originally thought that such a strong man would never appear again.

But after he entered his sixties, such a monster appeared again in the ninja world. Although he might not be able to reach the level of the first Hokage, it was enough to make him feel afraid.

Deidara didn't know what Ohnoki was sighing about, but he remembered the teacher's expression at that moment, and remembered the name Byakuya very deeply.

(End of this chapter)