Chapter 876 : Cascading Troubles!

Without a second's hesitation, Onoki flew towards the source of the explosion at his top speed. The Iwa ninjas around him immediately followed, though they were obviously much slower. Countless other Iwa ninjas followed when they noticed their leader flying towards the source of the explosion alone!

In a minute, Onoki reached one of the training grounds that was located on the outskirts of the village. He observed the area and analyzed, ‘From the size of the explosion, it's likely a thousand explosive tags exploded at the same time. However, why did he lay the traps here instead of inside the village? Who was training in this training ground?’

Onoki was confused. He couldn't make sense of the enemy's actions. He speculated, ‘I suppose he did it because it was easier to plant them here. If he planted them in the village, there was a high likelihood someone would discover him. However, he managed to rig that road without attracting anyone's attention. It isn't too far-fetched for him to plant them inside the village… Hmm?’

As the dust cleared, Onoki suddenly noticed something. He blew the dust away and saw a word left behind at the center of the training ground. It read, ‘FIRST’.

Onoki frowned, ‘First? He said 25,000 seals. Does it mean there are 24 more spaces like these? If true, are they outside the village like this one, or are there some inside the village too?’

Onoki didn't dare to take the young man's threat lightly. Even if there was just a single location in the village with a thousand explosive seals, he understood the damage it would cause would be nothing short of catastrophic. He would face the same headache Ay had to endure not too long ago.

The other Iwa ninjas began trickling in. Onoki Immediately set them on various tasks, from finding any casualties to deploying the Sealmasters to look for more hidden tags. The investigation came up empty. No remains were discovered and there wasn't a sign of any more explosive tags. Onoki spent around 20 minutes looking over the fruitless search, before saying, “Roshi, let's return to my office. We have to investigate this properly.”

Roshi was about to nod, when he suddenly turned his head. Another explosion shook Iwagakure. Fortunately, this one was around the outskirts as well. Onoki and several others left immediately to investigate.

A total of ten such explosions happened on the outskirts of the village over the course of 2 hours. The second to ninth explosions each had a text written, displaying their order. Due to being on the outskirts, Iwagakure didn't lose much. Only 5 ninjas lost their lives. However, the message in the tenth explosion was slightly different. Onoki and Roshi had grim expressions as they read it.

This is the last explosion outside your village. My remaining 15,000 explosive seals are trigger based and planted throughout your village. I shall pray for your sinful souls.

Roshi muttered, “Our Sealmasters and even Grandmasters have been investigating inside the village for the last hour and a half. Yet, they have found only 10 seals. This will be very difficult.”

Onoki said, “They need a breakthrough. Once we identify the method and the pattern, they'll find them far more quickly. As long as they don't explode randomly, we'll be fine. Anyway, let's return.”

With nothing to do, Onoki and Roshi returned to the Tsuchikage building to take control of the situation. However, as they stepped into the building, both felt something odd. As they looked around on the lowest floor, their eyes widened in disbelief. All the ninjas were sleeping peacefully in their respective positions.

Roshi went ahead to check and realized, “Genjutsu… They are placed in a powerful Genjutsu…”

Roshi inserted his chakra into one of the ninja's chakra network and disrupted his chakra flow. Onoki didn't aid him, instead he angrily analyzed, ‘When were they placed in a Genjutsu? And, why didn't anyone inform me? Everyone has been busy investigating the village. How could no one have noticed this until now?’

As soon as Roshi woke one up, Onoki appeared in front of him and asked, “How long have you been asleep?”

Startled and intimidated by Onoki's presence, the ninja nervously answered, “I don't know Tsuchikage-sama. This… This has never happened to me. I never sleep on duty. Please forgive me. I promise this will never happen again.”

Roshi calmed him and said, “It isn't your fault, you were placed in a Genjutsu. We need to know when. Do you recall how many explosions you heard before you went to sleep?”

The ninja strained his mind, recalling everything he could. After a few moments, he answered, “I recall hearing 2. I felt very sleepy soon after the second explosion.”

Onoki analyzed, ‘Right after he attacked me with the explosive tags. They made a move right after I confronted him. Don't tell me…’

His expression became a mixture of rage and grim as he realized, ‘I was played! The destruction in the marketplace was to lure me! As soon as I left, they made a move here. The ten explosions that followed were just to stop me from returning!’

The threat of 25,000 explosive seals was too powerful to ignore. Onoki didn't want to face the same pressure that Ay did. As such, he took the lead to deal with the situation. He never expected the enemy was banking on this very thought process!

Onoki turned to one of his Anbu Guards and ordered, “Wake up everyone here. Others follow me!”

As he moved to the upper floor, Onoki wondered, ‘Now, I have to find the reason behind this bold move. What did they achieve by targeting my building? Did they want something? Or, do they want to humiliate me like Akuro humiliated Kumo?’

Roshi walked right behind him. He was completely taken aback by the situation. He never expected to witness an attack on the Tsuchikage building, at least when Onoki was still alive. He thought, ‘This was a brilliant plan! We got played like fools.

I felt something odd when the second explosion on the outskirts happened right before we were about to return here. However, the remaining cases weren't the same. The explosions happened when we were investigating. In one case, two explosions happened simultaneously. They planned everything brilliantly. The question is, who were they? And, what did they want?’

As they reached the floor above, they saw the situation was exactly the same. The situation was the same throughout the building. The only good news was that no one was killed. The Anbu Guards woke everyone up and Onoki ordered a full investigation of the building, even inviting one Grandmaster to find foreign seals.

Barely a minute later, an old man ran into Onoki's office and reported in panic, “Tsuchikage-sama! All jutsu scrolls in the building are missing! Someone stole them!”

Onoki's eyes widened. Before he could explode in rage, another ninja flickered into the room. He was the commander of Iwagakure's Anbu forces! Despite wearing a mask, everyone could see he was panicking. He reported, “Tsuchikage-sama, the elemental crystals you gave me to train our Anbu ninjas are missing. All the scrolls I kept them in have been stolen!”

The rage bottled up inside Onoki was on the verge of exploding! He roared, “What did you say? Where were you? How did you let them be stolen?”

Trembling, the Anbu Commander answered, “I was knocked out, Tsuchikage-sama. A masked ninja attacked me in my office. He was far stronger than me. I couldn't resist him. When I woke up, I saw all the Anbu still in the headquarters were placed in a Genjutsu, though a few were knocked out just like me.”

His admission shocked the room. Needless to say, as the Anbu Commander, he was one of the strongest ninjas in the village. No one expected him to be humiliated like this. For a few moments, no one knew how to respond.

Their talk was interrupted again, as a third ninja entered the room with a grim face. This time, it was none other than Kitsuchi! He reported, “A terrible thing is happening throughout the village, Tsuchikage-sama! You need to act soon.”

Roshi sighed, “Another terrible thing? What happened this time?”

Kitsuchi answered, “Rumors… The civilians seem to be afraid of our ninjas. More specifically, the kids are terrified of our ninjas. Many referred to them as ‘Big Bad Iwa Ninja!’, like we are some sort of bullies and the nickname is spreading rapidly. There is also some discontent among the ninjas due to the rumors. A particular case is rather ugly…”

He paused before continuing, “As many as 7 children claimed they were attacked by Kouga with Lightning jutsus. They say a kind traveler saved them from his attacks. Many kids are considering him a hero while being scared of us.”

Kitsuchi didn't have much administrative experience. As such, this development left him confused and helpless. Roshi's administrative experience was even lower, but he had seen more of the world. Yet, his jaw had dropped. Needless to say, the most entertaining expression was made by none other than Onoki!