Chapter 376: There are always things worse than death

Facing the relentless pressure from Mizunuki Ryosuke, a thought truly surfaced in Huangtu's mind: "sacrifice the rook to save the king."

He would rather abandon the Third Tsuchikage, Onoki, than let the Rock Village suffer such losses.

Once this thought appeared, it lingered in Huangtu's mind, and even he himself could not be certain.

Was the reason this thought appeared in his mind truly out of a desire to stop the losses for the Rock Village, or was he genuinely influenced by his own greed for the position of Tsuchikage?

Huangtu's inner self fell once again into endless questioning and struggle.

What on earth should he do?

Sometimes, once Pandora's box is opened, it can never be completely closed again.

And the root of all human suffering actually stems from the human heart.

At this moment, Huangtu was like a moth that had fallen into a spider's web, destined to be unable to escape Mizunuki Ryosuke's palm. ### CHAPTER 707

As the pressure emanating from Mizunuki Ryosuke grew more immense, a feeling of suffocation surged in Huangtu's heart.

Hesitation leads to defeat; Huangtu knew he could not continue to wait, he had to cut the Gordian knot!

"No!"

"I refuse such terms!!"

Huangtu shouted at Mizunuki Ryosuke through gritted teeth, struggling to squeeze out the last shred of courage from his heart in a vain attempt to resist the terrifying pressure coming from Mizunuki Ryosuke.

Once these words were out, Mizunuki Ryosuke did not rush to respond, but instead cast a subtle glance at Bee to the side.

This imperceptible movement happened to fall into Huangtu's eyes.

In an instant, Huangtu suddenly realized something; his heart trembled violently, and the cold sweat on his body had already soaked his clothes.

"No! That's not right, I..."

Huangtu's tone shifted abruptly, and he fell into distress once more; the courage he had gained by draining the last bit of his body's blood and bone vanished without a trace.

Because he suddenly realized a problem: it was not just him and Mizunuki Ryosuke present, and this negotiation did not only involve the Mist and the Rock.

No matter what, there was still an existence Huangtu could not bypass—the Cloud, Bee.

Fear suddenly engulfed Huangtu completely, because he was truly terrified.

Huangtu's fear was not because of his own life or death, but because there are always things that are worse than death.

The scheme Mizunuki Ryosuke carried out using his "heart-piercing argument" was far more ruthless than Huangtu had imagined.

Its most critical point lay precisely in Bee, or rather, the Cloud as the third party present.

Looking at the big picture, the Cloud had the lowest level, combat power, and threat, but that did not hinder the Cloud's status as one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages.

This determined one thing: that in this current conversation between Mizunuki Ryosuke and Huangtu, Bee would become the best witness.

If Huangtu had firmly rejected Mizunuki Ryosuke just now, what about Bee? What would Bee think?

Would Bee also be influenced by Mizunuki Ryosuke's heart-piercing argument, believing that Huangtu wanted to push Onoki off his throne to take the position himself?

And once Bee determined this in his heart, this matter, which should have been ambiguous and unclear, would be completely solidified because there was a "witness."

Once that happened, no matter how the situation developed in the future, one thing was certain.

Huangtu's controversial actions would become the greatest "handle" held in the hands of the Cloud and the Mist.

Suppose Huangtu succeeded as the Fourth Tsuchikage; if the Mist and the Cloud chose to make this "handle" public, with the two sides corroborating each other, what would the ninjas in the Rock Village think under the pressure of public opinion?

At that time, Huangtu would be completely ruined!

Huangtu was not afraid of death; what he feared was something even more terrifying than death!!!

Mizunuki Ryosuke's subtle gaze seemed to be deliberately "reminding" Huangtu...

The "reminding" gaze clearly had the intended effect; Huangtu, who had already shown a stance of refusal, immediately became indecisive again.

Seeing this, Mizunuki Ryosuke revealed a hint of a smile.

Whether it was the pressure given to Huangtu through verbal confrontation, coercion, and hints at the Rock command post earlier, or the heart-piercing argument and the ultimatum just now.

All were paving the way for the "killing blow" that would allow Mizunuki Ryosuke to achieve his goal.

And these were all advantages created by utilizing the situation, not counting as part of his "trump cards."

And next, what he had to do was "increase the stakes," reveal his hand, and completely crush the scales in Huangtu's heart.

At this moment, Mizunuki Ryosuke did not continue speaking, but instead formed hand seals and moved slowly.

"Bang!"

Reverse Summoning Array!

By carving a summoning array on the target in advance, Mizunuki Ryosuke could use the Summoning Technique to summon them to his side when needed.

As the smoke of the summoning technique slowly dissipated, the true face behind the smoke was revealed.

Mizunuki Ryosuke's actions naturally attracted the gazes of Bee and Huangtu, and when the two saw the existence summoned by the technique, their expressions were different.

Bee was slightly startled, but soon showed a look of realization, as if he were not unfamiliar with them.

As for Huangtu, his pupils contracted violently; he stood up directly from his chair, his fists clenched tightly together, while the veins and blood vessels on his arms bulged uncontrollably, already on the verge of losing his composure.

The reason the existence Mizunuki Ryosuke summoned could bring such a great shock to Huangtu was that what he summoned was not some summoning beast, but a person, a living person. ### CHAPTER 708

And this person had a face extremely familiar to Huangtu, and a build and physique similar to his.

He was—the commander of the Rock logistics force, Bunga!

Huangtu clenched his fists, the veins on his forehead bulging.

Many Rock ninjas knew that as leading figures of this generation of young ninjas in the Rock, Bunga and Huangtu had an excellent private friendship.

The two were not only rivals who progressed together, but also close friends who recognized each other.

Originally, after the Rock logistics force was attacked and Bunga went missing, Huangtu had already lost hope in his heart for the survival of this close friend.

But who would have thought that at this moment, Bunga would appear before Huangtu again, and in such a way!

How could this not make Huangtu feel agitated!

In terms of personal feelings, the two were friends as close as brothers.

And in terms of interests, Bunga not only had outstanding ninjutsu talent but also possessed extraordinary sensory talent; such excellent talent would surely become an important pillar of the Rock in the future.

Bunga was definitely an important member of the Rock's future, and his importance went without saying.

And at this moment, after Bunga appeared in Mizunuki Ryosuke's hands, the meaning contained within was also very clear.

Clearly, the Rock ninja Bunga was the first chip Mizunuki Ryosuke added to the pot.

Although Huangtu did not know why Bunga, who had encountered the Leaf's attack, would appear in Mizunuki Ryosuke's hands.

But Huangtu did not harbor much suspicion, after all, the matter of the logistics force being attacked had already been settled and was "supported by ironclad evidence."

Plus, in Huangtu's heart, he had long concluded that the Leaf, the Cloud, and the Mist had reached a consensus against the Rock.

Therefore, it was very likely that the Mist had secretly exchanged for a "low-value" prisoner of war from the Leaf's hands through some means.

Such an explanation clearly made sense, so Huangtu did not dwell on why Bunga would appear in Mizunuki Ryosuke's hands.

Bunga's appearance made Huangtu's heart struggle even more.

At this moment, Mizunuki Ryosuke spoke again.

"The ten thousand Rock ninjas on the battlefield return safely to the Land of Earth, plus him."

"Is that enough now to trade for the Dust Release and the Light-Weight and Ultra-Light-Weight Rock techniques??"

Mizunuki Ryosuke said, pointing at Bunga, whose consciousness was still trapped by genjutsu and who was in a stupor.

Huangtu looked at the unconscious Bunga, his body trembling violently, his teeth gritted.

His heart understood that after losing this battle and paying huge war reparations, the Rock would need at least ten years to recover its vitality.

And this was only in terms of ordinary ninjas.

The most critical thing was that the loss of the Rock's upper echelon had reached a peak.

At the Tailed Beast level, the Four-Tails had been sealed by Mizunuki Ryosuke, and the Five-Tails was missing and nowhere to be found.

At the Kage level, they had lost Onoki and Roshi, and in the younger generation, they had lost Bunga.

At the elite ninja level, the Explosion Corps had died in droves during the fight with Kaguya Yuta and was already in name only.

Now, only Huangtu of the younger generation was struggling to hold on.

Originally, Huangtu's inner thought was very simple: get through this difficulty first and worry about the rest later.

But now, Bunga, who had already "died in battle," appeared again, forcing Huangtu to take precautions and consider the future of the Rock.

Even without mentioning personal feelings, saving Bunga would at least ensure that there would be one more pillar within the Rock in the future to share the pressure on Huangtu's shoulders, and it would also ensure that the Rock's high-end combat power would not suffer a generational gap.

Even if Bunga's talent failed to be realized and he didn't successfully promote to a Kage-level powerhouse.

But with Bunga's sensory talent, he had huge advantages in the management of the ninja village and the dissemination of information; his importance remained self-evident.

Bunga was equivalent to the future of the Rock!

"I... I..."

Huangtu opened his mouth tremblingly; the word "agree" was stuck in his throat, but no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't say it.

Because the stakes involved were truly too immense!

If he agreed, he could lead over ten thousand Rock ninjas home safely and save his close friend; but he might also become a sinner of the Rock Ninja Village, and even the entire Land of Earth, for all eternity!

If he didn't agree, he would face criticism from the Rock Village and even the entire ninja world, and once again put over ten thousand Rock ninjas and himself in danger.

No matter how he chose, it was highly likely he would be doomed.

This fragile and struggling expression on Huangtu's face made even Bee, on the side, feel a bit unable to bear it.

He could not imagine how he would handle the current situation if he were in Huangtu's position.

Seeing that Huangtu still seemed somewhat hesitant, Mizunuki Ryosuke intended to play his last trump card to deliver the final "killing blow" to Huangtu.

He ignored Huangtu, who was in the midst of an internal battle. ### CHAPTER 709