Starting with rogue ninjas, building the insect kingdom.

Chapter 420 Deidara Becomes the New Earth Shadow

Onoki asked, "Are all of these true?"

"Believe it or not," Changxin shrugged. "But I can show you some things, and after you see them, you should believe me."

An hour later, Nagatobu, Onoki, and Kyoto, along with two of Onoki's trusted subordinates, appeared at the entrance of a subway station in what was formerly the Land of Bears, now the Province of the Land of Waterfalls, wearing cloaks of disguise.

Onoki stood at the subway station entrance, stunned.

Because they had been busy working in the desert for so long, they hadn't paid any attention to the changes outside. They never imagined that the world had undergone such a dramatic transformation in such a short time.

He had seen summoned beasts and various ninjutsu creations, but he had never seen anything like this.

The subway station is built underground, spacious and bright, with smooth tiles on the walls and neat stone slabs on the ground. Above, there are glowing crystals, not torches or oil lamps, but some kind of spiritual creature, emitting a soft and bright light.

"What is this?"

Changxin explained, "The light-emitting insects. They were cultivated by Aburame Shicheng more than a decade ago."

He followed Changxin into the subway station, and soon after, he saw the centipede-like subway line that stretched for a kilometer. In terms of size alone, the mutated version far surpassed thousands of ninjas.

What's even more terrifying is that this is merely a means of transportation.

Onoki's mouth gaped open, not because he was naive, but because he had never seen anything like it before.

This scale, this organization, this efficiency...

How many people are behind this? How many resources need to be invested? How long does it take to plan?

The answer is: one person creates a huge number of insects and a game of chess that has been played for a very, very long time.

"Did you see that clearly?" Changxin, disguised, whispered from the side, "Lord Ōnoki, would you like to join our Akatsuki organization?"

Onoki and the others, who were also disguised, did not reply. After a long while, he said, "I need to go back and think about it."

There are still nine thousand ninjas in the desert, so it's not impossible for him to make a comeback.

"Then I will wait here for good news." Changxin smiled, bowed, and watched him leave without saying anything more.

He knew that Onoki was still not giving up, but he was certain that the other party would come back. This kind of person was stubborn and would not admit defeat until he was forced to the brink of defeat.

As he expected, when Onoki returned to the desert and reunited with his team, a series of bad news were broadcast on television, making the news known to the people.

First, the ninjas of Iwagakure began to rebel, triggered by a letter from the Daimyo's residence in the Land of Earth.

The letter was written by the daimyo of the Great, and its content was very simple: the Land of Earth is re-establishing the new Iwagakure Village, and former Iwagakure ninjas who are willing to join will receive excellent treatment and can bring back their families who remain in the Land of Earth.

The letter also included a list of Iwagakure ninjas who had relatives in the Land of Earth. Onoki felt a chill run down his spine when he saw the list.

But more than anything, there was anger, feeling that Mrs. Qi was shameless for using her family to blackmail people.

"How did he know all this?" Onoki's voice trembled.

Fortunately, there are over a thousand orphans in their group who possess unwavering will and will surely fight alongside him to the very end.

However, the idea was beautiful, but the reality was harsh. Within just three days, more than 70% of the ninjas secretly left the camp and surrendered to the enemy.

When Onoki rushed back, only a few hundred people remained.

Looking at the hundreds of ninjas who stood or sat haphazardly, completely lacking any fighting spirit, Onoki could only stand there bewildered in the sandstorm.

He knew that some people would eventually have to leave; their parents were under the control of the Daimyo, and their wives and children were in the cities of the Land of Earth. If they didn't go back, those people would suffer.

He couldn't blame them for their disloyalty, because loyalty can't put food on the table or protect a family.

But why do some orphans with no family members also want to leave? I remember that he treated these people well, even though he was not kind to them!

It's heartbreaking, so heartbreaking! What happened to their unwavering will to stand firm like rocks?

However, this was not what made him even more desperate. Just one day later, the Daimyo of the Land of Earth announced the establishment of the new Iwagakure village, and the new Tsuchikage was none other than Deidara.

"Traitor, you're a complete traitor! I'm not dead yet!" Onoki clutched his chest, feeling his vision go black and black again.

Huang Tu nodded and handed him a newspaper.

The newspaper's headline was a photograph.

In the photo, Deidara stands in front of a pile of ruins—the original site of Iwagakure that Onoki cleared with Dust Release—holding a sign that reads "New Iwagakure," laughing carefree.

He wore a necklace around his neck, from which hung a straw hat resembling an earthen shadow.

Standing nearby were several people that Onoki didn't recognize, but judging from their clothing, they should all be nobles and officials from the Land of Earth.

Onoki stared intently at the photograph, the bloodshot veins in his eyes clearly visible.

"Traitor..." His voice trembled, "Traitor!"

He tore the newspaper into pieces, the fragments flying through the air.

"A blatant usurpation of power! This is treason! It's treason!"

Onoki clutched his chest, feeling a sharp pain shooting through his heart.

Huang Tu quickly stepped forward to support him, "Father, are you alright?"

"I'm fine..." Onoki waved his hand, but his lips had already turned purple, a sign that he was about to have a heart attack from anger.

Just then, a figure slowly emerged from a speck of ink inside the tent.

Nagatobuki smiled and invited, "Lord Ōnoki, we meet again. Have you thought it through now?"

The father and son looked at each other, remained silent for a long time, and finally nodded.

Over the next few days, Onoki gathered the ninjas who had not yet defected, but only a few hundred people showed up.

There were Jonin, Chunin, and Genin, but most of them were already emaciated and listless.

Onoki stood on the makeshift wooden platform, looking at the sparse crowd below, and remained silent for a long time.

"I know you all stayed because you trusted me. I, Onoki, thank you." Then he actually bowed deeply.

"As you know, we have no money to spend, we're running out of food, and our enemy... is far stronger than us."

He paused for a moment, then continued, "However, I will not surrender. I would rather die than surrender. We will now seek refuge with Amegakure, but this is only temporary. Iwagakure cannot fall at my hands!"

After saying that, he took out a black robe with red clouds, put it on, put a ring on his middle finger, and looked into the distance.

"Keita, Heiji, Kakuzu, and Shisei Aburame. Just you wait, I, Onoki, will reclaim everything that belongs to me in two days!"