Ōnoki

Ōnoki (オオノキ, Ōnoki , Viz: Ohnoki), renowned as "Ōnoki of Both Scales" (両天秤のオオノキ, Ryōtenbin no Ōnoki , English TV: Ohnoki the Fence-Sitter), was the Third Tsuchikage (三代目土影, Sandaime Tsuchikage , literally meaning: Third Earth Shadow) of Iwagakure.

## Background [ ]

When he was an adolescent, Ōnoki was tasked with cleaning his village's Stone Monument. As he did so, his grandfather, the First Tsuchikage, came and spoke with him. Ōnoki, who believed that the First was just a cheap old man to have such a simple thing as the symbol of the village, was then told that the stone represented the unmovable will of the shinobi of the village. The First then told Ōnoki that he too possessed that strong will, but would lose it if he didn't face adversities with determination.

As a young man, Ōnoki was a student to the Second Tsuchikage, Mū who passed down to him the secrets of Dust Release techniques. At some point, Ōnoki fought with Madara Uchiha, and is the only living Kage to do so. On one occasion, Madara approached them and declared that despite the alliance between their villages Konoha was to remain the dominant one and anything that Konohagakure requested, Iwagakure was to obey. His knowledge of Madara's power made him wary of him, and was thus surprised that the masked man could really be him. He had also encountered the Second Mizukage, his mentor's rival, and was constantly picked on by the latter.

Eventually, Ōnoki succeeded Mū for the title of Tsuchikage. During his reign, in the anime, he endured the hardships of the Third Shinobi World War, watching many of his people die in battle. Eventually, Konohagakure offered a peace treaty from the Third Hokage himself. While the Iwa council was against the treaty, Ōnoki strongly considered accepting it to stop the bloodshed. At some point, he become acquainted with Deidara, becoming familiar with his ideologies and fighting style. As Tsuchikage, he hired Akatsuki many times for their services in the past, which he rationalised by his concern over Kumogakure's unwavering militarisation. He has also apparently known and dealt with the Fourth Raikage since he was young. Later in the anime, Ōnoki received an invitation from Konohagakure and Sunagakure to join an impromptu Chūnin Exams they would be hosting together. Arrogantly thinking this was an attempt by the two villages to better gauge Iwagakure's strength for an upcoming fight, Ōnoki quickly turned down the offer, merely replying to the hosts that his village was too busy.

## Personality [ ]

Ōnoki was a very proud, headstrong, and boastful individual. He refused to retire and choose a successor as Tsuchikage despite being up in age, insisting that he was still strong enough to continue to rule the village. At the same time, he was slightly hypocritical as he encouraged Tsunade to step down as Hokage after awakening from her coma noting that she may be too old. Kurotsuchi described him as a "stubborn old man". His pride has caused him to have very little respect for those younger than him, as he verbally attacked Gaara (the current Kazekage who is many years his junior) on numerous occasions, dismissing his presumed naivety on dealing with politics. Ōnoki attributed his behaviour as a result of his encounter(s) with Madara in his youth, stating that he had lost sight of who he was because of him. Despite this, he remained an open-minded individual and even regained a sense of himself after seeing Gaara's attitude, gaining great respect for Gaara's skill and power as a Kage, as well as his wisdom even in spite of his young age. He had also come to view Naruto in a similar light. In the end, he credited the friendship between the two men for making him see the errors of his ways. This was also seen during the time he told Akatsuchi and Kurotsuchi that he remembered what he really used to be before he became a stubborn old man, likely meaning he had a kinder and friendlier heart in his youth. Ōnoki also held his master in high regard, addressing him with the "-sama" suffix even after becoming Tsuchikage like his predecessor.

Deidara also noted that Ōnoki hated art, possibly because he ridiculed his Explosive Clay artwork. During the chaos Sasuke Uchiha had started at the summit, Ōnoki didn't seem to be alarmed once the battle in the Summit Room began. He appeared to be calm enough to let the Mizukage Mei Terumī deal with the current situation. Upon observing the fight between the two, he seemed quite entertained, which led him to join the fight.

Ōnoki seemed to be quite ruthless, taking down a heavily-injured Sasuke who had just been saved yet again after facing the wrath of three other Kage before him, on the claim that the ninja world wanted Sasuke dead, even though Ōnoki himself had no grudge against Sasuke personally. He then immediately turned his attention to a devastated Karin, claiming that she was next to die with his Dust Release technique. He did however, seem to be considerate enough to let Tobi speak for his actions, reasoning with the Raikage to listen to his reasons before making their own. Ōnoki originally hated all the other shinobi villages, and in the past may have resorted to underhanded tactics, taught by his predecessor, after a shinobi alliance had ended. One example was his betrayal of Kirigakure at the Tragedy of Yosuga Pass in the anime. He was even willing to associate with underworld criminals by frequently employing Akatsuki's mercenary services, both for their below competitive prices and rationalising Kumogakure's unwavering militarisation. Later Ōnoki had come to accept the other villages and was capable of great teamwork with the shinobi he once called his enemies. An example of his change in personality was when he sent his bodyguards to the Land of Water in order to apologise for the Tragedy of Yosuka Pass. This is a trait that he attributed to his long life. During the Fourth Shinobi World War, Ōnoki revealed himself as a very determined, charismatic and inspirational leader, as he was the one who pushed the Fourth Division and later the other Kage to face Madara without fear, despite his displays of overwhelming power and incited his comrades to doing the same. He even went as far as to attempt to stop Madara from chasing after Naruto and Kurama despite being nearly out of chakra.

In his days of retirement, Ōnoki showed a very laidback attitude, wanting to enjoy the world around him whenever possible. At the same time, this hid a more sinister side to him; after losing many young citizens of his village, including his grandson, he grew disillusioned of the world, he had begun taking unethical methods to preserve peace, even willing to abduct his family to ensure his continued experiments. At the same time, adapting a lesser-of-two-evils mentality, he truly believed in his actions, seeing they were for a greater good, all coming from treasuring the lives of the young and worried that such peaceful times have dulled their growth. He wished to avoid as much bloodshed of innocent as possible and truly regretted the losses that came from his indirect actions.

Ultimately however, watching as his efforts only brought about corruption and a shameless path towards order made Ōnoki fully regret his actions, accepting that he overreached and made a mistake. From this and watched power of the human will in action made him return to his previous views, determined to make amends for his laps of judgement.

## Appearance [ ]

Ōnoki was a very short, old man with a triangular beard and a moustache that had angular corners, a big red nose and thick eyebrows. The top of his head was completely bald, although, he had long white hair on the lower-half of his head which is styled in a traditional chonmage hair cut, the back of which was tied with a yellow ribbon into a topknot. Ōnoki wore a split apart green coat divided into four sections with yellow trimmings, and a red collar (which in the anime was seen to be worn by other high-ranking members of Iwagakure). Underneath he wore the traditional Iwagakure outfit consistent of a light green version of Iwagakure's flak jacket and mesh armour. He however had both his sleeves of his shirt, but kept the single lapel on his right side. Along with this, he wore sandals.

During the tenure of the First Tsuchikage, as an adolescent, Ōnoki had brown hair along with dark brown and thick eyebrows. He also wore a dark brown T-shirt and beige pants with black shinobi sandals. When he was a young adult, Ōnoki wore an outfit with armour plating on it and his forehead protector on his head like a bandanna.

Some time after retiring as Tsuchikage, Ōnoki's hairline receded even further, with his advanced age showing in the form of liver spots and more wrinkles. His eyes had also become heavy-lidded and he had grown a longer moustache and beard.

## Abilities [ ]

As the Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki was easily one of the strongest shinobi Iwagakure ever produced. At over 80 years old, despite his considerably advanced age leaving his general health somewhat frail (constantly complaining about back and hip pain), he still proved able to lead his village with no waving doubt of the people. In battle, he still proved very capable, able to compete against various powerful foes including his reincarnated former master. He was well-regarded as a legendary shinobi, as Madara himself acknowledged Ōnoki as the main threat among Allied Shinobi Forces and the most difficult to break. At full strength, he could wipe out twenty-five of Madara's Susanoo-clad wood clones. Ultimately, at over 100 years old, his advancing age forced him to retire and mostly stay in a wheelchair. Even more, he required several more hours of sleep a day to keep up his health and strong exertions like ninjutsu could tire him out enough to pass out. At the same time, he still proved to be as quick-witted and skilled as ever.

### Ninjutsu [ ]

#### Nature Transformation [ ]

Ōnoki also showed great prowess with Earth Release. He could create rock clones and massive golems to aid him, as well as manipulate the terrain. Ōnoki also wielded Earth techniques that manipulate gravity, allowing him to increase or decrease an object's weight, letting him restrict a target's movements with the former and lift Genbu with the latter. He could also fly by decreasing his own weight. To make up for his lack of physical strength, Ōnoki could cover his fist in rock to increase his striking power and further increase the weight it to penetrate strong defences. These techniques could also affect chakra-based substances, such as a Susanoo.

### Intelligence [ ]

Ōnoki was quite analytical in combat, normally feeling a potential opponent out first before engaging in direct combat. When he first encountered Kabuto Yakushi, he intentionally attacked him with a light punch to test if he was Madara Uchiha. In the event that Kabuto had a trap laid out, he had already prepared a clone decoy. During the Fourth Shinobi World War, he suggested to begin the assault on the enemy with long-range techniques, and then observe the enemies' response to such attacks. Ōnoki was also quick to figure out a powerful triple attack combination with A shortly after the latter's arrival to the battlefield to face Madara. Ōnoki was also shown to be an adept researcher, having created the Akuta.

## Quotes [ ]

- (To Kurotsuchi) " You… you idiot, who do you think I am!? I am the Tsuchikage, feared as Iwagakure's Ōnoki of Both Scales!! " (「バ…バカ者　このワシを誰だと思ッとる!岩隠れ　両天秤のオオノキと恐れられた土影じゃぜ!!」, "Ba… bakamono Kono washi o dareda to omottoru! Iwagakure Ryōtenbin no Ōnoki to osorerareta Tsuchikage jaze!!" )
- (To Gaara) " The make up of the five Kage sure has changed. You must be special to be made Kazekage at your age. Your father must have taught you right, but apparently he forgot to instil in you any manners. "
- (To the Fourth Raikage) " …I suppose it's better than losing this war… Because if the shinobi world disappears, there won't be a place where I can quarrel with you…… " (「…この戦争に負けるよりはマシじゃな… 忍の世がなくなればお前とケンカどころではないからの……」, "…Kono sensō ni makeru yori wa mashi jana… Shinobi no yo ga nakunareba omae to kenkadokoro dewa nai kara no……" )
- (To Kurotsuchi) " …Because I remembered…… …who I used to be before I became this hard-headed. " (「…思い出したからじゃ…… …頑固になる前の自分をな」, "…Omoi dashita kara ja…… …ganko ni naru mae no jibun o na" )
- (To Danzō) " It takes time to make ideals a reality. If you're hasty, you'll lose sight of everything else and make mistakes… just like now. "
- (To Deidara) " Deidara… I trust you haven't forgotten… how terrifying I can be! "
- (To Gaara) " I'm here to pick up the principles I tossed so long ago! "
- (To the Fourth Division shinobi) " Don't already speak words of resignation! None of us should be abandoning themselves without doing anything! We have to do everything we can, even if it's just small, got it! " (「まだ諦めの言葉を口にするな! 何もせんうちから己を捨てるな! 少しでもやれることをするんじゃぜ!」, "Mada akirame no kotoba wo kuchinisuru na! Nanimo sen'uchikara onorewosuteru na! Sukoshi demo yare rukotowosurun jaze!" )
- (About confronting Madara) " Hmph. The time to pick myself up off the ground is finally here… and there's no opponent more worthy! "
- (To Madara) " We shinobi spend our entire lives in battle. Fighting only for our own villages. Never empathising with others, only taking for our lives! If we rob, and are robbed in turn… if we are robbed from, we take back in revenge. "
- " Being old has its perks. To think I'd live to see the day… when the five Kage would stand and fight together! "
- (To the Kage) " Stand!! …Kage!! This is a matter of life or death! No more whimpering!! If we're the last remnants of the five Kage… then we need to make sure our final words don't ruin our reputations!! Naruto left this battle to us! We took this battle from him and vowed that we would win no matter what! And there's one more thing… that we were left by every shinobi out there — They entrusted the titles of five Kage to us! We can't let them down!!! "