Ōnoki

1. 1
   Student of the Second

   Learning the Dust Release

   A young Ōnoki trains under the Second Tsuchikage, Mū, who entrusts him with the secrets of Dust Release — a technique few in any village can use, and fewer still can master.

2. 2
   The boy who met Madara

   An early, lasting wound

   At thirteen, on a mission with Mū, Ōnoki meets Madara Uchiha. The alliance Iwagakure proposes is refused, and both Ōnoki and his teacher are left severely hurt — a memory that shapes his caution for life.

3. 3
   The fence-sitter

   Ōnoki of Both Scales

   Ōnoki holds the Tsuchikage's hat for decades, and shifts his stance so often the world names him "of Both Scales" — a leader who hedges, weighs, and rarely commits to one side.

4. 4
   The Five Kage SummitDebut Arc · Five Kage Summit

   The vote for an alliance

   Old now, Ōnoki comes to the Five Kage Summit on the eve of war. There, the lifelong hedger argues for and helps form the Allied Shinobi Forces — finally, plainly, picking a side.

5. 5
   Leading the Kage

   Seventy-nine, and unbowed

   At seventy-nine years old, Ōnoki stands with the Five Kage in open battle against Madara — the same enemy who hurt him as a boy, faced down at last by the old man he became.

6. 6
   Passing the hat

   The Stone's next shadow

   When the war ends, Ōnoki sets the hat down — passing the title of Tsuchikage to his granddaughter, Kurotsuchi, and trusting Iwagakure to the generation after his.

Ōnoki was a small, stooped old man with a bad back — and one of the most dangerous shinobi the series ever put on a battlefield. His Dust Release was a Kekkei Tōta, a bloodline limit that fuses three chakra natures and disintegrates whatever it touches. He could fly, lighten an ally or crush a foe by manipulating weight, and turn a target to stone with a touch. Few opponents had an answer to all of it at once.

Play today's Narutodle or browse past answers.

• Who is Ōnoki?+

  Ōnoki is the Third Tsuchikage of Iwagakure, the Hidden Stone, and the oldest of the Five Kage. A master of the rare Dust Release, he is best known for forming the Allied Shinobi Forces and leading the Five Kage against Madara.
• What is Dust Release?+

  Dust Release is Ōnoki's signature ability — a rare Kekkei Tōta that combines three chakra natures at once. It creates a field that disintegrates anything caught inside it on a near-atomic level, making it one of the most destructive techniques in the series.
• Why is Ōnoki called "of Both Scales"?+

  Ōnoki earned the epithet "of Both Scales" — and the nickname "Fence-Sitter Ōnoki" — for shifting his political position so often. He spent decades hedging between sides rather than committing, until the Akatsuki forced his hand.
• Can Ōnoki fly?+

  Yes. Ōnoki is one of the very few shinobi in the Five Great Nations able to levitate and fly freely. He uses the ability constantly in battle, attacking from the air and staying out of reach of ground-bound opponents.
• Who succeeded Ōnoki as Tsuchikage?+

  After the Fourth Shinobi World War, Ōnoki passed the title of Tsuchikage to his granddaughter, Kurotsuchi, who became the Fourth Tsuchikage of Iwagakure.
• Has Ōnoki been a Narutodle answer?+

  Ōnoki is in the daily answer pool of 210 characters. The Previous Narutodle Appearances list on this page shows every date he was the Classic answer, each linking to a replayable archive puzzle.
• How do you guess Ōnoki in Narutodle?+

  Ōnoki's Dust Release is the giveaway — a Kekkei Genkai almost no one else carries. His Iwagakure village is uncommon, his Kage rank narrows further, and his Nature Types column runs to four.