"First Hokage, Senju Hashirama… Konoha really does produce one monster after another."
After a long silence, the First Tsuchikage, Ishikawa, glanced toward Hashirama and spoke meaningfully.
"The Fifth Hokage, Uchiha Ren, actually wants to unify the shinobi world. It seems he doesn't take Iwagakure seriously at all."
"Not just Iwagakure."
The Second Tsuchikage smiled coldly.
"He clearly doesn't take anyone seriously. Since that's the case, he can't blame us for being ruthless."
As he spoke, he slowly made a throat-slitting gesture.
His meaning was obvious.
Once they attacked Konoha, they would hold nothing back.
Even if Konoha was destroyed and every civilian inside the village died, so be it.
"It isn't only Iwagakure being looked down on."
The First Raikage clenched his fists.
"Kumogakure suffered the same insult. That Fifth Hokage killed two of our jinchūriki and took the Two-Tails and Eight-Tails for himself. He clearly thinks Kumogakure is nothing."
"This cannot be tolerated!"
The Second Raikage's temper flared immediately.
"I'll make Konoha repay that blood debt. No matter how strong Uchiha Ren is, he must pay the price."
"Konoha must fall."
The Third Raikage, hailed as the strongest Raikage in history, added coldly,
"And Uchiha Ren must die."
"Do as you like."
Hashirama only shrugged.
"Every Hokage walks their own path. Uchiha Ren chose a completely different road from mine. Honestly, I'm looking forward to seeing where it leads."
"Unifying the shinobi world…"
Tobirama gave a faint smile.
"That is certainly an interesting path."
"Hmph."
Facing Hashirama and Tobirama's calm attitudes, the former Tsuchikage and Raikage all snorted coldly.
"Enough. Win first before boasting."
At that moment, the First Kazekage, who had been silent until now, suddenly laughed and mocked them without fear.
After being revived through Edo Tensei, he had already learned the current state of the shinobi world.
When he found out Sunagakure had submitted to Konoha, he had been helpless at first.
But in the end, he chose to respect the decision made by the current Kazekage, Gaara.
And he was not the only one.
The Second, Third, and Fourth Kazekage had also accepted it.
The First, Second, Third, and Fourth Mizukage had likewise chosen to respect the Fifth Mizukage, Mei Terumi's decision.
In simple terms—
this was an earth-shaking gamble.
One side chose Uchiha Ren.
The other chose Uchiha Madara.
The winner would take everything.
The loser would lose everything.
Although the former Kazekage and Mizukage had been revived by Madara through Edo Tensei, their hearts stood with Konoha.
To put it bluntly—
their bodies were with the shinobi alliance, but their loyalty was already on Konoha's side.
"Exactly. If you're so impressive, prove it on the battlefield."
"The Fifth Hokage's strength already rivals the Sage of Six Paths. I'd like to see what trump card Madara still has."
"I heard Konoha has two new Tenseigan users now. Their overall strength has risen again."
With the First Kazekage taking the lead, the other Kazekage and Mizukage began speaking one after another.
Their tone clearly carried the attitude of people waiting to watch the alliance make fools of themselves.
"What are you saying?"
"Damn it! You Kazekage and Mizukage are doing this on purpose, aren't you?"
"Once Uchiha Ren unifies the shinobi world, do you think Sunagakure and Kirigakure will still exist?"
The former Tsuchikage and Raikage instantly grew furious and began arguing back.
"Hahaha… you're only roaring because you're powerless."
"Whether Sunagakure and Kirigakure survive after Konoha unifies the world, I don't know."
"But I do know that Iwagakure and Kumogakure will definitely be uprooted."
"I believe the Fifth Hokage will give Sunagakure and Kirigakure a proper explanation."
Facing the furious Tsuchikage and Raikage, the Kazekage and Mizukage remained completely calm.
They even laughed slowly, as though enjoying the show.
The faces of the First Tsuchikage, Second Tsuchikage, First Raikage, Second Raikage, and Third Raikage grew increasingly twisted.
They were on the verge of exploding.
"You people really are—"
"I can't tolerate this anymore!"
Just as the First Raikage and the others were about to erupt, Madara cut them off coldly.
"Enough."
"Shut your mouths."
His voice was not loud.
But the moment it sounded, the entire room fell silent.
The atmosphere froze.
Everyone knew that the real battle had not even begun yet.
But the clash between these resurrected legends had already filled the room with sparks.
The coming war would not merely decide the fate of Konoha.
It would decide the fate of the entire shinobi world.
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