Hashirama looked indignantly at this old best friend, pointing at his nose and accusing:
"Madara, this matter has something to do with you, doesn't it!"
'Good grief, you think I won't call you out?'
Minato stood to the side, watching Hashirama and Madara bicker, and muttered under his breath:
"Is this a class reunion?"
He never expected that, having used the Dead Demon Consuming Seal in his lifetime and given his soul to the Shinigami, he could still be reanimated.
Minato then looked at Hiruzen and asked:
"Lord Third, how is Naruto doing now?"
He also noticed that Hiruzen looked much older than he remembered.
That is to say, Hiruzen had died a long time after he himself had died.
So during this period, Naruto should have already grown up.
Upon hearing this, Hiruzen, just like his own teacher, silently turned his head to the other side.
He simply didn't dare to respond to Minato.
After Minato's repeated questions, Sarutobi Hiruzen had no choice but to change the subject:
"The situation is very critical right now! To think even I, along with the various Hokage, have been summoned. I'm afraid this Ninja World is in grave danger!"
To be honest, Hiruzen's topic shift was rather forced.
It certainly wouldn't work on old schemers like Tobirama or Orochimaru, but it was just right for a naive sweetheart like Minato.
"Who exactly are you? What are you trying to accomplish by doing this?"
Minato looked up at Obito standing on top of the Gedo Statue and demanded sternly.
Obito, wearing the white mask, remained silent.
His figure stood on top of the statue, his gaze behind the mask falling on Minato's face, then looked away.
Madara watched this scene, propping his cheek with one hand, with a mocking curve at the corner of his mouth.
"Hasn't your true identity already become known throughout the Ninja World? What's the point of still wearing a mask at a time like this, Obito?"
"Obito?"
Hearing this name, Minato and Hiruzen's expressions changed dramatically.
'Obito?'
'Was it the Obito we remembered?'
'The one who supposedly died in the Battle of Kannabi Bridge?!'
"Shut up! Madara!"
Obito was so angry his teeth itched, and the voice behind the mask also stopped bothering to disguise Madara's tone.
Although as Madara had said, his true identity had long been known throughout the Ninja World, for some reason Obito still wore a mask.
Especially when facing Minato.
'Could it be that I still harbored some feelings for these people?'
'No! How is that possible!'
'How could I, like this, possibly regret it?'
A powerful surge of Ocular Power welled up in Obito's Rinnegan.
The Chakra Chains of the Gedo Statue clattered loudly, as if sensing the turmoil in his heart.
Just then, the sound of footsteps came from the entrance of the cave.
Everyone turned to look.
It's none other than Sasuke.
He walked into the cave. His Akatsuki uniform was stained with blood and dust, and there was a dried wound on his body.
Seeing the other's eyes, Tobirama's brow furrowed sharply, not hiding the disgust in his eyes.
"Hmph, another born evil Uchiha brat."
Hiruzen lowered his head, pretending not to hear.
After all, Sasuke's presence here proved that he probably already knew the truth about the Uchiha Clan's massacre.
There was a good chance he would come to hold him accountable.
"Did you bring them back?"
Obito jumped down from the top of the statue and landed in front of Sasuke.
Sasuke bit his finger and slapped his palm onto the ground.
"Summoning Technique!"
Bang—!
Two huge clouds of white smoke burst open.
Two enormous Tailed Beasts appeared in the cave.
They were the One-Tail and Two-Tails that had been kept by the Fifth Unit.
Sasuke summoned the two Tailed Beasts and was silent for a moment, then said:
"Kisame is dead."
To be honest, he had been partnered with the guy for nearly three years, and now that he was gone, Sasuke felt a little melancholic.
However, Obito didn't care about Kisame's life or death at all, and just kept forming hand seals.
The Gedo Statue opened its mouth, and Chakra Chains wrapped in light purple energy flew out, accurately wrapping around the necks of Shukaku and Matatabi.
Obito walked toward the statue, took a few steps, then suddenly stopped, turned around, and looked at Sasuke.
"There should be one more, right?"
His Rinnegan stared at Sasuke, the suspicion in his eyes undisguised.
Sasuke said expressionlessly:
"It got away."
Then, Sasuke turned his head and looked at another reanimated figure in the cave… Namikaze Minato.
"Isn't the other half of the Nine-Tails inside him? That's enough."
Obito stared at Sasuke for a good while.
Sasuke stared back with his Mangekyo Sharingan, not a hint of evasion in his eyes.
The two faced off for a moment.
Then, Obito sneered, turned around, and didn't pursue further.
The other half of the Nine-Tails was indeed inside Minato, which was enough.
As for why Sasuke let Naruto go, everyone understood that.
Compared to his younger brother's murderous intent, Hashirama looked Sasuke up and down, finally sighing with lament:
"Another Uchiha youth who has gone down the wrong path?"
He turned to look at Hiruzen, a hint of reproach in his voice:
"Saru, in all your years as Hokage, haven't you given this clan proper guidance?"
Hiruzen lowered his head, burying it even deeper.
"Brother, why say all this?"
Tobirama said coldly, arms crossed, his disgust undisguised on his face.
"Their clan is inherently a vessel of evil."
Sasuke stood not far away, his brow slightly twitching when he heard this.
Tobirama, the Second Hokage of Konoha, Hashirama's younger brother, and the number one hater of the Uchiha Clan.
If this were the past, or Sasuke from the original work, he probably would have shot a Susanoo arrow right about now.
But for Sasuke as he was now, none of that mattered anymore.
Having practically given up, he just wanted to go to the world of Genjutsu and end his life.
Besides Sasuke, other members of the Akatsuki arrived one after another.
Also bringing with them Tailed Beasts that originally belonged to the Government Allied Forces.
The sealing officially began.
Obito stood on top of the statue, his hands forming hand seals.
"Sealing Technique: Phantom Dragons Nine Consuming Seals!"
Obito stood on top of the statue, maintaining the hand seal formation, waiting for the sealing ritual to be completed.
Other members of the Akatsuki… Kakuzu, Hidan, Deidara, Sasori, each stood on the fingers of the Gedo Statue, continuously pouring Chakra into the statue's body to assist the sealing process.
Down in the corner of the cave, the figures forcefully summoned from the Pure Land each remained silent.
After the sealing began, Obito unceremoniously gave orders to the reanimated Madara.
"Madara, release the Nine-Tails inside Minato."
Madara was sitting on a rock in the corner. Hearing this, a mocking curve appeared at the corner of his mouth.
"The simping brat from back then has become quite arrogant now, hasn't he~"
Obito's face behind the mask immediately darkened.
What he hated hearing most now were the words 'simp'.
The whole Ninja World was now circulating jokes about him being a simp.
"Shut up!!"
Obito squeezed out two words through his teeth.
Madara smiled, didn't say anything more, stood up from the rock, and slowly walked to Minato.
Although Minato had self-awareness, his body was under the control of the Rinnegan, making it impossible to resist.
Suddenly, Madara raised his right hand, spread his five fingers, and aimed his palm at Minato's abdomen.
"Tail Releasing Method."
Chakra surged from his palm, entering Namikaze Minato's abdomen like a living creature.
Minato's body shuddered violently, and the sealing mark on his abdomen began to loosen and disintegrated.
The Golden Chakra erupted from the cracks in the seal, like a flood from a breached dam.
The dark-toned Nine-Tails' Chakra surged out from Minato's body, rapidly condensing, expanding, and deforming in mid-air.
The moment the Nine-Tails appeared, the temperature inside the entire cave seemed to rise a few degrees.
The enraged Yin Nine-Tails opened its mouth, preparing to roar.
But the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan in Madara's eyes suddenly spun, "Hmph~"
The Nine-Tails' pupils suddenly contracted.
The crimson red beastly pupils lost their focus, the nine tails drooped down, and the Tailed Beast Bomb that was about to be unleashed dissipated in its throat, like a tamed dog.
While waiting for the sealing to be completed, the atmosphere inside the cave became subtle.
Madara sat back on the rock, propping his cheek with one hand, his gaze focused across the Gedo Statue, landing on Obito.
"How could you use this method to revive me?"
A hint of dissatisfaction in Madara's tone.
"How's Nagato doing?"
'Here it comes.'
White Zetsu, standing on one of the fingers of the Gedo Statue, poked half his body out of the venus flytrap:
"Madara-sama, Nagato is dead. After he found out Obito's true identity, he didn't intend to follow orders anymore, so Obito killed him and took the Rinnegan."
Obito stood on top of the statue, snorting coldly:
"That is to say, right now, you are in a state where you have no choice but to obey my orders."
"If you don't want me to release the Edo Tensei and send you back to that world, then shut up."
Madara chuckled and didn't answer, simply sneering inwardly.
'After you see my trump card, kid, let's see if you can still be this arrogant.'
Hashirama helped Minato, who looked weak after having the Nine-Tails extracted, to his feet. "Are you okay?"
"I-I'm fine, Lord First."
Minato smiled bitterly and shook his head, a hint of relief in his voice:
"If it weren't for my reanimated body... I would have just died."
But despite that, the reanimated Minato still looked very weak, the light in his Rinnegan flickering.
He looked at Obito standing on top of the Gedo Statue, was silent for a moment, and finally couldn't help but ask loudly:
"Obito, didn't you want to become Hokage? Why are you doing this?"
Obito's Rinnegan behind the mask glanced at him, his voice cold as frost:
"As my teacher, you didn't even recognize me back then. It seems you're nothing special after all."
Minato was completely dumbfounded.
For a moment, he didn't know whether to be angry or to feel wronged.
'You were wrapped up like a mummy back then, who could recognize you?'
At that moment, even with Minato's temperament, he almost couldn't resist cursing.