In the Netherworld, seeing Obito fly away while Ino was being frantically tied down by Otsutsuki Toneri, the Sage of Six Paths sighed softly. The descendants of his younger son were disappointing, making the wrong choice at the wrong time.
He looked at Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara before him. ".My story is finished. What are your thoughts?"
Senju Hashirama's tone was exceptionally firm. "Old Sage, no matter how the situation changes, I will use everything I have to protect the shinobi world and my village."
Uchiha Madara snorted. "I just want to make that bastard Obito pay! He played me for a fool, making me look like a clown!"
"Madara, Obito didn't defeat you. Your own arrogance defeated you," Senju Hashirama said.
Madara wanted to argue, but as the words reached his lips, he realized there was truly no room for rebuttal. If not for his arrogant nature, it would have been impossible for him to lose to Obito while holding such an absolute advantage in power.
Senju Hashirama looked at him seriously. "You must abandon the idea of the Infinite Tsukuyomi."
Uchiha Madara retorted tit-for-tat, "And what if I don't?"
The atmosphere between the two grew tense and hostile once more.
The Sage of Six Paths remained noncommittal. "I will not interfere with your thoughts. I have told you everything. The answer is about to be revealed, and you can go see it for yourselves."
Hashirama looked troubled. "Old Sage, I am already dead."
Madara crossed his arms and also said nothing. His condition was extremely poor; he was practically a blind man. How the hell was he supposed to fight?
The Sage of Six Paths beckoned gently and said, "Take two steps forward."
Hashirama and Madara looked at each other and each stepped forward.
The Sage of Six Paths placed his left hand on Uchiha Madara's palm. "I will restore your light. You can use your own eyes to search for the answer."
He placed his right hand on Senju Hashirama's palm. "I will give you one day of life, and also a portion of the power to create life."
The two felt something new enter their minds and chakra pathways. Then, they grew dizzy as their consciousnesses and bodies were pushed out of the Netherworld.
"I'm... back again?" Uchiha Madara surfaced from the sea. The waves rose and fell, and the roar of the angry tide was incessant.
The battle between Ino and Otsutsuki Toneri was extremely far from his position. He gave it only a single glance before turning his attention toward the God Tree.
Obito was over there! He was going to kill Obito!
The Sage of Six Paths had repaired the damage to his body caused by the extraction of the Ten-Tails and had also helped him replenish the ocular power in his eyes, which were on the verge of blindness. The process of upgrading his Mangekyo to a Rinnegan was a familiar path for him, posing no difficulty whatsoever.
His eyes were originally Mangekyo Sharingan, a better fit for his own bloodline than his previous pair. Now, a large amount of the Sage of Six Paths' power was infused into them, overwriting the original Mangekyo, and a brand new pair of Rinnegan was born.
His red armor had long been destroyed, and he was now bare-chested, cutting a rather unimpressive figure. He used a summoning jutsu to change into a blue kimono bearing the Uchiha uchiwa clan crest, then flew toward the God Tree.
Meanwhile, in Konoha Village.
To the astonishment of the gathered Konoha shinobi, Senju Hashirama climbed right out of his coffin.
The devastation caused by Kabuto had been too great and too vile. The great shinobi villages had gone to extreme lengths to protect the bodies of their predecessors, and the protection of Konoha's past Kage was of the utmost importance.
For Senju Hashirama to suddenly walk out of his own coffin was enough to terrify the crowd of shinobi.
"Grandfather, is that you?" Tsunade was completely bewildered. Her subconscious urged her to attack, but upon closer inspection, she realized something was off.
"Haha, it's me, it really is! I'm not an enemy, and this isn't Edo Tensei," the First Hokage said with a laugh, scratching his head. He then sized up the Konoha leadership, and his gaze couldn't help but fall upon Jiraiya.
It was because Jiraiya and Tsunade were standing shoulder to shoulder, far too close. From any angle, that distance didn't look like that of ordinary friends.
"And this is...?" he asked hesitantly.
Jiraiya was instantly energized. He immediately struck his one-legged hopping pose, as if about to perform a Noh play.
He grinned from ear to ear, waved his hands, and turned his large face to the side.
Accompanied by the "thump, thump" of his high-geta sandals on the floor, he swung his long hair. "You ask who I am? I am known throughout the lands, one of the famous Sannin, the white-haired child—"
Before he could finish, a gritting Tsunade sent him flying with a powerful straight punch. Not only did he leave a man-shaped hole in the wall, but his figure also traced a parabola before quickly disappearing over the horizon.
A tic mark appeared on Tsunade's forehead.
She cursed inwardly.
So old, and still calling yourself a 'child'? Child my ass!
I'm too embarrassed to say that this guy is the Fifth Hokage. To keep the First Hokage from worrying about the village's future, making this good-for-nothing Fifth Hokage disappear would be the greatest act of filial piety.
Senju Hashirama was taken aback, momentarily at a loss for words.
Tsunade nonchalantly dusted off her hands. "That was just an insignificant passerby. Pay him no mind."
Her way of changing the subject was as crude as Ino's. "Lord Grandfather, shall I take you for a tour of the casinos?"
"Hahahaha!" the First Hokage laughed heartily. "Now that you mention it, I am a bit tempted, but my time is tight. I am already dead. An old sage said you needed help and gave me one day of life."
His expression gradually grew serious. "I kept hearing the old Sage talk about the God Tree. Where is this God Tree? Can someone point the way for me?"
The Konoha shinobi glanced at one another. This wasn't something that could be explained in just a sentence or two.
Minato Namikaze spoke on behalf of the group. "Ah, about that... Lord First Hokage, shall I take you there with the Flying Thunder God?"
"And you are?"
Minato proudly turned around, showing him the four large characters on the back of his Hokage's robe.
"Wow! So you're the Fourth Hokage! But I remember the last time I was brought back with Edo Tensei, young Ino told me you were already dead?"
Minato gave a dry laugh. "Lord First Hokage, it's a bit of a long story, hard to explain in a short time."
The First Hokage nodded. "Alright then, you can tell me later when you're burning paper offerings for me. Time is tight, so please hurry and send me over."
"Fourth, take me with you, too," Tsunade volunteered.
Minato refused.
"Sorry, I really don't have much chakra left. Taking Lord First Hokage is already pushing my limits."
The First Hokage was revived in his prime. Using the Flying Thunder God to transport him was no different from teleporting a Nine-Tails; it consumed a massive amount of the user's chakra.
Senju Hashirama was very familiar with the Flying Thunder God. He asked, "Can you take me directly to the base of the God Tree?"
Minato thought for a moment. "Konoha has already sent an advance team over there. I can sense the Flying Thunder God markers they've left. I can get there with two intermediate jumps."
"Alright then. I'm counting on you."
On Konoha's side, they had been fighting the White Zetsu army all day. Minato was already exhausted, but he still took Senju Hashirama toward the God Tree using the Flying Thunder God.
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