Sasuke Uchiha saw no other choice but to agree to Obito Uchiha's plan.
In truth, Sasuke had little interest in the power of the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan or the Eye of the Moon Plan. He simply went along with it, tacitly agreeing to Obito's demands.
For his part, Obito didn't push Sasuke to attack Konoha. He knew the real threats right now weren't in the village, but were Uchiha Madara and Emiya Shirou.
Konoha and the other great villages had already been forced onto the defensive by Akatsuki. At this point, they couldn't be considered a serious threat. Obito figured that once the Ten-Tails was revived, even the Akatsuki organization itself might become irrelevant.
Still, having more strength was always a good thing. Obito felt a deep satisfaction in bringing Sasuke to his side, especially since Sasuke was someone both Madara and Emiya Shirou had their eyes on.
Now, only one question remained: when to start reviving the Ten-Tails?
Inside the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, he already possessed the chakra from eight of the Tailed Beasts. With Orochimaru holding the Nine-Tails chakra from the Kin-Gin brothers, the revival could begin at any time.
The moment the Ten-Tails was revived, the resulting upheaval would definitely attract the other Akatsuki's attention.
"The Ten-Tails might go berserk," Obito considered. "That'll give Akatsuki a chance to make their move."
Before Emiya Shirou had been brought back with the Impure World Reincarnation, Obito had received plenty of intel from Black Zetsu. He knew the Ten-Tails' immense power would shift the entire landscape.
He wanted to become its jinchuriki, but Black Zetsu had only laughed at the idea, always insisting that only Madara could truly control the beast's will.
But Obito had decided to take the gamble. He had to become the Ten-Tails' jinchuriki before Madara or Emiya Shirou could stop him. It was the only way he could enact the Infinite Tsukuyomi without any obstacles.
"The best outcome would have been to get the Nine-Tails from Naruto, but that doesn't matter anymore," Obito muttered to himself. "I can't give Madara or Emiya Shirou any more chances... Let's get started."
From the shadows, Orochimaru smiled softly. It was about time for him to reap his own rewards as well.
While Obito and Orochimaru prepared for the Ten-Tails' revival, the five great ninja villages moved quickly to establish cooperation. In the past, they had fought countless wars. Not long ago, they had nearly killed each other while gathering intel on Akatsuki in the Land of Rain.
But now, the threat of Akatsuki was right in front of them.
The five Kage immediately called a summit. There were even some surprises, such as the Fifth Kazekage, Gaara, miraculously returning from the dead. At this meeting, the Kage seemed far more humbled than before. Every one of them now understood the terror of Akatsuki; the organization possessed enough power to destroy a great village at any time, a fact that had forced them all to confront their own weakness.
Most importantly, before the summit had even begun, Tsunade, the Fifth Hokage, along with the Fourth Raikage and the Fifth Kazekage, had already agreed to joint operations and intelligence sharing.
With three of the five great villages already aligned, the meeting proceeded smoothly. Onoki, the Third Tsuchikage, realized he had no room to protest and could only agree to unite against the common enemy. After all, the Akatsuki's power had already reached the Stone Village's doorstep.
Meanwhile, Mei Terumi, the Fifth Mizukage, known for her progressive leadership in the Land of Water, quickly agreed to form a ninja alliance specifically to fight Akatsuki.
"Alright then," Tsunade began, "let's confirm our enemies."
"First, there's Uchiha Obito. He possesses that strange power to phase through attacks and could become the Ten-Tails' jinchuriki at any moment. According to our intelligence, even Emiya Shirou considers his strength a cause for caution. He is an urgent threat we must resolve."
She continued, "Obito has always worked in the shadows, trying to seize control of the Eye of the Moon Plan. Now that the plan has fractured among different factions, it looks like he might become the final victor. If Obito succeeds, every shinobi in the world will fall under the Infinite Tsukuyomi."
"No one knows if that genjutsu will ever end. It might last forever. Since Emiya Shirou has always claimed he wants to create 'eternal peace,' there's a good chance we'll all end up trapped in that illusion, never able to wake up."
"Can a jutsu like that really exist?" the Fifth Mizukage, Mei, voiced her doubt.
"For all our sakes, I hope you believe it's real," Tsunade replied, her brow furrowed as she recalled stories of Emiya Shirou from ancient times. "If such a technique couldn't bring eternal peace, Shirou wouldn't hesitate to kill every last shinobi. He's done it before."
"In the past, he believed he could foresee the world's future after the birth of chakra and personally chose to wipe out the Sage of Six Paths' Ninshu. Based on Konoha's records, if the great ninja Asura hadn't persuaded him to give up, none of us might exist today."
"What kind of joke is that!" Mei's eyes widened.
However, even as Onoki and the Fourth Raikage looked shocked, their silence confirmed they believed Tsunade's words.
"So," Tsunade sighed, "we should assume the Infinite Tsukuyomi is real. That feels far safer than pretending it isn't."
Everyone understood. They needed the Infinite Tsukuyomi to be real. If it wasn't, and Emiya Shirou decided to achieve 'eternal peace' using the same methods he employed in ancient times, their situation would be far worse.
"So... even if we deal with Obito," Mei sighed softly, "do you think a ninja alliance could actually stand against a man like that? After all, he once destroyed the Ninshu created by the Sage of Six Paths. All of you have seen his power more directly than I have..."
"Should we just run away and wait to die, then?" Gaara asked bluntly.
"My, Kazekage, that's rather rude," Mei giggled, covering her lips. Seeing the serious looks on the other Kages' faces, she realized it wasn't the time for jokes. "Sorry, I just thought—"
"It's fine," Tsunade said with understanding, her voice lowering. "If you've truly felt the pressure Emiya Shirou exudes, you'll know... fearing him is the most normal thing in the world."
"And then there's Uchiha Madara," Onoki added, ensuring no one forgot the other terrifying figure.
"That's right," the Fourth Raikage's face turned grim. Unlike Onoki, who had only glimpsed Madara's power, the Raikage had experienced it firsthand. He knew there was no resisting him.
Even with an alliance, he couldn't see how they could possibly win. Madara's full-body Susanoo could split mountains with a single swing of its sword; an army of shinobi was like a field of weeds before him.
Of course, that wasn't his problem to solve. Once the ninja alliance was formed, smarter people could figure out what to do next.
"To look on the bright side," Tsunade managed a dry joke, though no one laughed, "at least Madara is weaker than Emiya Shirou. Either way, we have to face these monsters, don't we?"
"I do admit, I'd like to see it for myself," Mei said with a light, supportive laugh. "After all, these are legendary figures that even the Five Kage fear!"
"If you do see it for yourself," Tsunade warned, her tone sobering, "you might regret ever saying that."
Not wanting to linger on the awkwardness, she decisively concluded the summit.
"Then the Five Kage have a preliminary agreement. Let's act fast. If Obito revives the Ten-Tails, this war could end before we even realize what happened. I'm sure none of us wants to wake up one morning to find our fate is completely out of our hands."